Missing in action!!!

SOOOOOOOO, who knew a person could get attached to CHICKENS??? I've added three more, still have them separted from the older ones. I made the mistake of letting the three older ones escape a week or so ago, Between my yellling at the cats, trying to catch them, one hitting the electric fence, what a crazy few days, CAUGHT One, by the time i started looking for the other two, no where in site, THE cats were hiding under the truck with all the squawking and yelling. FOR hours i kept calling and walking and looking for my biddies, I heard the birds fussing at something down by the grownup greenhouses next door and i went looking, sure enough there was GG hid under a tree in the bushes. I couldn't catch her but she followed me to the tree line , finally at dusk she came to me and i put her back in the chicken run, NO WHERE could i find Shabar,,, until 2 days later, I surely thought some critter had ET her. HOW many times do you suppose I walked past her and she ignored me. WAS she hungry or thirsty? NOT sure, but 2 days later she was down behind the runoff hiding , when i walked past calling again, she answered me. Still not ready to be caught or cross the open to the chick house. I filled her up with watermelon and bread. WENT back to check on her an hour or so later, she was so full i guess she laid up in the shade and let me ease up and pick her up. SHE is the ringleader and the shyest but NOW she is back home where she belongs. sheeessshhhhhh, i was so relieved.

July 4 brought on the blast for sure

THE BLAST of RAIn, or Flood almost in my neighborhood. WEATHER DUDES called it a dry day, but geeee, not at my house, just as i was thinking it was time to get busy cutting grass, the deluge hit ,,, My Pond dam is REALLY worse, the water off the road cut some major ruts in the driveway ( i have called the county to see if they will take a look at the nonexisent culvert and drainage.) I tried a few years back to get on a state program to have the pond repaired, but i don't own enough property or am not a farm I think. THEY did look at it and made recoommendations that I can not afford at the moment. SO here are a couple pictures of the DRY day in Mississippi. OH, im going to have to redo the dog fence in one corner becuase the pond is caving in around the edges because of the dam. PEOPLE do a lot of WANTING on the recycle sites and craigs, wonder can i want a volunteer with a tractor or bulldozer to work on it, BUT if they don't do some engineered thinking, it will just blow out again, when a DRYGULLYWASHER DAY falls out of the sky.
ON a more positive note, the tomatoes are ON the make, and the wild turtles are still happy, although a couple were washed out thru the runoff, but are safely back in the wild pond. LOL

Have a great day!!!
the best is yet to come,,,,

Taint ORange but it is kin.

Oh my, they surprise me every year when spring starts to bloom, not the first one of its kind to be seen this spring, but the first RED BELLY MUD SNAKE. Not my favorite critter but it is pretty and i can never resist poking them, well some of them, couldn't get a good head shot due to the growth around the pond, but still a great body shot maybe????

Its all Ramona's fault. another project.

Ok, so my friend Ramona has done sooooooooo many great Mosaic peices and sent me a cross, that i finally had to give it a try after i broke a favorite kitchen plate. still needs another coat or two of sealer but its almost ready to hang. I'll have to experiment further. I paid one of the guys to cut me out several crosses to practise on. Not quite ready to cut them out myself, especially with hand issues and time issues. the photo really doesn't show up the colors that well, Orange , orange and mostly orange. some cobalt blue.

Invasion of the Phoebes

 

Please take no notice of the fan that needs painting. DO notice the bird nest mostly built with lichens and moss by what i think is an Eastern Phoebe or some sort of flycatcher. I read the description, wagging tail ,check....nest of lichen,moss in eaves or porches,check, ,,,and others. KIND of resembles a Purple Martin in person but smaller and chubbier. A bit shy, hard to get a really good picture, but not too shy to take over a ceiling fan. It should be about time for them to hatch and move on so i can blow some wasp and mosquitos off the front porch. ANYONE want to correct me if i have it wrong, PLEASE DO!!!!!

 

PS, Ramona, I hope to be home with the babies leave the nest or maybe the kitties will be elsewhere.

 

 

the Visitor of March 4 just down the road.

NO, its not a critter this time, Just and old B17 visted Raymond on March 4, If i had 450.00 to spare i might have went just up the road and climbed on. But as it were, i just took pictures from the yard when i could get out there fast enough with my camera. Loved seeing it, pictures do not do it justice. I believe they say there are only 12 left. I took a short video also, but probaby got more trees than airplane.  I really enjoyed seeing and hearing it. It was much closer at times at take off , depending on which direction they were going.

