Secret

This is Secret, Donna's jersey cow. Donna is the one that got me blogging in the first place and I love to visit her blog every day. She always has something interesting to see or read. I love her cow. Donna has wanted Secret to breed and there have been several attempts with no results so far. She was thinking of selling her. I told her if I lived closer I would love to have her here to add to my farm animal pets. She seems so sweet and lovable. That got Donna to thinking, and she thought...why not have her for a pet?

We all know the majority of my animals are useless, but I love to have them, love to pet them, feed them, watch them. Its very soothing for my soul. Its therapy right in my back yard. I won't ever eat the goats, emus, or the pigs...they are just there for my enjoyment. The horse is a mini, so I can't even ride him, but it is still enjoyable to watch him and have him come up for a good scratching and a nuzzle as I kiss him on the nose. These small joys are why I keep them around. Without them I wouldn't be a happy as I am. I am hoping this is what Secret will give Donna, a peaceful feeling and some good company. :)

That is how I saved Secret from being sold...my adoration of farm animals as pets has influenced Donna to do the same for Secret.

This does my heart good, thanks Donna for keeping her around for us to see for years to come. I love that cow. :)

Go and visit Donna...she is always a good read.

Just Me

Why Can't People Just Stop It

Roswell Man Fights For His Chickens

I dont understand why busy bodies just can't leave people alone. This man is doing exactly what I did in Forest Park, having a few chickens. Yes, he has a few roosters, but its not the neighbors that were complaining. I left a comment of support for him along with every other person that left a comment. If you read, there are no negative comments towards him keeping chickens. What happened to this world? Why can't we keep a few chickens in the city? That bird flu pandemic scare didnt pan out the way the government officials thought. It was just fear mongering. Just like mad cow, just like the peanut butter salmonella scare...they blow things up to seem like it is the end of the world coming down on us, then, when it doesnt, we are all still so terrified we don't want our neighbors having chickens. Now that is not what the article says, but it is just one example of what fear mongering does to our freedoms. This guy has the mayors approval to keep his chickens, so I am hoping he gets to keep his chickens. People are ridiculous. With the economy going down the tubes you are going to see more and more people planting gardens, keeping chickens, goats, etc...and why not I say. What is so wrong about being as self sufficient as possible. I tell you what is wrong with it, we might actually become independent and not need the governments interference...hmmmm...okay, enough ranting, I am going outside to play, the sun is finally out! :)

What Got Into Kuckoo?

This is a picture of a well behaved winning rooster. One that had spent the past two months indoors, out of the elements. He was given a bath and a blow dry without struggle. He went to four shows and didnt attack a judge handling him once. You saw me hold him while he slept on me in that picture. He got to where he was investigating my plate from the perch in the box as I ate my supper each night, and I would share with him! So what happened yesterday? I will tell you what happened.

There was an egg in their newly built pen. Probably a fertile egg. The beginnings of a new line of my show chickens. Like usual I opened the door of the pen, stepped in and closed the door behind me. Leaning over I picked up the egg and WHACK!!!

What the???? what was that??? Did I step on his toe? I wasnt even sure what had happened, until it happened again...and this time he hit home, home being the back of my calf on my leg. OWWWW!!! Dangit! I had been flogged! Ungrateful brute! Had he lost his mind? I KNOW he didnt just do what I thought he did!!!

I turned around and held him to the ground, getting his attention. I picked him up and carried him to the house, straight into the bathroom to have those long spurs removed (You can see them in the picture above), something I should have done before I put them back outside but didnt get around to. I also trimmed and filed his toenails. I learned by accident the spur on a rooster is just a cap of sorts over a tender one growing underneath, a smaller one. It slips right off with a little twist of the wrist and a firm grip with a pair of pliers. There is hardly any bleeding at all, just a few drops ooze from the soft spur underneath. Once that one hardens I clip the sharp end off the new short spur.

The whole time I am doing all this to him he is just taking it all in, not struggling. I looked him in the eye and he was just looking at me, like OH I know you. Maybe it was a case of mistaken identity. Maybe it is just Springtime and his testosterone is overflowing and he couldn't help himself. Either way, I had a hole in the back of my leg and a trickle of blood running down it. He really did catch me off guard. I never even thought he would have done that, but he did. Guess thats what I get for thinking...lol. Silly silly man bird.

