My Feathered Friends

 

The newest of the brood!

This hen shared the laying rights with another hen.  There were twenty eggs in the nest when she started brooding and she hatched 17 of the 20.  Half are Sextons and half are Round heads.  At three weeks, she has managed to keep them all alive except one.  Now the Sexton is setting on another batch of eggs, so we will see what her rate of hatch is going to be.  Wonderful watching these little ones learn the survival techniques they will need to survive.  I  can't believe how still they can be when the hawk flies over.

Ole Folks

It is sad, but funny, to listen to my elderly parents.  Mother can't hear and Daddy can't get around too well.  Most of the time they stay mad with each other not because of what was said, but what they thought was said.

Unwanted Visitors

The shrill cry of a young hawk had me scrambling for 4 week old biddies and my precious chihuahuas early this morning.  Prayers were interrupted as I watched and waited for the deathly dipping swoop of this bird in search of prey.   So beautiful to watch as they glide swiftly and gracefully through the sky, these keen eyed predators are deadly to my small animals.

The hens ran for cover and Miss Betty and her chicks froze where they stood.  How this feisty hen conveyed to her chicks the danger of moving is a wonder.  They held the frozen position for 3 minutes before resuming their foraging.  The hens are still staying close to the porch or under the shrubbery - both favorite havens.  The roosters are on patrol, one in the front yard and one in the back. 

Last week my beautiful rooster tangled with this beautiful creature and lost a cone and most of his neck feathers.  He survived the attack and his valiant efforts to protect his flock of hens paid off.  Matilda fell prey to a hawk last fall. An aging Rhode Island Red hen that could no longer flee as quickly as she once could, Matilda was caught in the deadly talons of a large hawk hunting in the area. 

Snakes, hawks, owls, weasels, coyotes and cats are deadly to my menagerie and it appears we have them all.  That's one way to keep me on my toes.  Until next time . .

Happy reading!
Belle

Road Trip

Hubby and I have been tossing around the desire to head north toward Maine on an adventure.  What at one time would be a spontaneous trip is now a well planned excursion.  Three weeks ago hubby started talking about it seriously and walked in on a Wednesday and advised we were leaving for Maine on Thursday.  Didn't happen, but the following week we took off driving.  Spent four days driving the Gulf Coast.

The towns were much the same as the ones around middle Georgia.  So many closed businesses, abandoned homes, homeless people.  There is more construction on the coast which is probably recovery from the hurricanes.  The after effects of Katrina is still much in evidence with complete lots bare of buildings with only foundations left in the wake.  Isaac didn't hurt the landscape quite so much but there was much sand on the sides of the roads. 

In Niceville, Florida we dropped in on some friends and enjoyed a good visit.  I really miss seeing them each week and haven't played Trivia since they moved south.  Moved on to Panama City and got in some great beach walking in the shallow surf. 

I am still looking forward to the Maine trip, but I want more than a long weekend on the road.  Maybe in the Spring, after the thaw we will head north.  I also would like to see Key West again and Kansas draws me a bit (maybe it is Dorothy and her red shoes).

Today I am heading to see my youngest granddaughter play soccer.  I hear she is the best!

Big Changes - New Directions

A couple of months ago, my daughter and her husband decided they would like to start a self sustaining farm.  Not a novel idea in this time or place.  After discussing the opportunities and the obstacles, this daughter of mine told me she wanted to buy part of my Dad's property to build this farm.  I didn't believe her.  My response was okay, sure.

My daughter and her sweet husband left 15 years ago for the mountains vowing to live on her mountain top home until she died.   I was more than sceptical.  After that discussion things started to move pretty fast and here two months later two loads of precious cargo have been moved and stored, the mountain top house is on the market and the clearing of the farm land has begun.  My son-in-law and granddaughter are staying with me while this daughter of mine travels home once a week to keep things in order and check on the homestead. 

I am finally coming to realize that this daughter of mine is coming home.  It has been a long long 15 years.  Hubby and I are adjusting our quiet laid back lifestyle to the hustle and bustle of having a pre-teen granddaughter and a teen age grandson around the house.  It has awakened our minds and bodies and got us going again.  Dog tired and weary at the end of the day, I am ready to go again with the coming day.  I have a lot of catching up to do with my two oldest grandchildren and I don't want to waste a minute.

My blogging is one thing that hasn't been foremost in my mind.  While I have a few minutes alone, I thought I would do a little catch up.  The garden is doing as well as can be expected with no rain for a couple of weeks and blistering hot days.  The green beans have done extremely well and the tomatoes were loaded with tomatoes one day and bare the next thanks to my roaming chickens.  The corn is tasseling so I can enjoy a few ears this summer anyway.  The bell peppers have been proficient in their production as have the cucumbers.  After planting 8 or 9 rows of peas, hubby decided to put a fence up to keep my little chicks out.  We should have a healthy crop for the rest of the season.

