The New Chicken Chronicles

Past Posts

2008-10-10T22:09:00.000-07:00

I won't be adding to this blog anymore. It is strictly to look back on. My main blog on here is now at:

http://thechickenchronicles.blogspot.com/

Everybody And More

2008-10-03T12:42:00.000-07:00

While I have the chance, I want to go over everyone I have listed on the blogspot journal.

This list is for me, but it is for everyone else too. If for some reason my scrambled up brain has not put you on this list, PLEASE PLEASE let me know so I can put your journal on my sidebar and add myself to your followers.

Okay, here goes:

Ally

Dad

Barbara

Fern

Karen

Chrissie

Jimmy

Lisa

Hollie

Traci

Helen

Beth

Rebecca

Raven

Katie

Gayla

Donna

Nelishia

Janie

Jamie

Paula

Linda

Robin

I need blogspot addresses from Sunny and Sharon please! I was working along and didnt click save and lost them. Thanks!

I have a jumbled up mess of little pieces of paper on this desk with checks on some and not on others...so there is no telling what I think I have and what I dont have...but I think I got most everyone that got a new journal started over on blogspot.

Now, for my own sanity I am going to leave the computer alone for awhile. I am going to do some laundry, dishes, cleaning. Go outside and tend some animals. In the morning, I will start fresh. Please email me or leave a comment here if I havent put you on my list over there okay?

I know this has been said over and over in many journals...but AOL is heartless. We were a community of people that really enjoyed each others company, and they came in and elbowed their way through us like we were chopped liver. Well thats just fine. It was time to sever the ties with AOL anyway. The only thing that was keeping me here was the good folks that made up Jland. We will be together again, and once we all adapt and settle in I think its going to be better than before. I am trying to think it will be. XOXOXOXOX

I Was Gonna Do That

2008-10-03T10:22:00.000-07:00

Thanks Jimmy...lol. I swear I was gonna do that and forgot...here it is...everyone please come on over. I miss you all so much. :) http://thechickenchronicles.blogspot.com/

I AM LEARNING

2008-10-03T10:10:00.000-07:00

THANKYOU CHRISSIE! Thankyou everyone, Lisa has told me how to save my journal easily, but since the puter crashed we lost everything, so I have to load Internet Explorer to be able to do it. Pretty bad eh, not only am I dealing with the change over of journaling, I have practically nothing to work with here on my computer! I am really trying. I see how to add journals to my sidebar so I can keep up with them, and I see how to add the follower feature now, so yall come on over and add yourselves, and I am gonna add myself onto everyone...then I think I will take a break...whew.

Heavy Sigh

2008-10-03T08:07:00.000-07:00

I cant even figure out if I can take all those pictures and stuff on my sidebar and put them somewhere on the blogspot journal. I dont think I can.

I Feel Overwhelmed

2008-10-03T07:54:00.000-07:00

I dont know what I am doing. I want to save the entries, along with the pictures on here...but I am confused and feel defeated right now. Is there an easy way to do this? Or is it going to be hard and time consuming? Sigh....somebody please help me. I don't know what I am doing.

OKAY....

2008-10-02T20:39:00.000-07:00

Sooo...then. My computer more or less crashed...Ian worked on it last night and all day today...into tonight, and here I am...

Only to learn that JOURNALS are going to be DELETED?

I see we are all moving to Blogspot...I have an account there, just never used it, so I will be over there just as soon as I can read up on how to save my journal.

I told Ian, and was in a panic in a way, that I have made so many friends, that we are a family on here...they are messing with family! What the hay ya know??? Fine...maybe this is for the best. It will make us all kick the AOL habit and move on to new and better things!

RIGHT? RIGHT! :)

It is late, and I see I have many emails from everyone letting me into their new homes on blogspot. This makes me smile. I see lots of folks are going there...so maybe we can all stay together and wont get seperated. I sure hope so. I will be on tomorrow all day setting up house at my new place. :) Look for an email from me with a link over the weekend.

I am babbling, time to get some sleep. Night night. XOXOXOXOXO

Gas Found

2008-09-29T14:48:00.000-07:00

I went round the world so to speak and ended up right by the house to get gas...go figure. But let me explain.

I headed out, checking Burtons store first. No numbers on the signs. That means no gas. I saw one or two lingering vehicles...but figured they were just out of luck, but looking anyway.

As I headed south on 101 I had some @ss decide I needed to do at LEAST 70. Um, to save gas, you dont speed, thats for sure. I continued to go the speed limit, which was 55, feeling the burn in the back of my head as he stared holes through me I am sure.

I dropped the trash at the local dump while I was out and headed back south on 101. Pinions was out of gas. Shell...out of gas. Going into Rockmart I passed by two small gas stations. Each had lines at least ten cars long going both ways into the little parking lots to the little island of two or four pumps.

I kept going, heading out 278 west...passing a Cowboys and a Citgo...completely out of gas.

Back up Hwy 27 to Collard Valley Road, I cut through back to where I started...at Burtons.

Well looky there, there is a line forming. I pulled in and got in line, being the next in line. As I sat there and watched more people pulling in one of the ladies that works there came out and put bags over both sides of one of the two pumps they have. Out of gas on the first one she says. I pull to the next one after the man in front of me has finished.

It was all in an orderly fashion. The lady that works there took peoples money or credit card, one at a time, taking it to the other lady at the counter in the store. By the time you got done pumping your gas, you pulled off to the side so the next person could start fueling while you went in and got your reciept. Very efficient.

I filled up the old truck and a five gallon container for 92.00 thereabouts.

The news keeps saying...don't get more than you need. Blah blah blah, that we are part of the reason everyone is running out, everyone is filling up. Well you know what..when the news tells you there may not be any gas consistantly delivered to the Atlanta metro area and beyond until October 13...you get ALL YOU CAN. Because what I got, will only last til Friday for Ian going back and forth to work. If you are lucky enough to find it, get all that you can, cause you WILL need it all.

I am sure by now Burtons is bone dry. I feel fortunate to have gotten the gas. Now I got to go out and wash the poor old girl so she will be presentable for use all this coming week, and possibly the next.

I did think of taking the camera Chrissie, but I just didnt. It was one of those times where you know, you just dont feel like it.

I wonder what is going to happen next week. How far will this go? I wonder if we will be able to get gas for Ian to get back and forth to work next week, much less go to the Fair.

I just don't understand why there arent tankers coming in from other parts of the country. Its not like the southeast lives on an island and we are hard to get to.

What about the stock markets today eh? It doesnt look good folks. No gas, no money. Are we destined for horse and buggy and bartering? We will see....yes, we will see.

Going Out Hunting

2008-09-29T07:23:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am going to go hunting. For gas that is.

The gas shortage here in Georgia is bad. Really bad. People are following tanker trucks around to their destination to get gas. People are running out and are stranded on the Atlanta roads. The HERO units are out putting gas in peoples tanks to get them going again. If you can find gas, there are long lines out into the road to get it.

We live an hour from Atlanta. Hopefully, that is an advantage. I have to go out now and try and find premium and fill the five gallon gas can for Ians car. I will take the old truck as it drinks regular, which if I find, I will fill up the truck with. He may be having to use the old truck to get back and forth to work since regular is about all you can find now.

So far the schools are still in session, but for how long. News reports say that gas won't be coming in steady until October 13. That is a long time away.

We are supposed to go to the Georgia National Fair like we always love to do in October. Its coming up this coming week. I wonder how many will be able to make it. I am wondering if we will find the gas to go.

See You Next Monday

2008-09-25T14:06:00.000-07:00

Its that time again. Ian is off tomorrow and the weekend and its time for me to say goodbye til Monday. I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend. Remember, everyday holds the promise of a better day. Every day we wake up to a new day, we get another chance to start over. Make the most of every day. I usually don't care for the Fall season much, but I am going to do my best to look forward to this following season and embrace it.

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So what do I have planned for this weekend? Oh a little of this and a little of that. I don't think we will be able to go much of anywhere since all the gas stations are out of gas, just about anyway. Thats okay though, we can enjoy being at home too.

As far as chicken chores go...I plan on building these guys and gals new winter quarters. These pens I got from Freecycle were fine for the Summer months, but its not going to be cozy for wintertime. So, I have three pens to make, and I might make a small run attached to them too, I havent decided yet. One for the Sultan pullets, one for the Sultan cockerals. Then one more for my two gals that I managed to keep alive and well out of the terrible loss of my Elvis and Elvis Jr., and my sweet girl I lost to the fox.

Here are the summertime pens. These will be put away, possibly used later to keep show birds clean on shavings when I am prepping them. I have three pens, but I for some reason only took pictures of the two.

Of course I plan on spending plenty of time with my family...and this is also when Phoenix, Clyde and Rusty get more of my attention. :) Here is Rusty now..bidding you a good weekend...see you all on Monday. XOXOX

Listen, Watch

2008-09-25T09:19:00.000-07:00

Yes, what IF everyone CARED? What a world this could be.

Chicken Talk Today

2008-09-25T07:54:00.000-07:00

Do you remember the slideshow movie I did of all my babies hatched out in May? If not, click HERE to see it.

Those babies are growing up to be beautiful chickens. After I repaired that pen and situated it for shelter and night roosting I disassembled the Polish pen, putting them in the smaller grow pen. I used the four foot green fencing and posts from that pen and fenced off a free range area for my 'pretties'. Some of these will be for showing one day, hopefully. The giant cochins in particular.

Now I let the white crested polish roosters out to be free in the yard during the day. They are a bachelor group. I took their girls away and put them in the 'pretties' pen. I really need to sell a couple of them off. They don't seem to be harrassing anybody right now. As long as they keep it that way, they can all stay. Right now they look a little ratty, but their feathers will grow back and fill out. Here is a slideshow of my pretties NOW, and their new area. Some were in the video above, some weren't.

The polish/silkie crosses and the golden phoenix/silkie crosses were my own invention. They are mutts, but I made them. :) I like the way they turned out. Even though they arent a 'real' breed, I think they look cool. :)

Oh and remember that black Sultan? Its a SHE and you will see her labelled as Mystery Sultan on the slideshow. Istill don't think I labeled that egg wrong. I am always very careful about that.

If you want to stop a picture to look at it just run the mouse pointer over the picture and a back, stop and forward will appear at the bottom of the pictures.

Oh yeah, and in case your wondering how that one White Crested Polish cockeral got the name Goatman...well, the first day the bachelors were let out, he spent two days in the goats pen area...lol. Thus, goatman. ;)

Nickelback

2008-09-24T16:29:00.000-07:00

Usually...I stick to country music. BUT lately, having a teenage daughter and a husband that listens to anything BUT country...I am still exposed to other music. Nickelback is one that I really love. I am also a big Disney movie fan, and these two movies that someone compiled with this Nickelback song...well...it got me all teared up..but in a good way. :) Enjoy this...and if you want to see the original video just go to Youtube and put in Nickelback, Far Away. Someone took this song and put it to these movies. This wasnt the original music. Nicely done. :) Adult or child, you should rent and watch The Lion King and Spirit. Very moving movies.

Information on Freecycle

2008-09-24T15:50:00.000-07:00

I got so many comments about not knowing about Freecycle. It is nationwide. All you have to do is go to http://www.freecycle.org/

You have to sign up for a Yahoo ID, which is no big deal, it is easy to do. If you want to check and see if your city or county has a Freecycle just put in one or the other with your state and see what comes up. If you don't have one in your county, there may be one in the county next to you, so check that as well if its convenient for you. Or you can hit the Browse Groups tab and look under your state.

I didnt know a thing about it til someone mentioned it to me here in this area.

A lot of what I see are infant and childrens clothes. Sometimes you will see couches, tvs, old Christmas decorations, just about anything you can think of..books. I got a lot of Shelbys homeschool books passed to me through a homeschool mom on Freecycle in Cartersville. Its really a wonderful thing! Check it out near you, let me know if you come across anything good. Oh, and you can set it up where you get emails straight from your group so you dont have to go to the site to look and see what has been posted. You have to be fast sometimes. I answered mine 20 seconds after the post, and just barely claimed it first! Good luck on finding some treasures in your area. Don't forget, you can post something you don't want or need anymore that you think someone else might could use too! :)

Freecycle Find!

2008-09-24T12:34:00.000-07:00

I love old furniture. I have two end tables I got at a yard sale for fourteen dollars that had burn marks and scratches all on the tops of them. But it was REAL wood. It was made sturdy. The date it was made is still on a little piece of cardboard stapled to the bottom of one of the tables. 1954 I think it says(Yes I left it there). I sanded down the tops of those two tables, stained it and varnished the tops. Good as new, maybe even better.

I didn't know what to expect today when I answered a Freecycle ad from a neighboring town here in my county. The ad said it was a China cabinet in real good condition. I thought, okay, probably a pressed board one or something. There was no picture of it posted. I got first dibs on the cabinet. I went out there to Cedartown and got it. This is what I picked up!

This young man looking to be in his late 20s came out of what I believe used to be his grandmothers house. I say this because it was packed with his grandmothers old furniture along with his and his girlfriends current furniture. He says his girlfriend likes the new looking furniture and doesnt want them to keep the old stuff. Fine by me, I will take it! He also has another piece, a hutch that matches. A lady is supposed to come and get it this afternoon, but if it turns out she doesnt find what she is expecting and doesnt want it, I WANT IT. He also has a big bookcase, desk cabinet thing that he is getting rid of too. Yes, I sure will take it. Freecycle is a wonderful thing. I did take him a dozen of my wonderful free range eggs as a token of my appreciation for giving away such a wonderful piece of furniture. He said he could probably sell the furniture, but he just doesnt want to fool with it.

It was his grandmothers furniture. So this stuff is probably pretty old. I like it. :)

Now there is some work to be done. If I do receive the other piece (which I will know by tonight) I will probably try to take off the dark varnish and put on some lighter color, like oak. Or, I might go with that whitewash color type painting technique, is that what its called? Do you know what I mean? If it was a whitewashed type white color it would match the kitchen cabinets. I don't know. I havent decided yet. Here are two more pictures of it opened up. You can see on the feet the laminate has started to chip away. That will have to be dealt with also.

2009 Browntrout Calendar, Some Questions Answered

2008-09-23T09:26:00.000-07:00

You know how on the backside of a calendar they show you each months pictures...well here is the one I was talking about. April, the one featured on the right, is one they have used before, and that ratty looking rooster on the bottom left has been used before too. I have better pictures of Pete, my Golden Laced Wyandotte rooster than that second picture. To me, that white rooster in front of the feed bag looks ratty too. I have seen some beautiful specimens at shows..and some of these just arent picture material. Thats my opinion anyway.

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I have neglected answering a few questions, and I apologize. I will do that now. :)

The dogs are Irish Wolfhounds, except for Kylie, she is a deerhound.

The peachicks don't make the loud noise that the adults do, yet. They make little sad sounding peeps that will melt your heart. I do look forward to that adult sound though. Now all I need is a Kuckaburro (sp?) and I will have that full jungle sound going on out back. ;).

Where do I get my energy I was asked. Well, it is in my blood. My daddy, bless his heart, he has so much energy he makes me tired just thinking about how busy he stays. He loves to be busy though. The other thing is I probably get energy from stored FAT??? ROFL! Had to put that in there.

I would love to make my own calendar. You know, The Pioneer Woman made her own. I could make my own too. Is it too late to make one this year? Probably. I wouldn't know where to start. I bet I can find out how to start on the internet though. EVERYTHING is on the internet....right? ;)

Oh by the way, I DO love the picture of the pair of crele bantams in the bottom right. :)

Pictures You Won't See In A Goat Calendar

2008-09-23T08:42:00.000-07:00

Do you know why goats smell? Well I do. Ever notice its the bucks that smell and not the nannies? THIS is why...

Do you know what Eddie just did? I bet some of you know. For those that don't...he peed on his beard, his whole face area is tinkled upon. Then they raise their lip up like that and sniff. Why would they do that you ask. Well, its a rutting ritual. Now why the ladies would LIKE this, I have no idea...I don't think they do, but that is what the boys do to get ready to fight and mate.

NO KISSES FOR THESE LIPS! LOL!

It seems the tables have turned on Troy for now. Eddie has become the dominate male between the two of them. He had it coming though...he was always hassling Eddie. Turn about is fair play.

Calendars

2008-09-23T08:30:00.000-07:00

You know, there are a lot of neat calendars coming out now for the coming year. I always LOVE to pour over the ones at Tractor Supply. They have Tractor calendars, Border Collies. Ones that feature Barns. Goat calendars, pig calendars, and yes, chicken calendars. I have bought several of these over the past few years. I am noticing something. Sometimes, they use the SAME picture somewhere in the new one from the last year! Now, I am not tooting my own horn...WELL YES I AM, but I can take better pictures than some of those featured in these calendars. Not to mention they take pictures of some ratty looking roosters sometimes! They need to hire me to take some NEW pictures, or have a contest for people to send in their pictures to be featured.

I mean, look at this perfect picture of Tiny, and what about that picture of Buzzbomb? Look at that fantastic picture of Rod (white Sultan) in my sidebar! There are some beautiful chickens out there in the world..so why are they showing these ratty roosters on their calendar? That is what I want to know, but probably will never find out.

Okay, rant over...lol. Now I can get on with my day with that off my chest.

Oh and no I didnt buy the chicken calendar, but I might buy the goat calendar. :) Something different this year. I have had several border collie ones and several chicken ones. Maybe a goat calendar is what I need next. Do you keep your old calendars? I do, I even kept one Mama was going to toss. It has some really COOL pictures of chickens.

I Love Sundays

2008-09-21T09:11:00.000-07:00

There is just something about Sundays. They are quiet and more peaceful than any other day of the week. I love that about Sundays.

I just caught everyone leaving from their Sunday on Dads webcam. You know I had no idea that they had the meeting at Mary and Rays house. For me, this is something I would love to be a part of. Small groups are much more inviting to me. I grew up Baptist in a church with a fairly large congregation. The small gathering is much more appealing to me. I never put it together, Mary, playing the music on their organ, the singing, but now it all makes sense! I just think this is so wonderful. I wish I was closer because I think I would really like to be a part of their meetings. The thought makes my heart kind of flutter. Thats a good thing. ;) I also had a nice little chat IMing with Ray this morning. He is just such a sweet man. Someone I really want to meet one day.

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I didn't get on the computer at all yesterday, can you believe it? Ian is working all this weekend so I have been keeping busy outside. The weather has become very nice with the drier fall-like air. My younger sister and her boyfriend came by for a few hours yesterday. They caught me out mowing the front. They were out riding on the motorcycle. It was such a nice day for just about anything. We had a nice visit and I gave them both a bag of hot dog buns to go out and feed the emus and chickens with. Erin says I should start up a petting zoo..lol. I think not. What little experience I have had with people and my animals, it just isnt worth the stress. Don't get me wrong. Some people have been wonderful with my animals, but some don't need to be around animals as they don't understand how to treat one. After they left I mowed til it was almost dark and started locking up chickens for the night. I always have a few stubborn ones that I have to remind to go in the pens.

Today I am going to get on the mower and ride along and finish all the mowing. I reckon that will take about three and a half more hours. Its not really work though. I really do enjoy it and do some of my best thinking during this time.

If I have time I really would like to plant a few things today. I have been keeping those flowers watered, but they really need to get into the ground. I will have them in today or tomorrow. The weather is so nice now I stay outside a lot more these past days.

The three new babies are still doing great. Mom is doing a great job. I have 8 of Coco and Kuckoos eggs in the incubator now. Four of the first batch of five are developing nicely. I had one I threw out a few days after it had been in there...there was this SMELL and it was not good. I candled it and saw a big dark blob in there...oh yeah...it was ROTTEN! PEW! LOL!

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I thought I would share a few pictures here today. Here is some friendly horse nose...asking can he please go out to eat now please...so I let him out.

The peachicks are just as fine as can be. I have been thinking of what to name them. I have decided on birthstone names. The india blues will have the names Emerald, Aquamarine, and Sapphire. The white one I havent settled on yet. Either, Pearl, Opal, or Moonstone. Which one do you like? I am leaning towards Opal or Moonstone because I won't be able to tell if it is a girl or a boy for a long time. Here are a few pictures I just took of them. The pen they are in is the pen I got from Sherry when I went to visit her. It came in VERY handy. It is perfect for my little peachicks. I changed the litter right after I took this picture, so forgive the messiness of their pen. The picture of the one peachick I believe to be a male. He will be named Emerald. I am working on taming them down by holding them and petting them a lot. Emerald was in the porch with me this time around.

Last but not least, I want to leave you with a picture of the guineas. I don't know if you can really call them keets anymore! I really enjoy watching this troop scout around the property. They do come running when they see me getting the feed out though. Everybody loves a easy meal. They love the birdseed I put in the feeders and some scratch grains I mix in with the chickens food. We still have sixteen of the babies.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday. :)

SHOW? NOW??? HUH??