Okay Donna, you can't leave me hanging like that! How did I save Secrets life??? I went for a visit at your place and saw all about the potatoes and Dennys, and everything. I am going back to read again and leave you some comments, but I didnt see anything about Secret, so please elaborate on what I did to save that sweet little cow! :) Also, I used to use Sevin dust on everyone. It is so messy though. I learned from Jerry and Beth that they use the Frontline Spray on their birds and it lasts a lot longer. They said usually about two to three months. Just a spritz under each wing and above the vent, once on the back of the neck, all under the feathers, on the skin of course, like you would do the top spot Frontline, and it runs off any bugs and prevents any for a long while to come. I have been using that for a while and it seems to work well. Back when I did Hank, I was at Mama and Daddys and didnt have any sevin dust available and I wanted to get him clean too...he SMELLED BAD! I forgot about that until just now...boy did he stink. I dont know why, but he smelled like garbage.

Shelby is actually up early today..so we are going to do school and get it out of the way...so I am off to play teacher. ;) Everyone have a sunshiny kind of day!

Happy Saint Patricks Day!

Good Tuesday morning. The sun is shining once again after four days of rain and dreariness. Everytime the sun comes out after such a long time I feel like the world is being reborn, or blooming, or something like that. ;)

Jimmy, thanks for stopping in and commenting. You are welcome to any of my pictures anytime :).

Linda, I am so sorry you lost your baby dog. I know it is gut wrenching and heart breaking. Please try and think of all the joy you got out of it. I bet you will remember many good times and it will outweigh the sadness you feel. I am thinking of you and wishing you well.







My loving sweet Hankie poo is getting better! I didn't want to post this too soon for fear of jinxing it, but he is doing so much better he THINKS he needs to get out of the carrier. Not just yet though. I don't want a relapse. I did something for him that I have not ever done before. I gave him shots. That may not seem like a big deal, but I cringe at just the sight of a needle. So to actually use one on one of my animals was, to say the least, a big leap for this sissy girl. I had to do it for him though. I couldn't stand the thought of losing him. I went to Tractor Supply and got a bottle of penicillin injectable, some 22 gauge needles and some syringes. After talking with the ladies at the check out counter I confirmed how much to give him. The penicillin in the bottle was very strong and actually for larger livestock animals, so I would need just a very very small amount in the syringe, just a few drops. I had to be sure he was getting enough, without overdosing him and killing him. That night I got everything ready. I have no experience with this, so I had consulted the girls, and then Ian said too, I had to thump the syringe to bring the bubbles to the top, and then squirt some of the medicine out of the top to release the air. In doing this I got some on my hand. Now, I am VERY allergic to penicillin. It has put me in the hospital before. I went and washed my hands off. As Ian looked on he said to be sure to wash that off good, that he didnt want me having a reaction to it. I didnt either, been there, done that. With everything ready we pulled Hank out of the carrier and I proceeded to jab him in the leg. Chicken skin is tougher than you think. The first jab, I didnt jab hard enough, so I had to do it again, with a bit of squeemishness I jabbed harder, this time at least making it under the skin and into the leg meat a little bit. The next day, I swear it was like a miracle. That bird was up and out and ate two whole pieces of wheat bread at one sitting, without the mucusey drooling, so I knew he was already doing better. Fourty eight hours later I gave him one more injection, this time getting it right. The first time is always the worst. After that you get better. I can say this, from now on, when I have any bird get sick, this is the way to go. If your going to save them, this is the quickest way to get them back on their feet for sure.

Hank came to us through a feed store for those that are newer to Hank. We had already moved out here from the city, but I was in town down there and stopped in to say hello to Mr. and Mrs. Swint, the owners. This feed store has been around for ages. They are good people for sure. This was the feed store I frequented when I had my chickens in the city.

In I walked and I got halfway across the floor and they pointed and said, "There she is, hey! Would you like to take home a rooster?" I took a look inside a small carrier and there sat a really mean looking rooster. He does look mean, if you dont know him. His face looks mean, but he is really very sweet. I was hesitant, but decided to give him a chance. I wanted to hold him and see what his temperament was. Everyone was leary of getting him out of the carrier, getting on some gloves just in case he decided to bite. I just decided to reach in and get him. He was just a big old puppy dog. His story was that a young man had come in with him asking them to find him a home as he was going off to college and could no longer keep him. I liked this rooster right away so I took him home.

