:: The first snowfall ::
:: Time to work on Christmas gifts ::
:: Sledding with the kids...laughter.....sunshine ::
:: Watching our chickens reaction to the snow ::
:: Adding things I've never put before on my simple joys list: sledding with chickens
Disclaimer: No chicken was ever forced to sled or was hurt in the making of this blog post...they seem to find ways to enjoy the snow, too!
:: Tomatoes on the windowsill.
:: Yellow squash waiting to be preserved.
:: One of thirty-four hens ready to start laying at any moment. (The female duck has started blessing us with an egg each morning this week. Cowboy S ate every one of them. The first morning we found two of them, and he begged for me to hard-boil them for him so he could enjoy them right away. After peeling them, he shouted out loudly, "One's a double-yolker, and one's a yolker!")
:: Noticing more leaves turning yellow and crunching a bit underfoot as we walk near the woods. Miss Lady K was heading out to "spoil her dolly", as she said, "at the spa".
:: Yes, it must be fall.
Enjoy your early autumn day,
Joy~
Farm Journal-June
The chickens are all doing very well. They can't wait til we come down to the coop and let them out in the morning, so they can peck, peck, peck on bugs and grass. They seem to get along okay--I haven't seen them peck on each other since they were just a couple days old. Back then, they seemed to practice their pecking skills on each other's beaks.
One night, I told Cowboy S (6), that I read somewhere that chickens love worms. I told him I heard they will go crazy if you throw one in a group of chickens.
Of course, he needed to find out if this was true. He went to a corner of the garden, and dug up a worm straight away. He had to show it to mama, though, before giving it to the chickens. Boys have a way of showing their mama and big sisters everything they catch. It doesn't matter if it's worms, frogs or snakes, they need to show the girls in the family.
Well, when he threw the little worm in with the chickens, it just landed on the ground at first. But then, one girl spied it, and picked it up right away. For some reason, she must have realized what she had, and that it might be something everyone else might be a little jealous of.
She took off running right through everyone to get away, even running over the backs of some of the other chickens! She ran in a zig-zag pattern as fast as she could, not knowing where to go to hide from her 'sisters'. When she ran, it looked as if she were picking up her petticoats, and her pantaloons were still showing, and she had to get somewhere quick. By this time, we were all laughing and laughing at her little antics.
It didn't take but a moment for the other chickens to figure out what was going on, with the one chicken with the little worm in her mouth acting so crazy. Then, a little game of tag ensued where one chicken would have the worm, and then it would run through and around and over the flock as if to get away from them all. Then, all of a sudden before you saw what really happened, another chicken that had been chasing down the first would have the worm in it's mouth.
This happened quite a few times, with a few different chickens. And, whoever did have the worm in it's mouth would be trying to swallow the worm as quickly as they could, to prevent any other chicken from getting it. Of course, we now give them worms many times per week. For it's so fun to watch what happens when we do.
In our garden, we've had a couple of visits from John the Rabbit. He decided to feast on our melons, broccolli, and of course, our cabbage. Two visits were enough for us, and we have now found the hole in the fence, and fixed it.
Unfortunately, we'll have to plant 80% of our garden again!
Oh, you don't know who John the Rabbit is? Well, here's a song to explain all that.
Happy Day Ya'll,
~Joy
{This post is a part of Monday Mania, Real Food Wednesday and Works for me Wednesday}
