Life is Rushing By

It seems that it was only a couple of days ago that I last posted on this blog. Cousin Beverly tells me otherwise, she has sent me not one, but two, e-mails about shirking my responsibilities.

I really HAVE been busy. Just as show season is winding down, chick season is starting up. I'm not ready for that. I spent 3 days totally cleaning and sanitizing the chick room. The incubator had been going in the dining room, as soon as a couple of chicks hatched I was able to move the entire production into the room where Wesley cannot not wander.

Right now, 7 chicks have hatched. I have 9 though. The first chick was a loner, with no more due for 2 weeks. So I went to the feed store and bought two others to keep it company. Why 2? So if one of the chicks died, there would still be a pair. A chick by itself is capable of driving a person insane with its constant, lonely peeping. Chicks are only comfortable when they have company.

While the rest of the nation suffers with cold and snow, we've had temps in the 70s and lots of warm sunshine. (Today there is a drizzle, but it's still warm.) Chickens don't seem to care about warmth and sunshine, though. They didn't start getting serious about laying until last week. I already have both incubators full. I'm still hoping to get the hatching finished much earlier this year. At the same time there are a surplus of adult birds that I need to sell.

Those sunny days made it necessary to drag out the weed-fighting equipment and get the yard taken care of before it disappeared under wild vegetation. Before the drizzle I had to start a couple of sprinklers already, too.

A quick recap: Wesley is fine. Naughty, but I haven't killed him for that. All the cabinets in the kitchen are taped shut, except for those that hold pots and pans, like those below. Wesley can't push them out onto the floor. This is where he sits, by the way, when he needs a "cookie." (Greenies cat treats.) He only gets them when he's been good, so he doesn't get many. He does not do tricks for treats.

Gollum is very happy now that sunshine comes through the window onto her bed again.

Biscuit is here for two or three days, then away for two or three. The guys tell me they've seen him at the shop, about a mile away. He looks like such a lazy lump, but he evidently does a lot of walking.

Rosie and Linda are still here. There's a black cat with a big gash on his leg. It probably should have been stitched up a month ago, but I haven't been able to catch him. He's not limping and seems to be healthy otherwise. Last evening when I pulled into the driveway I saw a new cat running off the porch, away from Biscuit's feed bowl. It appears to be young and black and has either no tail or a very short one. I need to order a new trap and get busy.

Why a new trap? I forget if I told you about the raccoon last month. It got into the layers' pen, killed one hen, and injured another. I stitched the injured one with my sewing needle and thread and it's alive and well. I put out both traps immediately and caught the raccoon the next night.

Then I had to find someone with a gun. Actually, that's not correct. Everyone around here (except me) has a gun. I had to find someone with a gun who would use it to execute a raccoon. I finally did, but he accidentally ran over the trap and crunched it, so now I have only one big old trap. Cats are a bit harder to trap than raccoons. The old one doesn't suit them.

I had to buy a new pair of glasses recently. I've had to get new glasses about once a year for the past 8 years because my eyes just keep getting better and better. At this point I can function fine without glasses for everything except driving. I have no idea why this is so, but I can't complain. Even though it costs a lot of money for new glasses all the time, money I could be spending on chicken feed. Or gas for a road trip.

Not complaining, though. I'll save that for next month when taxes are due.