Had to find out!

Alright, I admit it. Curiosity got the better of me. I had to find out just how many eggs Little Inger is sitting on. Here is Little Inger keeping her eggs nice and warm. She is so happy.

Sorry about the picture being fuzzy. I picked up Little Inger, held her and took this picture of her eggs and immediately set her back onto her eggs. Um, some different colored ones there! Looks like Little Inger has snagged a few eggs that were not hers! There is one Americauna ( green egg), one white egg from one of the Mottled Houdans, one or two larger brown eggs ( either from an Americauna or the Polish Laced hen). The rest of her eggs are, I am guessing from her. Heck who knows, maybe some of them belong to the other White Silky Bantam! I have no idea how such a small girl is keeping all those eggs warm!

Of course Mr. Worm had to come inside the chicken pen to help me.

According to my calculations Little Inger's eggs should hatch out no later than February 6th! I am really looking forward to seeing how many will hatch......and of course how many different breeds she will mother.

Until next time...........................

A Helping Herd

This morning after coming back from feeding I noticed there was garbage scattered about in the back pasture. How wonderful! ( notice the sarcasm there?) It's been pouring which means that the garbage is soaking wet and not going to be fun picking up. Not that picking up garbage is in any way fun! So, off to the barn to get a grain bag and a muck fork. There is no way I am picking up somebody else's garbage even with gloves on. Nope, not going to happen.

It sure didn't take long for the herd to realize I had a familiar item in my hands. Before I knew it they all started making there way towards where I was.

Um, hate to tell ya' there Pewter but you don't want what is in there. I promise you! Turns out the garbage was bathroom garbage! Don't worry, no pictures of that.

Patti has to see what is in my hands before checking out the grain bag.

Hey Patti, bring that back! She started walking off with the bag. And look who is over here again! Yup, Little Dog or as I have been calling him now, Persistence. And guess who is responsible for the garbage mess? If you guessed Persistence, you are correct! I caught him coming over from our other neighbor with a piece of garbage from their place. Thanks DebH ( Dakotagoats) for the suggestion of the name Persistence. It fits!!!!

A.J. and Pattie still checking to make sure that there still isn't any grain in the bag.

It took awhile to get all the garbage, but even with the herds' 'help', the job is done.

Until next time......................

Digging Ditches!

For once I did not heed the weather forecast. Last night when I checked, it said there was a 90% chance of rain. Yeah, right! Heck yesterday morning it said we were going to get 20-30 mph winds. Did we, not here. We live in what us locals call a 'pocket', which means we don't always get the same weather as everyone else here in the valley. But I do try to be prepared just in case. Well, guess what? Yup, it started pouring in the middle of the night. When I went out to feed, the water was running in mini rivers all over the place and the donkeys that have full run of both pastures were standing in the breezeway to get out of the rain. Out in the stall area it was flooding! Great! Should have been prepared. Darn it!!!

After digging ditches, laying down these pipes to make the water go into them and away from the breezeway, the standing water started to drain. Yay!!!! What a mess!

A quick update of Squirrel and Jovi after surgery yesterday. Here is Jovi getting ready to curl up by the heat vent.

And Squirrel just wanting to be near someone.

The surgeries went well and these two rascally kittens will be back to normal in a few days.

I have already been telling Rodent that next Monday it's his turn!!!

Until next time.......................

A Trip To The Vet

Today is the big day for Squirrel and Jovi. It is spay and neuter time!!! We are ready to go. Both kitties are safe and secure in the backseat of the truck. Rodent was suppose to come along, but Rodent decided that that was not an option today. Okay, Rodent, today you win, the last laugh will be mine because next week you are going!

We arrived safely at the vet's office.

As you can see Squirrel and Jovi are not happy one little bit.

This is the vet's office. I use this vet for my dogs and cats. He is top notch.

Later today I get to bring both kittens home.

Wish me luck when I pick them up. I'm pretty darn sure I'll be getting 'THE Look" for awhile!

Oh, and shhhhhhh, don't tell Rodent but the appointment has already been made for next week!!!!!

Until next time.......................................

Those Rascally Kittens!

The kittens have been little rascals this morning! This is what I woke up to this morning. A paper mess.

Awww, look how cute they are playing.

Jovi checking to make sure there is nothing inside the boot.

Ah ha!!!!! Hmmm, I wonder who is partially responsible for the paper mess. Couldn't be Rodent could it?

No wonder Squirrel, Rodent and Jovi are hungry. All that playing and paper shredding makes one very hungry.

Those silly little rascals.

Until next time...........................

Handy Tip

For Christmas my oldest daughter gave me a music player thing. MP3 player I guess is what it is called. My old one finally gave out after about five years. It didn't help I was constantly dropping it in horse poo and a couple of times in a puddle of pee while cleaning stalls. Yeah, I know, gross! Believe me, everytime I did it I said the same thing! Yuk!! But kept on using it ( yes after cleaning it off). Nothing like listening to your favorite tunes while doing chores. My new player is a lot nicer than my old one.

But guess what I managed to do? Has the automatic waterer given you a hint? Yup, you guessed it. Somehow I managed to drop it into the water! Can you believe that? Don't ask how I did it, but it happened. Man was I mad. Geez, what is it with me and these gadgets. Before you ask, yes my new one has a clip and yes it was clipped, but it still ended up inside the water. You should have seen the look on my face as I stood there staring at my new toy in the water!

When Holly got home from college she asked me how my day was. I told her what I did and after she shook her head, she told me to put it in a bowl of rice. A bowl of rice?!!! Yes, a bowl of rice. Her Science teacher said that if you drop an electronic device in water to cover it with rice. That it will draw out the moisture.

Alrighty then. Into a bowl of rice overnight went the music player.

Sure enough, it worked! Not a droplet of moisture anywhere on the player. I tried it and it is working like brand new.

So, if you happen to drop one of your electronic devices into water, try the rice trick. Although if you drop your television into water, well, better buy a lot of rice and have a huge container! Ha Ha

Until next time.......................

Someone's Being Broody!

For the past week I have noticed Little Inger wasn't coming out with the rest of the girlies. Everytime I went into the hen house Little Inger was in the same spot. Since I am new to chickens I became concerned. When I picked her up to see if maybe there was a wound or if she had 'poopy butt' she got really upset. When I set her back down she just flopped onto her side and stayed there which really scared me. Oh no, not Little Inger.

I called Rooster who is an employee up at my favorite feed store and told him what she was doing. He giggled and told me she was being 'broody'. She wants to sit on eggs and have babies! I asked him if it was okay to let her have babies in the winter. After all, it's so cold. Again he giggled and told me to let Mother Nature take her course. If Little Inger wants babies, to let her. So, guess what? Yup, Little Inger can sit on her eggs and if Mother Nature wants her to have babies, then it looks like their will babies.

And look. Little Dog was in our driveway today! Fine. So be it then. So long as he behaves himself he can stick around.

Until next time....................