The Broody Bunch

I stopped into the LFS this afternoon with the rest of the family.  The kids always like to go there because there are always animals; chicks, goats, and the jumbo rabbit that lives there.  Honestly, the bunny is almost as big as Little Maiden.  The LFS had some more chicks in and some really cute ducklings.  When I asked, my chicks still weren’t in yet.  But the Post Office was still open so there was a chance that they’d be in later in the day.  They assured me that I’d get a phone call as soon as the chicks arrived.  We went back home and were getting ready for special services at church.  The LFS called just before we needed to leave for church.  So Little Maiden and I jumped into the car and sped to town. 

The LFS put all 8 chicks in a tiny box to carry them home in.  I picked up some pine shavings at the same time.  When we returned home, GH helped set up the box and drop light in the kitchen.  We lined it with newspaper for the time being.  I put some mash in a pie plate and some water in two small glass bowls.  Then we gated the dog in another room and ran out the door to church.  The chicks were all still alive when we got home.  That’s a good sign!

I’m already anticipating eggs for Easter next year!  I wonder if people with Ameraucana chickens sell more eggs around Easter because Ameraucanas lay blue or green eggs?  I think I’d like to have some just for that reason.  No dyeing necessary!

The winds are blowing pretty hard today.  Hopefully I can get out and do some yard work when things dry out and warm up a bit.

I took my dog for a walk for the first time today.  Dapper is a Doodle.  GH won’t admit that Dapper is a doodle.  He says that the dog is a dachshund/poodle cross.  Well, he is, but I like the word Doodle.  Anyway, Dapper is a small dog and get’s plenty of exercise by running around the yard with the kids, so walking him isn’t necessary.  But I’ve decided that walking is necessary for me.  I’ve been trying to get up before the kids to get in a little exercise before the day begins.  It feels great, invigorating even.  And now that the sun gets up before 7 AM, it’s a whole lot easier to get myself up before 7 AM.  So when I got up this morning and decided to go for a walk, I thought Dapper might enjoy walking too.  I got out his leash (which is only used on road trips) and hooked him up.  He was really excited!  We started off down the road but I realized quickly that I’ve never really taught Dapper how to walk on a leash.  It took a few minutes for him to figure out that I wanted him to walk beside me on my left side so he wouldn’t be in the road.

Well, it turns out that Dapper is scared of sassy chipmunks, mailboxes, and trash cans.  He nearly jumped out of his skin when the chipmunk started yapping.  He tucked his tail and skittered in front of me, nearly tripping me in the process.  He’d duck behind me when we passed a mailbox with the door open and I nearly had to carry him passed the garbage can that was tipped over.  I had to keep telling him what a "big dog" he was so he’d be brave enough to keep going.  But Dapper isn’t scared of one thing… cars.  He wasn’t really interested in chasing them, but every time we heard a vehicle coming he’d run in front of me into the road.  I kept him on a short leash so he didn’t get more than his front feet into the road before I pulled him back.  I don’t know what the deal was.  I guess the car seems safer than the chipmunk.

Yup, I think Doodle is the right word.  A sissy name for a sissy dog.

I wonder if Dapper will be scared of chickens…

So you know what they say about Maine?  We only have two seasons… winter and mud.  Well, mud has hit full force.  We’ve got probably 4 inches of rain in the last week.  The ground is saturated and we’ve got standing pools on the lawn.  The good news is that all the snow is finally gone!  That doesn’t mean we won’t get more snow… in fact, it flurried yesterday.  But hopefully I can put my snow shovel away and trade it in for a rake and a hoe!  I’ve got the springtime itch.  I just want to get outside and start on the yard work!  My gardens are under a layer of fallen leaves.  The compost and the gardens need to be turned over.  I need to clear out around the border of the herb garden.  But right now, I sink up to my ankles in mud when a step onto the lawn.  I kind of like having grass on the lawn so I’m waiting for it to dry out a bit.

In the meantime, I’ve priced out fencing for the coop at The Home Depot.  Fifty feet of 5′ fence costs about $35.  100 feet of 5′ fence is about $70.  I think a 7×8′ area should be plenty for 8 chickens.  I may increase it to 10×10′ later on if I decide to get more chickens.  Which, right now, I’m planning on it.  I think I’d like to add some Ameraucanas to the mix.