Working in the Dark

It's better to work in the dark, these days.

Keith is filling buckets in our little wagon because of this:

That's one of our two year old pear trees, in great distress now.  We put four buckets on it tonight, and Keith is out filling more right now.  We put three on the far tree.  He is going to water each of them again while I am posting. We would hate to lose these trees, he worked so very hard last year to get them going.

I can hear the tractor starting again for Trip Number Two.

We can't let the hose run for long, as we are on a well, allbeit a deep one.  We ran ourselves dry Sunday, and had to wait overnight for the pressure to re-build.  A new well pump is over $1000.00, so we want to be sure we don't burn one out.

Red sky at night, Sailor's delight

Red sky at morning, Sailors take warning

These were last night's and this morning's skies. 

Sorry about this (more chickens), but I have to show you:

The porcelain and mille chicks came out tonight, two days after I put them in the little henhouse with the bigger birds.  They were suffering each time I checked on them, draped on the waterers, and panting hard.  Finally, they all flew the coop.  I actually took a break from watering and sat and watched them as they played on the ground for the first time in their short lives  Unfortunately, there are 3 cockerels in this picture, two purebred porcelains, and one purebred mille fleur.  The other brown chick is a d'Uccle/silkie cross. Notice they are all heavily booted.  I'm hoping I can find homes for these little cockerels.  One, the one in the middle, is an especially nice porcelain.  The little mille is nice, too, if he had lifted his head you would have seen.

Our skies here almost look as if some rain is coming.  Keith reminded me tonight (we got a wild hair and ate at Bob Evans!) that last June we had temps over 100 regularly, up to 110.  I don't remember the gardens wilting so much, or the trees suffering so much. 

I am listening to the news that 9 states have folks out of electricity tonight, and terrible devastation from storms.  There are more who need our prayers tonight.

PS, it's 10:15, and I've come back on to tell you that there is lightening in the sky to the north, and thunder, the temp has dropped about 20 degrees already, and it is blowing, just since I posted and showered.  We're saying a prayer that we get a little bit of rain!

Look at Your Own Risk

Okay, I need to tell you all up front I had another back injection today, and this was the first one that was truly painful.  It pretty much sapped the heck from me, and I spent the day in bed with Hannah, while Keith, God bless him, checked on the animals and did the mid-day watering in the heat.  I was still pretty worn out when the grandkids got here tonight, the two oldest are going to help us over the weekend.  I am treating them to Harry Potter tomorrow in grateful thanks.  (But Chris is earning money by working hard!)

So Sherie, their mom, my ex-daughter in law, dropped them off after work, and stayed to have some dinner.  She then went out with me to pull the very heavy hose to help me do the evening watering, and I was so very grateful to her.  I pretty much directed while she did most of it, and I can't thank her enough.  She also took our zucchini home to make several loaves of zucchini bread tomorrow, and will give me one when she gets the boys on Sunday morning.  Chris is out cutting grass which I usually do on Friday night, and Nathan is in here with me, but going to collect the rest of the eggs when we go out soon.

Sherie took this in the little henyard.  Please excuse the chore clothes and my appearance, as I was in bed most of the day. This is such a funny picture that I had to post it.  Sherie was shocked when the little cockerel flew at us, and she frankly was ready to run.  Then she DID run up to the house to get the camera, laughing as she went.  She thought it was very funny, and as soon as she said "Maybe you could teach him to talk"... he began making chirping noises. 

 

Addendum:  I tried to upload the video for over an hour, and it would not.

I am going to show you a picture of what was happening while we filmed.  I'll try again tomorrow to upload the video, but I think the new camera may not be the right kind of videos that Blogger will accept.

I look lovely slouched in my dirty old chair with my chore clothes on, but in truth, Sherie did all the chores.

This little cockerel that I STILL haven't named regularly flies up on me now to get his evening treat.

More Chicken Stories

Last night, I put two cockerels from the juvenile pen in the little henhouse at dark.  Confused, they froze just inside the door, but Muffy and Bitty, my two little pets, were still up, and I saw them approach the two boys.  I shut the door on them, I knew they would be okay. 

Sure enough, when I opened the pophole this morning, out rushed the Welsummer cockerel.  He took on the three roosters, and I was satisfied before I left for work that he would be able to protect himself.  I figured the partridge cochin would stay in the henhouse with the three hens who are setting, and the little black cochin who rarely comes out.  When I got home, he was still inside.

While I was doing chores, someone snuck in the door behind me:

Uh Huh.

I sat and watched him for a while, and he was not fighting or hurting anyone, so I left him for the time being.