2008-09-19T09:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday in the mail I recieved a flyer with an entry sheet for the first annual Fall show for a new club put together, the Fowl Fanciers Club. This was sent to me by Brian Blair. He was the one that I bought my frizzle cochin girls from that I showed a couple of years ago.

Fall is a horrible time to show. HORRIBLE. Fall is when everyone is molting. For instance, Kuckoo has lost all but about three tail feathers right now, Coco is in the process of regrowing back feathers, so she is bald there from mating. If you look in Johnnys pen (the black sumatra) it looks like he exploded in there and has about one twig hanging off his rear. Almost no one is in condition to show, they are shedding their old to get in the new feathers.

I have no birds to show right now, except well, maybe Buzzbomb. That would be him above. I just took this picture yesterday. Clean up his feet and put a little mineral oil on those legs, feet, wattles and comb and I got a winner. Except for one thing. You have to have a special judge for Serama. I called to find out if the show was having said judge and I am waiting for an answer. He just looks stunning. He is the best Serama I have. He is very typy, stands so upright like a serama should. His legs arent too long, his wings point down really well without dragging the ground. He isnt tame AT ALL though. Have to work on that if I am going to show him. I can tame him down by then if I have to. If I don't show, I may still go. I enjoy going to the shows. Its the day after Shelbys birthday though. Karen and Tiffany will be spending the night the night before after we go out for a day of fun for the girls birthdays. We will see how things go.

Emu Pool?

2008-09-19T08:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I drug the plastic baby pool John and Christi gave us for the emus to use since their dogs never seemed interested in using it to cool off.

Emus LOVE water when they are hot. I hose them down while they lay on the ground and flop around. I have a large plastic livestock waterer, feeder, whatever you want to call it. Only one emu at a time can fit in this, so the pool ought to be a lot of fun for three at once.

Here it sits...I filled it up...without any interest shown by the emus. Once it did catch their eye, they were curious, but very leery of it. I don't know why. So I dragged over their usual big pan and set it right next to the pool and filled it up, hoping this would encourage them to check things out more closely. Nope, that big yellow thing might get me they seemed to say. Last night I caught all three walking round and round the pool, cautiously dipping their beaks in it for a sip of water. I hope today at the warmest part of the day they will get in and I can catch them in it and take some pictures.

In the meantime...here sits the emu pool, empty for now.

Some pictures of the fraidy bunch...lol.

I never could get all three in the pictures at once, but I promise, I do have three. ;)

Fall Season Baby Surprise

2008-09-19T07:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a fine day to be outside. I sat around and watched chickens, took pictures(to be shown later), puttered about here and there. Just soaking up a Fall feeling day.

I kind of know these things are going to happen. Time just seems to slip by so fast and before you know it things have come to pass. Most of the time if someone gets to setting on eggs I will take them. This time..well, I just kind of never got around to it, and thats okay too. :)

I was doing a pass on the pens, making sure everyone had clean water and plenty of food. As I peek into Speckles harem pen...this is what I saw...

Here is a slideshow of Thelma and her three beautiful babies. This just makes me smile. Silkie moms are such wonderful dedicated mothers. If you remember, Thelma is one of the silkies I showed last February. None of the babies had bumps on their heads, so these are not Sultan/Serama (Speckles) mix. They are either silkie seramas, or possibly one of the eggs could have been Twiggys, the mixed little girl that is Shelbys chicken. I believe she is some sort of silkie/bantam cochin mix. Enjoy mom and babies. :) You will see proud daddy in a few of the pics, and an aunt Sultan in there too. MissTwiggy girl never let me take her picture though ;)

A short video of mom and babies

Slideshow of Pictures From Visit! :)

2008-09-18T10:40:00.000-07:00

Saturday's Visit

2008-09-17T08:04:00.000-07:00

Here it is Wednesday and I am finally able to make an entry about our visit to Ians dads and Christis house!

Monday the computer was not being very cooperative. Tuesday Photobucket was doing maintenance off and on all day. Rather than keep pushing it and trying to make things work I just walked away those two days. Today, everything seems to be working great, knock on wood.

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Ian, Shelby and I left out early Saturday morning and got us a big breakfast at Ryans in Hiram before hitting the road to Sharpsburg.

Thankfully, we had filled up the night before at Walmart in Rome. Get this. Now I have to get premium in the truck. We had a stroke of luck. Once we got out from buying groceries and getting a gas card to get three cents off the price it was discovered they were out of everything BUT premium. So, because thats all they had, they had to give it at the price of Regular! So, I got premium gas for regular price, which ended up being $3.76 a gallon. That is bargain today. Got to make that tank last a while, its like liquid gold isnt it?

Anyway, back to our visit. We pulled up with plenty of time for a full day ahead of visiting. After we got in and got relaxed I decided to pitch myself over a board they have in the doorway between the breakfast room and the kitchen. Yes yes, I am the worlds best at being a clutz. I knew it was there. I had been told it was there before. Darby can't get his feet up very well, he has trouble. This keeps him out of the rest of the house easily as its not hard for anyone else to step over, but it is for him. I went sprawling out on the kitchen floor. I did my shins up real good. Had to get both of them you know. It is a step up, and then also step over the board. I just stepped up for the step, not even paying attention to the board, so my foot caught on the board and over I went.

When you get older, and you fall, you dont get right back up. You just kind of lay there for a bit, contemplating how you got down there on the floor and observing how much pain your in at that moment. After a few minutes you finally get up, but you don't just spring back anymore.

Christi got two bags of ice and I sat there with my legs up on a stool with those bags on my bruised and battered shins. I really need to look where I am going better.

When asked in a joking manner why I did that...I just said,

"Well, I just wanted to go ahead and get that out of the way so I could get on with the rest of the day!" ;)

The dinner they cooked was wonderful. Fresh corn on the cob, fresh baked rolls (Christi bakes bread from scratch), potatoes all rotten, lol, thats augratin, but we like to say all rotton. They were cheesy too. Yum! Then there was the brisquet, which they were so worried it would not be as good as it caught fire, but it was fine. It didnt taste burned at all and it was so nice and crisp on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside. Christi made this blueberry cake that was so moist and delicious for dessert.

Before we ate we went out to visit the dogs and see all the fencing that John had put up in the woods. The dogs have lots of room to run and spread out. It is a really nice set up.

We sat around and talked and just had a really good time. Christi has a lot of experience with giving animals shots and stuff and she is a nurse, so she and John are going to come over in about a month and she is going to show me how to give Derby his 5 way shot for the Fall season. We also left with a plastic baby pool for the emus. They had bought it for the dogs, but they just never seemed interested in using it to cool off in.

We left and got home just before dark. I fed te animals in the dark and kept the lights on around the outside since the chickens were all waking back up and coming out to eat. After I thought everyone had about finished I turned out the lights for the night. We hit the hay ourselves not too long afterward. It had been a full and fun day.

Here are some pictures from our visit. Tabasco is a beautiful scarlet maccaw, but he is not too keen on being held or petted. I did manage to hand feed him a few goldfish crackers. He is such a beautiful bird.

If I misplaced names of the dogs on the pictures I apologize right now. I tried to get it right though. If I didnt, Christi, just let me know and I can change the headers of the pictures. These dogs are so sweet and gentle. My favorite is Rebbie. He was just magnificent looking, and so sweet too.

Enjoy the pictures. :)

Unbelievable. While I was typing this out I was waiting on the pictures I had loaded onto photobucket to load into a slideshow so I could put it as a slideshow on here...but it is still loading...and you know why? I minimized that page, and went to photobucket on a new page, and it says they are doing maintenance AGAIN! GRRRRR! Well, I am sorry. As soon as they are done fiddling around I will post the slideshow. I will do it on a seperate entry so it will show up as a new entry.

In the meantime, we are going to start school. I will hopefully get those pictures up soon.

Time For The Weekend

2008-09-12T06:19:00.000-07:00

It's finally here, the weekend. Ian has today, tomorrow and Sunday off so we are going to have a great weekend. We are going to visit his dad and Christi this weekend. Return the visit you might say. :) I have been told they are fixing brisquet on the grill....mmmmmmm! We are going to get to see all of Christi's fantastic dogs too. Its going to be a lot of fun.

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I hope everyone in Texas has battoned down the hatches and is going to stay safe. Paula is over that way. Paula you and John stay safe. Let us know you are okay after the storm has passed. Texas is usually pretty dry this time of year from what I gather, but they have had more than their share of rain and storms this year.

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After working hard on the pen and moving birds my momentum slowed. Just getting darker earlier and that cuts my time down. Yesterday was spent cleaning out waterers, getting everyone fed and watered. I made a chicken ramp for the moved chickens. They are not catching on to perching in that pen, so I am hoping the ramp will encourage them. At first I tried just placing the board in there from the ground to the perches, slanted, but the few that tried couldnt get a good foothold and were sliding backwards on it. I took some molding and cut it up into little pieces and found some carpet tacks I hadnt even opened from when I put the new carpet down in the screen porch and used those to fasten the little footholds all the way up. It seemed to work. I sprinkled some food on the ramp and two of the cochins caught on. I still don't know if they are really going to use the perches. Guess I better be putting some hay down on the ground in there to keep them all clean.

Yesterday I really wanted to work on getting a shelter pen built for the polish bunch, but it just didnt happen. Shelby woke up early and didnt feel well, so she went to lay down and take a nap. I caught up the laundry and dishes and picked up around the house a bit while she slept. This put us behind doing school so we didnt finish that til almost 5. We got it done though. Then there was only enough time to go out to feed and water the ones that needed it, then it was time to cook supper and Ian to be home. Just not enough hours in the day sometimes. I will get to it though, I always do.

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Today once Shelby and I have done school its a trip to get groceries and of course to Tractor Supply for the animals feed.

So, Sunday I will probably be outside puttering about. I did most of next weeks school planner this past week since we were going to be visiting this weekend. Since Ian is home I probably won't be posting anything til Monday.

Everyone have a very nice weekend and see yall on Monday. XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Work Work, All Week Long (Alan Jackson)

2008-09-10T08:28:00.000-07:00

I did what I set out to do yesterday. It was not easy, and there was more work involved that I thought there would be, but it is done. That is the way it is with most things though, they always take longer than you think they will. Yesterday was no exception.

Now I fed my animals earlier in the day, I know I did. I remember, but they didnt seem to remember this. Everyone came to the gate, crowding in as tight as possible making it hard to squeeze in through the gate without stepping on chicken toes. After about fifteen minutes, most lost interest.

I went to tugging and pulling on the old pen I intended to repair and move to the other side of the pool deck. As I pulled and tugged, alternating one side, then the other, the bottom came loose from the dirt it had been enveloped in from sitting there for the past year or so. I kept up the alternating, pulling one side then the other all the way through the yard to the other side. Yep, it would have been easier if I had a hand so that it could just be lifted and carried, but I don't have a hand. Ian is at work and Shelby, I guess she could have helped, but I really don't like to burden either members of my family with my own self induced work. It didnt really matter too much anyway, the bottom on one side was rotted and fell apart into pieces but still clinging to the wire because of the staples hanging on. Three of the four corners at the bottom came loose from each other. The wood was soft from being in the ground so the screws didnt hold, they tore right out. Great...this was going to be more work.

Whenever I move things around, there are chickens waiting to see what I unearthed. That is fine, but a had a half dozen meandering about as I struggled to get the pen to where I wanted it. That was aggravating. Once I got the pen in place where I wanted more onlookers showed up. They were just sure I had food. I had a bucket, yes I did. But it had my new stapler (COOL Design! It is actually made backwards, will show that another time) A new roll of wire, a box of staples and wire cutters in it.

How many times does an emu or a chicken have to look in that same bucket to actually REMEMBER that there is NO FOOD in the bucket? I couldn't tell you, because they just kept looking for hours. Even when I was finished, picked up the bucket and went out of the gate, I had gawkers and followers, wondering if maybe somehow food was in that very bucket. Bird brains! LOL

It had already rained earlier in the day. George paid us a visit. This time he pushed open the screen door and came straight to the back door and scratched at the door! Guess he really needed some company. Shelby dried him off and I tried to call, but no one was home to come pick him up. Later I found out the reason he wasnt in his pen for the day was because Lisa (his owner) had let him out to do his business, and he went off somewhere and wouldnt come back. I always keep him on a retractable leash in transition from the house to the pen, always. I don't care to be chasing down a dog through the cornfield next door to their house. Shelby and I loaded George into the truck. He sat happily in between us in the front. We got him back down to his house. There was another storm coming, I had checked the radar. So I just put him in the house. I have a key to their house because they told me just to keep it since I am the one that takes care of George while they are away so much. This day it came in handy.

So back to the pen. I replaced the rotted beam at the bottom and reattached the corners. I couldnt use screws so I had to wire it all back together. Then I set to work on wiring the chicken wire to the bottom beams. I used to just staple them down, but I found out the hard way that foxes have very strong teeth and will pull that wire til the staples pop out and they can get that wire away enough to get into the pen for a free dinner. Now I wire it all to the beams AND staple it all down. After I got that all done (OH yeah, did I mention this was IN THE RAIN???) I put new staples in areas that had popped loose all over and wired the chicken wire to the frame pieces all the way up. No fox will get in this pen. Once I was satisfied with the security of the pen I made a gated pathway from the grow pen that has the cochins, golden phoenix and serama in it. I filled a feeder and showed it to them. Most followed and were in the pen without incident. I had a few stubborn chickens, but I herded them on out. Two serama got loose since they can fly so easily, but I wasnt worried, they werent going anywhere. The emus herded them up for me and got them cornered. I intervened before anyone got stomped. It is a little cramped in the pen, so I made a little temporary fenced area outside the pen, covered so no big emu heads can browse in. My goal is to fence off this side of the yard so these chickens can free range without being killed by the emus. You see, they grew up with my layers, but their brain for some reason cannot process that it is okay for the new chickens to run about. They chase them down like an intruder. So to keep them safe they will have their own free ranging area. The same will go for the White Crested Polish, they will have a shelter pen at night in their section so that I can lock them up, like I will lock up the cochins, golden phoenix, and serama at night, in the repaired pen.

So, what are my plans for today? Probably to work in the rain some again. LOL. I am going to put together a pen for the Polish. Tomorrow, hopefully I can herd them into the three foot grow pen and take their 4 foot grow pen down, using those posts and fencing to fence the area for the cochins, etc.

I know it sounds chaotic right now, but I really do have a plan in place. ;) I even have a diagram down on paper so I dont forget what I am doing.

Sometime or other I need to think about planting my plants I still have in pots. Maybe next week, til then I will just keep them watered.

Its time for school, laundry, dishes and house cleaning. I hope everyone has a great day today. Send me some of that cool air Carrie! She tells me she has had a high of 59 and a low of 38! I will take the 59, but I am not ready for the 38.

Boo is on lookout..for what, I have no idea..lol. Probably food.

The Title of this entry popped in my head, this part of Alan Jacksons song, Good Time. I love that song. :) I got the new CD the day it came out, and I love every song on it.

PS Those arent our broken cars in the background of that last pic, thats the neighbors...we have our own broken cars thankyou, and they look much better than that...lol.

It Looks Like We Are Going To Live

2008-09-10T07:37:00.000-07:00

Remember the giant particle collider that was going to be turned on? They delayed it until today. It was turned on, and we are still here! So life goes on, everyone get back to work and quit partying like its 1999...ha, thats a Prince reference for those that don't know. ;) The world isn't going to end today, and I am glad, I still had a lot to do. ;)

Here is an article on it all...

ScientistsActivateParticleCollider

Flowers To Plant, Changes To Make, School

2008-09-09T08:41:00.000-07:00

Shelby and I had a great first day of the 8th grade yesterday. The first day is always the toughest for kids, even in homeschool. Getting back into a schedule is not always easy after a carefree summer. I do understand that, as I had a carefree fun summer myself. Now it is time to get down to it and do the work though. I am really pleased with all the materials I have for this school year. Quite a complete curriculum if I do say so myself. Here is a run down just to give an idea of what we did and will do. All of the workbooks are geared specifically for the 8th grade of course.

Vocabulary Workbook (Wordly Wise)

Grammar Workbook

Spectrum Math Workbook

Spectrum Science Workbook

other materials include National Geographics Map Essentials, Elements of Literature (her first story right off the bat, a favorite of mine, Rikki tikki tavi)There are questions and work to do at the end of each story. We are also using those Handy Answer Books I bought off Amazon. We started in the History and Science one yesterday. Every six weeks we will alternate the Science, Biology, and Physics books. These should last maybe the rest of her school years. We will also have sewing, crafts, cooking, home ec type things. Things everyone should know how to do. I still have the biggest book of every animal species known to man I think, that we will continue to use throughout school years. So many children know so little about nature and its surroundings anymore. I want Shelby to be very knowledgeable about animals and their habitats. We both enjoy this book a lot.

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I do some of my best thinking when out on the mower riding around, looking off into the distance and smelling my fresh cut grass.

I have been trying to think of a way to make myself and my animals happier. Mostly we are talking of the pigs and the goats. Mostly the pigs. You see, pigs are very strong. They are also always on a constant quest for an easy meal if let loose into the yard. This inevitably ends badly. Pig noses are VERY strong. The can smell that chicken feed inside the pens...and they can bust open a pen like they were made of matchsticks. Pushing on the chicken wire til the wood breaks of the staples and wire can't take it anymore. This of course makes me very angry and scares the chickens in that particular pen pretty badly. There is just no need for this. I feed them well, too well. So you may ask why I think they arent as happy as they could be.

When we got these pot belly pigs I had to make a quick set up for them. They had plenty of room for their size at the time. Now, they really need to roam, to be put on pasture. For many reasons. One, they need the exercise badly. Two, being put on pasture would really cut down on the feed bill. Three, I think they would be happier. So how to do this, mowing, thinking, mowing thinking.

The obvious answer is to fence off the chicken pens. You have to remember the determination and hard-headedness of a pig is a force to be reckoned with. I could give them the back three acres to roam, but put a fence up to keep them out of a small forbidden zone, and they will try to go there everytime.

Yesterday we went to Lowes and got a 330 foot roll of hog wire. It is the same kind of wire that was used to back the wooden fencing put up around our back half of the property. It is very strong. The problem is, pigs get their nose under things and pull up. So you better have some good posts in the ground, and have that fencing tied down good to the posts. I am really hoping they will just go on out back and eat grass...but you know what they say, wish in one hand and !!!! in the other, and see which one fills up the quickest. We will see. I intend on giving them a run for their money.

Ultimately what I am looking to have happen is to have the two goats, the three emus, the horse, and the two pigs on pasture next Spring, which will really cut down on the feed bill. You see, when I feed the chickens, everyone wants to eat their food. I guess it is really tasty stuff. Its always a battle to get in the gate and set the food down in the chicken pen without being run over and trodden upon with those extra mouths trying to get some of the good stuff. To solve this dilemma, I told Ian its going to be all layer pellets, all the time, for everyone. Less waste with pellets too.

The ultimate goal here is to cut down on the feed bill. The back half used to be leased to a local farmer that grew bermuda hay, so that is what grows back there. Perfect for everyone to be eating.

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I have a very silly chicken. Her name is Belle. She is from the chickens a friend of mines sister gave me that she could no longer keep. She has never conformed to living with the flock. Even when I had them all locked up together for two months, this did not sway her. She has gone back to being a front yard chicken. Her and Bubba are a solid pair and hang out alone, together all day, with the occasional visit from Gabby, who never really fit in to the flock herself. She is different, and has a lot of personality. Belle hides her eggs from me. I have found them under the front porch in some ivy before. I am sure there are places I have not found as of yet. This time, she has decided to deposit her eggs on the cement floor of the garage...next to the paint cans. Now why she decided this, I couldnt tell you. But here she is, and here is where she has put her eggs.

I was going to post a few pictures of some plants I need to get into the ground, mums and lantana, but photobucket is just really fighting me today, so I will try again later.

I have so many projects swirling around in my head right now I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. I need to get out there and DO something instead of thinking of so much to do at one time!

Have a good Tuesday...I will try and do the same. :)

George and Cool Old Stuff

2008-09-07T09:31:00.000-07:00

George, what can I say. George is quite a character. He will stay home only if his owners are home, and even then...if there is a thunderstorm coming, I will know it about half an hour or so before it even gets here. Sun could be shining, but if George shows up, you can bet your boots its going to rain.

He is a good dog. He never chases or scares any of my animals. I think some of them actually scare him more. He is the friendliest dog you could meet, and you wouldnt know it, but that little sausagy looking dog can RUN like the wind! That is why, when I am transferring him from the house to the pen, or the other way around he walks on a leash I bring with me. He usually comes back, but he can take off like a shot just full of that doggy spirit.

His owners seem to go out of town a lot. I say a lot, but it is probably more common than I realize for a family these days to go out of town every couple of months or maybe sometimes even once a month. I don't mind keeping George for them though, he is really no trouble at all.

Here is George, meeting me at the door, ready to go out yesterday morning.

