lightning strikes...

Well a few weeks ago, lightning striked the house and we seen big spark and looked around to see what it had hit. Later that day we plugged up the computer and tried to go online and to no avail.....the lightning got the mother board on the tower of the computer....we can do everything , but go online...soo needless to say offline again until we get another tower.


Most of the ducks are setting ....\sparkles should hatch out sometime early this month, then lavender is under the porch has just started setting, then unique is setting and Elizabeth is too, that leaves mascara,tippy and aflac to start setting ....I know alot of baby muscoveies running around. My garden is coming up good as well, except the potatoes...I think they have gotten waterlogged with all the rain we had after I planted.
Well tahhh for now.

spring, spring.....spring.....

This bed is not full of flowers, but green onion sets. Last year , I put tomato plants here.

Double daffodils , aren`t they pretty. these were some that I had replanted a few years ago. These were actually in the bottom part of the two acres,where their is alot of rocks, needless to say I moved them somewhere I can enjoy seeing them instead of in the field, now in the yard.

Our wild peach tree is in bloom, this photo was taken today.

I just thought this was a pretty site as well, the clouds in the background just set this picture .

And last , but not least, a picture of frog eggs, I know not really spring yet, but hey, look frog eggs....that means soon tadpoles.....then frogs. The peeper frogs are out in full swing, just peeping away. My muscovies are laying and I do believe thinking about setting already, at least in one of the nest, there`s at least 15-18 eggs, of course that is with two laying in the same spot. Then another nest that i have found has 4-6 eggs in it. ( my muscovies free -range, so I have to hunt for the nest, and watch them close.)

Winter finally...

The clouds are rolling in....ready for the first snow of the season....not really.

Can you see Aflac?

Tip is alittle more visable.

Boy , ain`t it deep.....we got about 3 1/2 inches.

Unique sure does stand out in the snow

Boss with two of his ladies, they really didn`t like the snow. They was up on the hillside and I had to go get them up to feed. The chickens didn`t even go out yesterday...they do not like the snow.

Everyone have in the snow while it lasts!

Spring....

I know we haven`t had that much of a winter as of yet here in the ozarks. I am so thinking of spring, and so is a few of my plants outside, I mean I have Easter Lillies coming up, one is thinking about blooming, the tulips are coming up, my lilac bush is budding, my muscovey hens are looking for a place to nest at. A few of them checked out Bandit dog house the other day, and he did catch them, doing it, he looked at them ,like what are you doing in my dog house, lol, needless to say they left his dog house after he discovered one of them looking around inside the doorway, and Sparkles and Mascara coming out of it.I haven`t really seen Boss doing his thing, but then again they have been staying by the creek in the next field next to my garden spot, not a very safe place, but so far so good on that aspect, no coyotes coming as of yet, not to say I don`t hear them at night. The muscovies are usually in the yard under the pole light at night, to get the few bugs that are flying around, they soo love those bugs.
A couple of the cochin hens have started giveing me a present every couple of days, of course no rooster in the pen they are in. I so need to find me another Cochin Rooster, I would like to have a blue. I need to get me a few younger chickens this spring as well, alot of mine are a few years old, including my cochins. Well enough rambling for one day.

muscovies. other random pics

spunky, just had to get his pic here today.
Here is an updated pic of Cricket, the resident bully....she can`t get along with Trixie anymore.....such a bully.

Now on to the muscovies, the above is Elizabeth and Tip, who by the way was a solid yellow as a duckling.

Can you beleive these two came out of the same hatch....aflac and unique( unique is my hubbys)

just plain Lavender here.

Zoe, with Boss in the background

aflac, tip , boss and uniques head, you now he just had to get into the picture.

Mascara is front, then Zoe, Tip, Aflac,Lavender and Boss in background

That`s Sparkles in the front , then of course Unique and Mascara and Lavender or is it Zoe, those two look so much alike, with a few of the chickens that free-range on a daily basis.
The oldest just stated that her dog , Cricket is not a bully, she just thinks she is the top dog around here..lol

I have been enjoying the this weekend , with the nice weather, got to go do more girl scout cookie sales....yay...the youngest has sold....247 boxes of cookies this year...she was going for 300 boxes to get the prize of a duffle bag, I so wish she would have made, I think she did pretty good, considering last year she sold about 25 boxes. She has a game Tuesday, its an away game and , then no more games until next week . She will be playing a rough team Tuesday, so everyone wish her team luck.Well, goodnight for now and everyone have a good evening and God Bless You!

Boss is a keeper...

