three little old ladies sitting on a park bench ....

Sometimes caring for the chickens is a lot like caring for three little old ladies. Little old ladies that all of a sudden decide they are not going to get along. I mean you have to hear them, it is hilarious! I could actually picture Samantha, Lizzie and Maxine sitting on a park bench talking so nicely then all of a sudden one of the ladies says something that upsets another and the squacking begins. It is usually Maxine that decides she is upset with something and lets us all know about it. You can hear her inside with the windows closed. This is about the time that as their caregiver I rush out the door with a snack of some food that is leftover from a meal we just finished, divert the argument and all becomes right again in the coop de chickens. So the answer is food and park benches. Lots of laughing too. Because really who knew chickens could act like three little old ladies sitting on a park bench? :)

silly chicken fact ...

So here's the story... We are in the process of moving. Yes, I said moving! Because of this our lives are a bit turned upside down right now. I am told this is totally normal when you have to buy a house, sell another, end a school year, participate in dance recitals, work and the list goes on and on.. Right about now you have to ask me well where exactly is the "silly chicken fact" in all that complaining? So here it is:

Did you have any idea that there could possibly be a "silly chicken fact" in this picture? Well there is and I only learned it after I about had a heart attack when I  checked on the ladies. I found Lizzie in this exact position on the ground and struggling to get up. I ran into the house to tell my handsome husband that in fact something was WRONG with Lizzie and through all the craziness of the current state of our lives I was sure we were going to loose her. I mean loose her before those beautiful blue eggs could even appear?! Let's just say that the tragedy was already played out in mind. So the handsome husband on mine runs outside to check on her and after seeing her turns to me and laughs. Uh, Kelly the chickens do this as a way to clean themselves and keep the bugs off. Oh! Phew!! Tragedy diverted and the ladies are just fine!

the diva ....

Here she is friends, the DIVA of our feathered family members. Yes, it is true that she will produce the coolest eggs, but really does the attitude have to start long before those beauties arrive? Well, it seems it does.

 

She does however love one person and you can see her little hand in this picture.

Aside from the fact that Lizzie is going to produce the coolest eggs, there is one other reason that I can accept her moody behavior. Take a peek at this picture:

To see anything this little lady has to tilt her head to see past those feathers under her eyes. That would make me moody too!

I will leave you with one final thought ...

Thank goodness strawberries are going to be in season soon!! Wow, the ladies LOVE them!

                              Have a HAPPY day friends!

hello ladies ....

Take a peek at this picture and then I will fill you in on something neat about chickens:

 

Can you see Lizzie at the door to her coop? Guess why she came to that door? Every morning I say "hello ladies" from the distance you can see here and every morning the ladies come to that door excited to greet me. I think they are hoping I am going to let them roam the yard, but it isn't time for that quite yet. Really I had no idea that chickens would like people so much. However, Lizzie is still very much the diva and most often if you are in the coop with her she will stand on the other side, but Sam (sweet, sweet Sam) and Maxine are quite social. And it is quite a sight!

Samantha

Maxine

I will try and get a picture of the diva soon. I am sure she will ask for some makeup and hair time first. Haha!

                          Have a happy day friends!

it's really a beautiful place to be ....

Sometimes when life gets really crazy I like to take a few moments to sit and look at beautiful things. This blog post is going to be dedicated strictly to the sights of a very special and beautiful place. So just sit, relax and enjoy the wonder of life and the beauty of nature.

strawberries

chives

lavender

a mama protecting

her babies

Have a happy day friends!

togetherness....

One early morning I opened our shades to see something that actually took my breath away.

Love

And for a couple of months I have seen these two fly together in our backyard making beautiful mourning dove music, but I had never seen where they were living or would choose to make their nest until yesterday. And it was yesterday that again my breath was taken away.

Building a home

While the mama dove was busy creating her nest and what looked like to me to be preparing to lay her eggs, the daddy dove sat patiently with a watchful eye above her. This is what I love most about the mourning doves, their togetherness in life. That from the moment they decide they are "it" for each other they work together to make their home, feed each other, protect one another and their babies. In fact, I can remember last year watching the mom leave the nest for periods of time and the dad quickly hopped on the eggs to keep them warm and safe.

I look forward to watching these two work together this spring to raise their babies through the dirty window above my kitchen sink. That same sink that has seen a million dirty dishes from the family that my handsome husband and I are raising together in the beautiful place we call home.

when I get older I will eat purple ...

Purple potatoes that is! I will eat purple potatoes later this summer!

These beauties and some asparagus were planted this weekend in our garden plot. And since I am new to the purple potato scene I am quite excited to see if they taste sweeter than the yukon golds that we just planted. We all know everything gets sweeter with age - even purple potatoes right?! :)