This dog has a bladder the size of Texas. He WILL NOT go in the house, no matter what. Now this means when he comes out after a 12 hour wait, I myself have to do some waiting as he relieves himself as he releases a river. ;)

Ahhhh NOW I am feeling MUCH better!

Okay...lets get moving on down to the pen so I can have my breakfast...

Here is George...in his pen...you can see it in his face...he is resigned to his fate for the day. No running about today...sorry George. I will be back this evening to get you and we will walk around a bit then its in for the night with a handful of dog cookies.

Then there are the two invisible cats to feed and water. I was told their dishes were on the front porch, but couldnt find them at first. I had never been around the side of their wrap around porch. They have some really neat stuff sitting out. The cats dishes were sitting on this old wicker bakers rack...so I filled them up with food and water.

Sitting across from this was the neatest old rocker and table, with mud shoes no less. Most people would probably try to refinish this type of thing, but it had quite the charm just the way it was...and really a nice look on the old large porch, sitting there looking old and pretty.

I love this old barn type shed they have just up from Georges pen. Oh yes, I could make a really cool chicken coop house of this...

Okay, time to quit foolin' around and get back home...can you see my house from their driveway?

I still have to mow the rest of our land today...and I got to work up the school planner for this coming week for Shelby. We intended on starting the day after Labor Day, but she was sick all week with stomach bug of some sort. She is feeling better this weekend, so we will start fresh on Monday morning. I hope everyone is having a nice Sunday. Ian is off tomorrow and we will be very busy doing school so I don't imagine I will get to the computer tomorrow. Probably see everyone on Tuesday. I got my alerts down from over 400 to 160, so if I havent visited you yet, I am getting there, and will see you by the end of this coming week.

A Few More...

2008-09-06T13:22:00.000-07:00

More Parrot Pictures

2008-09-06T12:50:00.000-07:00

As far as I can tell, Debbie does most of the work taking care of these birds. I know that Tex picks up the food and pays for it. I know he put up that steel building, with her help I believe. These birds are for breeding and selling the offspring. It is supposed to eventually turn a profit. So far, it has not. That is the impression I got from Debbie. Even though these birds are very expensive to buy, you have to get them to actually breed and lay and hatch to make any money. She has a very expensive incubator, but something was wrong with it and it ruined all the eggs she had in there. I don't remember the particulars, but she does know what she is doing and it was the incubator that failed.

She is growing very frustrated and says she is about ready to move on to something else. She says this is just not making her any money and she gets very frustrated. The birds waste expensive feed. A fifty pound bag of bird seed for these birds runs about 35 dollars, and she says one bag on a good week will last four or five days. She says the maccaws especially pick through and throw out seeds looking for peanuts. You would say, oh well, why not just give them peanuts? Because too many peanuts is bad for the birds heart. Variety is better for them. She has plastic down on the concrete floor to try and minimize the mess. She joked saying no one ever comes to see the birds when she has just swept. I told her not to worry, I have the same problem at times. Someone may unexpectedly stop by and thats when I havent gotten out there that day to clean the waterers yet. I dont know what it is about birds, but birds LOVE to poop in their water. Parrot, chicken or whatever, they poop in their water. The one cockateil we have, she poops in her water, every day!

Here are some more pictures of their birds. They are very beautiful, but you better bring your ear plugs if you have sensitive ears! ;)

Good Saturday Morning

2008-09-06T08:05:00.000-07:00

Before I get carried away in my Saturday babble, I just want to thank everyone for coming to visit my little ole journal about my animals. I don't say it enough, but it does bring joy to my heart to be able to share them all with everyone through talk and pictures. I want to welcome quite a few newcomers to my little spot on the internet. I hope you enjoy it here. Everyone is always welcome to come get you a cup of sweet tea or lemonade, coffee, whatever your drink and set down over there in that white rocker on my front porch and talk with me a while. I love the company. :)

Now I promised some pictures of those keets. They are really growing so fast! Yesterday evening when I was out front mowing the parents and the babies were all scouring the other half of the front yard that I had mowed earlier. It was kind of pretty to see them all scurrying about like that in the evening sunlight. Well I did actually manage to get the pictures. It was almost dark, as you can see the sky in the background of these pictures and I had to use the flash to get good pictures..but here they all are. :)

Aren't they something else? They are just the cutest little things! We still have sixteen babies. No one else has died or disappeared for a while now. I am glad.

I know I promised some more pictures of Tex and Debbies birds today and I will deliver, but it will be this afternoon. I am taking care of the neighbors dog again for a few days and I need to go let him out and feed their invisible cats...that is, I put out food, but have yet to actually see the two of them. ;) I need to get to mowing the rest of the yard and everyone is going to need their waterers scrubbed and filled today and their feeders filled. That takes a couple of hours of my time just doing that. So, I better get off my rear and go see about George and the kitties. I will be back during my break with some bird pics. Hope everyone is having a nice Saturday morning. :)

Exotic Birds, Elvis Jr.

2008-09-05T13:51:00.000-07:00

It's Friday! The weekend is here folks. It looks like Hanna is going to spare the Georgia folks from a drenching. That is fine with me, I got mowing to catch up on this afternoon and tomorrow.

After we picked up those peachicks on Monday we stopped in on Tex (that is his REAL name too!) and Debbie. Ian and Tex work together. They are always so welcoming and friendly. They were cooking out and offered for us to stay and hapve a burger but we had plenty of leftovers from the cookout we had Sunday. I got a lot of pictures of their birds. They have a whole steel building they put up just to house the birds, and they have more in a smaller housing too. These are just some of the pictures I took. Some of the birds you think you are seeing twice, there are actually many of that particular kind. Especially the blue and gold maccaws and the yellow headed green parrots. Here are a few today...I will add more over the weekend.

This is a male greenwing and a blue and gold female maccaw. They have been trying to breed this pair for a long time to get a very rare combination of the two. I can't seem to bring the name of it to the front of my mind right now, so I will have to add that when my mind remembers, if it does that is.

The male hates Tex...lol. He will mock Tex's laugh, and tell him COME 'ERE. When Tex gets close enough he will whang his beak on the cage bars at him. I know he would take a bite out of Tex if he could. Tex never did a thing to him, but that bird hates him all the same.

AH ha...my mind just remembered, I think its called a harlequin.

I dont know what a lot of these breeds of birds are. I know chickens, I don't know exotics too well. She told me what this one above was, but I can't remember.

Below is another breed I don't know either.

I havent gotten a chance to get a picture of the guineas lined up on the fence, but maybe since I will be out there mowing I will get it today.

The peachicks are doing well. I have them in their new pen and will take pictures of that as soon as I can.

Now the bad news. I am not naming any of my silver laced polish offspring Elvis, or Elvis Jr. anymore. It seems to be bad luck for them. Elvis Jr. was feeling poorly for a few days. I gave him the vitamins and electrolytes in the water and a high protein chick starter for feed. It was just too late for him. He was too weak and didnt make it.

I have decided to go all out and hatch like a madwoman with this breed. Coco is laying an egg a day consistantly. I am going to put them in ten eggs at a time into the incubator so I will have groups and no one will hatch alone.

I WILL HAVE MY SHOW BIRDS! They won't be ready for this February, but they will be ready for not this Fall, but next Fall and the next February.

This is a very high quality show line I am trying to establish. So the silver laced will be my winter hatch.

Before I forget! Dianne and Marlene, I have sent off your packages today. :) Let me know when it gets there!

Now I have stalled long enough, its almost 5 now and it should be cooling off enough to mow the front this evening. I am off to ride my mower and ponder and daydream while I ride along. Everyone have a great weekend. I will be back with more pictures of their birds tomorrow morning.

XOXOXOXOXO

Backing Up

2008-09-03T08:24:00.000-07:00

I was so excited about the peachicks I made that entry first. Now I will back up some to things that went on around here before.

Sunday Ians dad and his wife Christi came for a visit. For those that don't know, Ians mom passed away over six years ago and we will always miss her, she was the sweetest loving person you could ever know. It took a long time, but Ians dad found a wonderful lady that loves him and he loves her. Ians dad is happy again and we are so glad. Christi is into Irish Wolfhounds. She shows her dogs regularly. Many months ago one of her dogs had pups but all died except one. They named him Darby. He has a little trouble with his front feet dragging, but he is Johns baby dog and they are just glad he survived. Darby came for a visit with John and Christi and below are some pictures of him. You may remember back around last Christmas I had posted a picture of him with Mama. He has GROWN since then!

I was very excited to have them over. Ian and I went to the store and bought baby back ribs and chicken breasts to go on the grill. I fixed potato salad and wrapped corn on the cob in tin foil with seasoning and butter inside to roast. I even got Key Lime pie and Turtle pie for desert.

We sat out on the screen porch for a long time talking and catching up. Christi loved the emus. I had bought extra bread from the clearance bread rack at Walmart so she could hand feed them. Everyone that meets them just instantly falls in love with them. The chickens were asking for some of that bread too and got their share. She loved the giant cochins especially. I am always so happy to show my animals to family and friends, I am proud of all my babies. :)

We had such a nice visit. The day couldn't have been more perfect.

Here are some of the pictures...Darby is begging his daddy for some pie, and he got some of course. ;)

Ian will be off work tomorrow so I won't be on again until Friday. I have more to show and tell about our trip out on Monday, but it can wait until then. We stopped by and saw a friend of Ians from work that lives out the way we went. Passed right by their road so we had to stop in and say hi. Last time I didnt bring my camera, THIS time I did. He and his wife are the ones that are into breeding exotic birds. I got a lot of pictures. Like I said though, I will save that for Friday and over the weekend.

Yesterday I had to kill a wasp nest in Derbys barn before I could put the peachicks set up in there. I got chased by a few and so I decided to just wait til today to finish setting them up. That is what I need to go do now, so I am going to sign off for today.

XOXOXOXOXOX

Some Questions Answered and Comments

2008-09-03T07:12:00.000-07:00

Helen, lol, you cracked me up when you said you were thinking of the wrong END! He he...also like your enterpretation of the bug gut smear on the windshield. I like it much better as a ghost coming out of the barn rather than what it really is. ;)

Diane, here is a picture of a beautiful white peacock for you. :)

Lisa, what is the shipping cost on bison these days??? LOL!

Linda (in WA), I won't be able to tell the boys from the girls for a while. The india blue boys will get that blue color, so it will be easier then, but the males still dont get their full train of feathers until they are three years old, so I have a while to wait on that beautiful sight. The white one will be especially hard to tell until it gets its train, or not if its a female.

Linda, there are many variations of peafowl. The whites and the india blues are my favorite. Here are a few pictures of some of the variations.

Just click on the link and click on the underlined types and it will take you to a picture of that type. Link below.

Peafowl

*******************

Now, on a side note. No matter how I ask this, its going to sound like I am fishing for comments. I promise, I am not. But, with that said, when I DO get a lot of comments I would like to have my journal recognized on the most commented section on the main journals page. The reason being, someone may see it that has never visited me and come to read and really enjoy my journal. With that said, with all the comments I got yesterday, why is my journal not listed, never was listed, yesterday or today, on the most commented? I know I shouldnt care, but it makes me feel like I don't count. Is that wrong? Should it matter? Probably not. I just know I like to share my joy of my animals with as many people as I can.

Runner Up

2008-09-02T11:04:00.000-07:00

Its my little contest, so I can do this if I want..right? LOL

hnkytnkwmn3 felt that because she had read my journal for awhile, but not commented before that she didnt deserve the win. I told her that fair is fair and I am just happy that my silly little stories about my animals entertain those who come by for a visit. I love to have every one of you stop by. Every one of you count. I mean that.

Now, this is what I have decided to do.

I am going to have her the First Prize Winner, then I am going to have a Runner Up too. So, Merlene, you have won also. :) Congratulations and thank you all for stopping in and guessing. Merlene, how about sending me your address when you get a chance.

I will let both of y'all know when your prizes are sent out. Most likely it will be on Friday.

Now its time for me to get off here and go see about doing some chores and playing with those new babies! :)

You know I will be sure to update pictures of them just as I have the keets. I need to update those little buggers today if I can get them to be still long enough. They are a traveling bunch no doubt. They all come to roost on the fence by the gate entrance in the evening though, all lined up in a row. I will do my best to get a few good shots of that.

Hope everyone has a nice rest of their day! Byeeeeee! :)

The Peachick Story

2008-09-02T10:54:00.000-07:00

Now then. I will settle down and tell you how I came to have these little lovely birds.

Ian had a four day weekend, so we have spent a lot of quality time together over those four days. I was sad to see him go back to work this morning. I know it is necessary though.

Now, y'all know, that Ian has said...no more animals. We have all we can afford. After we came home with the emu chicks he told me,

NO, You cannot have a BUFFALO!

This was an exaggeration of course. He was just making his point, making sure I knew what he was saying. ;)

A year and a half or so ago I got it in my head that I wanted peafowl. The search really put a damper on things when I saw the prices in the Market Bulletin. That is a free farmers bulletin newspaper that is put out in Georgia. The couple of times I went to Collinsville, Alabama to the big flea market there I was even more shocked at the prices people wanted.

So I told myself I would just have to just sit back and watch and wait. The opportunity would come eventually, one day. I would just have to be patient.

That day came Sunday. The MarketBulletin comes out every other Wednesday. Most of the time I will check it online because mine never comes in the mail on time. I didnt get mine til Friday. Seeing as we had company Sunday and I was preparing for that company on Saturday I never got a chance to sit down and look at the online version or the real paper.

Sunday afternoon after our company left (I will tell about that in another entry, tomorrow.) we were sitting around and I picked up my little newspaper and started to look at it.

THERE IT WAS!

This is what the ad read...

'08 Indian Blues and white Peacocks for sale, $25 to $35 ea. Tim White Blue Ridge

I called the phone number listed with the ad, not really getting my hopes up because I was sure the birds had to be all gone by now.

Thankfully...I was wrong. They had about fourteen left. I wanted to get the youngest ones. I have learned with any animal that if you can get them as young as possible, your chances of taming them down are much better. I always want my animals to come running when they see me, not run away from me.

Sometimes this wish coming true is overwhelming...but it is a good overwhelming to have to do the foot shuffle into the gate to keep from stepping on chicken toes. I also have to keep the emu faces and necks at bay as they are looking to see if I might have goodies in my hand, but you better believe everyone comes running, and I love that. :)

SO I got off track, sorry about that.

Of course before I called the folks I did discuss it with Ian. He knows this is really an exception to the no more animals rule. He told me to give them a call and see what they had.

We set up to go Monday up to Blue Ridge. It is said to be beautiful there. Neither of us had ever been. We figured the ride up would be really nice and relaxing. Ian drove so I could take pictures. He says I drive to slow anyway. If I don't know the roads sometimes I do tend to GO THE SPEED LIMIT! Okay, sometimes a little tiny bit below the speed limit. We had a really nice ride up. It was cloudy at first and still a bit hazy when the clouds started to clear, but here are a few pictures from the ride up.

I love old barns.

It took us about two hours to get to their house. The last stretch of road before we turned onto their road was called Old Hwy 2. It was really squirrely! I mean talk about your back and forth weaving...curving left and right, left and right...I was getting woozy! We made it without me losing my breakfast onto the truck floor, thank goodness.

Now is the time of year everyone is molting. My chickens are molting too. I wanted to take a few pictures and he said that this was not their best look right now as they were molting, but to go ahead if I wanted to. I told him it didnt matter to me, that they were all beautiful to me. Most of the adults headed up into the wooded area behind the breeding and grow pen area but I did manage to get a picture of this one white male. It was hard to take pictures through the wire. The camera sometimes wanted to focus on the wire instead of the birds, but here are the ones I took of the older chicks. These are four months old. They were the ones that were thirty five dollars. The lady also gave me a list of medications to use for them in their water and what to feed them along with a magazine to look over and keep. They were really friendly nice folks. I find that a lot when dealing with other folks that share a passion for any fowl.

Ian had to take the last picture as I was too short to see what I was taking a picture of. He is 6' 4" as opposed to my 5'4". This is a peahen sitting on three eggs. They like to nest in these nesting boxes the man had set up. The like to nest high.

I don't think things could be any better for me right now. I really do have it all now. :)

Well..except for maybe a buffalo...but maybe Lisa over on Life on a Bison Farm can help me with that? ;) Just kidding. I promise, no buffalo.

The Winner Is...

2008-09-02T10:04:00.000-07:00

hnkytnkwmn3 !!!!

Congratulations! I have three India Blue peachicks, and one white peachick! They are two months old. I have wanted to get these birds for so long. Looking for a year and a half or so. They are so expensive because most breeders won't sell a young bird. The only ones you see for sale are six months or older. An adult pair can go for as little as a hundred dollars if you are really lucky, but usually they run anywhere between 150 and 300 dollars depending on where you look. I got these four sweeties for ninety dollars yesterday.

I will elaborate on the story more in another entry, but I thought it would be fun for everyone to guess what they might be with their little twiggy heads. :) Here are pictures of them in the carrier right after we got them home yesterday. Aren't they so sweet? Their eyes are HUGE...like eyes on a deer...so deep and innocent.

hnkytnkwmn3...if you would please send me your name and address through my email...I would like to send you something special for guessing what the new addition to my little farm was. :) Thankyou everyone for guessing and playing...and Jim, you are just a hoot! You make me laugh...lol.

Final Clues

2008-09-02T09:40:00.000-07:00

Same thing...only these are shots of adult counterparts...come on...this will give it away!

Another Hint

2008-09-02T09:12:00.000-07:00

I have one white one.

Robin, you are close...keep thinking!

What Is It?

2008-09-02T08:53:00.000-07:00

First one to guess...will get a prize for it. Just a little something, nothing big. This is just to make it a lot more fun. :)

This is something new I got yesterday.

I got four of them.

Happy Guessing!

I Just Learned Something

2008-08-28T12:23:00.000-07:00

When looking at THIS site about pokeweed...I clicked on THEGIANTLEAPARDMOTH...just being curious. I have seen one of these here at my house. They are very beautiful. I guess because we have so much pokeweed, we have these beautiful moths.

I don't think I will ever eat pokeweed. The site says even after boiling three times, and each time discarding the water for fresh water doctors seemed to think it still had poison in it!

Til It Got Too Hot Today

2008-08-28T12:03:00.000-07:00

On eating Pokeweed...nope, I dont eat it. I have always been told that you have to eat it when the leaves are still young and tender or it is poisonous. I don't know that for a fact, but I reckon I could look it up, because you can find anything in the internet.

Guess what I found under the truck in the garage day before yesterday?

One of THESE

It was just a little baby. There is a picture of it as a baby on the site too. These little things have quite a fierceness about them. If I tried to pick it up it would try to bite me. Once I was holding it though, it didnt mind being held at all. I thought about keeping it. I have never had a pet snake before. It would be great to feed mice to. I always kill mice. The chickens love mice too. Remember the video? LOL. Now I am hoping the new kitten will be a mouser too. The more things that eat mice the better.

I kept it for two days. I let it go in the bushes yesterday. Something will probably eat it, but I let it go. I could have set it up really nice in the big aquarium I had the iguana in when she was alive. Then I thought about having to catch crickets and stuff right now for it. I already have enough to take care of I told myself. So I let it go.

No, I didnt take a picture of it, cause I have been slacking on taking pictures. Wish I would have though before I let it go. I never really liked snakes. But for some reason I liked this one.

What did I get done yesterday? I actually have gotten quite a bit done. I got that gate and fence wire stapled back on securely. I got the stairs and walkway cleaned off. Blocked the three cochins from getting back over there too poop up the steps and walkway. Cleaned out the cochins pen. Cut down that awful poke weed. A note to remember. If you see pokeweed, pull it up right away...don't wait for it to get big. The stalks get TOUGH! I had to hack at it with a big ole knife! I got it all cut down though. There were some smaller ones growing next to the two big ones and I pulled those up too. I got the patio area weed whacked.

This morning I got up and stayed up. It was tough, but I did it. I am gonna collapse tonight for sure. I was up with Ian at 5 am. I got the porch very clean. It took all morning, but it actually looks really nice. Between Shelby hauling hay through there in a bin, Phoenix kicking shavings everywhere, and the kitten kicking her litter everywhere...it was a MESS. Not to mention I am one of those people...yes I am one of those people that if there is a flat surface to put something down, you know, just til later, when I can put it up, then it stays there, along with an accumulation of more and more. Til its time to sort it all out and put it all away. That is the way the porch table gets.

The farrier came this morning to trim Derbys feet up. He said Derby is looking really good. His weight is good, his feet are doing great considering he foundered not long after we got him before we could get the weight off of him. He tells me, "Now thats the way he is supposed to look, he's supposed to look like a little horse, not a hog!" LOLLLL

Afterwards we always get to talking for a bit. He is easy to jaw with.

Joe sold his donkey, so he didnt have an appointment with him like we had planned. Can't trim a donkey that isnt there. ;)

After he left I took down ANOTHER protective fence around a flowering bush that is situated behind the pool. I was protecting it from the goats, but it doesnt matter now. The pool flooding the yard, and the leaking since then of the chlorinated water killed it off. I think. There may be a little bit of it not dead, so I left some of it that didnt seem brittle and dead.