WELL, i've been AWOP for a while, working on just about everything around my corner of world, the following are the two dogs i have at the moment. MilaMonster the yellow one is 7 great puppa, SHEBAROOSOME i adopted with help from CraigsList at 80lbs and 9 months old. AMAZING smart dog, but retraining is a constant. She had very bad manners when i got her. NOW after about 5 months she is becoming a better companion. THE folks who had her as a puppy never had a large dog and she was too much for them. BOTH puppas are Half Labrador and Half RHodesian RIdgeback, WOW they play ruff. and the back yard , OUCH!!!! I'm looking forward to Sheba getting a bit older. LOL

Still a work in progress!!!

YES, it does look messy, but it works, Cleanup will happen, maybe when the weather cools down, which should be very soon. I have a LONG LIST of " when the weather cools down" BUT it works and I now have 6 eggs, although two chickens did not make it. THey appeared to be healthy, i think i used a bit too much TLC out of kindness and created a damp environment and lots of rain at the wrong time didn't help them, although we needed it overall.

What a surprise I recieved when I slid open the side of a blue bird house to do some fall cleaning. SOMETHING stared back at me, not sure what since I could only see a wiggly nose and a fairly large EYE. YIKES. i slid it shut and collected the camera, YEP it was still there, I really can't tell what it is, some sort of rodent, is it a baby? IT sure didnt' run for the hills, too small for a squirrel surely with a blue bird size  hole. chipmunk??? I dunno, I took a picture, can you see it??? I'll check back in a few days to see if its still there.

NEW seester for the MILAMOnster

WELLL, the MIlaMonster is seven now and I decided I better get another puppa before she gets any older, HER GET OLDER??? I should have said myself, becuase this new puppa is soooooooo full of life,,, I wanted one similar to the MIla, and as such I found this one on Craigs list (another story in the making)so many puppas listed there, WELL, I found one, Labrador/Rhodesian mix, which I and others call Labrodesian or is that Labradesian??? Nevertheless, she is Black, 9 months old, and SEVENTYNINE lbs already. AM I CRAZY??? More later. SUffice it to say, she is a handful, which is the reason her family was looking for her a new home, SHE is smart and learning already, but wow, never again, will i adopt one of that age and size. OH never say never!!!

AT LONG LAST after much heartache and bone aches

SOOOOO, the chicken venture has not been the easiest challenge i have ever taken on. WHO knew how silly and delicate the critters can be? NOT ME!!! I so fall in love with any critter i attempt to take on and so it goes with the chickens, I probably should not have named them??? SO, i started with five and now i am down to three due to some illness, maybe coccidiosis, and beginning to wonder if they would ever lay an egg.  BUT AT LONG LAST YESTERDAY was the day. I think i intturppeted the process since i was in the chicken house doing weekend chores and remaking the roost poo catcher. MISS Shay-bar came indoors, not a normal thing, sat on the roost watching me, i should have left. and I did finally take the hint, but was still working outside the house. maybe that is why she chose to lay that FIRST wonderful brown egg in the outdoor 2nd space of three in the sand???? Maybe today will bring a second or third surprise? ONE can only dream. by the way, HOW long will an egg last in the fridge???? LOL
PS, i should have chosen a smaller bowl, this one makes it look way tiny so a friend told me.

THE HEN HOUSE that Knows NO END.

Yes, its been a while, apparently i just can't quit working on the hen house, I keep adding windows, rain barrel , loofas for natural shade, and now I am adding on to the outdoor pen. Stay tuned, OH, im still working on getting the critters to be my friend. they greet me, and love me to feed them thru the fencing, but just can't get happy with me getting any closer. WHEN THE HOT HOT days are over, I'll spend a few hours in the larger yard tempting them with treats, BLUEBERRYS are their favorites. too bad the season is over for me, they aint so cheap at the store.

They are here!!!!

Six weeks old and they look like baby buzzards in my opinon but I have been assured they will be pretty Gold and Black and lay around 300 plus eggs each a year. ONLY time will tell, and so far the pen appears to be critter proofed. I've had fun watching them and helping them learn to use the door to the hen house and learn how to roost. I've not had them but about 6 days and even if they are ugly I'm liking them for the most part!  I've posted the six week picture and a picture of what they BETTER look like in a few months.