time of the year for coons...

The coons are at it again...oooh I so hate coons, yes I know they are so cute to look at, but you must remember they sooo love chickens and ducks to eat. Saturday, I lost one of my hens, in which was a mix, but layed a pretty dark egg . Then sunday the coon hit again and took the other hen that was in the pen as well, they both layed a dark brown egg, I had hatched these two out a couple of years ago. I had thought about moving them into a pen with a rooster, but never did. Last night the coon hit again the same pen and took out a young cayuga duck, in which I hatched out last year. So the cayuga`s now are free-range along with the youngest daughter`s muscovies--Sparkles and and uh peggy who has been since named Captain Hook. It turns out it`s a drake and not a hen. Hopefully this will deter the coons in coming and getting my chickens and ducks. You know if they had to take one they could have tooken a drake instead of a hen cayuga duck. I was wanting to see another dark egg from them.

thought from cricket about the rain...

Do I really have to go outside? It`s raining out there, do you not understand ! I don`t want to get wet. I am not like the silly heeler, Bandit, who I think loves the rain, just look at him...he is chasing the rain drops with his mouth....how studid can you get?. Ok, I do need to go, but don`t leave me out here that long, it is raining pretty good out there and it is cold....brrrr. I am just a wee little pup, you better have a nice warm towel or a blanket for me to curl up under then. how would you like to have to go outside and use the bathroom when it is raining, and cold rain as well.
Ohh and by the way I did like the treat you put in my food this morning broth from something or other and it made my dog food ...sooo good....can I have some more of that stuff over my dog food, Don`t give it to Bandit or Tinker, they wouldn`t like it that much....you know I am your favorite......at least I think I am your favorite..what am I talking about I AM YOUR FAVORITE!!!!!!!!!!!

Weird weather...here

Ok the calender says spring but I think old Mother Nature is a little confused. I woke up this morning to thunder storms and believe or not sleet hitting the window and it is in the 40`s today and is suppose to be in the 40-50`s all this weekend. Ohh I long for those 60,70s degree weather days we had earlier in the week. It has been raining most of the day here , I know, I know I shouldn`t complain about the rain, as come summer I want rain. The rain will make the garden grow, in which I do want, but I could have done without the sleet. Oh well, that`s missouri weather for ya...If you don`t like the weather wait and it will change...is the old saying.

And , here I was thinking about getting me some more plants... blueberry and blackberry bushes, maybe some raspberry. I do have some blackberry bushes, but they are not budding out as of yet, some of the wild ones around the area where I picked last year are budding out, as the pear tree where I picked some pears up last year. I sure hope the cold don`t snap them, but it will. I will let you go for now as I need to go pick up the one daughter from school. The younger one stayed home today , as she wasn`t feeling up to par this morning...

Chickens or should I say roosters......

Here is a picture of what I call my little bitty chickens. I have had the hen for a few years, the roosters , I got him last year for her since my rooster died , she really didn`t like him though, lol, hopefully she likes him better now. these are not laying yet.

This is my Birchen Roosters, he is more beautiful in person , the photo don`t do him justice. I have two birchen hens in with him. I do have a total of 3 birchen colored cochin hens. None of the birchen cochins are laying yet.

I really don`t know what color this rooster is, but he is sure pretty and he is from last years hatch, and for the life me can`t remember which pen he came out of. He is in with a birchen hen as of right now. I hope I can get better organize with the eggs hatching this year.

The above picture is of Reverse, barred cochin rooster. He used to back up whenever you said reverse, his hen is black as of right now. I don`t have any barred cochin hens. This black hen is laying me an egg every other day, just about.Ok, this picture is of some of the Easter Lillies coming up, i was thinking that it was some that are actually blooming. These have not bloomed yet, but I do have pleny of them blooming around the house. During my walks down the road their is plenty of them blooming around some old houses and along side the road.

I really don`t know what color this rooster would be called either, he is rooster for the frizzle pen and throws alot of babies colored up like him. He is out of a frizzle rooster and a red cochin hen. The frizzle rooster was exactly colored just like him. this hen is very small and is laying some.

This is columbian rooster, and his hens are a buff and a red cochin. I have young hen that is of the same coloring, but not in this pen as of yet. I was gonna do away with him a couple of years ago and my hubby put him with reverse and I am glad he did....he is such a pretty boy.