Then I got my wire cutters and started cutting off all the wire attached to the posts holding the chicken wire on. Snip snip snip snip...over and over. Pulled all the posts out of the ground. The pigs love whatever that crazy weed is in there so I cut down some of it and fed it to them. They seemed happy about it. I was trying to pull the chicken wire up to roll it back up, but the grass has grown into the bottom of it and some is really stuck in there. I was trying to think of a way to get it out without hurting my hands on the wire while pulling. I thought I might attach it to the back of the mower, where you can attach stuff to pull behind it...and let the mower pull it all out of the grass.

It is sunny today. I am glad of that, but it was getting a bit too hot in the sun out there, so I am inside now cooling off. Time for a shower and some indoor chores for the rest of the day.

My list of things I want to get done is still pretty long, but I am checking them off one by one. Tomorrow I will mow down those weeds in the garden, but first I want to take a picture. Why would I want to take a picture of weeds? Because in the morning...there are a BUNCH of morning glories wrapped around all those tall weeds, and it is really really pretty. :)

I am off to take a shower..clean up inside for a bit, then I have to go out this evening to feed and water everyone. Sometimes I do it in the morning, sometimes in the evening.

Thats the babble report for today...hope everyone is enjoying their day today. XOXO

What Was I Thinking?

2008-08-27T08:36:00.000-07:00

I should know better than to try to plan to get certain things done. A whole detailed list made out and I have only gotten a fraction of it done. Why? Because we have had the remnants of Fay here for days and days. I have almost forgotten what the sun looks like it has been so long since I have seen it. The weather experts keep saying that we need the rain. I say okay, but not all at once. August is usually a dry month. I had to lay down a thick path of hay through the chicken pen just to walk through there to get the eggs yesterday. What a mushy mess of mud.

I did however manage to do some things indoors. I got a lot of cleaning done that needed to be done. Shelby is now trained on how to clean her bathroom, toilet scrubbing and all. She is doing this for an increase in allowance. That and I really need the help keeping up with things around here. If she can keep her upstairs clean that takes a load off of me. She is so funny. She asked me if she was always going to have to clean a bathroom, even when she was moved out one day on her own. LOL! I said well, yeah, who else is going to do it? She said, "How about I pay you to come do it?" LOLLLL! I told her no but thanks. She will get used to it. She is old enough to handle these new chores, and she is getting paid for it on top of that, so its not that bad. I told her it IS her mess. No one else uses her bathroom and bedrooms. She still thinks its gross...lol. Just a part of growing up. Sometimes you got to do stuff you don't like to do.

The goats, lordy those goats. Remember the contraption I had rigged up to keep them out. You wouldn't believe what they did! First, they stood on top of that little cage and bent the piece of fence down that it was attached to and got in anyway. SO...I attached the netting TO the fencing after bending it back into place. There was NO WAY for them to get in now.

WRONG!

They jumped up on the little cage and then...get this...they jumped up ON TOP of the netting I have stretched across the entire top of the main chicken pen! So I have these goofballs running around on top of this netting, and it is holding them at first. Then Troy gets too close to the part that is attached tothe back of the garage (stapled) and falls through! Well, he seems pretty happy about this development and goes RIGHT over to the chicken food and starts eating. I wanted to kill them both. I was furious! How come I can't outsmart a couple of GOATS???

Well now they are penned thanks to thier shennanigans. I have two fenced sections for Derby. One has a gate to close off half of it. That is where they are now. They have all that they need over there without getting into trouble. All the comforts without giving me a headache.

You know how you drive by a pasture on a country road...and you see all these animals grazing happily on grass?

That doesnt happen here. Here, its a rare occurance. Seems like everyone wants to eat everything but the grass! Only when I let the horse out to eat for a couple of hours will everyone go out and graze with him. Then it looks like a serene calm country picture. OH well, nothing is ever normal here, I have accepted that. ;)

Now if Eddie will just stop sticking his head through their new quarters fence...and getting it stuck, we will be alright. Troy is smarter. He hasnt done it ONCE. Eddie does it at least once a day. At first he would do it every hour or so. Let me tell you, its not easy to get a goats head unstuck from a fence hole. You have to think about the horns. Not to mention for some reason the second you PUSH to get their head through, they PUSH back! Crazy.

So I will tell you what I have gotten done outside. Which isnt much. I have plans to do a little more today. We will see if I can get it done. I did make a list, so lets see what happens.

I...

Unwrapped the protective fencing and posts from around the poor pitiful Japanese Maple tree out in the goats area. The horse had made mincemeat out of it recently and the goats were in the process of finishing it off. After cutting all of the fencing loose and pulling up the posts (now bent or uprooted) I went ahead and cut the little almost dead looking tree down. I wouldn't give the goats the satisfaction of finishing it off for me. After I cutitdown they both stood at the stump and pondered for quite some time. I had taken their toy away and they didn't quite know how to feel about it.

AND THATS ALL! Pitiful huh? Thats all I got done of the little this and that stuff that needs doing around here! The house is clean on the inside though I must say.

So whats on the list for today...regular chores inside first. You know, laundry, dishes, picking up, making beds. I bet I dont get all this done...but here is my extra chores list on top of feeding, watering, cleaning the house...

Clean out the cat pen

Clean the porch

Cut down HUGE poke weed by air conditioners

restaple (AGAIN) the wire to the fence I made to keep Derby away from the stairs (he eats them).

Pick up patio area

Weedwhack patio edge

water all my plants

Now placing bets on how many things I actually get done...this after I get done inside, feed and water. Don't forget I still have to cook supper too. ;)

I wouldn't trade it for anything though. I get to STAY HOME. I don't have to go OUT and WORK...and thats priceless these days.

Everyone have a good Wednesday, I miss you all. I am not deleting my alerts though. I still have every one, and I will come to visit, I promise. :) XOXOXOXOX

Time To Do Stuff

2008-08-23T08:20:00.000-07:00

If you visit Lisa over on Life on a Bison Farm you may have noticed she hasnt posted in a while. There is a reason for that. She is super busy tending her animals and things that need doing.

This is what I need to be doing. I need to be taking a little break from sitting at the computer and get some things around here in order.

There are some things indoors and outdoors both...that I have put off and not gotten done like I wanted to.

I have GOT to get these things done before winter and cooler weather.

So, I am going to be scarce around here for a little while. I don't want to say how long, but at least for a week or so.

I am just writing this entry so you will know where I went, and that I am fine, and will be back. If anything exciting happens I will be sure to post it when I get back.

I think I will take pictures of what I need to do, and what I did do so when I get back and can sit down and relax you can see that I really was working hard. ;)

Everyone take care...and I will see you when I get back. XOXOXOXOXOX Kelly

Outthinking Goats

2008-08-20T09:36:00.000-07:00

Having goats...is a challenge at times. You don't have to necessarily be smarter than what you are dealing with...but rather, more STUBBORN.

You may remember the video a little bit back where I mentioned the little access gate I made attached to the main chicken pen gate that I made to keep out the goats and emus.

The reason I don't want them in there is because I feed the chickens their food in the pen. The goats and emus get their food seperate. The emus are not really a problem. The goats however must be kin to the pigs, because even though they have a pasture full of bermuda grass out back to munch on, they prefer to seek out the chicken feed.

So...here we have the pretty little access gate after the goats decided they had to be in the chicken pen.

Nice eh?

I try to use things that I already have laying around here. I keep pieces of fence and things of that nature. I had this piece of fence left over from where I had made the pigs pen when we first got them. Perfect. Tall enough and everything. I cut a small entryway at the bottom. It didnt take long, and somehow Troy had figured out how to get through it. How he managed it, I don't know. I didnt see him do it, but he did. The fencing was to bendable so he was able to push through and bend it inward.

I stood there, thinking. Necessity is the mother of invention they say.

I have this little carrying cage I got with two other nicer cages a while back from a friend of mines sister. It was just a small old rusty cage that I never used for anything, but I kept it anyway.

Thinking about it...and came up with this. It already had a door in the front of it, so I cut out a door on the backside of it. I then attached the cage to the fencing the goat had pushed through, matching up that little cut doorway with the doorway on the little cage.

It isnt pretty, but boy is it functional! I have a solid doorway for the chickens that the goats won't get through. The chickens caught on right away to their new doorway. They just have to take turns going in and out, one at a time through the doorway. Here is what it looks like. Not fashionable, but very functional.

With everything else, feed prices are going up as well. I have to really control the feed distribution around here to try and keep the feed bill under control.

I love my goaties, but they have got to eat more grass and less feed.

I am also thinking about getting my two boys fixed. I don't think the traditional way of doing it is going to work for me. I was talking to Joe, remember he is the goat man that I bought the emus from...and he told me what I already knew about how to fix male goats.

Basicly you have a clamping tool, and you clamp a metal ring around the top of the testicles where it meets the body and it loses blood circulation and eventually they fall off.

YES, it is VERY painful. He said the first day they are rolling around on the ground putting up a real fuss. After that he says they get over it.

I can't do that.

Goats stink for a reason. If I got them fixed, they wouldnt stink. The boys pee on their beards...Joe says its to get themselves ready for rut. Thats the stink, the pee on the beards.

These boys have no girls, but they still are wanting to go into rut. They stink, and they are getting on the emus nerves. They don't hurt the emus but they stick their faces in the emus tail feathers and snort and snuff and now Troy is putting his feet up on them. Eddie is not so bad. I haven't seem him do any of that, but he still smells. The smell doesnt bother me as much as their behavior towards the emus. I realize eventually the emus will be so big the little pygmy goats won't be able to bother them, but right now its annoying.

I do think the boys would be better pets if they are fixed.

We don't have the money right now, so either way it will have to wait. I am going to have them neutered by a vet though. I know it will cost, but I think its the better way. I do love my goat boys and I don't want to cause them any undue pain.

Correction, Delayed Sad News, and A Guinea Video

2008-08-19T12:20:00.000-07:00

Okay, so that WAS in fact, the Lieutenant. The reason I thought it was the Sargeant is because I SWEAR I remember the last time Mama and me went in there we got a picture with the Sargeant, but I remember the man pictured. I guess I am just losing my mind...which shouldnt take long at all...lol.

Remember the little white Serama mama that had the one baby...well, the baby died on its third afternoon on this Earth. I couldn't tell you why. It was fine that morning. It was just pitiful because Mama was still trying to get it to 'wake up' and eat something. She was very mad at me when I took her little baby. It took her a couple of days but she has snapped out of her broody mother hen frame of mind. So she is back in the pen with the two Sultan boys for now. They don't mate her or bother her, but they are too big for her to beat up, so it all works out for the best.

A video of the keets and parents just finished loading, so here it is.

Just Some New Guinea Keet Pictures

2008-08-19T12:09:00.000-07:00

Aren't they just the cutest thing? The emus have grown used to having them around and don't try to eat them anymore. That is definitely a GOOD thing!

Last count yesterday was sixteen keets. I found one dead, tangled in the chicken wire that is down on the ground around the WEED garden, per a lot of goat help. I have got to get that wire rolled up. They just aren't smart at all when it comes to these types of things. They will walk right under a bit of chicken wire down on the ground and be trapped and die right there. This is what happened..never mind it could have just gone back out the way it came in. They panic and try to go up and out through the holes. I felt bad about it, but I can't watch them all day. I guess this is why they hatch so many because some just dont survive. Two have just disappeared. I don't know where they are. The mother and father are starting to take them into the field of cut wheat next door. Its not very high, but for a little keet, they can get lost in there. They do cry if they get seperated, but that is no guarantee it will be found by one of the parents and brought back to the others. They really need to stay in the fence, I sure wish they would.

Blue

2008-08-19T08:29:00.000-07:00

This video was shot back when I shot the other one of my layers coming out of the pen to free range for the day. It was muddy then, remember. I forgot about this video until yesterday and wanted to share it today.

Blue is the sweetest Japanese Silver Phoenix rooster I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. He is a gentleman. He doesnt go around jumping on the backs of unwilling hens. He will dance for them, and if they give him permission (they squat down) then he will procede. He is also very sweet to humans. He always comes running when he sees me and jumps up on the nearest thing to greet me eye to eye and be talked to and petted. He knows his name too. You will see in the last part of this video that I actually do call him over to see me and he does just that, talking to me in that sweet rooster voice. :)

I am feeling better today, finally. I am late getting out to tend animals. I won't go into any detail but Shelby and I had to have a talk about some things last night. It is all straightened out now, but I lost some sleep so I slept in just a little while this morning to make up for it. Now I got to pay the price and go out while its hot, but its still got to be done. I am going to take some pictures before I come in. Hopefully I can get some pictures of the keets so you can see again how fast they are growing. :)

Be back in a little while. I am going to see what I can do about catching up on journals some today too. If I dont see you today, I will see you tomorrow. I would really like to read up on everyone and see what y'all have been doing.

One More Entry, Then I Will Shutup For Today ;)

2008-08-18T14:45:00.000-07:00

The next morning...your gonna love this...I woke up to Sherry and Kelly's alarm clock (her 'husband' is named Kelly) (They have been together forever, but never got married). But it wasnt the old annoying buzzer, or a loud radio station playing...it was a womans electronic sounding voice...saying...

"THE TIME IS NOW 6:45! IT IS TIME TO GET UP!"

This said over and over about 6 or so times. Then it was quiet. Fifteen minutes later...

"THE TIME IS NOW 7 O'CLOCK! IT IS TIME TO GET UP!"

Too funny...I dont think I have ever heard of an alarm clock like that.

So Sherry was up, the baby was up, Kelly got up and got ready and out the door to work, Kelsey out the door and on the bus at 7:30. The baby had her bottle and back down for a little nap at 8:30 am. Ahhhh...a peaceful morning ahead of us. It was raining, that sleepy kind of rain, with a breeze outside. We had coffee and some cereal...more talking of course. We were winding down though. I told her I knew we would both think of something we wanted to tell the other about after I was on the way home, but thats okay, we can save it for next time.

We sat around on the computer for a little bit. I loaded the pictures I had taken onto her computer and she had been meaning to sign up for Freecycle so we did that. We had our delicious leftovers of the pork chops and mashed potatoes with gravy. Rebecca up from her nap and us still in our jammies lazing about Sherry took just a FINE picture of me at my BEST..lol. I was holding Rebecca. Yes, I will show it to you...I am what I am...and what you see is what you get. I started gathering things about 2:30 and was out the door a little after 3:30. It looked like rain was coming and I was in for a rainy ride home. I was right. From Pine Mountain at the look out (see pics below) across from the Calloway Gardens gift shop on it was rainy. It wasnt too bad though, nothing torrential, just a soft rain all the way home. There is this little building on the side of the road that I always pass, and always say I want to take a picture of...and of course I picked this time, when its raining to do it. Oh well..that pic is below also. I got home and it kept raining for the rest of the evening. The animals had to wait to see me til the next morning...and you better believe they were happy to see Mama. :)

Alright, here are some pictures...oh I forgot, the pictures you see of the police cars and the school buses was something I came up on. I couldnt tell what exactly happened, but there was an ambulance there. They were shuffling children onto another school bus as one was being towed away.

Blahhhh...lol, here are me and Rebecca

Lunch Out and That Afternoon/Evening

2008-08-18T13:38:00.000-07:00

We were both getting a little hungry. It was almost lunchtime. Remember I had told Sherry I was taking her out to Dinglewood for a scrambled dog. Do you know she lives 3.7 miles from Dinglewood Pharmacy...and has never been to eat there. That place is like a famous landmark in Columbus. She said it seems like she remembers her mom talking about it before though. Its been there forever...our parents all went there as kids.
Sherry wanted to get a sitter for Rebecca while we went out and had our lunch. I told her not to worry about it that she wouldnt be any trouble. She called three of her 'friends' that she babysits their kids for from time to time...two didnt answer...one had a lame excuse. We were only going to be gone about an hour...I mean really. This baby is good as gold and she is just no trouble. It all worked out for the best though because we took her on to Dinglewoods with us. She took her a good ole nap the whole time we ate. She woke up just in time to have her picture made with the Sargeant.
I politely waited at the end of the lunch counter until he wasnt jostling dogs and dishes and chili. I asked him if he could just take a minute to have his picture with a sweet baby girl. He was all smiles and was more than happy to. We started something because as soon as we were done we had a grandmother and her two grandaughters lining up and asking for a picture too...lol. I am sure he is used to it. This place is a big deal.
Sherry said she had never been there, but she knew she would be back. We both just ate that scrambled dog like it was the best thing we had ever tasted in our lives. As far as hot dogs go, I have to say, its just mana from heaven. ;) If you back up you can see a picture of a scrambled dog. It is still served in that type of dish too. The friendliest folks you could ask for in there. I got me a real cherry coke too. Thats coke, with cherry syrup added, like they used to do it.
After we got done eating we went on back to the house. We wanted to stop at the River Walk and take some good pictures of Rebecca but it had gotten overcast and started to sprinkle. Since neither of us had gotten much sleep, with a full tummy to boot, we were both feeling like a nap. I told her I didnt want to waste our visit time napping though and she agreed. We cranked up the coffee pot and got some good ole coffee going in our system and we spent the rest of the afternoon talking away about anything and everything.
Her older daughter, Kelsey, she is 8 or maybe its 9, she was at school all day, so there was not one disturbance or interruption the whole day. We talked freely without her butting in constantly and talking over us all day, like she tends to do. Its so hard for two adults to talk when a child is constantly in the middle talking and jumping up and down and whirling around the room and asking a hundred questions. I know Sherry can work around it, but I am not used to this. Shelby was never allowed to butt in and talk while adults were talking like that, not for hours on end for sure.
When Kelsey got home from school it was like this briefly, but she scooted down the street to a friends house until suppertime so it wasnt too bad. Sherry fixed the best supper. I was just raving over her pork chops! You see, I dont fry a lot of meat anymore. I know it tastes good, but its bad for you. I dont use salt much either, cause its bad for you. I am already on two blood pressure medicines...so salt and grease are something I try to keep to a minimum. Well she loads her pork chops up with Lawrys seasoning salt and salt and pepper and then cooks it in a pan with....not oil, but butter! OH MAN...they were sooooooo gooooood. Why does everything that is so tasty like that have to be so bad for you? She also made mashed potatoes with brown gravy and corn and green beans mixed together, and also cooked up some hamburger patties...they were tasty too, but ohhh those pork chops. We ate the rest of them for lunch the next day too, and they were still just so good!
Okay, here are a few more pictures...and then I will make another entry about the next morning and my trip home.

Lets Go Back A Week From Today

2008-08-18T13:12:00.000-07:00

I made an entry...and get this...I was CUT OFF from AOL! I am on DSL...not dial up. It happened three times! So this is coming to you via word pad...cut and paste style, just in case, so I don't lose everything I typed...again.
So, lets go back a week and start from there. I got up at 4:30 am to get ready to hit the road to Sherrys. I was so excited I couldn't go to sleep and only ended up sleeping like three and a half hours! I later found out Sherry was the same way, she couldnt get to sleep either because she was so excited that I was coming. Its always like that for me though, I just get worked up and my mind is racing about the next day and I can't shut down. I woke up at three thirty and tried sleeping another hour, with no success. When the alarm went off I was still awake. I got up and got myself ready, showered, makeup, hair done, the whole works. I don't do the make up and hair unless I am going somewhere. I got the pigs fed, in the dark. They were ready too. They are always ready to eat. I got the food out for the emus and goats. They weren't up yet, but I know they found their breakfast when it got daylight. I wanted to get on the road by 6, but as usual, I get a late start. I wasn't going to sweat it too much. This was a fun leisurely trip, not a stressful on time thing.
It was a nice ride down Hwy27. Not a lot of traffic, but then there never is. Its just a two lane highway out in the middle of nowhere most of the time except through Carrollton. There was a chance of rain, but it seemed to be holding off for me. I did go from partly cloudy skies up near home to cloudy by the time I got down to Lagrange. I decided to hit I185 and cut off a little time instead of going 27 the whole way. I got there about 9:50 am.
There was much hugging and we were both so happy to see each other. Sherry and I have been friends since we were thirteen years old. We have been through good, bad and downright ugly, and still we have come through still best friends through it all. We can go for months without talking and just pick right up where we left off like it was yesterday. I love that about us. We tell each other things that no one else knows, nor would we ever tell anyone else these things. I do love her very much.
I got in the door and you know the first thing I had to do was see that new baby. :) She was sitting in her pink bouncy seat looking so pretty. Sherry got her out and I held her a lotwhile I was there I have to tell you. She is such a good baby. Her name is Rebecca Lynn.
I had been buying a pack of diapers a week when we went to Walmart each week to get groceries. I ended up with three packs of 50 size 2s to take to her. She was so surprised. Turns out she was just finishing up size 1s and she said they were really too small so the size 2s were welcome by Rebecca and Sherry both. I remember that was such a burden on the grocery bill having to buy diapers every week when Shelby was little. I told her I knew she probably had more than enough clothes and I had already sent a package to her a couple of months back with some things in there that she still needed like bibs and onesies.
We sat around all morning and played with Rebecca, and I fed her and changed her diaper and we talked our heads off of course. ;) Here are a few pictures from that morning...in that one pic Rebecca has her size 2s on and seems to love the extra room.

