I will make a bet with you that I did something this weekend
that you did not do - and may never have done!
But first... a little background information.
(I know, the suspense is killing you!)
I mentioned a few weeks ago that we inherited seven hens
from a friend who was moving out of state and who
could not take her beloved hens with her.
These seven hens have made the transition to their new home
with no issues... at least not any for them.
As for our other chickens... well, that might be a different story
(if you happen to query them.)
You see, the new gals, The Russians, as we call them-
(their first human Momma was of Russian descent and she
spoke fluent Russian with them)
(I'm not sure these gals are bilingual) -
well, these new gals have claimed the uppermost chicken house as their own
and do their best to keep the other chickens
from laying eggs in that house.
They do allow the others to come back and roost at night,
but not to lay eggs during the day.
During the daytime hours,
they stay just outside the chicken house door,
guarding the door.
They are very gentle chickens with respect to humans,
and I have been able to pick them up and handle them.
I had noticed that they had some very gnarly looking toenails
(talons?) that were desperately in need of trimming.
So, this weekend, the Russians got pedicures.
I'll bet you've never clipped the toenails of a chicken!
Or have you?
I am so happy with these annuals that I started last winter
So far this summer we have been very lucky with respect to insects.
Oh, I have gotten my usual case of chiggers, as has Hubbs,
from picking berries.
But flies and gnats have been minimal so far... knock on wood!
It's been a pleasant summer for the equines.
Grazing at night, when it is cool and bug-less...
then sleeping during the day in front of our three barn fans
keeps them cool and comfortable.
We do still use fly masks... just in case.
Even though the flies are fewer, they always seem to zero in on the eyes...
so fly masks prevent that.
And yes, they can see through them just fine...
like looking through a screen.
Bugging isn't necessarily an insect thing, however.
This equine family is great at bugging each other.
We had a quiet, slow weekend here on the farm.
Hubbs and I are still getting over a respiratory virus,
so we kept the wild and crazy activities to a minimum.
Thanks for all of the well-wishes last week.
We trimmed a few trees of dead branches that were threatening to fall on
animal friends or structures, picked blueberries,
baked and cooked,
did animal chores,
trimmed chicken toenails,
picked more blueberries... you get the picture.
I've been cutting the red amaranth and hanging it to dry
in the "dark" window of Maven Haven
(no sunlight comes through this window as it faces north and the woods.)
This lovely shade of maroon will be perfect for winter
dried flower arrangements.
And if there's one time of the year that we need color -
it's winter!
in the greenhouse.
I believe they will be a yearly addition to my garden!
Comments
Get well soon!
We still have a lot of gnats...The Amaranth will look nice for fall and Christmas..Have a good week..hugs
sa gaming
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918kiss