Soggy

We have had a soggy two weeks off and on (and again today) but it is 

getting the garden and flower boxes off to a good start. 

The problem is, I am afraid to plant ANY boughten flowers because we keep dipping down into the low thirties at night.  

 

Arugula, spinach and lettuce coming up in one of the 

deck planters. 

Peas up in the one long bed I had Ben leave. 

They are much higher now, in fact.  In the middle of the bed I planted

onions I picked up running through a store... they were mostly rotted in the bag, 

but, lo and behold, after a couple of days in the rain they are doing fine. 

IF.....these guys leave them alone!  

I have been letting the flock into the house side of the yard the last few weeks for a couple of hours a day. 

I don't need to, I just enjoy watching them run around, and so far, they have not made a 

mess on the porch as they used to. 

I still have three Ameracaunas left, and I am getting two to three 

eggs a day from them, which is pretty darn good considering they are four years old. 

This stunning piece of yard furniture was built for me by Ben, my 

yard helper. 

He is so creative.  This was a purchased flat feeder (and the clear cover was thrown in free). 

It was meant to hang, I think, but you know the black birds would have been all over it, and 

I hoped the little birds would use it. 

I give you the feeder. 

Notice the brown headed cowbird in it. 

To be truthful, I have not had to re-fill it all week, 

and the hanging feeders were literally dropping pounds of 

expensive finch mix all over the ground. 

And... some of the small birds have found it. 

If you squint, there are some smaller birds on the far side. 

I am still feeding along the railing, so that Molly has birds to watch. 

And of course, I can't find the picture of her watching the birds!

The silkies in the little hen house are doing well, but they move so fast I can never get a good picture of them!

Everyone has been soggy these last few weeks. 

I swear they are going to be in the house, next. 

The rescue chickens are now allowed down on the floor daily, in the feed room. (Don't worry, the fourth is still here). 

It makes the mature birds have to walk around and come in the pop hole on the side.  

Every afternoon I have to catch them (it's a pain) and put them back in their pen. 

Because the nights are dipping down, I still have a light above them.  Last night, I forgot to 

turn off the overhead light in this hen house and went back out at 8:30.... they were all nestled together under the light, so they still need it.  Just because they look like teenagers does not mean they don't need TLC. 

Hope everyone has a great week! 

 

Happy Easter, 2021

Happy Easter, Friends, for those of you who celebrate Easter. 

It is beautiful here in Northeast Kansas this morning, and we are going to rise to 80 degrees today, if the weatherman is to be believed.  I actually had to turn the warming light off of the chicks yesterday afternoon, but went out after the Easter Vigil and turned it back on.  I am watching the temps this morning so I can turn it off before they get too warm. 

They are doing amazingly well for their terrible start in life.  

I have let the vet's office know that I would be glad to take a few more after 

Easter, when they told me they will be inundated.  I do have another 

brooder pen in the old hen house. 

Last Sunday morning, Jester and I went to Riverfront Park in Leavenworth to 

walk.  It was very peaceful and there were only a few other people there,  Keith and I often walked Oscar there when we lived in Leavenworth.  I thought it would be a good change of pace for Jes. 

Jester is nine, now, and though we used to walk daily from the ages of two to five for him, 

starting over has been hard.  There is also the issue of his overweight, too.  I have noticed that instead of improving, he has become more and more hesitant, though he likes getting in the car, going, 

and then walking a little.  When he is finished, he just....stops.  I cannot carry him at all, I can hardly lift him into the car, and he won't use the steps that Lilly and Snowy used.  We see our good Dr. Tom on Wednesday, for a nail trim but also to have a look at an ulcer scar in his eye... I have wondered lately if perhaps he is not seeing well and that is making him hesitant.  It may be that at nine, his days of walking any long distance are over.  Dr. Tom and I will talk about this. 

The Missouri River was full and moving VERY fast in the above picture... and that park is often underwater when the river is high. 

On the thirty first and the thirtieth, I turned on the warming 

lamps in the hen houses for two last times, I think.... it dipped down into the low twenties.... see how they glow from the porch?  It looks like there was still daylight when I took this picture, but the 

hanging lights on the deck lit up the rail, and that is the glow of Lawrence, Kansas, behind the hen houses in the sky, I think. It was actually pretty dark out.  I have to admit that I like looking out at the 

lights during the winter, and knowing everyone is safe. 

I saw an unsual bird this week, and it's the reason why I look at 

every single picture on the game camera roll, whether or not it's been out one day or five days (hundreds of pictures). 

You will have to enlargen those, maybe, to see it. 

It's a yellow headed blackbird. 

I have only had one or two here in all the years I have watched birds here. 

There was one at the big house, while we were there. 

I have not seen it since the day it appeared on camera, so maybe it was just passing through. 

In the top picture, it is to the right of the pole, in the bottom, to the left. 

How do they DO this? 

The garden camera caught Buddy earlier in the week.  I have been letting the chickens in in the late afternoon, at least until I plant.  Buddy looks evil in this picture!  

However, he is pretty gentle, in fact, all of my roosters now are very gentle with me.  Several have had to be consigned to the stew pot in the past. 

My tradition has been to cut grass on Easter Sunday after church. 

You see, when my kids were growing, we went to my mom's on Easter for dinner after church. 

When mom died, I took up the post. 

As the boys got older, one moved out and the other went to his 

in-laws for all holidays.  I ended up with the "dessert schedule".  Keith's daughters spent it with their mom or in-laws... so I got used to it just being the two of us.  Now, I almost like celebrating alone. I can putter around the house, and then go out and cut a little grass. 

If I wait much longer, it will be overdue. 

I have so many bunnies here.  It makes me nervous about cutting grass! 

Last night as I went out to put the last hen in (!) I startled one coming through between the 

little hen house and the Hen Spa.  It was surprised, and slowly turned around and hopped back once it came.  It was a BIG rabbit. 

I don't know about you, but to me, this crow looks seriously hacked off! 

(taken on the way to the Easter Vigil last night) 

LUMEN CHRISTI

(Light of Christ) 

DEO GRATIAS!

(Thanks be to God!) 

Everyone have a great Easter season!