Plodding Along

2008-08-14T16:00:00.000-07:00

My older sister Patti emailed me, asking if I was okay. It's because I usually would have updated my journal with my trip to see Sherry. I am okay, I just came down with a really bad sore throat that is easing into congestion and drainage now. Last night I woke up at 1 a.m. and every swallow hurt, but you know how it is, if you dont swallow long enough, your throat dries, and then it hurts even more to swallow. I finally got back to sleep about 4 a.m. and then the alarm went off at 4:45 a.m. to get Ian up for work. I did, barely, and layed right back down. I woke up again this morning about 8:30, but still felt bad so I went back to sleep and the next time I woke up it was just after 12 p.m.! I got on up. I had to. I had to go get groceries today. Animal and people groceries. As long as I kept moving I was okay...but now I am home...and I was doing good to put up the cold stuff.

So I feel like a slug, with the slime and all. I am going to lay down til Ian gets home from work. I fixed some home made chicken noodle soup last night, so thats what we are having tonight too. Thank goodness for leftovers.

I am behind on laundry, cleaning, dishes, animal tending, and journals. Tomorrow I will spend a lot of time catching up on all of these things. Right now, I feel like I need to lay down and take a nap, til say oh...I dont know, tomorrow morning?

I do have a lot of pictures and a lot to tell about visiting Sherry, but I am just not up for it today. Maybe tomorrow. I did have a nice time though and we were able to catch up without a lot of interference...neighbors, Kelsey, distractions were not there.

Night night y'all...tomorrow is another day, a fresh page, a clean slate. I will see what I can do with that after some good rest.

XOXOXOXOXOX

Getting Ready

2008-08-10T07:00:00.000-07:00

Good morning. :) I am going to be getting ready to go visit Sherry today.

I talked to her for just a little bit yesterday to firm up what time I would be there. It takes three hours to get to Phenix City from here so I reckon I will try and leave no later than 6 a.m.

I have to stock the animals with plenty of food and water today, and even then I will have to put out food before I leave for the pigs, emus and goats. That will keep them happy til I get back Tuesday evening. They will get supper instead of breakfast Tuesday, but as long as they are fed every day, they don't complain...too much. ;)

I got to get the house picked up and the laundry done, I hate to come back to a messy house and a pile of laundry, plus I need some of the clothes in the dirty clothes.

Then I got to shine my truck up and clean it out. I always like to have my truck looking good when I go on a trip, it just makes me feel good.

Above all I have to remember to take my camera and extra charged batteries. Sherry wants me to try and take some really good shots of Rebecca (her new baby) and then maybe get some developed, then get duplicates of those. Ones that she can send to relatives and friends.

Well I have sat here long enough...I will be back online Wednesday...until then, y'all don't have too much fun without me! ;) See ya when I get back. XOXO

Nic is feeling better

2008-08-10T06:34:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let the good folks praying for Nic know, that he is up and running and playing at the hospital! Our prayers worked and he is feeling better. Still don't know for sure the details of what was happening to him. I am just glad he is feeling better. :)

Nick Is In The Hospital

2008-08-09T07:49:00.000-07:00

Everyone please pray hard for Nick, Carrie's son. He is in the hospital and it sounds serious. Go HERE to her journal. Cory, her husband just made an entry to let everyone know what happened.

Pray for that little boy to be okay. Pray for the whole family, please.

I dont know what else to say. I wish I was closer so I could be there for support. Lets just all pray hard together, please.

Apologies...I forgot that her journal is set to private. Carrie is my friend that caught the chicken fever from me. She has new chicks growing up at her house.

If you would like to leave a message for her on here I will be sure she picks it up. Thanks everyone. Sorry for the confusion.

Life and Death Here On Our Farm

2008-08-08T12:02:00.000-07:00

Ian woke up early before me yesterday morning. He took the dog out. Bonnie and Clyde's house is right there next to the back door. As he stood waiting for Tip to finish her business he noticed a grim sight.

He came back in with the dog as I was waking up. He said to me in a sad voice, "One of your little chickens is dead."

He doesnt remember all their names. I immediately snapped up and went to the back porch. Bonnie had died. I didn't have a clue as to why. She was fine the day before. I usually feed and water in the morning, but it was so hot that day I went back and put ice cubes in their water, along with Phoenix's water too. She was fine. Sometimes its just a mystery. Poor Clyde. He is alone now, and he is so so very tiny I don't have anyone I can put in there with him. He is so small you can hold him in the palm of your hand and he fits. He looks so sad today. I hold him and give him love, but I know its not the same.

They were like two peas in a pod. You couldnt seperate them. Their picture together can be seen on my sidebar. I was never able to get any fertile eggs from them as Clyde was not mating her. He was just not aggressive like that towards her. We will miss Bonnie so much.

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On the very same day...as I sat there holding Clyde I kept hearing a peeping. I just assumed it was the baby pigeon. It makes a lot of noise all day long and keeps the parents busy feeding it. Ian was working on the mower so I was going to go down and see what progress he had made...

He said later (he was joking) that after all the work he had gotten done at home that day he was going to have to go back to work just to rest...lol. He fixed some loose shingles on the roof, fixed the mower, changed his oil in his car, and wanted to clean the pool, but...it started raining later that day.

Back to my peeping. I hear it, but its coming from the Sultans pen. I had put the white Serama hen in there because she was being so darn mean to any chicken that was close to her size and just not getting along. Before that, she had been in a pen with Speckles. Speckles is in a community pen with two silkies, two sultans, and Twiggy, all girls. I tried to put the white Serama hen in there, but she was going to be top dog and beat everyone up, so that wasnt working out.

When a hen has been mated by a rooster several if not many times by one rooster, that sperm stays with her for up to about three weeks. So any eggs that are formed and fertile, would have been his.

She was sitting on an egg...gone broody. The sultan boys are too big to mate her, and believe it or not, she held her own in there, she wouldnt let them bother her at all. She would pull on their crests and they would freak out and leave her alone. Sultans are kind of the sissy bird of chickens...lol. So, she was sitting on an egg..I didnt think much about it. But it sure did hatch! That was the peeping I heard! She had her a baby!

Well I couldnt leave them in there. The bumbling Sultan twins would step on the baby and not even know it. So I fixed her up a brooder box up on the porch. Now you know she put up a stink when I reached in for her and her baby. I got them without any bloodshed, the blood being mine. She has sat on the baby a lot to keep it warm, but it needs to get out long enough to have some food and water. She seems content to let the baby stay under her. This morning I took the baby out from under her, with protest from her. I dipped its beak in the water and it took right to it. Poor thing was thirsty! After drinking the water I set the feed down in front of mom so she could show the baby to eat, and she did. Here is a short video of just that...before the baby slipped under mom again. She never had a name, so I guess we will call her Mom.

Along with a picture of Mom sitting on baby, and then a picture of baby after getting some water.

As I said before, there came quite a downpour yesterday. I mean it was coming down in buckets. The back yard up by the gate was flooding. The wind was blowing hard and it was thundering and lightning something fierce.

The baby pigeon is still too small to fly up onto the roost so it was getting soaked and the air had cooled considerably, not to mention the floor of the pen was getting flooded. I grabbed an extra cage out of the garage. ( A must for emergencies like this) I brought it up to the porch and layered it with fresh bermuda hay.

As I stood in the covered walkway from the garage to the back porch...watching it pour, lightning cracked down right where I was going. How scared do you think I was? I was counting on that old saying...lightning never strikes in the same place twice. I said a small prayer to please not get zapped. Just to give me 30 seconds. I ran out into the pouring rain and opened the pen, grabbed the baby first, then the two parents, hustling all three back to the safety of the porch, I was drenched, and pooed upon. Not really all that unusual for me...lol. I put all three in the cage and got them some fresh food and water. This morning everyone is fine, and a bit more dry too.

I am somewhat behind on reading journals, not too bad, but I will have to catch up tomorrow and Sunday morning. I got some things to catch up on around here today.

The weather is FANTASTIC today! Its a cool 81 out with humidity at only 57 percent. How is that for an August day in Georgia! I will take it. Supposed to wake up to temperatures in the upper fifties here tomorrow morning, I can't wait, its going to feel so good. Everyone have a great weekend...I will be mowing now that the mower is fixed! :)

Meme

2008-08-06T12:59:00.000-07:00

Just snagged this short meme from over at JustPlainBills...

The 5 List

5 things you collect = hummingbird nick nacks, chicken and rooster stuff, shells, feathers, and sometimes...I collect dust..from sitting here at this computer too long. ;)

5 things about your hair = Real color is brown, fake color is blonde, long, thick, unruly at times.

5 things about your pets = Just Five?? They are feathery, furry, hairy, and sometimes dirty, and smelly...lol.

5 things in your junk drawer = wire, pliers, tent stakes, rope, staples.

5 things you love to eat in summer = ice cream, shaved ice treats, cold fruit, anything off the grill, salads.

Last Pictures For Today

2008-08-06T12:48:00.000-07:00

I Am Just OFF Today...

2008-08-06T12:39:00.000-07:00

I wrote down all the best pictures, the numbers to the pictures...except I did it off the camera's program. So once I backed up the pictures to a folder, the numbers werent the same. DUHHHH...so when I loaded all those pictures in the last entry...some of them werent even the right ones...lol..that is why some are blurry...they weren't supposed to be on there...so..I am loading the ones I was supposed to now...here are a few...

Correction, New Keet Video and Pics

2008-08-06T12:19:00.000-07:00

Last night after I had gone to bed my older sister called me and left a message, She lives in Columbus, and actually works at AFLAC, the building across from Dinglewoods.

I don't know why I thought the Leutenient was dead, but he isnt. BIG OOPS! She said he is about 80, but is a big deal in Columbus and she knew if he had passed on she would have heard about it. I talked to Mama and she said he had retired. Patti says he has a place over near the airport at a kids fun type place. She says he still stops in to Dinglewoods sometimes.

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It took me two and a half hours to get this short video to load properly, along with some pictures of the keets I took yesterday evening. They were already settling in for the night so I didnt get any picture of them out roaming. They were roaming this morning with the adults but I was busy filling everyone with fresh water and food for the coming heated day.

I actually got some quality time in with all my babies yesterday as the sun went down. I had cooled down in the pool for awhile, then I got me a chair and sat right out in the middle of everyone. I had two of my old girls drinking drops of water off my shorts as they drip dried. The emus were hanging close. The goats were there as I scratched their backs. I gave Eddie a nice backbone massage...he got that half closed eye look. It must have felt really good. All my gals and guys were hanging around me, we were just all chilling as the sun set. So calm and serene...really nice way to end the day.

Pete was following me around so I took a picture of him. :) He still hasnt got much for butt feathers..but I still think he is a handsome young man.

Time for me to get a shower. I got to drop off some eggs to some neighbors down the road and get to the feed store.

Its really hot out, I hope everyone is staying cool.

Third Dose Of Me Today

2008-08-05T10:51:00.000-07:00

So I am pretty erratic with my posts arent I???

I go from not posting for days on end to posting three in one day. Oh well, its all or nothing right now I guess! ;)

Shelbys school books just arrived a little while ago! For those that don't know, I homeschool Shelby. Don't worry, I know I mispelled the Sgt and Ltnt (?) earlier...I was just too lazy to look up the correct spelling. When its time to get serious and down to it, I do what is right.

I still have to order a Spelling/Vocabulary workbook as the one I ordered from Amazon is not going to be available..ever, according to them. I also need an 8th grade Language Arts book. I did find some other good workbooks on BarnesandNoble.com and TheSchoolBox.com. When I go down to visit Mama and take Mocha to the vet on Friday I will stop in at that School Box store and see if they have what I want instead of ordering and waiting in the mail. Not that it matters too much, we won't start til after Labor Day. I am old school when it comes to when we start. All the schools around here are already in session! What happened to three months off for summer vacation? Glad we dont have to conform to public school schedule anymore.

My Grandmama had this book she gave to me last year. She thought it would come in handy for Shelbys schooling. Turns out there is a whole line of these books. The one she gave me was The Handy Geography Answer Book.

Do you know Shelby retained more from that book (and so did I for that matter) than any other book last year? The format of the book is fantastic! It poses questions to peak your interest, and then gives you an explanation. It is easy to read and keeps your interest up easily. So...what I did was order MORE! It is also easy to make a test sheet from this type of format...which is what I did last year. Its more work for me, but I dont mind at all. So her test sheets will be made up each week from what she reads each week out of each book.

Here are those wonderful interesting books...

I know no matter what I do, school is still going to be...well...school to a teenager, but I think she will really get into these books. She even requested the History one. She says the books we used last year were boring and she didnt like to read it. They have an Ocean book and a Dinosaur Book. Both of these are areas of much interest to Shelby so I will order at least one of those soon for her free reading time. I always like for her to have something educational but what she has a big interest in to read to break up the day. No pressure on these, no tests, strictly for fun.

Well, I am going to go see what needs folding and hanging and putting away. I got to go see what all y'all are up to in between loads of laundry.

I am getting my alerts again...I hope everyone else is too.

I will leave you with some pictures of todays daytime heat along with Bubba in the bushes trying to stay cool. He was under the front porch til I called him out.

crops across the street (soybeans I think)

Coming soon...pictures of 19 roaming guinea keets with the three adults! I can't keep them contained anymore...they are out and about.

Yesterday Was Cancelled

2008-08-05T10:17:00.000-07:00

This is all that got mowed yesterday. I was all set to mow. You know, that frame of mind where you are just ready to cruise around and breathe in the fresh air and get some sunshine. Look off in the distance and just enjoy the view while toodling around. Is that a word? I don't know, but we use it here.

See that last tree going out toward the road? That is where the mower stopped moving. There I sat. I got off and took a look under the tractor itself. The spring had come loose from the pedal you see. I THOUGHT that would be an easy fix. So I plod back to the house and get me some needle nose pliers thinking I am gonna fix it right up. Never mind there was a reason this spring came off. I would just put it back and get back to mowing. I got back out there and stuck my hand underneath to try and find the spot where the spring was supposed to hook back up. I took the needle nose pliers and held on and stretched it, trying to hook it back up. This was not as easy as I thought as the deck was very much limiting my space to work. I couldnt get it hooked, so I gave up. Pouring sweat and itchy from the grass and dirt sticking to my legs and knees I went back in. I called Ian and told him the tale. He tells me there has to be a reason the spring came loose.

Well there was. When he got home last night he saw the REAL problem. The transmission belt had broke and went whipping around under there knocking the spring to the gas pedal loose.

There was no other way but to push it back up to the house, so thats what he did. He got it up onto the pavement...

Dropped the deck...

(I busied myself cleaning the dirt and grass clumped up on the deck while he worked loose the pieces of belt caught up in the pulley wheel)

So now we need to get a belt and he has to find the time to put it on so maybe I can get this place mowed on Saturday and Sunday.

As you can see, I hate to weedwhack...and did not..thus the scraggly grass along the pavement...lol. I want that roll along edger from Lowes...that would be NICE!

So...this gives me every excuse to sit inside and stay cool...do some laundry, putter about in the house..instead of going out in the broiling heat. Its supposed to be brutal today and tomorrow.

Dinglewood Pharmacy

2008-08-05T10:00:00.000-07:00

When I was a child growing up in Columbus, Georgia we used to stop at Dinglewood Pharmacy for a scrambled dog.

Now you might say...what is a scrambled dog?

There is a rich history in Columbus. It isnt like Atlanta where everyone is bustling about and has no time for anyone. Even though it is the second largest city in Georgia, it still retains its small town feel in most of the area.

Dinglewood Pharmacy is one of them. It isnt just a pharmacy. It has an old fashioned lunch counter. A man everyone referred to as 'The Leutinent' ran the lunch counter for many years. He had a secret recipe for the chili that is still served on a scrambled dog today. He has since passed on, but 'The Sargeant' now runs the counter.

Remember as a kid getting those PINK hot dogs? Well this is what they serve, smothered in the chili with onions, pickles, mustard, ketchup and oyster crackers.

I want to take Sherry out for lunch there when I go on Monday. One thing about places like this in Columbus. They dont change. I like that. This place holds many good memories for me and I thought I would just write a bit about it today.

Everyone has fond memories of something like this. Do you remember?

Here is a picture of my favorite...a scrambled dog. It is always served in a dish like this too.

A picture of the lunch counter and surrounding tables...don't you get that old time feel of days gone by? Its still just like this.

When I was sixteen years old and we moved away from Columbus, leaving behind generations of our family history there...I didnt really get it...but now that I am older, I do. There are certain things I miss about old Columbus. I think we should take a tour around a bit while we are there. Take a look around the old neighborhood...go down to Lakebottom Park if its not too terribly hot. I used to go there a lot with Mama and play on the swings and slides.

Still Here

2008-08-04T07:48:00.000-07:00

Its Monday...was a fantastic weekend. Ian was home and so that lifted me out of my funk I had been in for all of last week.

Didnt want anyone to think I had fallen off the face of the Earth, although I do see we are having serious alert issues with AOL. So if someone did fall off the face of the Earth we wouldnt know it! I knew things were falling apart. I knew I wasnt getting all my alerts AND I noticed that the comment count on the most commented section on the main journal board was always way off too.

I will pop in to journals when I can. I got three days of mowing and weedwhacking ahead of me, and thats on top of all the regular indoor and outdoor chores of cleaning and animals. I will be plenty busy, but I like it that way. It makes me feel good when I accomplish a lot.

I was told we are being ignored by AOL journal editors? No one is responding to the complaints. What do we have to do to get their attention I wonder.

Everyone have a good week. I will hopefully have plenty of pictures to share with you soon. XOXOX

Mud/Sherry Visit

2008-07-30T11:27:00.000-07:00

I don't ever remember so much mud in July...and its almost August. By now the ground should be hard as a rock and dust flying around. This may not seem desirable to some, but it is when I am trying to go in here and get the eggs and find myself slipping and sliding around. Not to mention the smell when things stay so wet. Its not like this when its wet in the wintertime, cause its cold. Just as I think its going to dry up another round of thunderstorms comes in. I guess I should be thankful since Georgia is supposedly in a drought. Some areas moreso than others though.

Above it a video of me letting everyone out for the day. As you can see, its muddy. In case your wondering what that little white fence is attached to the gate, its a smaller doorway for the chickens to get in and out without the goats and emus being able to get in there throughout the day. I just bring it across and strap it to the pole and walah...just chickens can get in.

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I talked to Sherry on the phone Sunday for a while. I had talked to her for a few minutes on Saturday but things were too hectic around there for her to talk without distraction so we set up for me to call her Sunday at 1.

We talked about it and decided it would be a good idea for me to come and visit on a Monday and Tuesday. Ian will be off and Shelby can stay home. Sherry said she was welcome to come too, but I told her truthfully Shelby is a teen now and would just get bored with us old ladies. ;) She agreed. Also, Kelsey will be back in school so she won't be clinging to Sherry and wanting to be right there wherever we may be and go. Its just easier to visit and talk when its just Sherry and I and not a talkative 8 year old. I thought this was a great idea, and so I will be going to visit and spend the night with her August 11 and 12. Its a three hour drive so I will just spend the night there and come back the next day.

I do miss her and I know with the new baby, well its just not going to be practical for her to come up here. It will be that way for a long time to come now. So if we are going to see each other I will have to go there. I dont mind. I dont go anywhere much anyway, so it will be good to get out on the open road and be with my thoughts. Once there I know we will not shut up the whole time I am there. We are both chatterboxes. ;)

I dont have a lot going on today. I haven't felt up to snuff the past few days. I don't know what it is, I cant really put my finger on it. I need to snap out of it though. I am going to shower and go to town I think, just to get out. I need to pick up feed for the animals anyway.

Have a good Wednesday everyone. :) Checking out this new map thing I saw Dad using...lets see where everyone is coming from that visits me! :)

Create your own visitor map!

Keets Find A Bug

2008-07-29T09:03:00.000-07:00

When the keets were two days old I was watching them and one found a big bug. Another keet saw it too and a tug o' war ensued. It was quite a battle on a tiny scale! Unfortunately I didnt have my camera out at the time. This short video is not as good as that bug find, but still, they really go for the bugs. :)

This was at four days old.

Apparently the dad has his roll the first couple of days and then is free to roam leaving mom in charge of everything. Here are dad and the other male guinea having a bite to eat.

Yesterday was a full work day outside, but I made it through, staying soaked from dips in the pool helped make it tolerable. It got up to 96 yesterday with a heat index of 115.