I also have a couple of Golden lace cochin roos, they wasn`t very cooperative for the camera. Their is five hens for the both of them. These are just my cochins. I have welsummers ( 3 roosters and about 6 hens), and my mixed bag of hens that are in with one of the welsummer roos.

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garden is started.....ducks,chickens

The past few days, it has been beauitful outside, alittle windy at times ,but the weather has been superb. Today after picking up both girls from school, I started the garden. I have always been told that things that grow under ground, like onions, radishes, potatoes are to planted on or around St Patty`s day. So I planted four different types of radishes, some onion sets ( still have more of them to plant), turnips and some cabbage plants. I know cabbage grows above ground, but I wanted to include this now as I planted one cabbage plant in the middle and four rows of radishes out to each corner of the raised bed and am planning on getting me some pansies to plant in the bed as well. The radishes usually don`t do that well for me, but hey I keep trying them...I so love radishes. I have one whole bed of onions sets, will have to add another bed of them, as I kinda got more then I need and I will probably be giving some to my mom as well.
I planted a cabbage plant last year that the cabbage worm got, hopefully this year will be different. This will be the first year with turnips, so I will see how that goes.
I think I will have to add another bed or two in order to get some tomato plants as well., of course I want to plant some peppers and corn. I don`t think I will put the corn in a raised bed this year. I put corn in one last year and it didn`t do that good for me, so I am gonna try something different this year.

I need to get the incubators up and going as well, but I just can`t get motivated this year, maybe it`s because the hens are in full swing as of yet. The muscovies have not started laying at least not that I am aware of , I have not found any nest and I have been looking and watching them alittle. The cayuga ducks have not laid as of yet either. On the chicken side of things, the welsummers have not laid yet, the silkies( one pair) I get an egg every other day, some of the cochins are laying as well, but not all. A few of these hens are a few years old, so I do need to hatch a few of these out and keep and not rehome them either that or try and get some more hens in the colors I am looking for; red, buff,golden lace,birchen ....oh heck I like all the colors of cochins. I sooo love the cochin breed. I do have one standard cochin ,black in color with no rooster as of yet.

trip to branson....

Yesterday we went to branson. The oldest daughter`s friend was suppose to sing at the branson mall, in which I was alittle upset at not being able to hear her voice, have seen her on youtube. I was looking forward to hearing her live and in person. Anyway , I got to meet her parents and they did seemed nice. she didn`t get to sing because of some red tape, in which I think her manager should have seen coming, but who am I to say, I don`t know what it entiles to get into the music business. I just hope someone don`t take advantage of her and she don`t get into trouble as we have seen the other young singers do. She`s seems like she has a good head on her shoulders for the time being.
We also got a dress for the oldest daughter to graduate in....oooo it don`t seem possible for her to be graduating from the eighth grade this year. It seems like yesterday I was watching her graduate from kindergarden. The graduating class girls have to wear a formal dress to graduate in, she wanted a long dress , but we got a short one and is very pretty to say the least. Now just to find shoes to go with it. I was gonna borrow a dress from a neighbor , but I thought I might have to dart it or something as the neighbor`s daughter is alittle bigger then my oldest daughter, who is small for her age and smallest in her class. I am sooo Glad I don`t have to dart her dress I got her, I wouldn`t know where to begin....as I am not that good at sewing ....at least I don`t think I am as regards to clothes. I was not looking forward to darting the dress. So I opt to let her get her own dress and of course the yougest picked out a dress ....just to try on..... definitly not ready for her to do this.
The traffic was not that bad considering how bad it does get in branson, the tourist season has really started as of yet, not to say their wasn`t alot of people there, because there was. Branson tourism just isn`t in full swing as of yet.
Now the oldest just got her graduation trips , one to Jefferson city and the another one to Silver Dollar City, in which don`t know they will be. i am not looking forward to the oldest daughter going to high school, then next it will be getting married. Hopefully that is a long way down the road from now.........
We had fun with our trip to branson and it was such a beautiful day.

