For The Birds

One of the best parts of farm life is having the opportunity to observe

animals in their day-to-day routine.

And although I love spending time with all our four-legged critters,
the birds, and especially the chickens, are definitely the most comical
and interesting subjects to study.

They flit around all day long...from here to there and there to here...
so very busy tending to all of their chicken business.

After all these years, I have come to realize that there are so very many 

similarities between us and them.

One thing that is evident is that they develop certain habitual behaviors
and develop strong preferences.

For example:
We have a particular red hen who has developed a fondness for laying her eggs in the turkey house.

Even if all of the chickens are closed up in their yard for the day,
(in the case of inclement weather)

she escapes through the larger holes in the fence (near the top of the pen)
and makes her way over to the turkey house.

There, she makes her way into her favorite nesting box and lays her egg.

If, by chance the turkey yard is closed,
she lays her egg outside the door.
(For reasons known only to her.)

It's a lot like we humans.
Do you have a favorite room?  A favorite chair?  A preferred side of the bed?
A mug from which you prefer to drink your tea or coffee?
Chickens are no different.

They perch in the same spot each night at bedtime.
They prefer certain nesting boxes.
They even seem to prefer the company of certain other chickens... friends.

Speaking of egg-laying...
the guineas have continued to gift us with six or so eggs on a daily basis.

Raising them in their house and yard...
and then closing the back up each night has taught them to identify that place as home.
Hopefully it will continue!

We had a lovely weekend celebrating Hubbs' birthday.
One of his gifts was this wild bee house.

We will hang it in the garden in hopes that wild bees use it for raising their young.

I also wanted to follow up on the metal guards that I bought for our bluebird houses.

They have worked out quite nicely, and will prevent the sparrows and starlings
from enlarging the holes and kicking out the bluebirds' young.

I also spent a little time this weekend finishing up my latest knitting project...
Miss Babette Brambleton.

and her little cotton tail.

Sir Edgar Trunkhill is currently on the needles.

I'll share him with you later this week.