Distraction can really help in trying times ~ my funny observations

This is our 3rd day of evacuation and emotions have been like a roller coaster for us, but today we got some really good news so we are feeling a lot better.  The hubby suffers from ADHD so he has re-textured our daughters kitchen and fixed every little thing around her house.  I've been using the internet to distract my thoughts.  It was sort of going well until I read a few of my favorite bloggers talking about how their gardens are progressing and how they are canning and freezing their harvests.  This made me think about my own garden that was just getting started, and now due to the evacuation it is not going to get any water for a full week.  I hope it somehow survives.  I did water it on Sunday, but it doesn't look like we will be allowed back home until at least Saturday.

Distraction, I need distraction...Okay, let me share a few things that made me smile in the last few days.

"We each have our own reality to deal with." Our dogs are use to traveling with us everywhere.  When we were evacuated they probably didn't even notice something was going on, we just opened the truck door and said, "Let's go girls!" and they jumped in.  While evacuated we are staying with our daughter in Payson, where we have had monsoon rains every day.  With monsoons come thunder.  Our miniature Schnauzer is afraid of thunder.  So every afternoon when it starts she gets all freaked out and wants to stick to me like glue.  She sits next to me and puts her paw on me somewhere, just to stay literally connected with me until the thunder passes.  So here we are uprooted from our home and she doesn't have a clue, the only thing that stresses her is the thunder.  Okay, maybe that isn't really funny because thunder is scary to her, but it struck me (pardon the pun) as funny because she is oblivious to the reality of our situation.

Big Red -with her dirty beak looking like she just won a grapenuts cereal eating contest! (I had to wet their food so it was like their fermented food they get at home.  They were upset when I gave them dry food to eat.  More on that story soon.)

"Chickens don't lay eggs in times of stress...or do they?"   With all the recent trauma the chickens have been under and the fact that I forgot to bring any oyster or egg shells for Big Red (my only laying hen right now) and she didn't have her coop or nest box, I figured that she wouldn't be laying any eggs right now.  She laid an egg about 30 minutes before the evacuation notice was issued, so I thought it would be her last until we got back home and things settled down.  But last night, while my daughter was letting her little dog out in the back yard to potty, Big Red walked to the middle of the kennel, squatted down and laid an egg!  My daughter has never seen a chicken lay an egg before.  I haven't had chickens since she was a toddler (she is 28 yo).  We were away from the house so she called me to tell me that my chicken just laid an egg!  She was afraid to go in the kennel to get it because she thought the hen would peck her, ha ha.  My granddaughter volunteered to collect the egg.  She went in, picked it up and thanked Big Red for the egg then went inside and put it in an egg carton in the fridge (just like we do at my house).  My daughter was so impressed with her 6 yo daughter for handling this situation (so she didn't have to, ha ha.).

"How well would you pack in an emergency?"  With about 30 minutes to pack everything you, your family, and your pets might need for an overnight (or 7 overnights) away from home, you are bound to forget some stuff.  I forgot many things.  None that I couldn't survive without, but very important things none the less.  Because it was Sunday, it was laundry day at my house, so most of our clothes were sorted out in piles on the laundry room floor.  I grabbed an overnight bag and through in clean stuff from our bedroom.  Since I knew this could easily turn in to '7 overnights', I grabbed a trash bag and scooped up our dirty laundry.  Thank goodness I did that because somehow I managed to forget to pack any clean pants for my husband or socks for me.  So after our first night away I went to take a shower and realized I didn't have clean socks, so my 4 yo grandson gave me a pair of his socks to wear while I did laundry.  Thank goodness for heelless tube socks...his little size made perfect bobby socks for me, Ha ha!  He got a kick out of bragging that his Nanny was wearing his socks!

"Wishing you a long evacuation" Today as my grandkids were leaving to go to their dads house for the 4th of July holiday (not to return until Monday), we had the news on and heard that the evacuation may be lifted as early as Saturday.  My granddaughter asked what that meant.  I said, "If they lift the evacuation on Saturday then we can go home on that day."  She said, "I hope they don't lift your evacuation...I wont be home til Monday and I want to see you more."  Aw, that was the sweetest 'non-well wish' I have ever had.


Writing (blogging) is so therapeutic.  It has really helped me during this tough time.  Thank you to all of my virtual friends for listening.

Keeper of 1 husband, 2 grandkids, 3 dogs,
3 cats, and 17 Chickens!

 

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Lazy Sunday afternoons with the Grandkids and Chickens!

I love lazy Sunday afternoons...

The grandkids are visiting us this weekend, and we're having such a great time hanging with the chickens, visiting a friends animals, and spending some quiet time at the public library.  Later today we are planning a Jeep drive to explore the mountains, and have a picnic.

