Monday. ICK.

Mondays are cruel reminders that I'm not a Princess nor am I independently wealthy. DRAT!

Ah well......

I just read up on the time frame of when to expect the chicks to begin laying eggs. How depressing! 24 weeks or later. UGH The suspense is killing me. I have no patience for this sort of thing! I figured it up and ours are approximately 15 - 16 weeks old. *grumble*

Pup, CC & JB went to pick up the other coops we acquired from Hattiesburg. The sellers were awesome and gave us a lot of good advice on chickens plus threw in a lot of extras they no longer needed.

These two are both brooders for chicks but I think we are going to convert at least one to work with our coop we have built.  I think I want to keep one as a brooder because it is set up really nice. There is also a small chicken tractor on the bottom right of this picture. It needs some work but not too much. When done we will have two chicken tractors to use in the garden. I'm really excited about that!

From Wikipedia:

A chicken tractor (sometimes called an ark) is a movable chicken coop lacking a floor. Chicken tractors may also house other kinds of poultry. Most chicken tractors are a lightly built A-frame which one person can drag about the yard. It may have wheels on one or both ends to make this easier.

The term chicken tractor comes from the chickens performing many functions normally performed using a modern farm tractor: functions like digging and weeding the soil in preparation for planting trees or crops or fertilizing and weeding to enhance the growth of crops and trees already planted.

I love the idea of the tractors. Buying them new can be pricey so I'm so excited about getting two that need a little work but are definitely do-able! Not all are A-frames though. I've seen some pretty fancy ones people have built.

Rain, rain & more rain

Sunday morning and it is raining slow and steady. It has been off and on since the 4th. Friends and family came out for the 4th and it was a delightful day/evening even though it did sprinkle on us for a little while. Pup's fireworks display was great! A few mishaps kept us on our toes and had us laughing and scattering for cover a few times. If you have never seen huge bursts of fireworks up super close you are missing out! (and probably wise LOL)

Roman had a great time cheering Pup on!

Jello shots! YUM!

Many thanks to Sophie for the amazing fireworks pictures and for coming out to help us celebrate! Love you girl and your sexy man too! Y'all are awesome!

We went to Hattiesburg yesterday. A family up there was moving and getting rid of a lot of chicken coops, chicken tractors and other misc. chicken stuff. We racked up! They were so sweet and very informative on raising chickens! We bought a couple of things and they threw in a lot more.

The Chicken Tractor! I can't wait to start using this in the garden! 

They threw in several of the milk crates that I have been looking for to use for nesting boxes! They also showed us how to make watering devices out of the old water bottles. They even threw in wire for electric fences! 

Pup is going back today to get 2 or 3 more tractors/coops that we could not fit in the truck yesterday. 

Thanks to Walter & Roxanne for letting us use their trailer to go get them today! 

Pup (as always) is amazing. Venturing out in the rain to go get them! 

The chickens are doing great! Still no eggs darnit! They do seem to love their perches though.

The Hummingbirds have been battling in the Mimosa trees. It is fun to watch them zip and zoom all through it!

Havoc watching me through the glass door

Still raining. ~sigh~ 

Tuesday

Getting ready for the 4th of July. Planning the BBQ and hoping for beautiful weather. The weathermen are predicting otherwise but they are wrong most of the time anyway. Here on the Gulf Coast the weather is pretty unpredictable!

The kittens are growing and feeling more at home. They play all over the house and terrorize each other and anyone who crosses their path.

They are angels when they are sleeping though!










The chickens are doing good. Still no eggs but we have not lost anymore so far. We are down to 10 now. They are fat and happy though....or seem to be.

They love the perches! 

The Mimosa trees are in full bloom and the Hummingbirds are battling each other in the branches.

This one hangs over the deck. They make a mess but I love them, especially when the Butterflies and Hummingbirds make them their playground.

We don't have as many Butterflies this year as we usually do. I wonder why? Usually they are full of them when they are blooming.





The flowers are blooming beautifully.

Cinder relaxing on the back porch. 

The pool is great but the grass sure needs cutting!











The biggest news I have is that my son, Trey, got married yesterday! I'm so happy for him and my new daughter, Ashley! 

I love this picture of Ashley. She looks radiant, scared/nervous & happy. Typical Wedding day for most!

Welcome to the family Ashley! 











If I don't get back on here before the 4th, I hope everyone has a safe one!

Thursday news & another attack

Wow it has been a scorcher! 

It has been a little while since I have written anything. Sorry about that! Just not a whole lot of news & I had not gotten out for pictures.

A couple of nights ago we had another attack on the chickens. This time we think it was a raccoon or opossum. This weekend we will work to strengthen the coop. Soon it will be a fortress! In the attack we lost Gladys the nosy chicken, a bard rock and another of the americaunas. 3 more chickens dead! DRAT! I think we are down to 10 now.

This was my surprise today. I was not sure exactly what kind of plant it was. Pup surprised me with it a year or so ago. I didn't realize it would even bloom! Today it has this gorgeous bloom on it and several more buds.

A couple of good friends informed me it is a Swamp Hibiscus. 

The buds. I can't wait for them to bloom in the next few days! 

The kittens are crazy! Still no names for them.

The blue eyed babies. 

Topper 

Tomorrow is Friday! Hellz Yeah!

Nice day today. So glad the weekend is almost here. A little rain here and there. Good for the plants and the heat.

Spent some time out on the deck when I got home and grabbed a few pictures. 

One of the Bougainvillea 

The Hibiscus in all of its' glory. It is kind of amazing the number of magnificent blooms it provides us.

Notice all the blooms that are in various stages of opening in the days to come. 

Up close and personal. 

Topper striking a pose. 

Another Bougainvillea in dark pink. 

The Cherry Tomatoes. This little bush is loaded with them! 

I haven't been out to the chickens today. Pup said they were starving as usual. They are getting fat and sassy and probably need their wings clipped again soon. I have seen them practicing flight patterns and planning their escape. 

I am ready for eggs! When will they start laying??!! mmmmmmm Fresh eggs dammit. Soon.