Yesterday's animal antics

Animals are like children.  There's always something going on!  Though unlike children, you can leave them unattended for awhile.  ;)

Yesterday I woke up to the sounds of pouring rain and thundering.  I was just sure the rain would would wipe out the last 3 guinea keets we had.

But later that morning ... I was delighted to see that they had survived.  Yay!  These three are almost two weeks old - so I am hoping they will make it.  (I've read that once keets hit 2 weeks - they are pretty hardy.  They will be 2 weeks old on Sunday.)

Leah Rose and Rayford are ever watchful parents

the keets appearance is starting to really change

 Later in the evening, I glanced out the window and Pippi and her kids looked an awful lot closer than normal.  Ooops!  Someone did not close the gate all the way and the goats had all made their great escape!

The kids and I pulled on our boots and ran out.  Thankfully Christa, Nutmeg, Pippi, and all 4 babies were nearby and didn't protest too much about going back into their pen.  They're probably still talking about what the world is like on the other side of the fence.

"Hello!  We just came for a visit!"

 

This past Sunday night, we moved the Bloods and the Crips (aka the youngest chickens) into the coop with the older hens.  The two young gangs have united and stick together for the most part now, which is great.  They are doing well and enjoying free ranging.  However, there is a learning curve in getting them to go into the coop at night.

Three of the young chickens checking out some freshly cut cedar wood

 Hunter has proved to be a valuable assistant in the round up.  He plays the extremely important job of bouncer.  He stands very still right inside the coop door and once a hen comes in, he does not let her leave.  I go around in the yard and herd the young chicks to the coop.  That can take awhile!  Still though, they are learning pretty fast.

However, last night was a problem.  I kept hearing lots of thrashing in the coop and Hunter finally called out that one of the hens was bullying the young ones.  I went in to see who the culprit was.  It was Beru!  My eyes narrowed as I glared at this murderous hen.  (She is our one chicken that I wouldn't mind if someone else (not me!) killed and plucked and I cooked her for dinner.)  I finally picked her up and tossed her over the fence into the area where Tabby's chickens are.  Within minutes, Tabby's roosters were ganging up on Beru pecking her and basically giving her a taste of her own medicine.  That was some satisfying, feathered justice to see.

Bullying Beru is broody again

On a sad note, Tabby's pretty white Silkie Bantam hen, Marshmallow, drowned yesterday, in the children's pool.  Tabby was disappointed, of course.  She'd rather decrease her rooster population, rather than the hen population.

On the topic of flowers, Lilly's garden continues to look dismal.  I was surprised, the other day, to find two lily bulbs that had been dug up and were laying on top of the dirt.  What?!!  I thought they were all gone.  I buried them and am hoping there are more in there.  I hope to plant more lily bulbs this fall (in a way to protect them), so her memorial garden will be beautiful in the spring.

The day lilies, in other parts of the yard, are doing well:

Finally, here is a picture of a dragonfly that I took this afternoon and was completely surprised with how well it turned out:

I love looking at the world around me.  It's an amazing little break for my busy/worried/over- analyzing mind.

"But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
    or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;
⁸ or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,
    or let the fish in the sea inform you.
⁹ Which of all these does not know    that the hand of the Lord has done this?" - Job 12:7-9