I redid the nesting houses nests and put up some old sheer curtains over the fronts of the two so it would provide privacy without getting too hot in there. It seemed to work. I got more eggs in there yesterday than in the dirt on the chicken house floor. I hate when they do that. I am going to put down some chicken wire on that dirt floor today to discourage laying in there. Its very frustrating to have to throw away eggs that get rolled around in poo and dirt.

I did the usual feeding and watering. I put some two liter bottles of frozen water into the water pails and buckets to keep the water cool for the animals.

I am in the process of setting up pens for the individual breeds. I have those moveable pens I will put the show birds in. If I keep the pens moving over the grass they won't get dirty. I managed to get Elvis Jr. and the other two young Silver laced Polish into one of those pens yesterday. I will stretch some netting around the pen today. You cant be too careful. A predator can reach in between those bars and snag a chicken. They are still small, so it could kill them if that happens, even if the predator is not successful in pulling the body out of the pen. Everything has been quiet lately, so I am not too worried, but it pays to be prepared, just in case.

I mowed most of the back yesterday afternoon. I left a good patch for the emus, goats and horse to graze on. Then I started on the front but a storm was coming in. I saw lightning off in the distance so I didnt get to finish that half of the front. I got to get some more GAS (ugh) in the can anyway. That has become a dirty word hasnt it. Whenever GAS is mentioned it makes a person flinch, maybe even become sick to their stomach.

I hope everyone is having a nice Tuesday. I am going to go and make the most of my day now. I got plenty to do, and I am never done, so I am going to get going. A BIG HUG from me to you. :)

Time To JUST DO IT

2008-07-28T09:09:00.000-07:00

I am not going to sit here and sugar coat things for ya...there are days I wish I didnt have to go outside. People, it is HOT. Its HUMID. Its in the mid nineties here already and the heat index last time I looked was 112.

So I have sat here and read journals, and made entries, drank coffee and basically hem and hawed over going out there. I have to go out there now though.

Thank goodness we have a pool. I will be dipping myself in it probably every ten or fifteen minutes just to stay cool.

I don't know whats worse...July going on August...or January and February. Either way, these four months are the most brutal for me and for the animals I have and care for.

They are depending on me though...so out I go. See y'all tomorrow if I haven't melted. ;)

Ask A Goat What Time It Is

2008-07-28T07:51:00.000-07:00

Ask a goat what time it is...and my two will always tell you...

IT'S TIME TO EAT!

I just really need to get one of these shirts...if you have ever been around goats, you should know exactly why. When its time to eat, they will put their front feet all over you to try to get to that feed bucket you are holding.

Here are Eddie and Troy...doing what they love the most...eating, and happy about it too.

Its been a while since I posted pictures of the two of them. Their horns have really grown and they have really filled out. I love my goaties, they are a lot of fun.

I finally got a picture of the baby pigeon now. It grew so fast! Its too big for mom and dad to sit on now. They feed the baby by eating the chick starter and drinking some water then regurgitating it back into the chicks mouth.

Mocha

2008-07-28T07:44:00.000-07:00

Mocha is growing and getting some weight on those bones. Her face is healed up. She doesnt have a limp. Now if I can just make her realize that her litter box is NOT a bed AND a pee and poo spot, we will be doing great! I put towels down for her to lay on because they are washable. She will poo on that too. She is very confused about going to the potty. I had bought her a nice cube cubby hole bed, but she messed that up early on and so she can have that when she is a little more grown up. She is just as sweet as sugar though. I still can't believe I have a cat now. LOL

Pictures Of The Baby Keets and Mama

2008-07-27T17:09:00.000-07:00

Will have to comment further later...I had a whole thing typed out and then I got an OUT OF RANGE...grrrr...from DSL...tried to recover, but couldnt get it to work. This was earlier today around lunchtime. Now Ian will be home in a few minutes, but I wanted to get these on here anyway so you could see those babies! :)

Talk About Mouths To Feed!

2008-07-27T17:05:00.000-07:00

Four days old today. I still can't get a good count...somewhere between 20 and 22!

The Babies Are Hatching!

2008-07-23T12:22:00.000-07:00

BIG NEWS!!!!

Those guinea eggs are now guinea keets! Here are some pictures. Dad standing close by and ever protective Mom.

I have been outside (MAN is it humid) putting up metal posts and stringing the black netting on the posts to give them a safe place. I am afraid the emus may stomp the babies if they see them running about.

They are SO CUTE!!!

You can see in the last picture one is dry and one is wet...so some are still hatching. :)

Growing Silkies From Seed

2008-07-23T09:05:00.000-07:00

Did you know you can grow silkie chickens from seed? Look, here are some blooms opening right now...

Right before my eyes...another bloom opened!

Uh oh, this one is over ripe! It fell right off the plant! ;)

Okay, so maybe I didnt grow them from seed! These are those same weeds growing in the garden area taking over everything. If only they did produce silkies then I wouldnt mind so much! ;)

Give A Chicken A Chance

2008-07-23T08:27:00.000-07:00

I was reading the Bedlam Farm Journal this morning. I subscribed to it, so I get alerts for every entry. One entry in particular made me flinch. Read here and you will know why.Coquette

I know chickens are not for everyone, but you have to give them a chance, and you have to know how to lure them in to be friends with you and enjoy your company.

Usually, you have to get them very young or as a chick, and pay a lot of attention to them. Hold them, talk to them. Give them treats like I did Phoenix. Phoenix gets a plate of lima beans or I will cut some corn off my cob, if we have cornbread he likes to have some on a little plate of his own.

But food is not the only way to a chickens heart. All chickens love to have under their wings, in the pit rubbed. They love to have the back of their neck scratched.

I have so many stories of proof that chickens do love humans and want their attention and affection.

Take Blue for instance. He is always up for my affection. He will make the sweetest little cooing sounds to me and then I give him a good massage under the wings. He stands right there and loves it. There is no food involved in this exchange, just love and affection.

All my roosters that are affectionate to me will dance for me. Phoenix and Blue do it all the time.

Bonnie and Clyde, they love to be held. Especially Bonnie. She will fly right up onto you and snuggle down and be so content.

You could hold Phoenix all day and he wouldnt mind.

Look at Hank, that recent picture of Hank and my Mama, he cooed and just talked away to her.

You can go out and pick up most any of my chickens and cuddle them without protest.

It is because I have spent time with them. Some more than others.

Now I wont lie, I do have a few, that are just out of their minds. Take Alan for instance, as hard as I tried to get him to warm up to me and love me, he refused and to this day is always looking for a chance to tear me to pieces. He is just an aggressive insane rooster. That is why he is kept penned.

Then there is poor Everett. I talk to him all the time, he is a nervous bird. I can tell that he wants to be friends, but his fear just overwhelms him and he runs from me all the time.

Some breeds are just predispositioned to be friendly, like the giant cochins. They are very laid back and will tolerate handling easily. Same goes for my silkie hens Thelma and Louise.

Lets not forget Rod. My white Sultan rooster. He LOVES me. I can just talk to him through the pen door and he gets all excited. Starts dancing and clucking. If I pick him up then he is just the happiest boy you could ever want.

Some chickens are not as bright as others. The same goes for any species, including humans. So if your chicken is insane like Alan, or the best house chicken in the world like Phoenix, its because they are all individuals and everyone is different.

I am writing this in the event that Mr. Katz may take the time to come over and visit my journal. I did send him a short email and a couple of pictures. I doubt he will, as he is a famous and busy man. But, just in case he does, I would like to sway one more person, that is a professed animal lover, to give chickens a chance. You just have to know how to be with a chicken, thats all it is.

Here are the two pictures I sent him. I found Shelby and Phoenix relaxing one day last year out on the porch. I told her to remove her hands to show that Phoenix was not being held down and that he was actually relaxing and enjoying her company. He never jumped up, never moved, just gave me that look, like WHAAAT? LOL

Thanks and Some Chickens

2008-07-22T11:27:00.000-07:00

Thankyou all, so much. For making me feel comfortable and not so embarrassed. Your words mean a lot to me. In this country, these days being overweight is increasingly common, yet it is shunned like you have a disease and must do your best to get rid of it. No one wants to be overweight, its just the way it is. My Mama always says, just think, if we were all alike how boring that would be. So thankyou for allowing be to be me, visually.

So how hot is it? Its sweltering. I need to grow a set of gills to breathe outside. The temperature is 96, but the heat index is 115, and yes, it feels all of 115 to me. If your not in a pool, there is no reason to be outside. Its just brutal.

This is the position most commonly seen during the first hour the chickens are let out. My babies, they are just so happy when I let them out. I am beginning to relax some now and not be so fearful of more attacks. I am not seeing any evidence of any predators left hanging around waiting for a meal since Ian shot that fox.

Our garden is a wash. I dont know what this weed is that you see, but it is prolific and grows like mad. The pigs like it, so I pull a lot of it up and feed it to them every day.

Down in the ground there somewhere are red potatoes. I want Ian to dig them up so we can at least have those. Last year we had such a bounty. I was canning and pickling like mad and had so much to work with. This year it was just not meant to be.

One of my sweet old girls below..they are my first babies I ever raised. She is a speckled sussex. Just hanging out with me while I take pictures. She is six years old now.

A couple of weeks ago I took the americauna girls and the big yellow girl out of the grow pen and put them in with the layers. After a week cooped with the established hens and roosters everything has settled down and everyone is getting along better. Hank knows his breed, he is already mating some of these young ladies. They should start laying soon now. Its so hot they may hold off til September. They are very friendly and come right up to me, standing all around me while I took pictures so I sat on the ground with them and spent some time showing them to pluck the grass and eat it. Two of them caught on right away. They are used to being fed only feed, so they have to learn to forage now along with getting feed. Thats what makes the eggs so rich in the yolk.

Caught in mid scratch there...putting her foot down.

I have a couple of pictures of my hibiscus. Two of the plants dont have an open bloom on them today, but here are the two that did. The first one is called a double dip. I have another plant that is a double dip that has red flowers too. The second is a more traditional hibiscus. Here are the flowers.

Good old Hank down below. The white americauna is his best girlfriend. He loves her...too much sometimes.

Chanteclear got a little too close to suit Hank, so he assumes the stance after running at him, warning him to keep his distance from his harem.

More pictures loading...will stop this entry and make another with more pictures this afternoon. Try to stay cool wherever you are. Its not suitable for man or beast out there today.

My Sidebar Picture

2008-07-21T19:51:00.000-07:00

So yep...thats me. The picture that used to be there...well, I bet it must have been a good ten years old. I would have put up a newer picture sooner, but I absolutely hate pictures of myself. Funny, coming from someone who adores her camera and has so much fun with it.

I had just died my roots, which werent even roots anymore. I looked like a freak with half brown half blonde hair. I tend to get busy and dont tend to my hair like I should. Someone should yell, "HEY LADY, PICK A COLOR!" LOL

Yep, I reckon I am fat. I am also 40. I have come to terms with that, mostly. I wasnt always fat. I used to be a whopping 110 pounds in my earlier years. Then I met Ians mom. Now that woman, she could cook. Now I am not blaming her for my plight. I am just saying that I never really realized how much one could enjoy food until then. Her cooking inspired my cooking and well, for a long time I cooked like that. Chicken and dumplins, pot roast with carrots, onions, and potatoes cooked in the slow cooker all day. Rice, potatoes, biscuits. Everything had to have cheese on it, or gravy.

I dont cook like that much anymore. Smaller portions, no fried meat, only baked if I can help it.

I am not a sedentary person. I am always doing stuff. Y'all know that. I dont know why I am still fat. I know part of it is heriditary. I just keep thinking if I DO enough, keep myself busy enough, I will lose some weight. Even when we got up to walking two miles a day at the Silver Comet Trail...it won't come off. Yes, I had my whatchamacallit checked. Its late, cant think of it right now, but yall know what I am talking about.

I make no apologies...that picture is me. I may be fat, but I am still me inside, and frankly, I like me, even love, who I am.

Maybe one day I will be able to lose this weight. I wish I had the courage to do what one Jlander is doing (no names, its private). She is losing the weight fast and I am so proud of her. I know she feels so much better already.

I had Ian take about ten pictures of me sitting in the rocker on the front porch. I told him I would hate them all, but would be able to choose one hopefully.

So thats as good as it gets folks. There I am, warts and all. ;)

Just Sittin' Here Listenin' To Thunder

2008-07-21T19:39:00.000-07:00

Wow it was a hot one today. We had a temperature of 101 with a heat index of 111. All the weather guessers missed that we were going to have some thunderstorms tonight. Someone forgot to tell them, because we had the wind really kicking up at dusk and then it poured. An hour and a half later I am still hearing thunder. Looking at the radar I dont think we are done yet. So I am up, waiting til it is over so Tip can go out before bedtime. She is scared of storms so we have to wait it out or she will be out there running all over the place trying to 'escape' the storm.

We have a new baby pigeon! This time I put bricks all around the cage so the baby cant wiggle out of there. There were two eggs, but a couple of days ago it got kicked to the back of the cage. I put it back, but I dont think it was any good because I found it broken at the back of the cage again. Odd, it looked as if it had hatched the way it was broken in half, but there was no second baby. The other egg shell was accounted for with the new baby. No new babies to report under the mother guinea. I wonder if any of them are even fertile. I never have seen any mating going on. We will see. If they dont hatch in another week I will have to go in and take a look for myself, because by then they will be way overdue to have hatched.

The days are getting brutally hot for the animals. I went out this morning before light and started chores. I made sure everyone had plenty of fresh cool water. I put six 2 liter bottles of water in the freezer to drop in the water buckets in the heat of the day to cool the water off some. I just can't imagine having to drink warm water in this heat. I got Shelby to bring in all the rabbits water bottles about three o'clock and filled them with cold water from the fridge. The rain though unexpected was a blessing. It cooled things off a lot.

I don't know what is worse sometimes, the cold months or the hot months. Both are hard on the animals in their own way.

I wanted to let anyone know that might have visited her from time to time that Olive Riley has passed on. She was the oldest blogger in the world. She lived in Australia. Here is her blog, or BLOB, lol, as she liked tocall it. LifeofRiley

This link takes you to the blog entry about her passing on. You can click on the link at the top left of her blog to go back to where Eric writes entries for her. She was truly an amazing lady and I enjoyed reading her journal. Ray at Dads Tomato Garden was the one that had her blog link one day a while ago and I took up to reading about her.

We had a very nice weekend. Friday night Ian and I sat out on the front porch contemplating evolution, dinosaur bones and other worldly thoughts. I just recently watched a special on National Geographic Channel where there was a three foot tall homo erectus found in some remote place (Indonesia? My memory fails me now) in the middle of nowhere in a cave, where there was a isolated small village of people that were also of short stature, but not that short. There was an elder there believed to be over a hundred years old. He was also the the shortest in the village at four foot one inch.

I have been watching that channel a lot lately. I am really hung up on the Dog Whisperer. He is just amazing. A lot of what he applies is common sense if you just think about it a bit. I still have not seen him address one issue in particular and that is fear of storms. I would really like to know how he handles this. He has done so many different rehabilitations, but I havent seen this one. On a funny note, Ian and I go around poking each other in the arm with two fingers and saying HEY...SHH...like he does to redirect the dogs mind away from something the dog is obsessing about...lol. Anyway, I just love that channel, it really stimulates my mind. I also love their magazine.

Saturday we went galavanting all day. Ian wasnt feeling too good. I think he might have gotten some stomach bug or something. He was up early Saturday morning leaving the dinner from Friday night for the porcelain gods, if you know what I mean. He went back to bed after a shower for a little while, and felt some better when he got up. We went to that mall up in North Rome for a while. We cruised the mall, checking out shops. Shelby came home with some new Off The Wall Vans. High top blue checkerboards, they were really cute on her. She got a funny monkey face sleeping mask to go over her eyes and some blue, yes blue hair extention thingies. She wanted to actually die to strips of her hair blue, but this seemed to please her, so we avoided that for now. Hey, I cant really talk. When I was sixteen I had long blonde hair with a jet black streak down the back. Remember when everyone grew tails? I had one, the black part grew longer than the blonde part. I wasnt alone in this. My best friend had brown hair and had a tail that was longer and was bleach blonde. Yes, I was a wild child in those days. ;)

We had some Chick File' at the mall for lunch then headed to the Barnes and Noble. We spent a couple of hours in there easily. Shelby found a new series of books to read. I got The Wheels of Darkness and another Bentley Little book, The Return. For anyone that has ever thought Walmart was taking over the world...The Store, by Bentley Little is a must read. They never SAY its Walmart, but The Store will really creep you out, but in a fun good way, if you like that sort of thing, which I do.

I picked out a book for Ian. He just wasnt feeling too good at all. The new Janet Evonovich (sp?) book, the thirteenth one.

After that we went to Walmart and got our groceries and got home early for a change.

Sunday was very leisurely. We didnt do a whole lot at all...but that was just fine, thats the way we like it. :)

So I reckon I am done rambling. Just thought I would sit here and make an entry. I was reading some new journals, farm journals. One in particular is really an eye pleaser and has a good story teller to boot. Donna, if you havent found this person already, you will like this journal. Paula, you too. Everyone that likes to read about border collies, sheep, chickens, and on top of it all this guy does hospice work. He takes one of his border collies in for them. He takes some really awesome pictures too. Take a look back a few pages worth, I dont think you will be disappointed at all. Bedlamfarm

Its almost eleven oclock here now, so I am going to stop. I will see y'all tomorrow. Night night, sleep tight, dont let the bed bugs bite.

A Meme

2008-07-17T11:56:00.000-07:00

I liked this Meme, feel free to snag it and do your own if you like.

If you came to my house…

You would see: That my screen porch is just perpetually a mess. Between Phoenix kicking pine shavings everywhere and the trash bags I throw out the back door, and it being a catch all, I just give up most of the time...lol. You would see I just cut the grass, my new ferns hanging from the front porch, and Bubba and Everett. They are always wandering out front (Roosters).

I’d probably feed you: If you stayed for supper tonight you would get baby back ribs off the grill, ceasar salad and fresh corn on the cob.

And offer you this to drink: Pink lemonade, sweet tea, coffee, Coke.

I’d undoubtedly ask if you’d read: Any James Patterson book, he is awesome. I am reading Book of the Dead right now. This is the fourth book of the Pendergast books.

I’d want to play this music for you: Alan Jacksons Its Time For A Good Time. I cant seem to stop playing that song over and over. Its my newest CD I bought, so I have to go OCD on it and play it into the ground. ;)

I’d want to tell you about: My chickens

I’d probably suggest a game of: Rockband on Playstation 2. You want to sing, play the guitar, or play the drums?

I would definitely show off: My animals

I might get on the computer and show you: Pictures

If it was a long enough visit, we might watch: Desperado, City of Angels, if you hadnt seen them before. Or you could choose from what I have and we could watch that.

I am adding this one since Paula mentioned it!

I would share my....POOL! Lets go swimmin' y'all! :)

Thursday Babble

2008-07-17T10:28:00.000-07:00

Other women will relate to this. We all have a little voice in us don't we ladies? That little voice, is womens intuition. I have learned as I have gotten older to listen to it. I slip up sometimes and I always regret it, saying to myself that I knew I should have just listened to my womens intuition.

I have been thinking about Sherry a lot these past few days. She had her little baby girl a couple of months ago. When she gets in my head like she is now, it is usually for a reason. Usually it is because she needs me, just to be there, just to talk to. I am going to give her a call in a little while and see how she is doing. I told Ian my feelings, that she had really been on my mind for a while now, and I am missing her. I told him I want to go to see her soon. I will spend the night. I want to go before we start homeschool again. I am thinking in the next couple of weeks I will go. Its going to cost a small fortune in gas, but I dont care, I miss her and I want some girlfriend time with her.

So what have I been doing. Well, Ian and I went to Lowes on Tuesday and I came away with two small Lantana plants. I am good at growing lantana. Maybe because it is really a weed, lol, that is what Floridians will tell you anyway. I grew one into a huge bush at the old house. It was just beautiful and attracted so many butterflies, hummingbirds, and snowberry clearwings. If you have never seen a snowberry clearwing, they are really cool. They are a moth, but they mimick a bumblebee to keep from being eaten. They curl their abdomen under and their wings are always buzzing. If you dont look close, you will just think its a bee. Wow, I got way off base. LOL. Anyway, I came away with three different hibiscus plants, two ferns for half price, and Ian got another carnivorous plant. He loves those. I have one hibiscus in the ground, but still have the other two to plant. Its too hot out there right now to do it. I will wait until dusk like before.

Its time for the last of the babies to go out soon. I am waiting for Elvis Jr. to get a little bigger. The only reason the others are still in the house is because of him. They have to go out soon, they are so big! They really have been good though. They havent been jumping out of the box or perching on the sides at all.