First I had taken him back to Mama and Daddys house. I had come to visit them, but had stopped in at the feed store first. At the time I had had Ember with me. She would come with Ian and I on the weekends. We were staying there on the weekends while painting and cleaning up our old house to sell. Ember didnt fit in with any of the flock and they picked on her, so she came with us. There is a funny story about her laying eggs in the next door neighbors laundry basket out in their garage too. This is about Hank though, so lets stick to that.

Upon getting him there and out of the box they had provided for me to put him in, I inspected under the back of the neck feathers, and oh my, he was eat up with some kind of bugs. Yucky, long bodied little mites of some kind. Well, he had to have a bath right away for sure. I did just that. I used some Dawn dish liquid (everyone knows this is used on kittens and puppies to kill fleas so I thought it would probably work on these mites too) and the hose outside. You would have thought I had killed him. He stood there for a good fifteen minutes after his bath, not moving a muscle. Finally he decided to come back to life and began preening. By the end of the day he was dry an bugless and ready to come home to the flock. From the time he got here, he has always been the king of this yard. Everyone, all roosters, give him the respect he deserves and doesnt quarrel with him. In the picture on the last post, Paula, he is indeed doing a dance of sorts...lol. He is telling the Silver Phoenix rooster to 'step off' and keep a distance from his girls. The thing is, he very rarely has had to fight for his place in the yard, everyone just 'knows' that he is the top dog out there.

I have to get some lime and spread it liberally out in the yard and chicken yard area. Reading up I do believe he contracted fowl cholera. This is common at this time of year. With all the rain and mud and then the warmer temperatures, it makes a breeding ground for this bad bug. Generally it is brought in by wild birds or rodents. It could have been either, as we have the little birds that come and snag a free meal out of the chickens food. We do have mice, though I am diligent in keeping the numbers down I know I am always missing some. The lime will kill the bacteria and then Hank will go back out in the yard. I would have put it down already, but like I said before, we have had constant rain since Friday. So far there are no other signs of illness in the flock. It may have gotten to Hank moreso because he is older.

Bottom line is, I need lime, and a lot of it. We need some dryer weather, and a lot of it.

Thankyou to everyone for their wonderful and sweet comments of encouragement for and about Hank. It really does help. Means a lot to me that y'all care. :)

I leave you now with a picture of Tip, yes! I actually got a picture of her. Only because we were outside. She has a terrible fear of the camera. More specifically the flash. I think she associates it with lightening, and storms. She is scared of thunderstorms too. Its hard to believe we have had her for almost nine years now. She will be nine on August 15th of this year. You wouldnt know it though, she still has that border collie spunk. :)

Everyone have a great day today. If you have sunshine, get out and enjoy it! :)

Hank Is Sick

Most of you know who Hank is. The video above is one of his fine crowing moments. Hank is not feeling well. He is an older man around here, but I think he still has a while to go before he leaves us. I am really attached to this rooster, as is Mama. I am doing everything I can to see that he gets better. I am pretty sure I know what he has and how to treat it. I have him a penicillin injection last night and he will get another every 48 hours. I have never given an injection before to any of my animals, but I had to do it. I really don't want to lose him and I am trying everything to save him. He is eating. He is trying to drink, but it is hard for him to keep liquids down. This worries me terribly. I am afraid he is dehydrated. He has lost weight also. Please keep good old Hank in your thoughts. He just has to get better.





Mama and Hank









Hank, king of the yard

Most Honourable Fowl

That is the meaning of Onagadori. This fowl is considered a Living Monument of Japanese culture and is protected by the Japanese government. The picture above is one of these revered birds. To read more on these beautiful roosters here is a link.


http://www.longtail-fowl.com/html/onag1.html


Sorry about having to cut and paste...I can't seem to get the link option to work today.

What Have I Been Up To?

I got an email from my sister Patti yesterday asking if I was doing alright. She had checked my blog and saw I had not posted in a week. I am doing great, no worries. :) We have been having some fantastic weather and I have been outside a lot. All that is supposed to come to an end and the weekend will be rain filled, but I have had a nice time soaking up the sunshine and getting some things done.

