As I said before, life has been incredibly busy here lately. Last week I got lots of Joe's baby stuff together and took it to my sister-in-law's house for a garage sale--sad to say, but at almost 25 years old that was my first experience in helping to run a yardsale. My family just never was one to have them, but I have always enjoyed going to them. Anyway, I took a bunch of stuff over there last Wednesday and then went up to Martinsville to look at some chickens a guy had for sale because my mother-in-law wanted some Aracaunas.
Hen and Chicks Before the StormThe guy was as crazy as a loon I think, but I caught and purchased 1 adult hen, and 4 half grown birds. It was hot and their pen had no water, but the birds appeared healthy. I brought them home, segregated them, and they settled down nicely. Fast Forward to Friday and a storm came through--when I went outside my dog was standing above something (never a good sign)--he'd caught my momma hen that my cousin had given me a few weeks back. Poor girl was still warm, but dead as could be. The coop door had closed and she was separated from her chicks and her frantic behavior was too enticing for my dog to ignore. Oh well, it happens. So, now I've got her chicks under a heatlamp and they are doing fine.
A VERY Hot Baby Joe and the Lap Turkey
On Saturday I took two of my turkeys with me to the garage sale in Bloomington because I was meeting their new owner later that day. As you can see from the picture they are ridiculously tame. If I was outside and Joe wasn't in my lap, then that particular bird was. They were actually kind of jealous of one another--you can see a bit of that in Joe's face. Back to the story--I'm not used to subdivisions or being around a bunch of people, but bringing farm animals into that environment is always entertaining. City people are hilarious. Two groups of kids came up saying, "LOOK DUCKS!" What on earth are they teaching kids today? I got lots of interesting questions about them, and the adults were just as clueless as the kids. Just another reason for people to understand and know where their food comes from. After a bunch of gawking drivers and humorous comments we met up with the new owner. I don't think they were any worse for wear--even with their little stay at the subdivision.
Yesterday I couldn't find the new adult hen and she was laying in a dog house that I'd put in the coop. It was almost dusk, so I just assumed she was going to roost there. But, alas, this morning she was laying next to the fence of the coop and wouldn't get up when I walked to her--essentially I imagine she's dying. I think she broke and egg inside of her. There was a broken, thin shelled egg laying on the ground so that's what I'm going with. She's moved since this morning, but I'm not holding my breath for her recovering. I've always had this rule about buying adult birds--it never seems to go well--and this just solidifies my beliefs. From here on out--never again--chicks ONLY. I rarely have trouble with any of the babies I've raised, but on more than one occasion things have gone awry when I purchased full-grown birds.
Catalpa Tree in our yard.
On a happy note my Catalpa trees are blooming. Catalpas are my absolute favorite tree, and we've got LOTS of them on the property. They are very striking when the white blooms fill the entire tree. I've taken quite a few photos of them the past few days. Also we've got a rose bush that came with the house that never bloomed before I came along--then it would have one or two blooms, but this year--Holy Cow--it has bloomed and bloomed. I blame it on Joe--she makes everything better.
The Roses by the Pasture Gate.
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