Mocha is finally getting better. Her 'face" fell off...lol. Anyone who has had cats know their wounds are just always so nasty. The whole patch of dead skin and fur that had festered on her face fell off. She now had a naked cheek with just a clean small wound healing up nicely. I keep antibiotic ointment on there and it seems to be healing up nicely. Her leg has healed and she is using it. No limp or anything. I bought a kitten milk replacer at Walmart last week and put her on it with just Lamb cat food (Natural Life, no chicken lips or radiated tumors in this food). She is doing much better with pooping. She was just so young when she got here and needs that milk replacer still. Its kind of expensive, but she is worth it. One little quart is ten dollars, and thats at Walmart!

I had a great find on Freecycle. There was a lady in Paulding County that was giving up showing cats due to her battle with cancer. She is just not able to get around to go to shows and prepare for shows. She gave away her last cat the other day and I got the last cage. (Nelishia you may have seen the post on Freecycle, it was for a Red Persian) She had a cattery going and had some really great pens with floors and platforms. I jumped at the chance and got all of them. Here is a picture of Mocha in her enclosure til she gets bigger and her tummy is adjusted. The second picture is of Rudy. You can use the floors as tops too.

I had to wrap the netting around Mochas pen, as she is so tiny she can squeeze right through the bars!

This will probably be my last entry until Monday as Ian is off Friday, Saturday and Sunday so I will be spending time with my family. We plan on going to the Barnes and Noble on Friday. The book selection at Walmart is changing, and not to our taste. There are less and less of mainstream best sellers and more and more romance novels and for some reason African american novels and romances. I say this because well, there just isnt a market for these books in our area, plain and simple. I guess some high up executive somewhere at the top of the Walmart chain decided this would be a good idea for all Walmarts. So, we are going to check out the book store. I love Barnes and Noble anyway. They have one in Rome, very convenient. We love books. We are one of those families...you know, you walk in and there are books stacked two deep in every bookcase because what we really need is a whole room dedicated to all the books we have. ;) We love to read. I know some don't read books. I know people that dont get into books, and thats okay, but to me, there is nothing like settling down before bedtime with a good book.

Everyone have a fantastic weekend. :) BIG HUGS TO ALL! :)

My Babies Are Growing So Big

2008-07-15T07:52:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to post some up to date pictures of my three 'baby' emus. They can look me in the eye now and they are only half grown. I have raised them well though, they are very sweet and not scared of people at all. You better share your bread though, I was trying to get the chickens back in their pen yesterday evening with some bread thrown in their pen. The emus knew I had bread and wasnt sharing so I got a pinch on the back of my arm! Naughty little emu! It didnt really hurt, just startled me. I did give them a little.

Aren't they just getting so beautiful. There hasnt been a day that passes that I regret getting these beautiful birds.

Everyone is Sitting Sitting and More Setting

2008-07-15T07:45:00.000-07:00

Trying once again, Nick and Nack are sitting on two eggs. With pigeons, they only lay two and then they incubate. They take turns too, isnt that sweet? I wish them much success.

I found this sneaky gal nesting on about 23 or so eggs a couple of weeks ago. Guess we are going to have some little keets running about. She gets off the nest for one short period during the day, but I havent been able to catch her off so I can take a picture of all the eggs. Only once did I catch her off, and that was during all the company July 4th weekend and I didnt get a shot of it. She is a good guinea mama, very protective of her nest.

One of my C Serama hens is broody and was sitting on about six eggs but has kicked three to the curb. I guess she knows which ones are bad. I don't really want anymore C Seramas right now, but just a couple won't hurt anything, and it makes her so happy.

One Video

2008-07-13T09:22:00.000-07:00

I did manage to get this one video loaded but it was slow going yesterday for some reason. Will work on the other today.

June Bugs in July

2008-07-12T12:40:00.000-07:00

The GreenJuneBeetle is a bit late this year. I guess this year the beetle decided to be a July Beetle. I have never seen so many as this year though. You can walk outside and hear them all...buzzing and banging into the house. They are truly swarming right now. This makes for great fun and feast for chickens. I just couldn't let them go without on a day like today so I let them out. They are all having a great time catching that little crunchy delicacy right now. We have a thunderstorm rolling in same as we have every afternoon just about all week so that may literally put a damper on their fun. Here is one of our master june bug catchers. She is also one of "Ians hens' about this time of year. He likes to catch the bugs and tries to give them to someone that will come to him and take it, but they don't get him all the time and don't see what he is trying to do, except this barred rock hen, SHE knows and she is always there for her treats from him. He isn't here to catch them and feed them to her right now though, so she has had to do all the work to get her little green crunchy treats.

If you look closely below her over that weed leaf is a green blur...that was one of them flying by. That is how many there are out there! You can easily get shots of them in a picture. Can you see the one she has there? Crunchy! Mmmmm! ;)

I have a couple of videos of the girls chasing the june bugs around. I will post them on a seperate entry when they are both loaded.

Good Friday Morning

2008-07-11T08:24:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone is doing fine this morning. I am doing pretty good myself. We finally got some of that rain that has been coming through the area for days each afternoon but always seems to miss us. It cooled things off from the nineties down into the seventies. What a relief that was!

I want to thank y'all all for your views, votes, advice and comments on the dilemma I had with hatching those eggs. I gave it a lot of thought and I feel like this...

I don't like to hurt anyones feelings, even if they have upset me like Ricardos dad did when grabbing Eddie, my goat. I don't believe that he thinks he is doing anything wrong. Some people have that mindset that you are not going to change or make them understand otherwise. I absolutely didnt want to contribute to giving life to those eggs after seeing the way he does not understand the way animals think. I can see he does not relate to animals and try to understand their way of seeing things in this world, and I wasnt going to be able to give him an education on this. In their home a woman doesnt seem to know a whole lot about anything except keeping the home and cooking. Another mindset I don't like at all. So rather than start a big uproar over what he thinks and what I think, I just cut it off at the base right now. I know some think I should have given him what-to-for, and when I was in my twenties I probably would have raked him over the coals good, but I take medication for that now. ;) He just isnt worth it anyway. I wouldnt waste my breath. Some thought I should tell him the truth, but that would entail me getting upset, and again, he isnt worth it. I know some don't approve of lying no matter what, but sometimes I feel it is justified to keep the peace. I feel this is what I have done.

What some of you may or may not know about me is that I used to have some real anger issues. If I got mad, and it could be something that didnt amount to a hill of beans, I couldnt stop this snowball effect inside me. Most people vent and feel better. I would get on a roll about something and before you knew it I was lecturing Shelby for thirty minutes all the while yelling and just almost in a rage you could say. I couldnt keep doing that to her. I also got to a point where everything got on my nerves. Just someone walking through the room, just being in my viscinity would tick me off.

Some will say I should be able to control myself better. Some will say its a chemical imbalance. I believe the latter. Before this happened to me I would have laughed it off and said taking pills for that kind of thing was silly. But when you are in a turmoil that wont subside, eventually you get help. I was put on Prozac years ago, and as long as I stay on it, I tend to be a pretty evened out gal. I dont sweat the little stuff. I dont get mad over any little thing. Things dont annoy me anymore. Don't get me wrong. I still get mad, I might even raise my voice, but you can bet it will be because something is REALLY going on.

With that said, I took the easy going road and opted to just ease out of this whole relationship. I absolutely feel no guilt about not hatching those eggs for him, or lying to him. The other option was just not an option. It would have caused bad feelings and nobody was going to learn anything. If I thought he might change his way of looking at things, maybe then I might have tried, but I really believe he just wouldnt have gotten the message.

So that is what Prozac does for me. Keeps me pretty level headed I think.

I have had several of you mention how y'all like my new look and my new sidebar. THANKYOU! :) I just wanted a new look, something more, some bright summer colors and some of my favorite pictures I have taken of my chickens. I found lots of sayings I liked too off of CafePress.com. They have lots and lots of cute stuff you can put on t shirts, mugs, buttons, stickers, all kinds of stuff. I just went through and borrowed some of their stuff. ;)

So what is everyone doing after the big weekend that went on last weekend? I am going to color my hair. I am currently really looking like white trash walking around with my hair half blonde and half brown...lol. So I am hitting Sallys Beauty Supply today and doing my hair over the weekend so I can at least look like respectable white trash. ;)

I think I will mow the weeds over the weekend too. The grass isnt keeping up with all the dandelions and other weeds out there so it looks wild and scraggly. I love to mow anyway, it is something that I find pretty relaxing.

The animals are all doing well. I have started letting the layers out in the evenings for a couple of hours, but the thought of all day makes me a nervous wreck, so I am not up for that yet.

Did you know June bugs are great yummy fun for birds? The chickens have always loved chasing them down and crunching them up and eating them. The emus, are having just as much fun. There are so many out there all they have to do is stroll around and one will be right there for them to snatch out of the air. At first they tried chasing them, then they realized they didnt have to do all that work, the bugs come to them! Fun to watch them.

Well thats about all I got for now. Ian is working this weekend so I am sure I will get caught up on everyones journals and take some pictures over the weekend.

Have a nice weekend and stay COOL! :)

Talked To Ricardo

2008-07-09T12:08:00.000-07:00

Okay, so he called me back. I told him Ian switched with someone at work for vacation time off and that we would be going during the time I would need to be monitoring the incubator. I told him they could come get the eggs I already had planned for the incubator, and they could try again on their own.

He says well thats okay, that they would just leave the incubator with me til I get back from vacation.

I said no.

Shelby asked what if they drive by sometime and see that we are here...I said well, if I have to tell them the truth, then I will, but I am trying to avoid hurt feelings.

So they will come by tomorrow and get the eggs and incubator. I think they should probably take their hen too. We will see about that. I really want to start to sever the ties with them.

Oh I also got asked who was going to be caring for my animals while we were gone...I didnt leave room for volunteers...I told him, and this is the truth, that I already have someone to do that.

Fib Concocted

2008-07-09T11:44:00.000-07:00

Okay, so here is my lie.

Ian and I have decided we are going on vacation early. I won't be able to do the hatch because I won't be here to keep up with the water in the incubator, good eggs, bad eggs, babies hatching.

Hell they can't hatch worth a toot anyway, so I can just give them the eggs I have sitting here and tell them they will just have to try it again on their own.

If they don't like it, well, thats just too bad. I already called Ricardo...and when he calls me back I am going to tell him to just come get the incubator and the eggs and try on their own. That I just won't be able to do it.

Heck with it. Bahhh poo poo on it.

Poll

2008-07-09T10:38:00.000-07:00

I been thinkin'. Sometimes that can lead to trouble. Sometimes it is enlightening.

After I saw how Ricardo and his dad treated my own animals...I had to wonder just how well their chickens were treated.

They have already hatched thirteen (unlucky number?) from the eggs I gave them and they hatched out of their incubator.

I all of the sudden dont feel so comfortable hatching eggs for them. Those eggs turn in to beautiful little babies. That turn into living sentient beings that have feelings and feel pain and fear. But are also capable of feeling kindness and love.

I want to hear from y'all. What would you do if you were having second thoughts?

Another option to get out of it would be to say the power went out and stayed off too long and the eggs had to be tossed...but then what if they ask me to try again. I wish I had never agreed to do this. I have got to start thinking before I say yes to stuff.

Lost My Momentum

2008-07-09T09:20:00.000-07:00

Ever have one of those days...where you just lose your momentum because AOL is just treating you like a red headed step child? That would be me today.

I will just try again later.Was trying to jazz up my sidebar...but can't seem to finish without some sort of interruption..nothing wants to work right for me today..so I am off to clean house and do other things.

No big deal, best to just walk away from it for the day before I throw the whole computer out the window! ;)

Another Pool Video

2008-07-08T13:12:00.000-07:00

We have to watch Tips playtime...she obsesses and will run around that pool until she tears the pads right off her feet..she has done it twice before. She managed to tear two out of four this time. She was gimpy for a couple of days but is recovering. The first time it happened, we didnt know it would happen. Afterwards I had to keep antibiotic ointment on her feet, wrap her feet in gauze and I would strap baby socks on her feet for cushioning! She hated it and would always try to pull the socks off, but it worked til she could stand without it hurting so much. That is a border collie for you, they never never ever stop, they just keep on no matter what.

Mama and Hank

2008-07-08T13:07:00.000-07:00

If Mama could have a rooster, I think that rooster would be Hank. She has loved him from the very start when I brought him to their house straight from the feed store in Jonesboro. I have told Hanks story before. His owner was going off to college and couldnt care for him anymore. I just happened to be in town and went by my old feed store to visit and they gave him to me knowing he was going to a good home. Hank is a special rooster. A lot of people think he is mean, he does look like he could hurt you, but he is really very sweet.

I picked him up out of the yard and brought him up so Mama could see him. He immediately was cooing and talking softly back to Mama as she was talking to him. He really is a sweet boy.

Daddy took these pictures while they were here over the weekend and I did a little of this and that to them, just fooling around on photobucket.

Mama loves her Hank. :)

Fourth Of July Celebration

2008-07-08T12:08:00.000-07:00

I guess my posts are just going to be erratic...here and there for the summer. My older self does not move as fast as I used to. As much as I enjoy my chickens and other animals, and being a stay at home mom and wife, work does come with it, and I seem to be moving at a snails pace now that the heat and humidity have settled in here in NW Georgia. So please excuse me if I am not here for several days on end...if you look through the monitor and out the window I bet you will see me doing something outside in the morning time before it becomes a blistering inferno out there, or if it is afternoon I may be folding clothes or maybe you may even catch me taking a nap.

I remember when I was a kid. Naps?? Oh no, I didnt need NAPS! I think Mama needed them more than I did, as in, a break from me. I would lay there for a full hour, eyes wide open, determined not to fall asleep. You could almost guarantee a nap out of me if you drew the blinds and turned on the cool humming a/c window unit. I sure did fight it though. Now, at any given time of the day, if you told me I had time for a nap, I would gladly take you up on it. Sometimes I may even nap even if I don't really have time. I love naps now.

So, the Fourth of July was a smashing success here at my household. First to arrive were Mama and Daddy..well I take that back. Technically Karen and Tiffany were, but they came a day early to try and help out where they could. I really had most everything done, but Karen is a blessing I tell ya what. She always has those dishes in and out of the dishwasher...she keeps things in the kitchen picked up and wiped down. She can be seen gathering plastic cups and napkins and forks for trash. By Saturday I was SO glad to have her here and let her know it.

Mama and Daddy got here, Mama brought a really pretty yummy fruit tray. This was great for everyone to snack on til the meat was ready. I wanted to get the grilling done that morning, but as it turns out I was late with that. It all turned out though as most everyone else didnt get there til the afternoon. Our friends, Adrian, Teddy, their sons, Ben, and Matthew, and Teddys daughter Jeanna came. Breanna, Adrians neice came also. My younger sister and her boyfriend were supposed to come,but couldnt make it because her boyfriends oldest daughter is a handful, and thats putting it mildly. A whole other story entirely. Jay, Ians friend came. John, another friend of Ians, and his girlfriend and her teenage son came for a little while. The pool was in constant use needless to say.

I cooked hot dogs, bratwurst, hamburgers, BBQ chicken, potato salad, baked beans. Teddy brought a cake, some spinach dip and pumpernickel bread. Oh she also brought some of those little smokies in a bbq sauce. We had chips, cokes, ('coke' is southern for any softdrink by the way! ) sweet tea and pink lemonade. Icecream. No one went without.

As the evening was winding down and it was getting dark we shot off the parachute fireworks and let the kids run after them through the dry brown crunchy ouchy grass...lol. I bought two of something called sky spiders...they were pretty cool. Crepe paper ribboned out to blow out and look like a floating spider leggy thing...two in each tube.

As it got dark I rolled my trolly buggy thing around and we loaded it up. There was a chance of rain and I wanted to have the fireworks on something to quickly roll it into the garage if need be. It did sprinkle once, but other than that we had a fantastic fireworks display. One we bought last year...caught fire and burned for a good ten minutes. Guess we wont buy that one again. A shame, the first one two years ago was great. All the others were just fantastic. No, I am a slacker and I didnt take any video or pictures. I know, shame on me. I was just too pooped to care by Friday night and just sat there with a Smirnoff cooler in hand and let Ian do the work while I enjoyed the show. It was time for me to reep my rewards of the day and relax for a change.

After the fireworks were over everyone started packing up and hitting the road. Mama and Daddy spent the night and so did Karen and Tiffany, I am just so glad that we have the space to have overnight company and have get togethers like this now.

Saturday morning I got up and we had a nice breakfast of bacon, cinnamon and brown sugar toast with honey, eggs (yes MY girls eggs) and grits with real butter.

Karen was kind enough to clean up after breakfast. I used to fight her on it and tell her she didnt have to do that, but now I just let her do it because I really was still tired from the day before.

By the afternoon everyone had gone home and I was left with a quiet afternoon to sit back and relax. I did just that. I watched some tv and fell out asleep on the couch for about and hour. I woke up long enough to find the current book I am reading and retired to the couch in the bedroom to read for a while. We had some leftovers for supper, and we are still having leftovers tonight! Thats okay, saves me from having to cook.

Sunday was very quiet and peaceful. We didnt do much of anything at all. Just more relaxing and resting. I find as you get older it takes longer to get back on track after a big event.

Monday was back to the work week. Ian working, me catching up on laundry and housework.

I got a call from Ricardo. He is the mexican teenager that comes over with his Dad and his Mom cooked those wonderful tamales for us. They only got 13 chicks out of a full incubator of eggs I gave them. I am not sure they did things correctly as they had three strong enough to hatch out of the shell, but died soon after. I have never had that happen. They had many that died in the shell before term. Some I think were not fertile, but that is a chance you take. Apparently Hank was a busy guy because he asked why a lot of their chicks have fluffy faces...lol. I told them Hank was the main man out there and he probably has passed on his Americauna cheeks to some of the chicks, even though they are mixed, they are half Hank.

Back to the incubator. Ricardos dad wants me to use their incubator and hatch a full incubator of eggs for them. He said he would pay me. I agreed to do this. He thinks there may be something wrong with the incubator. I am thinking more along the lines of it had something to do with the operator. But, that is neither here nor there. I will hatch for them and keep the babies a week to make sure they get on their feet again.

On another note. Once again I find myself wanting to vent about people and the way they regard animal life. The first time it happened, I let it slide, sort of. The second time...I tried to make my feelings known by being a bit firmer. THIS time, I just came out and had to go all out on them. What am I talking about you ask. Ricardo, and his dad. They had never seen or heard of Emus before. My animals are all brought up from babies for a reason. I want them to trust humans and be gentle. A full grown emu can rip your leg wide open with those nails on their toes. They can break a leg with their kick. Ganged up on, full grown emus could very well kill a person. Remember, the kitten? All three emus were ganged up. If I hadnt been there, that kitten would have been dead. Right now, the emus are still small compared to what they will be later. Anyway, Ricardos dad started raising up his arms and legs stork like, advancing on one of the emus. They dont like this posture. Boo flared up at him and stood tall. Ricardos dad was surprised and tried to grab him by the neck in defense. I think after seeing what I saw today, he thinks he needs to discipline animals...well, NOT MY ANIMALS. If he had not been screwing around like that they wouldnt have gone on the defensive. You cant blame an animal for thinking it needs to defend itself from offensive posture! Normally my emus are very gently and docile, but he provoked Boo.

So that is the first time. Ricardo SEEMED a bit embarrassed and said "Oh my dad, he likes to mess with animals". I told him that he should tell his dad that when these emus get big and he tries that he may get hurt pretty bad and he should not provoke them.

The second time his dad had stopped by to see if I had any eggs for him to take home to add to their incubator from his hen that is in with my Black Sumatra Rooster, Johnny. There was one in the pen so we went around to get it out to add to what I had been saving for him.

I have a little net for grabbing eggs. I also have a catch net, a bigger net for catching chickens if need be. The larger one was laying on top of one of the pens. As I was getting the egg out with the little net I stood up and turned to see him with the bigger net OVER one of my emus head and all the way down the neck. Of course the emu just stood there because they are tame and it didnt seem to disturb him. Remember Ricardos dad doesnt speak any English. I know he has to know what NO mean. So I said No, and shook my head and said DONT DO THAT PLEASE.

This morning Ricardo and his dad came by. They had a friend of his dads with them and asked if they could show him all of my animals. I said sure and we went on back after I put the incubator in the porch. We made the rounds. As we came by the pigs pen Ricardo decided to lunge at the pigs with his arms and hands over the pigs pen. This scared the pigs. They arent used to this behavior. We are quiet people and respect the animals. I told him PLEASE DONT DO THAT. I said these are not your animals to do with as you please. PLEASE respect my animals. RESPECT ME, by respecting my animals and dont tease and taunt them.

Okay okay, sorry sorry, he says.

We get around to the other side and of course the goats are following us around everywhere, because goats are really not that different from dogs. They want to know if you have something to eat, and they want attention. As they have gotten older they dont like you to touch their horns, much less pull on them. I respect that and I dont touch them. With that said, we are all standing there and Eddie decides he needs to pee. Sometimes they will stick their dingy out of the hole, extend it and pee and sniff their pee at the same time. Yes, I know that is gross, but its a goat thing. As he was doing this, the pee accidently shot out over Ricardos sandled foot. OOPS. I apologized and asked if he wanted to go rinse his foot, he said no, he would just wipe it off. Then his dad inquired as to what just happened. Thats when things got ugly.