Last Saturday and Sunday I set my sights on getting the double wide pen built for my four Polish that were still in the house on their shavings in boxes, even after the show. I wanted a secure new pen for them, and I needed a larger one to accomodate all four for breeding purposes. It was hard to let them go back outside. Yes, I was vacuuming up shavings everyday, yes, there was pine shaving dust on everything, but I enjoyed them being right there for me to pick up and love. Kuckoo had even gotten to where he wanted me to share my supper plate with him. He soon learned that when the tv tray went up and I sat in my rocking chair, that meant food was coming. I caught him eyeballing my plate one evening, as he stood at the edge of the perch, still in the box like a good boy though. Coco was on the floor of the box, eating chicken food. I put some corn and peas on the perch for Kuckoo and he ate it right up! He didnt even share with his mate. Usually when a rooster finds something really good he alerts his mate and gives it to her, but not this time, he was keeping it all for himself. I did end up giving her some anyway.

Here is the pen I built for Kuckoo, Coco, Laverne and Shirley. I have the tarp on it for wind and rain protection, but since it has been warming so much I didnt completely cover the pen with it. Instead, I had found rolls of that outdoor shade material at Lowes on clearance for five dollars a roll. That is what I put on the front for shade from the sun, but will still let in the air.









Before I started this pen this past weekend, that Friday I spent the day putting up a fence inside the pretties fence to seperate the three giant cochin boys from the rest of the flock. They dont mean harm, but their testosterone is kicking in and the girls, and even some of the boys (poor serama boys) are showing this development. I will show you in some pictures to follow. I have named the three Larry, Curly and Moe, because they are indeed three silly stooges. ;)










In the last two pictures above you can see where the boys have grabbed the head of this hen to top her so much she is going bald. Eventually the feathers on the back would disappear from too much mating too. In the last picture you can see one of the little serama males has some feathers missing on the back of his neck. The cochin cockerals will grab anything and try to mate it apparently. Poor tiny fellas were getting the short end of the stick on this one.

Look at the brown and black hen in the middle of the last picture. I have three of these hens. They are a made up chicken of mine. A cross between white silkie hens and a golden phoenix rooster. One of these girls got sneaky on me and had a nest of eggs in Derbys barn behind a bin under the pigeons cage. I candled the eggs and kept five of them that were already developing. What this hens offspring would look like was a total mystery to me. She could have been mated by any number of breeds of rooster, from a serama to a giant cochin, to a golden phoenix rooster, to a polish. I thought it would be interesting to see these five eggs hatch and grow up, so I put them in the incubator. Here are some pictures of the mystery chicks. Along with them in the brooder right now is Shelbys Salmon Favorelle, named Oscar. I found out by reading on where else, the internet, that at about two weeks you can easily tell the male from the female on this breed by looking at their wing color. Black, a boy, brown, a girl. Oscar is a male, and in Ians words I quote "GREAT, another rooster!" as he rolls his eyes. Also in with them are two of the Brown Red Modern bantams.







Just so you know what your looking at, here are the two brownreds...






and here is Oscar...






This little chick has a bumpy head, so I am guessing he is part polish...I love its little blonde fuzz on its head..






Here is a picture of a brownred just born this morning...






So moving on through this week...Monday the two kitties went to the vet to be spayed. Shelbys cat Fergie is not a very good patient so they gave her a shot to knock her out to shave her belly to look for a scar. Why you might ask? Because since she has come to live with us she has not gone into heat. Now I know most cats dumped by the roadside are not fixed and this was very unlikely, but this time, it just so happened there was indeed a scar, and she was already fixed. Since she was already knocked out and needed a teeth cleaning I went ahead and had that done instead. Mocha on the other hand, we knew was not fixed as she came to us as a tiny kitten on the run and has gone into heat several times (its very annoying too). With Mocha fixed, Fergie and her shiny white teeth, booster shots taken, I picked them up at the end of the day and we came home. Mocha is resting up in our bathroom on a comforter and Fergie is already back into the groove of things.

Being away from home all day Monday, and dedicating the whole weekend to building that pen, my house had become quite a mess. It doesnt take long around here for that to happen. I also needed to clean out the chicken boxes and take them out of the house. Tuesday and yesterday was spent catching up, or trying to at least, catch up on laundry, dishes, cleaning, that sort of thing.

