Around Our Place Tonight

Do you ever come home, tired from working all day, and suddenly want to get rid of every animal on your place and wonder why on earth you are even DOING this?

That was me, tonight. 

I have a new boss, a very nice guy, but I am very, very busy now.  Usually doing chores relaxes me, it's comforting to see the animals and talk to them and walk through the chores checking on everyone.  Tonight, it was a pain.

First there was this one:

This one has tried to be the boss since the day we brought her home from Leavenworth Animal Control. First she beat up on poor old Ranger, who can hardly walk with his bad leg.

Then she lit into Gertie, the smallest one here, for coming too close to the door of the henhouse (behind Lilly). 

I have a secret weapon... a small squirt bottle which she hates!  

I watched Gertie run into the garage to hide, and took Abbey, who was calmly doing chores with me, to the house.  Then went back to find Gert.  She had managed to get her little self through the livestock fence into our neighbor's drive.  I went to the gate to get her, and she proceeded to go the other direction, and at one time, headed for the road.  (We know why the other families gave her up).  

The first break in the weather, oldest grandson Chris will be here to work for us, to string poultry wire around the two acre yard to prevent Gert from getting through. 

After I got her back, Lil would still not let her pass, or come near me.  We walked by these: 

These look innocent, but they were a row of ice pieces that had slid down off the workshop roof... I'm just glad that Keith or the dogs were not under them when they came down in a ten foot long row.

I put the dogs up in the house and came back out to finish...

Notice how Aztec's parents still protect him?  He graduated to his own bowl for feed today!

And lastly, these guys:

Still snug in their little henhouse, under their chick lamp. 

If you notice, Silka is right in the middle, to the right of the waterer, and Flicka right behind her (brown)... the three little hens have abandoned sitting for now, and I'm grateful for that.  We have had more temperate weather this week, but for some reason, I am only getting two to three eggs a day... I was getting four from this henhouse, full of very young birds.  I have had an offer from a friend to incubate some eggs in her incubator in a month or so, and am going to take her up on it, to build up our big egg layers.

I leave you tonight with a picture that I am sure all of you are facing on your places, north, south, east and west... ruts, mud and ice!

Taken at six PM, the yard light has just come on (to the right) and there was still enough light for the picture!