My little bunnies have reached the cut off stage - no more breeding until some are sold.  They are out growing their cages and running rampant.  The children still love to hold and play with them, but don't enjoy the sharp claws as the bunnies change into rabbits.

I started caning an old chair I picked up and have almost completed the seat.  I hope to finish it in the next few days.  I haven't done any sewing so those projects are still in the sewing basket.  I can save those for a rainy day. 

No new stories posted and that is something I will get worked back into my schedule soon.  Until then and until next time . . .

Happy reading!
Belle

Food was Good, But Service Stank

After an enjoyable afternoon of putting around town, I met hubby and a good friend at a relatively new restaurant/pub in Griffin, GA - The Eagle and the Lion.  The atmosphere was a little different for our neck of the woods, but the menu was varied with choices from heavy to light and something off our usual fare.  I was looking forward to a taste of something new.  With their on site brewery the bar was well attended and the offerings of brew was much greater and varied than their food choices.

Hubby chose the Fish and Chips while my friend and I chose the Bangers and Mash.  The three of us have dinner once a week and enjoy visiting and catching up.  After 45 minutes we were starting to wonder about our food and questioned our server as to our order.  She advised us the order had gone in and ours (?) was fine and should be out any minute.  Another 30 minutes passed before we were advised that our order had never been submitted to the kitchen and much to management's sorrow they were out of "Mash". 

Another server and management were very consoling and advised us that our order would be out shortly.  There was never an apology from our server and she went about her business without a care in the world.  We learned only a short time later she had forgotten to place an order of a lady with a large group of which the owner's mother was a party.  I hope the owner realizes that serving and wait staff can end his business quickly. I hate to see anyone lose a job when there are so few available, but nonchalance in the restaurant business is a big no-no.

The Bangers were nothing to write home about, but that could have been due to the disappointment in having to wait over an hour for the food.  Hubby's fish and chips were delicious.  I will go back to test the waters and give this young man another chance.  If the cute little red head tries to wait our table, I am afraid I will have to leave.

Try this new little pub and tell me what you think.  The Eagle and The Lion next to the old Coca-Cola Bottling Plant in Griffin, Georgia.

Happy Reading!
Belle

I am so glad God started the pay ahead plan!

First Cousins

Once a quarter the first cousins of my Mother's brothers and sister get together for a meal and fellowship.  When the first of us passed away a few years ago, her spouse came up with this idea and I must say it was a terrific idea!

My Mother is the last of her siblings and she gets lonesome for her family and their shared memories.  It is a true boost to her morale when these dinners occur. 

Time doesn't stop for any one and even though we think we will be here forever we all know that our days are numbered and time gets shorter with each passing day.

It was our honor to host a barbecue for these cousins last month and we had such a good time and great conversation.  The ability to linger throughout the day and truly sit down and talk to each and everyone was a treat.  I connected more with some of my cousins on this occasion than I have at any of the other dinners. 

On Friday night we had the traditional barbecue fire and some of the guys cooked all night.  There is nothing better for relaxation and visiting than a cook fire.  Those that made it out on Friday night we thank you - we appreciated the help and enjoyed the company.

For those that couldn't make it, we missed you!  Attached are a few shots of a wonderful weekend.

A Bit of My Spring

Blondie with her babies!

Promise

Patience

Photography by my grandson, Joseph Head!

Good job Joseph!

Rabbit Fever

. . . a disease, not in this case, just the joy of raising little bundles of smiles! 

The dad of the bunch, Jedi,  is a brown American. One mother, Star, has white fur tipped in light gray and is a young rabbit.  Cleo is the other mother and is solid black with a long muscular body and longer ears.  I am guessing on some of this information as these rabbits were purchased at a local auction house and no information provided other than the sex of the rabbit.

Star had her first litter (4 kits) with me a few weeks ago and has been resting after weaning for about 3 weeks.  Cleo now has 5 kits that are about 2 weeks old and have just been moved to a growing pen. 

I have a birthing pen with a deep bottom and little moving room that becomes home for about three weeks.  Moms get moved to the birthing pen about a week before they are due to kindle and remain there until the kits eyes are open and they become active about 2 - 2-1/2 weeks.  Then they are moved to the growing pen which is a larger and allows Mom more freedom of movement.  They remain with Mom in the growing pen for two weeks before going to the "teen age" pen.  The "teen age" pen is a large pen with lots of toys and gives plenty of play room.  Mom then goes back into the base pen with the other adults. 