So here I sit, finally making an entry. I hope it wasnt too long. I usually try to keep it a little shorter than this, but it has been a week after all. I took some pictures this morning of the peafowl, goats, emus, and horse. I havent posted any in a while and the peafowl have grown so much. I leave y'all with some pictures from this morning. Have a great Thursday. :)










I had an incident happen over the weekend happen between the peafowl and the emus. Do you see this emu? They have big ole bodies and little tiny heads. In those little tiny heads they have a tiny little brain. They do the best they can with what they have. You see, the emus protect my animals. Anything foreign that is not supposed to be in the yard is promptly chased down and stomped if at all possible. Birds that are penned are not recognized when they escape their pen. The emus cannot make this connection. I learned this valuable lesson over the weekend when I pushed the doorway to on the peafowl pen and the wind blew it back open while I was fetching water for the peafowl and the white peahen ventured out of the pen. I turned and the emus had surrounded her and were raring up and trying to stomp on her. I went running over to save her before they killed her. I thought they had already done her in, but I held her and checked her over and she was going to be fine. Meanwhile the peacock has escaped during all this commotion. He took flight and the wind easily carried him high in the air. First he flew to the fence and perched for awhile. Then he easily flew (wow can peafowl FLY) onto the roof of the house for awhile. It was quite windy and warm and the roof was hot. Eventually he flew from our roof across two and a half acres to the neighbors shed and under the overhang onto a large plastic paint can. I couldnt risk him flying back into the yard while I was trying to catch him. The emus were aware and would be on him before I could do anything. So, I enlisted Shelbys help to stand guard inside the fence while I went around to the neighbors shed with a net. Luck was with me and he came quietly. I got within a few feet of him and put the net over him easily without a struggle. I took him back to the pen and everyone was once again safe and sound.

In light of this development, I can see that the peafowl will always need to be in a covered pen area. Right now the pen they are in will do, but they are growing and will need to have more room very soon. I am waiting on some fencing I made sure Lowes had on order to come in and then I will be able to make them a bigger enclosure where I can see them much better and they will have a lot more room, and be safe at the same time.

NOW, I am going to end this entry...y'all have a good one. :) OOPS, forgot to add the Eddie and Troy into the picture flow..

Googly Eyed After Reading Through The Google Reader

I scanned through what everyone has been posting about tonight. Very quickly I began to see I have been missing out on a lot going on, from birthdays to squished pennies...good news and bad news, aches and pains to the amounts of snow everyone has gotten, and so so so much more.

I simply must catch up...no matter how long it takes. I saw so much in the reader that I wanted to just pour over..but it is late (12:42 am) and I am sleepy. I got to start getting up with Dad (Tomato Garden dad) so I can find out just what is going on and has gone on with everyone I care about on here.

Love to you all...XOXOX

Good Wednesday Morning

A while back I asked permission to use this picture from one of the blogs I read. I saw this and thought it was just so neat! A chicken pancake...how original! I believe it was over on A Chicken Blog, the first day I found her blog and was browsing through it. Her blog is on my sidebar if you decide to visit over there.

I am feeling better today. I still slept til 10, but, there is promise of warm weather and the sun is out, and I am ready for it. I have a better outlook on things today. Talking to my Mama this morning helped to. She is always in a good mood and it always rubs off on me after I have talked with her for a while.

Peggy, do you know I totally forgot about coming back and talking about that llama??? Shows you where my mind has been...in a fog! So let me tell you what happened over there. I forgot my camera of course like a ninny. After the time we had I really wish I would have. I will have to go back to Joe's soon to take some pictures of the goats, the llama, and Darnell...that would be his new steer, just still a little thing, but friendly and cute as can be.

I went to Joes with the trimmers I use on the goats feet. They are called foot rot sheers, but everyone uses them for trimming goats. I brought the horse lead, but we ended up not needing that. He had a neat little halter leash combo that can be used on anything from a goat to a llama as it adjusted easily. Before I left the house I cut up a couple of apples and a few carrots and bagged them up, thinking along the lines of enticing the llama with the top two treats on a list I found on the internet, of treats that llamas love.