Rainy day projects.....other ramblings

It is pouring down rain today here in the ozarks and possible storms are expect here tonight. With it raining outside it is a good time to work on some projects in which I have started, my baltimore afghan, and yes , it is still going and getting heavy with each row. I have been working on it at night, I am over half-way done with just the afghan part, when I get back to making each block design I will start posting pictures of each block again.
The quilt projects are quite a few, let`s see, their is the buck-a-block which I am doing in both colors ( mauve and white, purple and white); then the barn quilt from last years quilt shop hop ( I am embroidering it the blocks) this quilt has also fall leaf block as well, another barn quilt , in which ewach block has ribbon embroidery and applicate things on it, their is a block for each month and I am making two of them and am only on block March; a rabbit quilt that is embrodiered. I know alot of projects, I will get them done one of these days. The buck-a-block is a month by month project that my mom and I signed up for from the ozark quilt shop , sew simple. these buck-a-blocks are so simple to do and easy as well, they use thangles, in which is but half-triangles patterns. Using thangles are a easy way to half-triangles.
The shop hop barn quilt is very time-consuming as the I have to trace the barn pattern onto the fabric and then embrodery it in the colors of my choosing, I will be working on this when the youngest has the next doctor`s appointment in April, in which it will be all day appointment, she will be having a neuropysh test, she has been having trouble with comprehending after she reads a chapter book ( a book with chapters in it). This is a late effect from the chemo that she took.
Anyway I will probably be working on the other barn quilt as well, as February and March are ready for the embroidery part of the block. So I think I will get off of here and get busy with my rainy day projects

storm damage......quilt shop hop 2011

This is the quilt shop hop of 2011 quilt specific to the shop hop. It is done in 7 colors, two of the pieces of fabric were designed for the shop hop. Friday my mom and I hit six shops of the hop, 2 in joplin and 2 in carthage and the one in springfield and the one in ozark, in which is our home shop. Today we were to hit the the two in arkansas and the one in branson, in which we love to go to whenever we are in branson, so much fabric. Needlss to say the storm from last night changed our plans, I do belive that a tornado came thru here last night about 8:30, the rest of the pictures are the damage that was hereThis next picture in of the pipe in the wellhouse that busted, it lifted up the pressure tank after it took the top of the well house off and scatter it and busted the pipe, so a night without water, we now have water, thank God for forest pump service

This next picture is the car window that was busted by two 4x4 post we had on the well house top that what we figured slamed into the window, this was a rental car ( we don`t trust our cars to go that far for the shop hop)

This is the building for the miniature horse that it up lifted, the entrance to the building was dent in and lifted up.

The side of the building , that is part of the quacker pen, that moved the chain link panel

Another view of the building, the cage on top was not there yesterday it was by the garage

The emergency mangement was here to acess the damage and according to them we were the only ones with storm damage, ain`t that special...it is so nice to be loved by mother nature...not.

I thank God that itn`t do any damage to the house as what we figured it over the top of it.

Doctor`s visit...other things

Took the oldest to the orthopedic yesterday to have her knee checked out and the knee pain has something to do with the patella ( knee cap ) and her still growing body. The doctor just informed her to do strecthing exercises and take over the counter , like tylenol and the like. Needless to say the teenager don`t want to do the exercises and thought she could hide the papers in which they gave us with the exercises on it that they recommended. I think she was trying to get out of P.E., or maybe she was hoping to get out of it....oh the joys of a teenager.
she was sick with some bug monday , so, lots of homework, the youngest brought it home yesterday for her and she did do some of it. The youngest was complaing about her stomach hurting last night , but no fever, of course she always complains about her stomach hurting, I think the chemo might have done something there, but don`t know for sure. As when the last time we went to st louis , we addressed that issued and the doctors informed us that other children as well complained about stomach pain, so that is why I think that is the reason.

One of silkies have been blessing me with an egg every other day and now so far, so has my oldest daughter`s chicken , Indian( a mix, pink egg of sorts). I will be glad when the others start laying as well. I have been thinking about getting my incubator up and running again , but that`s as far as I have gotten on that project. i have been kinda watching the muscovey ducks as it looks like they could be laying soon or maybe now. I think this year , I will be on the lookout to find me another drake, not related to these as well, I would like to find solid white one. I would alos like to get me some more Cochins and some more welsummers, but we will see what I can find along those lines. The swap meets will be starting up soon, Fordland swap meet starts the end of the month.