The grandkids usually spend at least two weekends a month with us, but the last three weekends they have been at their dads for an extended summer break visit.  The kids were shocked at how much the chickens have grown in that time.  They got to meet our newest edition, Big Red, who we got right after their last visit.  They were so excited when I tol them that Big Red lays an egg almost every day.  She has been sweet enough to lay an egg daily while the kids have been visiting.  Collecting the daily egg has been so much fun for the kids.  Little Miss did the actual collecting of the egg because she is tall enough to reach in to the nesting box, but she let Little Man hold it too.  He asked if the egg was real, haha.  They have only see eggs that come out of a carton purchased at the store, so this was a special thrill for them.

I think that Little Miss must be a 'Chicken Whisperer' because the chicks just flock to her when she comes in the run.  She seems to have instantly bonded with them and even the chicks that never let me even touch them have walked right up to her and allowed her to pick them up.  Little Man wasn't interested much in the chickens, but hey, what do you expect of a 4 year old boy when there's an electric quad all charged up and a big yard to ride around in.

Well, I have to go, they are about done drawing their books that I need to help them staple together as a gift for mom.  Enjoy some of the pictures of fun things we have done this weekend so far.

Little Miss showing off the first egg she collected.

Little Miss eating scrambled eggs from Big Red.  She loved them!

Petting the 17 week old Pygmy Goats (not ours, but maybe soon!!!)

Little Man checking out the Donkey...a little apprehensive.

Little Miss instantly bonds with any animal (or insect).

Little man...I put this straw hat on his head and he instantly broke out in a cowboy song & dance.

Some quiet computer time at the library.

What are you doing on this wonderful weekend around your place?

Keeper of 1 husband, 2 grandkids, 3 dogs,
3 cats, and 17 Chickens!

 

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My baby chicks are growing up so fast!

I cannot believe how fast my baby chickens are growing!  It must hurt to grow that fast!  Just look at them their first day at our home, at 3 weeks old.

Baby Chicks at 3 Weeks old.

 Look at them here at 6 weeks old!

Chicks at 6 weeks old.  Favorite treat is Watermelon!

I introduced them to my grandkids when they were 6 weeks old.  My grandson wasn't real thrilled (he is 4) but my granddaughter (age 6) is a future farmgirl.  She took to them immediately and they took to her as well.  They walked right up to her so she naturally just bent over and scooped them up one at a time.

Granddaughter holding Goldie

After allowing my granddaughter to pick them up, this Buff Orpington, who I call 'Goldie' now wants to get up in my chair with me every morning.  She will peck around on my shoes until I pick her up.  Then she will either sit in my lap or on the arm of my chair next to me.

Goldie, my new best friend.

They are really starting to display their own little personalities too.  This helped me figure out a name for each of them to.  We have the two Black Australorp's, "Alice" the biggest chicken of the flock, and "Tiny" the runt of them all.  Two Rhode Island Red's, "Red" the darkest RIR and "Lucy" the lighter colored of the two. Then there is "Goldie" is the bigger of the two Buff Orpingtons and "Buffy" the smaller one.  And finally "Barbara" is the girl Barred Rock, and "Barry" my other Barred Rock, that I believe is a boy.  Just take a look at the difference in Barry and Barbara's combs in the picture below.  You can't really see it in this picture but he is already getting a little red wattle too.  Barry is the one who rounds up the stragglers each evening before the ADOR Automatic Chicken Coop Door closes. (Read my review of the ADOR here)  He runs around making an urgent sounding squawk, flapping his wings, then once he has everyone's attention he goes up the ramp and into the coop.  The stragglers always follow him.

Comb Comparison. Barry in the front with is big red comb going back father than his eyes (he also had the beginnings of wattles that you cannot see in this picture).  Barbara in the back with her short, low, yellow comb (eating a piece of watermelon).

It seems that the chickens are a hit with everyone.  Our dog Daisy (miniature Schnauzer) wants to chase them. She spends her entire day stationed at the fence whinning at the chickens and jumping up everytime they wonder near her.  I would NEVER let her in the run because she would surely attack the chickens. (terrier just runs too strong in her blood.)

Daisy vigilantly watching the chickens through the fence.

Our cats love spending some time at the fence too.  They get bored pretty quickly but they still make their first stop outside by the chicken run...then they go hunt lizards.

Harry watching Live Chicken TV.

Interestingly I have no pictures of my Boston Terrier Piggy watching the chickens...because she couldn't care less about them.  We were most worried about how she might be around the chickens because she is a notorious cat chaser (but not our cats?), but she looks over at the run and goes about her business, not even the least bit interested.

So the babies continue to grow and feather out and show more and more of their personalities every day.  I am so happy that I finally made the decision to raise chickens again...I cannot express in words how much enjoyment I get out of spending time with these little critters.  I even leave my bedroom window open at night (our bedroom wall is one of the walls to the chicken run) so I can hear them making their little chicken mumbling sounds at night.  I wake each morning to the sound of them emerging from the coop at dawn. I don't know how my husband is going to like the sound of a rooster each morning (if Barry turns out to be a boy), but I know I am going to love it.  I grew up to the sounds of chickens and I hope to spend the rest of my days doing the same.

Keeper of 1 husband, 2 grandkids, 3 dogs,
3 cats, and 17 Chickens!

 

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