An Early First Sunday of Advent

I got up early this morning to get chores done before leaving for church.  The chickens and turkeys are all happy to get outside in the morning, and are waiting in line at the popholes to come out.

 

This is what they saw:

 

Fog, everywhere.

 

 

When I got home, still foggy... and the chickens had decided to hang out inside for a while.

 

The lesson today, for the First Sunday of Advent, was all about Hope.

 

I hoped all day that soon we will get some rain.  After Keith goes to work in the morning, I'm going to reconnect the garden hose and start watering... I checked some of the perennials today, and they are not looking good. 

 

I'm also going to start the clean-up around the new chicken house, and to clean the big henhouse out this week, and re-bed it for winter.  I'm using a partial bale of straw, and some hay that the llamas would not eat before they left.  I don't usually bed with hay, it can cause respiratory problems, but I think this is sufficiently dry and was certainly weedy.

 

 

Here is the new pophole in the henspa, all framed up.  Unfortunately, one of the younger hens came out this afternoon, and has hidden UNDER the henspa and is roosting under there, Keith got down on the ground before dark and saw her.  We can't get to her.  My biggest fear was that they would start laying under there, and I would never be able to get the eggs, because I'm not gonna belly-crawl for them.  Tomorrow, I'll go to Home Depot and buy some snow fence, and we'll tack it up there to keep them from going under until they get used to roosting inside.  It won't be until it gets hot next spring that they will need the shade, but we will have to wait for this hen to come out before I start.   My guess is that she will spend the night under there, and I'll find her pecking around in the yard and thirsty in the morning.  No, we have not hung the netting yet.

 

I have a lot on my plate this week, as I am starting the Christmas cookie baking tomorrow, as well. 

 

Somehow, the tree will get put up.  We were going to wait until the rugs were cleaned, but we are re-making that date for a little closer to our family lunch on the 15th.

 

 

Keith had some help watching the Chiefs play this afternoon, after the sad, sad day that they had yesterday.   I went to Walmart right after this picture... oh, what was I thinking????

 

 

 

And this evening we were so glad I had my camera in my pocket when this flock came right over our heads as we talked in front of the new henspa.  We have seen far fewer geese than normal this year... and far fewer this fall.  They were headed, we think, for Leavenworth County Lake.