Finally some rain! And some roses! And cats!

 

So we finally got a little bit of rain! And LOTS of wind. Add a smidge of thunder and when its all done with.... I have to listen to the cats complain. Like it was my fault!  Sheesh!   Everett seemed to be the unhappiest of the lot.

  

 

The little Joseph's Coat rose that I planted earlier this year has produced it's first two blossoms! And "yes" I am so excited!!!!  Hoping it does well in its new home. I just love the colors this rose displays.

Of course, Cormac had to get in his two bits too. 

Ronan and Fergis... with a hen thrown in for good measure.

   "I AM HEN. HERE ME ROAR!"  And I mean that literally! The Delawares make the weirdest dinosaur noises I've ever heard out of a chicken.

    OH NO! Fergis is melting!!!!!

    Ronan likes to make himself comfortable. Can you tell? hahaha
    

Bits and Pieces from 2017

   A very happy toad indeed. I forgot to dump the water out of this old pan!

  Love these old lilies. Seems like they grow everywhere down here in the South.

   Esmeralda, for some unknown reason, likes to sit like this on top of the old butter churn. Whatever makes her happy! I certainly get a chuckle every time I see her relaxing this way.

   Fergus just has the most beautiful eyes! After all this time though, he still  isn't feeling well. Hopefully life improves for us all around here.

   Merry Christmas still hasn't outgrown her joy of chair sitting. Here she was supervising again! When I start sorting through the "stuff" around here, Blossom just goes and takes a nap! hahahaha

   I was really surprised when I saw this picture from last year. The Delawares have all grown big, beautiful combs now that they are mature.

FINALLY able to access my blog!!!!!!

    Can't remember if I posted this photo of the chick with spraddle leg. Too cute! So here it is!
From here on out I have almost a year to catch up on!!!! SHEESH

     Finally decided after I had gotten the chicks last Spring that I needed a "simple" henhouse.... so I decided to try a prefab one.  Here are all the sides after I'd assembled them. Wasn't difficult.

    Most of the instructions were ok.  Not all though! But its pretty easy to figure out.

    Merry Christmas decided she would be the supervisor. That worked out well.

     Job complete. Merry gave the thumbs up on the project!

   Hermoine wasn't too sure about it at first.... but her and the girls soon warmed up to it!

Meet Alma and family

   
   Meet Alma! She is one of the semi-grown kittens that showed up here and I placed in crates so they wouldn't get impregnated! Obviously Alma had beat me to that. sheesh! Immediately after that I was sick for several weeks and then my mother passed away.... so its been a very busy and emotionally trying time.
    During that time the two cats got settled in on the porch and Alma started growing quite large! (The last thing we need around here are more cats.) She looks pretty miserable in this photo... but you would be too if you were hugely pregnant and living in a crate!
    Then on Sunday afternoon, that all began to change........

   I noticed her breathing hard and moving around with a confused look on her face. Then the first kitten arrived..... black with white facial markings. Then two tabbys! I call them the twins because they were so close together.

   CUTE, huh?! Then came a black one. That's #FOUR!!!  Then another black one! Oh my God, we're up to FIVE!

    Look at these markings. It looks like a funny looking chipmunk! Then almost an hour later.... she gives birth to #SIX!!! Another tabby! This one is a different shade from the twins. Alma was SOOOOOOOO TIRED! And bewildered! But she has wonderful maternal instincts, so I'm hoping everything works out for this lovely little family. Now I need to find homes for everyone when they get weaned. And a very special home for Mama Alma. She is the sweetest girl and so deserving of a wonderful forever family.

    What a picture! Look at the size of it's head. Oh my!!!

First Egg!

   Good thing I put those "nest boxes" in the coop yesterday!!! I was inside cleaning this afternoon and both dogs started barking... Blossom even came and sat next to me looking slightly scared.   When I  walked into the living room I could hear the hens making a God awful racket! Wow! This new batch of girls is LOUD!!! When I went out to check on everyone I immediately found the reason for all the noise. It was a CELEBRATION! hahahaha
   Now I got the Leghorns a week earlier than the Delawares, so they should be the first to lay. And they are right on schedule! The first egg is white and therefore from a Leghorn.     So much for giving them to someone before they got started laying. sheesh    ( I have too many hens for my living conditions!!)
  

   Archimedes found this pullet egg to be absolutely irresistible! I can only imagine how it smells to a cat! HAHAHA
    *And I think its really cool that the first egg arrived on what would have been my mother's 92nd birthday!

Just some hen pics!

Have been wanting to get back and write on some of the chick raising activity, but will just post some photos.  Here is one Leghorn,  Rose the Delaware and Hermoine this afternoon. I was cleaning and rearranging the now-way-too-small pen area!!!
 

We're getting close to THAT TIME now. So I stuck a couple of cat carriers in as "nest boxes". Boy, did that cause a ruckus!
 

One of the things I really like about the Delaware's appearance is their necklaces. Each is unique to that bird. Plus they have a nice full figure. The Leghorns are a thinner looking breed . Personally I like to see a big fat round hen poking around in the yard.

What a sweet face! Well, at least for a chicken.

Here is that svelte Leghorn body type I was talking about! hahaha  Plus they seem to be really LOUD birds. And fairly jumpy too. My nerves do not need that right now.  We''ll see how successful my attempts to rehome them are.