I got there and drove up to the barn, but Joe was down at the old mill house down the hill next to the creek on his property, hammering away on something. I called his cell and told him I was up at the barn. He came on up on is four wheeler. I left the trimmers and the lead in the truck and carried the apples and carrots with me on out to the back pasture where the llama was..and the cutest little steer you could ever want. He wasnt too sure about me at first, but once Joe called him up and he got a taste of what I had in that baggie, I had a friend for life! He followed us everywhere. Too bad we didnt come to catch the steer, that would have been an easy day, but we were there to catch the llama, and he wasnt buying my bag of apples and carrots. We tried herding him up against the fenceline, hoping to get him to continue on up to the opening that led up to the barn, but about halfway down he would cut through some brush and head out to the back pasture. I held out treats, I even through some down on the ground in his path hoping to get his attention for just a moment, but he was just not going to cooperate.

At one point, Darnell, the steer, decided he needed more of my treats right then. Joe said he had never done what he did to me. I was standing there, waiting to head off the llama, Darnell standing next to me, just slightly behind me. By the time I saw what he was doing I just had to brace myself for his weight. Today, being a sturdy gal payed off. If I had been a little gal, I would have went down for sure. He raised up and clumsily draped his front legs on me. I love hugs as much as the next person, but COME ON! LOL! After he had his weight on me I shoved him back onto all fours. Joe apologized and I just brushed it off and said it was no big deal. I have had worse happen on my own property when we first had Derby. I had to tell Darnell that when he got bigger he couldnt be doing that though. ;) I hope he listened to me.

Trying to catch the llama on foot was not going to happen, so Joe got on his four wheeler and tried to herd him up with that as I stood at the entrance of the fence leading up to the barn to corrall him on in. He never got that llama but halfway to me and it would cut back and escape from Joe. After about thirty minutes we gave up. From what I saw the llamas teeth were not bad at all and the feet looked good, but eventually he is going to have to have grooming done. I told Joe if he ever got him caught up to not let him out until he became friends with him and the llama trusted him. I also said if he got him caught to give me a call that I would be glad to come on out and take a look at him.

So thats the story on the llama. He also took me around and showed me all the baby goats and their mamas. One baby was born with only three legs, but got around just like it had four, didnt know any different. I also saw the Great Pyranese he is looking to sell off. He says she does a great job protecting the herd. When the mothers have the babies she eats the afterbirth so the coyotes cant smell it and come looking for a newborn to eat. The only thing she does wrong is she bites the mothers ears while they are in the process of having their babies! She must think the mama is hurting the baby Joe says. There has to be a way to fix that behavior, though I don't know what it would be.

Bill, my husband loves to go golfing, but he hasnt been in so long. He used to go with his dad every so often before we moved. I never went, but they seem to really enjoy themselves when they go. They make a day of it for sure. You always get me and Traci mixed up! LOL! Thats okay though. It wasnt me that met up with another journalor, but I have met up with Nelishia back several months ago. We havent been able to get together since then. She has been sick or I have been sick. I am hoping when the weather warms up we can get together and have a good time.

There is in fact a disorder, called SAD. It is Seasonal Affective Disorder.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_affective_disorder

I probably do have this, and Patti probably does too.

Fern, I am so glad you stopped in and said hello! I always love to hear from you. I got some catching up to do over at your place. I got to see what you have been up to and getting into lately. ;) Tell Frieda hello for me. XOXO

Thankyou, everyone for the kind and understanding comments yesterday. It is nice to know I am not the only one out there feeling this way, but I don't wish these feelings on anyone. I don't know about y'all but I am ready to dig in the dirt and sweat a little. I am ready to mow the grass. I am ready for it all..bring it on!

This weekend I am building my four beautiful Silver Laced Polish chickens a nice new pen, a secure, coyote and fox proof pen. Once they are in I expect some fertile eggs for hatching to start appearing for me to put in the incubator.

Speaking of the incubator...

