Showing posts with label guineas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label guineas. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

And the Rain Returns

I frequently take a gravel road over to the old house. 

I frequently see some guineas in a field along this road, in fact, numerous times 
during the winter I would see them popping about in the cornfield. 

I had to laugh when I saw them, they are just comical birds, 
but they are excellent watchdogs and tick-eaters. 

I could never keep them because they can't be contained and 
Lilly would have gotten them. 


Here they were this morning as we came along. 

So cute.  I really like guineas. 

They hung there for a few seconds and I slowed down. 


And then a head popped up behind them. 


Oh, if the sun had only been shining! 


All four crossed in front of me, and then the guineas took off running... into the gate of their home... 


And their big blue friend posed one more time before he followed them. 

Oh, the things you see. 


Our neighbors to the east moved last month, and sadly, the sale of their house fell through, so they, like us, are paying two mortgages.  Another neighbor is keeping their house cleaned up on the outside. 
These are some of the beautiful plantings on the west side of their house, that I can 
see from our patio. 

I have ONE iris this color, and I had actually forgotten all about it. 


It looks just as good with the pink peonies. 

My peonies are still not blooming at the old place. 


Here I am turned towards our patio.  There is the strip we had plowed in February, and 
then planted nothing on it.  

I rolled the two whiskey barrels out there yesterday and filled them, 
and today I planted a tomato in each.  We are going to put cloth down and then 
mulch that strip heavily and then plant it next year. 

I have to get the grass out along the fence, too, but I'll be working on that next week, as it's going to rain the next few days.  See the upturned black trough in the background on the right? 
It has a pot on it with a pepper plant in it. 

I trimmed this afternoon, and I trimmed all that high grass you see against the black trough. 
Someday I'll show you what is under it. 

There are still peppers and tomatoes in pots on our table, but I am 
starting to plant all the pots, and to sit out on the patio more and more. 
If I am quiet, the birds come down. 



My poor plants are about blown away. 

This afternoon, I planted two more pepper plants at the old house, and I'll try to get a picture in the next few days.  It was raining while I did it. 

I'm also planting pink and orange zinnias out there (not together!) and 
marigolds, but... it is going to rain for a few days.  I wanted to get the seeds in before it started. 
Oh, well. 

I found some balsam seeds from 2005 that I saved at the old house.  Just as an experiment, I'm going to plant them.  I love balsam. 

From where I can sit at the table, I can see the hummingbird feeder, and I 
am hoping to get good pictures this summer. 

I have still only seen two hummers, or maybe the same one, twice. 


Despite the rain,  I stopped to see the baby hawks.  You can 
just see the top of their heads... and mom or dad in the nest with them. 
I think they were pretty safe, though we are to have a good storm tonight. 
Mom and Dad will take care of them in their leafy bower. 


That's it for today!  


Thursday, January 22, 2015

Lots O'Pictures!


Look who was standing by the side of the road on our way to the vet this morning.  I was shooting 
through a dirty window, sorry... and I knew there had to be another one close.  On the left is 
Wyandotte County Park and Lake, a huge wildlife area, and though this is a paved street, four lane... there are farms and woods all around. 

I stopped, but she turned back...


Isn't their camouflage wonderful?????
Yes, there were two.  They did not try to cross again, but started back up the hill they had come from. 

10 AM in the morning! 

Jester and Lilly both visited the vet... Jester has a severe ear infection.  I knew he 
was shaking his head a lot, and finally realized something had to be going on. 
We were afraid it was mites... it looked like it... and no, I did not get pictures... 
but... after culturing, it was yeast.  The doctor said he had probably been 
in pain for a while, poor little doll. 

He had his ears flushed, and now I will be flushing daily, and putting drops in for a week. 

Lilly needs a therapeutic bed, she has worn a huge callus on her 
elbow, and it is hurting her.  So.. next week... we'll make a trip to 
get one for her. 

We had several for Ranger when he was still alive... but they were torn up
both by him and the pugs. 


Here is Anthony, the hardest working young man in Wyandotte County, loading some 
feed bags for me that I was taking to a friend this morning.  Anthony may be small in 
stature, but he is HUGE in strength.  






Notice Lilly ignoring him (again).  
He takes five steps to her one. 


I swear to you we are going to sneak out the side door and go to the 
dog park next week... we can't take Lilly, who does not get along with 
other dogs very well. 


They are just the best babies, and are so good when they are riding around with me. 


They had sore temptation.  I had a 20 pound bag of scratch (aka chicken crack) in the 
back of the car, and when we got to my friend's home, I broke it open.... and was immediately swamped. 


The guineas fought past the geese to get some. The beautiful rooster on the right was a 
"Dumpee", as my friend calls them.  People come by and dump their roosters on her. 


These two beautiful cochin hens were in a hutch.  They got a treat, too. 


Can you see Jester peeking out? 

They were actually completely interested in the poultry which was squawking, a kitty that was meowing, and three dogs that were tethered to their left.  They were so good and did not try to come over the seats. 

Turn up the volume! 



And yesterday... was 
Squirrel Appreciation Day! 

I love squirrels, I admit it.  I don't begrudge them a thing. 


The photo of this lovely little gray guy was taken by 
a friend's husband, and I was given permission to use it. 
My friends are also friends of the squirrels! 

What a great picture, thanks "Gre".