Well, I asked for winter to be over, and it is! I'm not shoveling snow. I'm not breaking ice in the water buckets. I'm not bundled up in layers and layers of clothes. I even stored much of my cold weather gear. Winter is boring. But SPRING? Oh yeah, spring is EXCITING! Exciting...and exhausting! I spent yesterday building stuff. A rolling wood-and-tool-storage-thingy. I got the … [Read more...]
Chickens
When my kids were young, if you told me that after they went away to college I'd get some chickens to fill up my empty nest, I'd have said you were crazy. Yeah, look who's crazy now. That's me - crazy, with chickens.
Never A Dull Moment
April 15, 2014 by
After morning feeding earlier this week I was strolling around in the barnyard, enjoying the sun and doing my usual chicken head count. Something wasn't right. I was one chicken short and immediately had a deep-in-my-gut kind of panic. I'm frequently surprised at the depth of my emotional connection my animals, animals that most people eat regularly without thinking twice. I don't have … [Read more...]
The Nightmare Continues
April 8, 2014 by
As you know, a raccoon took my sweet Ethel in the dawn recently. I say raccoon, because the manner of death and remains indicated a textbook raccoon killing. I didn't see it, but Keela sounded her ALERT bark around 6:30am. I assumed it was rabbits and didn't investigate. Lesson learned, lesson learned. I know raccoons are around. Keela treed one in the late fall. Lordy, what a racket they … [Read more...]
Heartache in the Barnyard
March 29, 2014 by
It is with heavy heart, such a heavy heart, that I must share with you that Ethel was killed by a raccoon in the barnyard in the early hours of the morning today. Keela barked with great intensity at about 6:30am. While that's not totally uncommon, it was definitely her "guarding" bark. I think I've written more about Lucy and Ethel than any of the other animals. They were so … [Read more...]
Chicken Kisses
March 1, 2014 by
I find chicken personalities endlessly fascinating. Sofia, my only adopted hen (neighbors were down to one girl after multiple predator raids and thought she needed a flock) is the queen of the outliers. She is one odd bird. No one picks on her, but on the other hand, she does not have a chicken BFF. Doink is her best friend. She still sleeps next to him, even though Louise continues to … [Read more...]
Good Grief! What Next?
February 10, 2014 by
On Saturday...there was chicken blood. AGAIN! One of Cleopatra's toenails somehow almost got torn off. Ethel's comb accident somewhat prepared me for the blood that wouldn't stop gushing from the wound, but still, two injuries in two weeks? No fair! I had just come back from walking Keela and still had my headphones on and was all bundled up due the the blowing wind. One glance into the … [Read more...]
Oh No! Injuries In The Barnyard!
January 30, 2014 by
If there's one profession that I would never, ever be able to support myself doing, it would be nursing. I would be on food stamps and living in public housing because I have not a single skill set that nursing requires. More specifically, I have been passing out at the sight of blood or having a needle close to my person since I was young. Since I now have a pacemaker I don't completely pass … [Read more...]
Lucy and Ethel Go On A Visit
December 17, 2013 by
I feel a bit sheepish. I feel a bit embarrassed. After all my sub-zero cold weather drama...today, here in Colorado...well, it was 65 degrees in the barnyard. (Snow is predicted for the weekend, so we're not out of the woods yet, haha.) To celebrate, Lucy and Ethel flew over the fence and came up to the house to socialize a bit. The door was open, and they waltzed right … [Read more...]
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