The goings on

Summer is in full swing and we're loving this warm weather. But not the abundant grasshoppers. Hate those things. I'm so happy when I see my kitties or chickens eating those little jerks.

Speaking of jerks - The larger run I built for the chickens was not only NOT keeping the kitties out, but it was also failing to keep the chickens in.  (Do you know what's harder than herding cats? Herding chickens. Cross my heart.)

I wove some sticks from around the ranch into the fencing, and as you can see, epic fail.

So, I added much more, and it seems to be working!  The chickens have been enjoying some free time out in the run for 5+ hours a day.

I also added a chicken swing so they would have a little excitement.  

So this free-ranging time has been going on for about 2 weeks.  No one got in, no one got out.

As I was walking out to the pond to call for our missing kitty Mungo (more on that in a bit) I saw a weird black spot on the top of the chicken run. 

Son of a gun.  Sister Monica Joan. What in the heck are you doing?  I got closer to see if she was trying to escape a kitty or other predator...

Nope, just hanging out over 5 feet in the air. 

What a funny girl! She was carefully balancing and happy as a chicken nun on a fence (this is a new saying I'm trying out).  I had to eventually pick her up and put her back into the run...at which time she ran over to the feed bucket and jumped up on top of it...and knocked it over.  I'm going to have trouble with this one.


Ok so, flying chicken crisis over, I ventured out into the field and came upon this little gem....

A HUGE BLACKBERRY BUSH!!!!

Oh my gosh, I am so excited, I can hardly stand it.  It was there all along, just hanging out, completely oblivious to us.

Another bit of excitement...the kitties are 1!! I can't believe it's been so long.   Remember when?? Such cute babies.

But, sadly, we are missing our sweet Mungo. He's been gone for over a week.  Oh, I am so sad. He has disappeared before, and whatahusband is convinced he's just out on an adventure, and I hope he's right. Mungo's favorite pastime was petting Norman's face with his body! (haha)  Good thing Normy has 2 other kitties chomping at the bit to love him.

Dog. Cat. Bird.

Not much going on here at the ranch. Just settling into our summer routine.

The chickens have taken up semi-permanent residence under the pecan tree. I go out there several times a day to watch them...there's something therapeutic about their small chirps and pecking....unless they're pecking at each other, but that's another issue. (I mean, they're sisters and they share a room and a bathroom. Nuf' said.)

I added a larger run outside their coop for some free-ranging. 

Thank you toonces for bombing that picture. 

And while i'm thanking cats, thank you munch and mungo for helping me with the laundry...

The hens have been growing a bunch. only 3-4 more months to go before they start laying. 

Daisy looks pretty much the same, maybe a touch darker. Sister monica joan's bars are starting to show in her feathers! They're so pretty.

Whenever i go out to the coop, the whole food  chain comes too. 

Love my birds and kitties, but there's only one top dog around here. Ever the faithful shadow, if he's not sitting on my feet, he's standing next to me so close he's touching. How did he get so sweet? I thank God all the time for creating this sweet boy.

I never thought in all my life that i would have 6 crazy animals. God is constantly surprising  me with this life. Boy it sure is hard sometimes, but full of sweet sweet moments. 

Sweet moments and a good old fashioned kitty chase.

We all heart hens

It has been almost a week and although they scamper away from me when I try to catch them, and chirp when they get separated, the girls are adjusting fairly well I'd say. They're still not that interested in the grass, and prefer to be up in the coop. 

Sister Monica Joan has passed Daisy in size already. 

They are just slightly taller than a coke can. 

Side note: I have discovered that it is very hard to get a good picture of a baby hen. I'm getting mostly feathery butts. 

One kitty has finally figured out there might be something  interesting in the coop.

Mungo has started a daily hen watch....

He was covert at first, but that didn't last long...

I'm quite certain I'll find him napping on the roof of the coop one of these days.

Thankfully the other 2 cats don't seem to care. And norman....well, here's what he was doing behind me while I was with the hens...

As long as he can nap, he's happy. You and me both, brother. :)

Naming the hens

Introducing the newest ladies on the ranch....

SISTER MONICA JOAN

and DAISY

Its only been 2 days, but they are becoming fast friends. They love to snuggle side by side. 

And they LOVE the coop! As soon as I put them in the cage on the grass, they quickly climb the ladder and up to the 2nd floor to the nesting boxes. 

Norman is not to sure about this yet....

The gals

Happy Easter!!!

New life is in my heart...and in my yard.

Farm fresh eggs, here we come!....in a few months, that is.  These lovely ladies won't be ready to lay for a few more months - they're only about 4 weeks old.

Can you see mungo checking out the coop? I can't even write a chicken post without those sweet kitties being in it.

Anywho, here are the deets on the birds: 

One bird is a Buff Orpington...the "buff" colored one. She will be a lovely light tan color, and i'm told these birds are incredibly friendly! 

The other bird is called a Barred Rock, another people-lover, and she'll have an awesome black & white pattern when her feathers come in. They're already starting to appear - can't wait to see her!!

I hope they will be best friends. Guess I should get busy naming them...

Cats and other stuff....but mostly cats

I feel like I should rename this blog "our country life.....who am I kidding, its all pictures of cats!". 

Ok fine. Before I get to the animals, here is some non-cat news. I am allergic to bandaids. And Neosporin. And I can't wear normal earrings anymore because I'm allergic to anything that's not gold. And I have to start wearing glasses because I'm cross-eyed. Yep, after 31 years, my skin and eyes have decided they won't work and play well with others. So this basically means if one were to give me a paper cut, shove sterling silver into my ears, take off my glasses and walk away, I'd probably just turn into a giant blistery blurry rash and die right there on the spot.  As un-excited as I am about the glasses, I AM super thrilled about being one of those cool old ladies with ridiculously large glasses, clip on earrings, and loud sweater sets. 

Now to CATS! And my sweet doggle. He'll always be my #1.

I've started calling them "big brown & lil' white". They go everywhere together. Its so adorable. 

Toonces (rapper name "lil' white") has FINALLY healed from the horrible hole-in-her-side injury.....and the results are a bit odd. 

Instead of re-growing long white fur, she grew short black fur. Her beauty spot!

The boys are still loving being outside and have claimed all of our outside toys for napping...

It only took Munch a few hours to claim the go kart. 

And finally, here's good ol' Normy. With his most hopeful spirit, he lays in front of that heater every day knowing it will magically spring to life and emit heat. It hasn't been plugged in for 2 months. 

Until next time... :)