These little beauties will fill your day with their antics.  Yesterday was spent finding Tiki after he climbed the pen side and found an escape route.  He always came back to the pen, but would scamper away to prevent capture.  Hubby finally caught up with the little renegade and back in the now reinforced pen he went.  He is going to make a little girl very happy this weekend for her birthday!

Smokey is everyone's favorite.  She loves to be held and will climb out of the pen when the door is opened for feeding and climbs right into your hand.  She has some lionhead in her and her beautiful deep gray tipped fur is gorgeous.  She is a keeper!  The grandchildren have banned her from being sold!

Tiki and Tavi are twins with Tiki being the daredevil and Tavi being the little shy one.  Thumper just ambles along without a care in the world.  Thumper does not have the sense of adventure of Tiki or Smokey.

 These little angels get fresh fruit and veggies this time of day so I will close for now and tend the rabbits.  Until next time  . . .

Happy reading!
Belle

Just a Little Catch Up!

Things have really started jumping around this little farm and I am trying to hop a long and keep up!  February was dragging along and I was dragging with it until the 24th - yes the day of the last big storm.  Star, my beautiful white and gray rabbit, decided to kindle on this day.  For those of you that do not speak rabbitese - kindle is giving birth.  Babies were dropping here there and yonder and unprepared me was running around in lightening and pouring rain trying to get her pen out of the rain and well stocked with all the needs of a new mother rabbit.  She had four kits (babies) and is a wonderful mother.  I checked on the other doe and Mr. Jedi and they were fine, so Star and I settled in for a quiet afternoon.  After the storms had passed, I fed the chickens and gathered the eggs and low and behold here comes Blondie followed by 12 little ones.  She led them straight to the barn to eat and eat they did!  I returned to check on Cleo and Jedi.  The pen was filled with babies.  Cleo must have danced in the rain and quickly deposited 9 little ones in an unprepared pen.  I lost about 5 to drowning and quickly moved Mother and kits into the second birthing pen.  She was not a good mother!  I ended up with one survivor and moved it into the pen with Star.  She immediately cleaned and fed the little one and now is the happy mother of 5.

I never realized that rabbits grew so quickly.  These little ones are a joy to watch. Star has been weaning them this week and I think she is about ready to go back to the big pen and let the little ones grow on up. 

In the two weeks in between this tumultuous Thursday, something killed 6 of Blondie biddies and my big rooster along with one laying hen.  I am hoping the hen is sitting on a nest somewhere, but I did find two patches of feathers behind the barn.  It had to big a big rascal to get my Barred Rock Rooster - he was huge!
I have managed to get in some sewing and therefore knocked back my stack a bit but not near enough.  That will have to wait though as I have two chairs to cane and those take priority. 

Have to run.  Until next time  . . .
Happy reading!
Belle

The warm Spring like temperatures in Middle Georgia have inhibited my creativity as far as inside projects are concerned.  Usually my writing and sewing are done on those cold wet days of winter we haven't experienced this year.  I keep telling myself the cold is coming but the days are flying by and except for a night or two my toes are still warm! 
So the sewing is still packed away in containers and Zeb (I do believe he is swimming around in the pool right now) and Lizzy (sunning on the back deck) are patiently waiting on the sidelines waiting for my next adventure.  I thought to go back to the original stories and edit them into something resembling grammatically correct writing, but I decided to leave them be and let these be a teaching tool for young writers.  I am sure they will get a lot practice correcting my punctuation and sentence structure. 

I am getting a little antsy though, so regardless of the temperatures and sunshine, I may have to stay in and do some sewing. 

I read Christopher Paolini's last book, Inheritance, over the last week.  I know this is suppose to be the end of the series, but as with a good many books I have read, I hope there will be a sequel.  Fantasy is fantasy and I can make up any ending I want to the story!

Over the past year I have continued to connect with those I not only graduated with, but also those shared the start of my educational journey.  I have found it takes only a spark to bring forth the memories of those days so long ago.  I know it is good for the heart and maybe it will keep my brain alert a little longer!

My writing time is up!  Just an update - my parents are hanging in there and still getting around, albeit slowly.  Mom gave us all a laugh at dinner on Sunday when she lost a cap on her front tooth and was afraid she had swallowed it.  All our little ones were aghast when she smiled and had no tooth!  The cap was found on her plate and she is in the process of restoring her beautiful smile.  Dad really got a chuckle out of this one! 

Time seems to fly at the times we wish it would stand still.

Happy reading!
Belle