I just have to share this story or what happened yesterday. I always water before I feed in the evening and gather eggs at the same time. Well, my hens have been very secretive about where they lay their eggs, since I have been turning out every day to help with the tick problem here ( not as many now). So, I had checked all the usually places and Boss ( new Muscovey drake) starts hissing ( as that is how muscovey talk) in the chicken pen and low and behold their was two chicken eggs , I guess he was telling me hey here`s two, I had just checked in there, but did not think to look outside in the run,...duh.....As I was picking up those two I found another nest outside the pen in the weeds of course, yes I do need to mow in some areas,lol. It is so funn to go egg hunting every day.
Of course, Boss doesn`t let me know where his hens are laying at......lol, just the chicken hens.

new Muscovey Drake....Boss

This is sparkles, from last years hatch. she has not been hanging around with the others as of yet.

Here is Boss with his ladies after turning him out and talking up a storm to them

This is a better picture of him and still talking to them, Mascara, Elizabeth and Zoey

Mascara talking here to Boss.

I had to get a new drake as Chocolate was gotten by some critter that came up in the night and got him, never did find a body. I was needing a new drake to get new blood into my muscoveys though, as all the hens except one were his daughters/granddaughters, so I think I did need one.The New drake is a dark Blue and white and we named him Boss and he is big. My younger daughter calls him ugly when we first got him. The hens directed to what we call the duck pond a few times, I think They was telling him or rather hinting to him he needed a bath, lol. Lavender is not in the picture as she is setting under the porch, which seems to be her favorite place to set , so hopefully next month more baby ducks.

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.

new ducklings & duck happenings

Taylor finally hatched out 7 little ones,mostly chocolate and white in color, all carrie`s eggs were not fertile, so she didn`t hatch out any and is off the nest.

Mascara is thinking about setting again though, she has been laying the same place where she hatched out last time. She was laying down by the garage but elizabeth who was also laying there was setting there and wouldn`t get up , even thoug mascara pleaded with her severval times ,lol ...so mascara went back to the tree stump to lay her eggs, in which are covered up. Elizabeth has since left her nest thanks to some varmit who got her egg, yes, one lone egg , and she is no longer setting on it or on the spot where so much discussion took place.

swap meet

We went to a local swap meet today and We took some muscovey duckling along with my pair of frizzles and a pair polish . I did get rid of about 7 muscovey ducklings. Still have the frizzle pair and the polish pair. I came home with a old english game rooster for my little bitty banty hen. The roo I pick out is a blue , I really don`t know what my little bitty hen is but I lost her mate back in the winter months.The gentleman I got him from stated that someone he know is breeding blue roosters with wheaton hens and calling them blue wheatens.I also got a black standard cochin chick, looks like it gonna be a roo, so now I need to find a hen cochin chick, hopefully another black or a blue . I also picked up a siamese kitten ( I so love siamese and bob-tail cats), we named her Frosti.Now I need to find a bob-tail male kitty, so I can have bob-tail siamese running around.
I knew what I had in mind to find when we went ,the kitten wasn`t it, but who can resist a siamese kitten. I went looking for old english game rooster for my little bitty hen ( I did want a blue one),a pair of standard cochins ( I didn`t really care what color, but was thinking of buff or blue),a mottled banty cochin roo to breed with my buff cochin hen( trying for milli color), A blue banty cochin hen, since I lost my one last blue hen, of course more welsummer, and last but not least a solid white muscovey.
Their was alot people there with ducks, pekins, campbell breeds, call . of course chickens of every size and shapeand color escept mottled or blue cochins , bunnies, pot bellied pigs, goats, dogs, rats -yuk, mice-yuk. Tomorrow we are thinking about going to another local swap meet,but its not as big, so maybe I can find white muscovey or a blue cochin hen, or a mottled cochin roo.
We did get a few sprinkles today , we are need of some rain. I picked some wild blackberries last night and gonna pick some more tonight, I so love to pick blackberries, even with the thorns.Homemade blackberry cobbler ----yum-yum

more ducks.....doctor visit

elizabeth hatched out 14 more baby muscovey ducks, all chocolate ,chocolate and white in color, three or four even have chocolate legs.One has a white ring around head and chocolate head named ringo. So now drum roll please, a total of 24 baby muscovey ducklings.most are chocolate and white. Still waiting on blue eyes to hatch out-(lavender colored muscovey with blue eyes..hence the name). Carrie( Underwood, yes famous singer) and Taylor( Swift, another famous singer) haven`t really started setting yet, but are laying.

I went to the doctor today at a local clinic, when I got there the computers are down and told me you can wait and see if they come back up if not you might have to make another appointment....what happened to old fashioned paper work in the doctor`s office..they can`t see any patients because the computers are down...come on, it`s not the computers that look at the patients, it`s the doctor...duh.I was seen ,I have a sinus infection, which is what is causing the headaches in the front , possible pinch nerve in the back of my neck for the neck and back of head pain.On an anitbotic for the sinus infection and steroid for the neck for now.