When Ricardo explained...I guess his dad took it as the poor animal did this on purpose and was going to teach Eddie a lesson right there. HEY HEY HEY! I said as he grabbed Eddie by the horns and tried to drag him by the body and horns to him. I dont know WHAT he planned on doing, but it wasnt going to happen in my yard. If you dont like my goat peeing on your son, then dont come back here!!!! I was going to have to step in, I told Ricardo to make his dad STOP that RIGHT NOW and to explain to him that the goat didnt MEAN to do that.

I was just glad to see them leave. I was hindered in my chores outside by all this anyway and it was getting hotter and hotter by the minute. I had to finish cleaning and filling the waterers. That was going to be important because today is supposed to be brutally hot.

So I guess that is about it. I know this was rather long and I hope it wasnt too boring. I will try to keep up better, but I won't make any promises as the summertime does keep me busy.

Do you know out of the pictures I did manage to take...I somehow didnt get one shot of Karen in any of them? I will have to make sure I spread out more when taking pictures.

Is It Wednesday Already?

2008-07-02T07:28:00.000-07:00

How time is fun when your having flies...oh I mean how time flies when your having fun. ;)

The summer days outside have me daydreaming and sitting with my animals a lot. It hasnt been so hot lately, in the 80s.

I will be feeding and watering a pen and end up sitting there watching them for the longest time...then I will move on to the next pen. Everyone is so happy when its warm and sunny and I like to watch them being happy, it makes me happy.

Monday and Tuesday Ian was off from work so I wasnt on the computer. Monday evening we went to Alabama to FireworksCity where we have been going for over twenty years now to get our fireworks for July 4th. We got more than we have ever gotten. They dont just have those little carry baskets now..they have BUGGIES. So I got one...and filled it up. I didnt really mean to get as much as I did, but Ian said it was okay that it would be fun. Ian unloaded all of the fireworks out of the bags and onto the table, and here is what it looked like. Took that second picture so you could see there was stuff BEHIND the stuff in the first picture.

Now don't go worrying that we are going to blow our hands off...we are after all adults and we are careful. Ian is the one that does the lighting anyway. We do it on the driveway down some away from the house. Our driveway is so long it is a good place to do it and everyone just sits up towards the house and watches the show.

Look what I found at Walmart. I had to have it. I mean, it WAS on clearance. Originally 30 dollars it was on sale for 15. If you tried to buy something like this at Tractor Supply the thing would be at least 40 dollars. I set it by the front door.

Mocha is doing better. I don't think she was weaned long at all...if at all. It took her two days to finally eat canned food. I supplemented it with milk because she had to be hungry. She is eating more can food now.

She had a place on the side of her face that got infected even though I put antibiotic ointment on it. Anyone that has had cats knows cat wounds are always so nasty for some reason. It had pus in it and I am treating that now. She doesnt seem to even notice. She is using her foot and leg more, but still not completely. She really is a sweet cat. She loves all the attention anyone will give her. She has the longest meow...so long I was able to get a picture of her with her mouth wide open...

Friday is right around the corner and it is time to celebrate our Independence. The way things are going, I have to say, I don't feel as independent as I used to. The government is going to protect us from everything. There is NAIS, that is mandantory tagging of all livestock, or you will be fined out the wazoo. Doesnt matter if you have one chicken or a hundred. Then they can come in and take your land if they think it can be better used for something else. Thats scary. We pay and pay and pay in so many different ways..but I dont think we are getting our moneys worth.

ANYWAY....I wont keep on about that. Doesnt really matter anyway cause we are all going to be sucked into a black hole come August anyway. For those that havent heard there are some scientists that are about to turn on a machine they invented to find dark matter in space. There is a small chance that things could go wrong. We will never know it if it does happen. We will just be gone. Read about it here..http://www.straight.com/article-145556/end-world

I dont want to know something so badly that it may kill us all and end our existance, but hey, I am just a nobody and don't have a say in that decision.

We are going to be having plenty of company come Friday so I better get going and get the house looking nice. I have to have everything looking good when we have company. They might not even notice, but I feel better about it. ;)

Carrie, I don't know if I ever showed you this, but this is what I do with my feathers from all my chickens when they fall out and I find one that still looks good. I add them to this...

It has a styrofoam block in the basket and I just keep adding them in..

I intend on being pretty busy from the time I get up from this chair until after the weekend...so I want to wish you all a Happy Fourth of July and will be back Monday. See y'all then! :)

The Latest Grow Pen

2008-06-28T15:14:00.000-07:00

The first grow pen I made needs to be redone. It was my first one, and with first ideas come some not so great ideas that need modifying. Like instead of using 5000 clothespins to hold the netting on top on, actually using twine to 'sew' it shut, like you see on the new one. This one is shorter than the first one I made because Lowes didnt have the poles nor the fencing the size I used last time, which was five foot poles, stuck in the ground, four foot tall. With four foot tall green wire. This one is four foot poles, three foot tall in the ground with three foot wire. They don't seem to mind at all. The tarp is heavy duty. I dont even fool with the cheapy ones anymore. The wind shreds those.

Last Babies

2008-06-28T15:00:00.000-07:00

Its been a great hatching season. Even though I lost ten to the fox when it scared the babies out of the grow pen, through the wire (remedied by wrapping chicken wire around the bottom half of the pen and fastening it on with wire). I have shut down the incubator now. That last Serama egg didnt make it. I had two Polish eggs in there before that and they didnt make it either. They all three died in the shell, so I am thinking it needs to be bleached out and cleaned. I was going to hatch more Polish, but I may wait until after September because we have plans to go on vacation hopefully and I dont need the incubator running or small babies at that time.

Here are the last babies of the season...and it will be a while til they go out to the grow pen. I have a tendency to hang on longer than I should. ;)

That little one is Elvis Jr. He is the one that was born the day Elvis died. I dont know for sure if its a boy, but I hope so!

Some Chicken Talk

2008-06-28T14:43:00.000-07:00

Well its obvious to me that Tim is feeling well enough to walk himself over to the other side of the porch and sample the kitten food and water. He doesnt seem to know what the litter box is for. Now if I could train a chicken to use a litter box I would be the talk of the town! ;)

So since he was feeling better I did some rearranging and put him in this pen here with some 24 percent chick starter (lots of protein) and his water with vitamins and electrolytes in it. (Thats why its yellow).

You just can't have enough extra pens for keeping ailing chickens in. I got this big dog pen cage off Freecycle for free a while back. Thelma, Louise and Twiggy were in it up until I did some work on the pen that was recently broken into by the fox.

I wired that sucker shut at every point and upwards on top of double staples. Yeah, I know, you can still see my spilled staples, wire hanging there and my wire cutters too. Oh well. I also put the two Sultan girls in there. I had them in a smaller holding pen for lack of anything better to do with them. I took them away from the two boys as they were really taxing them mating them WAY WAY too much. Everyone seems to be happy and getting along in here. The first thing Twiggy, Thelma and Louise did was start dirt bathing...lovely white silkies with dirty in every crevice...lol.

The polish say its not a good day to have all this big hairdo on their heads, its HOT today.

So I did get a couple of things done today...nothing big, but did get some things done that needed doing.

Last Weekend

2008-06-28T07:45:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone is having a fine Saturday morning. It has been a good one so far with me.

I haven't gotten a chance to talk about last weekend when my sister Patti and my two neices Kathryn and Ashley came to visit.

I am always excited to have visitors. We just don't get that many out here because we don't live close to anyone anymore. This visit was extra special though since it was my family.

Friday afternoon Patti and the kids (I say kids, but they are 18 and 21, lol) made their way up Hwy 27 from Columbus to Cedartown.

Now I don't go over that way often. If I do, its just to pay the water bill. So I didnt realize they had totally rerouted part of Hwy 27 coming up right at the specific turn off I had put on the directions. The turn off was now a loop road into the Cedartown business district! OOPS! It makes sense what they did, they made it where you don't have to turn, you just go straight through to Hwy 278, but I didnt know a thing about it all...so Patti ended up in Cedartown and I had to get on Google maps and guide her in from where she was. OOPS, I say...OOPS. ;)

They pulled up before dark, which was the goal. Neither Patti nor I like to drive in the dark. We just can't see at all. We threw together some sandwiches and chips for supper and visited for a bit before hitting the sack.

We had plans to do the cookout and swimming pool deal, but Ian had other plans. Oh boy, what happened next threw him all out of whack.

He had had a great morning. We had killed that fox, so that was very encouraging for a good day. He was out at the pool cleaning the bottom with the brush vacuum, not just the vacuum. Things were going along fine. Then for whatever reason that cheap little plastic clip that holds the different heads onto the pole...BROKE. But he didnt know it. He pulled back on the pole...minus the brush head and pushed back like the brush head was still on...and rammed a hole right into the pool floor. A perfectly round puncture the size of the end of the pole. We later found the pool lining piece in that punched out circle shape.

Now Ian doesnt get upset. He doesnt cuss. But he did now. I heard the pole being slammed down and the F word said. Something had really happened to make him do this. I came around the corner from the garage and he told me what had happened. Normally he is the calm cucumber and I am the raging lunatic but this time the roles were reversed and I had to be the calming effect.

So I did the only thing I knew to do! I jumped in the truck and headed for Rome as fast as I could to the pool place and got a patch.

I was only gone an hour. By the time I got back the pool was halfway drained. We decided just to let it drain all the way down and that way he could patch it easier.

He did manage to get the patch on, but it still has a slow leak. We filled the pool and by Sunday Patti, the girls, Shelby, Ian and I were all able to enjoy the pool...but it was a bit cold because the water was fresh from the hose.

Saturday we decided on the spur of the moment that it would be best to go this day to visit Mama and Daddy. We have the same Daddy, by the way, but different moms. Patti doesnt like to get on unfamiliar highways and I285 can get hectic with all the big trucks coming through. So we got ready and went over there for the day. Its an hour and a half drive, but we made a day of it and had a nice time. Mama had everything needed to make sub sandwiches so we had a nice lunch. It was a really nice visit.

Patti took a lot of pictures. She is sending me a CD with them so I will be able to share more, but until then I have a few she sent of all the girls over the weekend having fun. I will put those at the end of the entry.

We got home Saturday night and I started up the grill and cooked out hamburgers and hot dogs. I had potato salad made up too.

We had stopped by the upscale liquor store and bought some supplies to make marguaritas so we made up some of those. After awhile we settled in and watched one of Shelbys Jeff Dunham CDs. They had never seen him before and thought he was pretty darn funny.

Sunday we spent all day relaxing and visiting. I cooked breakfast for everyone and then it was pool time and leftovers from cooking out for lunch.

It was just so nice to have them here. I hated for them to go. There is just never enough time to catch up and be with family is there? I guess I should be thankful for the time we do have, and I am.

Shelby is a teenager now, so she felt included more and had a great time with her cousins. On the way back from Mama and Daddys we jammed out to all kinds of music from the girls Ipods and CDs. We had a singing crew going on behind us at times, in stereo! Shelby, Kathryn and Ashley knew a lot of the same songs and they were partying in the back seat! :) It was a lot of fun.

Here are some pictures Patti sent to me in email.

Shelby sitting in the back partying with Kat and Ash.

The girls pouring attention over Tip. She is scared of the flash on cameras, but Patti took it quick so she wouldnt get too scared and run to her bed.

The girls having fun in the pool.

and below a shot of Shelby in the pool.

They all just loved the animals. The goats were Ashley and Kathryns favorites though. The emus were very friendly and they fed them bread. Derby was a good boy and everyone loved seeing all the other animals. Shelby showed everyone her rabbits. I showed all my new babies and Patti was amazed at all that I had hatched. I am a proud chicken mama. ;) Their favorite was Elvis Jr. You remember this is the Polish that was born on the same day poor Elvis passed away. They thought Elvis Jr. was just a cutie pie. Patti took pics of the girls with that chick too, so those will come on the CD.

It was just a fantastic weekend. That is the whole of it, just a very nice weekend, even if there was a hole in the pool at first. ;)

I Have Been Blindsided

2008-06-27T07:58:00.000-07:00

So this is payback for me not taking the donkey I guess. One way or another someone wants me to rescue another animal. What am I talking about you ask? Well let me tell you the story.

I went outside yesterday morning like I always do. I fed the goats, fed the emus, fed the pigs, fed the chickens and chicks. Filled waterers, all the usual things I do. When I was finished I came in oh I would say about 8 a.m.

I sat down for a cup of coffee and to rest a few minutes. Tim has gone down again, by the way. I have him in the house in a laundry basket doctoring him back to health again. He is getting better, again. So I was giving him his medicine and tending to his needs when I hear Phoenix start the alarm. Then Johnny chimed in..that got the Serama started too...NOW WHAT I asked.

I got up off the floor where I was sitting with Tim and took a peek out the back door. That Jack Russell Terrier dog from the neighbors was over on my property again. It was running along the same fenceline the fox were coming from, over by the wheat field.

The emus were all over at the fence, Boo was especially flared up and they were all showing that dog how big and bad they were and trying to scare it off. They made the dog nervous but it knew there was a fence between it. I am pretty sure given the chance they could stomp that dog into a pile of unrecognizable minced meat with those sharp toes and strong feet and legs. I reach for the BB gun so I can pop the dog and send it on its way home. I turn back towards the door and there is an added equation to this commotion.

Now I know why the dog was over here. Limping across Derbys drylot area was a teeny tiny kitten. It was going into dangerous territory though. It was crossing through the fence between Derbys lot and the open back area. The emus attention was drawn to this and they ran at the poor kitten. The kitten ran and stopped, ran and stopped. I was wrestling with the stupid horse while trying to get out of the gate. He thinks anytime that gate opens its time to go out and eat pasture, so I was shoving him back while trying to get out there to rescue the kitten all the while I hear theemus hissing and see them trying to stomp the kitten. There were a couple of successful hits before I could get there.

Terrified, balled up as small as it could get on its side, hissing...was this little kitten that had a very bad morning. I stood between the emus and the kitten and made the emus back away. Once I was there they stopped attacking, thank goodness. I picked up the kitten by the scruff of the neck to relax it. Most folks know thats how a mother cat carries her kittens and this immediately relaxes the kitten. It worked and I was able to get the poor thing up to the house. The fear in those poor little eyes melted my heart. What cruel human had done this? The kitten had not been out there long at all. No fleas, no ear mites. Completely clean. Didn't even smell like it had been outside, it had that kitten smell.

I brought it into the porch. Got some water and cat food. Poor thing was so thirsty. It drank and drank, then drank some more. Its left rear leg was hurt. It wouldn't bear any weight on it. I took a good look and there was nothing broken so I left the leg alone thinking it would be okay, and later on it was. Today the kitten is using the leg almost fully.

Now let me tell you something about me. I have had cats for a long time. Ian loves cats. We have always had cats, up until our last cat died about six months ago. She was 18 years old. It was her time.

Finally, I was going to be able to get a new couch. So we got one, I have shown pictures of it on here.

I dont care how good a cat is, they claw stuff. So...we agreed no more cats for us. We had had our share over the years and agreed no more cats. Mostly upon my OWN insistance! I am not a cat person. I am a dog person, I am a chicken person.

The last kitten that got thrown out here was immediately picked up by the Polk County animal control the next day. It pulled no heartstrings with me. I was not interested in a kitten, no way no how.

This time...sigh...is different. So I reserved the right to think about it, and make my decision Monday.

Its Friday...and well...I guess its pretty much a done deal. So my no cats rule has been revised.

We will go with no INDOOR cat, how about that. I will make a cat door so when the kitten gets older it can come and go from the screen porch. That will be its living quarters and it can be my mouser. I need a mouser anyway. We do have mice. If you have chickens and chicken feed, your going to have mice.

So its a trip to the vet soon, shots, a check up, Frontline and a collar with her tags. I reckon I will go ahead and get the chip put in too like we did with Tip.

Why on earth did this happen to me? I don't even like cats! This one got me. Am I weak? A pushover? A sucker? I guess if you get caught under the right (or wrong, depending on how you look at it) curcumstances and I rescue you from getting killed by dogs and emus, I feel sorry for you...but it helps to have a gracious attitude and a very sweet disposition...not to mention being a beautiful kitten.

We have named him/her Mocha. As in Mocha Latte'. You will see why when you see the kittens color. I believe it may be calico of a sort, so it is probably a girl. Either way, soon as we can she he will be spayed or neutered. I imagine the vet will want to get the shots and whatnot done first, then on a second visit get her fixed.

Tip met her this morning. Do you know Mocha wasnt scared of her at all? Tip was very sweet and wasnt scary to her at all. So now Tip knows we have a kitten. I want Tip to know she is ours and not to be chasing her.

Shelby took this picture of her yesterday. I will take more later and post them.

Oh yeah, we got one of those kitty cube beds last night at Walmart. I put her in it last night and she didnt come back out, she layed down and went right to sleep all night in it. :)

Got her the good food, same brand as I get Tip..got her a waterer bowl, food bowl combo, and a pack of toys of course. Litter box and litter are set out there too until she isbigger and we have a door set up for her to go out as she pleases.

I am such a SAP...lol.

Adding this on this afternoon:

After looking at a lot of cat pictures I think Mocha is more of a tortoiseshell than calico, though I read they are in the same family.

Yesterday

2008-06-25T06:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had my farrier come over and I rode with him over to Joe's house. You remember Joe Tilley. He is the one with the goats that sold me my baby emus. He also has a donkey. She is a guard donkey for the goats at night. Donkeys are very good guards and will kill coyote and fox, which we have a never ending supply of around here.

I was surprised, but the poor girls feet had gotten extremely overgrown, so much that they looked like she had elf shoes on and could only stand on the back half of her feet. This stretches those tendons in the back of the legs and can become very painful. She had also foundered. She was in a lot of pain.

When we got there Marshall told me this was going to be more than thirty dollars. Yeah, he had a lot of work to do on this girls feet. She was laying down in the barn, but got up. It would have been easier on Marshall and her if she had stayed laying down, but she got up and wouldn't ever lay back down. The barn stall has no light hooked up in there so Joe went and got an extention cord and a light. I held the light where it needed to be while Marshall cut and whittled away until her feet looked more normal. Soon as he was done she was able to stand properly and wasn't rocked back on the back part of her hooves. You could tell she was feeling much better already as she walked out of the barn and outside to see us off.

My horse vet lives within a stones throw of Joe and Joe used him to see the donkey as he is friends with the doc. The vet had given the donkey anti inflammatories and antibiotic injections like he had done for Derby when he foundered.

Joe was ready to give her away. He asked Marshall if he knew anybody that would take her. You see, he needs her for a guard. Having foundered, before she even had a foot overgrowth by eating all the rich pasture out there for the goats, she was not going to be able to stay out there all the time. She would gain weight again and go down again. Marshall suggested she could go out at night, which is when she is needed to guard, and come in during the day. Problem is, she could be half a mile away down in Joes pasture come morning, and she doesnt know anything about coming when called. Doesnt matter, he could get another donkey and on that pasture they will founder. I don't know what it is, but it seems like all equine want to try and eat themselves to death.

So, when the question was put to Marshall..he looked up at me...and I said OH NO..don't you look at ME! I can't take her! I already have one to keep on drylot...she would be of no use to me except a pet as I couldnt let her out anymore than Joe could! Not to mention, Ian said NO MORE ANIMALS...we are full up here. Marshall mentioned that she had cushings disease too. I just can't handle any more animals. I have enough now to keep me busy.

Joe will be on my horses trim schedule so Marshall can get us both while he is in this area. Joe asked me to help him remember and I said I would.

The main thing now is she is just going to have to have regular foot maintainance and be kept off that grass out there with the goats.

I told Joe not to give up on her. Derby has foundered, but because he has good foot care regularly he is in no pain and he can run out back like nothing every happened. He can run like lightning, and its beautiful to see. :)

Here are a few pictures I took. I didnt get a close up of the donkeys feet before, but in the first picture if you look at her back left hoof you can see how long they are, and they are curling upwards.

The sores you see on her are from her laying down too much the last month. In the full shot of her and the foot shot, this is after the trim.

Well I got to get outside for a while before it gets too hot, I hope everyone is doing fine today. I am going to go do some work and then come in for lunch and do some catching up on everyone...see ya then. :)

Links To Fox and a Happy Emu Video!

2008-06-24T16:27:00.000-07:00

Instead of posting the pictures of the fox on here...you can go to these links to see it, if you wish. The first picture is just of the tail and flanks, a close up to show the mange, the second is the whole fox with the fatal neck wound.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b329/KellyGa/P6230003.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b329/KellyGa/P6230002.jpg

Here is a picture of the pen torn into...all those feathers...waterer knocked over...anytime I find this type of thing, that sinking feeling overcomes me, everytime.

To lift the spirits here is a fun video of the emus playing in the water spraying out of the pool pump as Ian cleans the pool. :)