Rain, Hallelujah!

Last night in our front yard:

Yes, friends, that's what the ground looks like hereabouts.

Starting to get scary.  Not so long ago, our sump pump in the well house was running up to ten times a day, pumping out excess water to keep the well house dry.  That has stopped.

So tonight, doing chores.... here's what I saw:

I stopped to say a prayer... we need this!

An hour later, we had a good, hard (very hard!) shower, but it only lasted ten minutes.  Right now the sun is trying hard to peak through again.  J and S at Cranky Puppy Farm... it's coming your way!

Here is something else that happened yesterday:

"It" is right of the waterer.  Can you see it?  It is ONE chick, appearing to be Mille Fleur D'Uccle in type, as there are three Mille hens and a rooster in this pen.  Those are my three mixed hens from the little henhouse, moved in here.  There were FOUR mamas on the eggs, which appear here:

That looks like thirteen more eggs to me, and to tell you the truth... I can't handle thirteen more birds.  But I am guessing something...tonight is Thursday, and yesterday one chick had hatched.  Usually, a clutch will all hatch within 24 hours of each other.  My guess is none of the rest of the eggs are going to hatch.

When I got home to do chores tonight, I saw that the lone chick is eating and drinking very well... so I put the waterer in the doorway.  I'll move it just out of the doorway tomorrow morning, so it won't be knocked over.  The two white mamas are up and training, so if any eggs will still hatch, it will be the Mille Fleur hen and Fleura, my silkie/frizzle cochin cross that will raise them.

Here is something else strange:

Mums.  Blooming in May.  I pinched back all the others.  I'm going to dead-head these and see if they will bloom again, they were the HUGE bush that bloomed in October last year. Too Freaky! 

We got a half-inch of rain by the little yard cart -- it has at least a half-inch in it just now as I went out to lock up the birds.