Here are my two little pets with Handsome, the cochin, who finally came outside.  He's still very immature, and doesn't bother anyone.  You notice Bully is leaving them alone, he just checked them out.

This is Rocky, the partridge-colored Plymouth Rock cockerel.  He has not started crowing yet.  He is easily going to be the biggest of all the juveniles, but has been in the little henhouse for several months already.  He is going to be as big as Rambo, but is a gentle giant.  I ran out of space on my card in the camera, or would have gotten a picture of the Welsummer cockerel, who has this one cowed already.

Over the weekend, as we did an errand together, we saw a chicken tractor in a yard in Tonganoxie, full of what looked like bantam Buff Orpingtons.  They were merrily eating away in someone's front yard.  Keith commented tonight that he is going to build a couple of chicken tractors for us.  Butch and his girls have been in their pen for six weeks now, and it is nasty and the dirt is churned up and gets full of flies during the day.  I leave them in while I let Rambo and the others out during the day, and when I get home, I lock up the "big flock" (big and little birds) and then let Butch, Angel, Reddy and Eagle out for a couple of hours.  They go back to their doghouse when it starts to get dark.  Keith noticed how nasty their place is, though, and is going to make some tractors (probably two) so we can breed like to like if we want.  (welsummers, or rocks, etc. etc. ).  We can move the tractors so the ground beneath them doesn't get nasty from a static pen.  I think it's a super idea!

The porcelains had their gate down all day, but stayed in their pen til I got home, when they jumped down.  The rabbit hutch has about had it, so I am going to have to get them used to the little henhouse, and how to go up and down the ramp.

Here they are playing in the wet dirt of the little henyard.

A Full Day for the Porcelains

Yesterday or the day before, a porcelain pullet flew down as I was getting their water for them, and was pounced on and scared half to death by the only Bantam Brahma we have left.  I rescued her, and put her back in the rabbit hutch, but it was very clear that the three porcelains wanted to be out and about.

So today, I caught Mr. Brahma as he barreled out the little henhouse pophole, and carried him, protesting, to the big henyard.  Then I opened the door of the rabbit hutch, and did other things until I saw that the porcelains were not going to be molested.  I did wonder and worry all day at work, but came home tonight to find them intact.

They had never been on the ground before today, and it was comical to see them walk across the grass (that needs to be cut!)

They stuck together in a little bunch all day, I think, and when I sat down in the chair in the henyard to watch, they clustered at my feet.

These two also greet me and chatter to me daily:

They are Mille Fleur, but their coats are not great.  I like them anyway, they are wonderful little birds, and are called Muffy and Bitty.  We are going to cut their flight feathers this weekend as they almost fly like wild birds, and like to be up high.  We are afraid a hawk will get them while they walk along the 8 foot high fence tops. Keith is amazed at how tame and friendly they are.  My friends Nancy and Paul had a very tame Milly named Tilly, who rode around on Paul's shoulder and lived in a cage in their house.

Here is a bad picture of my favorite of the three cochin cockerels.  I like this red one... but I also like the partridge-colored ones... and they are actually better-looking birds to my mind, but this little red guy is nice.

Here is one of the two partridge colored cochin cockerels.  You see he is a much better bird... and probably the keeper.

That's the surviving OEG in the back ground, and I still have the little brassy back girl, too. The Welsummer cockerel is in with this bunch, still, as are the three young Ameracaunas.  They are all about ready to go in with the little birds in the little henhouse.

All the females are moving over to the new henhouse at the end of summer, anyway, and then the little henhouse hopefully will be used for breeding.

This little pen will be cleaned out and used for a breeding trio of bantams.

I end with a picture of one of the Welsummer pullets... they and the Rocks are turning into beautiful young birds, I am so happy with them!

Okay, now I'm laughing, because I'm pretty happy with all the birds.  After a long day at work, I'm happy to come home and watch "chick tv" from my old plastic chair in the henyard. 

I even feel sorry for Mr. Bully Brahma, who was caught with the net tonight, and plopped down in the big henhouse.  I stepped in to check on him, and he was standing there totally bewildered, didn't know where to turn or which way to go.  As there is PLENTY of room in there now, he will just have to make his way.  I'm sure he'll be greeted by Rambo before I can get out there in the morning, so I'll try to rise early and get out there before he gets drubbed.  He spent the day running up and down the fence looking at his buddies in the little henyard, but I'm afraid if I let him back in, he'll beat up on the porcelains, and this weekend, on the Welsummer cockerel, who is about to be moved there. 

I'll be watching to see that he is not beat up upon too badly over the next few days, until he adjusts.  I did see him eat and drink as I was doing the llama water tonight.