About a week ago, I found one of my silkie/phoenix cross girls sitting on eggs in the corner of Derbys barn. I scared her out from behind a bin pushed under the pigeons cage and saw 19 eggs! I candled them and kept five for the incubator that were developing. Who knows what these chicks will look like??? Coming from a funky mutt chicken to begin with, and then who knows who she bred with??? Will be interesting to see what these chicks look like. Thats why I put them in the incubator, curiousity mostly. ;)

I am still putting eggs in from the Brown Red Moderns, hoping no more die in the shell like the last two. I also put some of Dwains eggs in there last night. He sent me 33, but I dont have room for all of them, so I put the smaller eggs in first, the Serama eggs. After several days I will candle to see which ones are growing and the ones that aren't I will replace with some more of his eggs.

Well, its time for Shelby to do school. Ian is coming home at 3 today, and that makes me happy. :) I like it better when he goes to the store with me. Going by myself is kind of boring after a while. Shelby and him tease each other and myself all through the store, its like having two kids instead of one, but they are having fun, and they make me smile. :)

Time to get moving. Y'all have a great day...XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Woke Up Grumpy

We didnt get any of the snow that everyone else was getting here in Georgia. Just cold temps and some ice pellets, and some rain.

I have a confession to make. I have been sleeping an awful lot lately. I know why, and there is really nothing I can do to fix it. I am only waiting for the warmer temperatures and the sun to be a part of my life every day, not just for a fleeting moment. I am tired of being cold. I am tired of the wind blowing constantly. I am tired of the mud and ice.

I am indeed on medication to help brighten my outlook on life. It has worked well for me up until this past wintertime. I have been on this same medication for seven years now. I woke up with a scowl on my face as I wobbled to the coffeepot, still groggy from sleeping until almost ten this morning. Shelby could tell without a doubt and said so, that I was grumpy. Yes, I sure was. An unusual characteristic for me these days. I do try to have a good day each and every day. I don't have any complaints really...so why was I so grumpy? Why have I been sleeping so much?

Well, its because I don't do winter. My older sister and I get really sad and don't do to well during winter. We thrive on sunshine and warm dry days. To the point it affects our mood and whole outlook on life. Our lives may be going fine for the most part, but that doesnt stop that cloud from hanging over our heads. Friday she was having a tough time and called to talk about it. Saturday I called to see how she was doing, and she was doing better. We just have to pull our bootstraps up and get through another day, waiting on winter to be over.

The good news is after today the weather is supposed to get a lot warmer here. With plenty of sunshine to go with it. I am hoping going outside and working hard on some projects needing to be done will get my blood flowing and my spirits up. The weekend will be in the lower seventies. I won't be anywhere near the computer, and probably not in the house. I have to make the most of these upcoming warm days to try and boost me up.

Some folks don't have this problem. My Mama, she loves winter. Daddy, he loves the Spring and Summer like myself, but I don't think it affects his mood quite so much as it does mine and Patti's.

The bird shows helped. Hatching chicks helps. Having some of my chickens in the house with me helps. Sometimes. The time changes this coming weekend I believe, and that is going to give me more time outside with those warm temps. I believe that is going to help snap me out of this funk I am in.

Don't worry, I am not going to stay this way, I always snap out of it. It has been a long winter for me and I am ready for it to be over. Thank goodness I live in Georgia, where it is going to warm up for good really soon now. The official first day of Spring is March 20 and I am ready, so ready for it to be here.

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Debbie and Tex came and got all the babies Sunday. Debbie left the little salmon favrolle, the yellow one, for Shelby. Wasnt that so sweet of her? :) So the little Brown Red Modern chick has a buddy at least. The two eggs due to hatch of that breed died in the shell and didnt absorb all of the yolk sac. I was bummed about that. I was counting on my little chick to have some brothers and sisters this past weekend. There are more eggs to go though. Dwain took some eggs to Ian at work to bring home for me to put in the incubator. I will put those in tonight. I should have already done it, but, I have been a bum and not done a thing today. With that said, I am off to try and do something around here before the day is done.

John asked when I was going to just do nothing...for myself, some do nothing time. I dont think I do that. Does watching a movie or reading a book time count? I do that. "Me" time was the shows. Down time is watching a movie for me, or my shows I watch on tv, like Heroes, Fringe, Sarah Connor Chronicles, and Dollhouse.

I was asked if I have a pattern for the chicken diaper...I do, for Phoenix's size. I can show how I make it. I will make an entry about it soon. For now, I need to get outside in the coming days ahead. Everyone have a nice weekend coming up. If you are going to have good weather please get out and enjoy it. :)