A taste of summer

Yesterday I went down to the shore to help out a close friend/family member ( long story short - I consider him family and have always thought of him as my cousin due to our family ties) with installing a few marine electronics and wiring in his boat. When we were done it was such a beautiful day we decided to head out into the open water and do a little fishing despite it being the wrong part of the tide cycle for optimal fish catching.

On our first pass I picked up a nice striped bass which ended up being a keeper. A short time later I hooked into an even nicer fish but due to the rough surf I had a hard time keeping my balance while keeping my line nice and tight so despite fighting it to within a few yards of the boat I never landed it. It was a great afternoon on the water and despite being a little rough thanks to my wrist bands I was able to spend a day on the water and enjoy my first taste of summer - and an awesome Italian Cold Cut Grinder without any effects of motion sickness. I look forward to many more trips out in Rick's boat and watching the kids experience the trill of catching some big Stripers and Blues! Till then I will savor a few fresh fish dinners!

On Shelley's Farm there was a girl - E-I-E-I-O.

My Baby Girl is growing up so fast - and with all the manure she will be stepping in she should be getting a bit taller this summer too!

What you never heard that stepping in manure will make you taller - well it will, especially if you don't clean your boots off regularly and let it build up!

Why is she going to be stepping in manure you ask.....

Well, tonight was Ariel's first day of employment on a local farm. She gets to work with herding dogs, sheep, horses, miniature ponies, chickens, ducks and of course the ever present farm cat.

We met Ariel's new employers at the Monday homeschooling group that the kids were part of this past year. At the beginning of the year they got a tour of the farm and the chance to help shear one of the sheep for a "start to finish scarf knitting project" that both of the kids participated in.

I took this picture just before we left and was going to take one of her when she got home but despite being a little messier there wasn't much of a difference - she was still sporting a great smile. Hopefully she will maintain this level of enthusiasm throughout her employment

I can't help but smile when I look at her slop boots - mine were always black! Leave it to a girl to put "style" into doing farm chores!

Facebook for chickens

Well, Okay it's not really for chickens but for people who have chickens. As most of you know I am no longer on Facebook (old news I know but I really didn't want to discuss it while I was going through withdrawals!) I really enjoyed butting in on everyone's lives and was able to rekindle some childhood friendships which I have been able to keep up with via email and personal blogs despite my lack of Facebook membership.

For those who didn't know why we abandoned our FB Accounts - Rebecca's profile was hacked and after several days of getting nowhere with the FB staff we finally closed out R's profile - only to find it reactivated the next morning asking more people for $$$ due to me getting mugged while on a business trip, Rebecca getting stranded trying to get me back after I left her and went to London, and the lies went on and on. I finally took the time to delete ever post I ever wrote, group I joined, flair, etc...


It has been several months now and despite it being tough at times I was able to give up Facebook - and I did it cold turkey! I found that after I gave up FB I regained my desire to start blogging again - plus it helped that it is spring time and I have more to write about. So how does this all relate to my title - Well seeing that I have been raising a new flock of chicks I often get answers to any questions I may have right here on the world wide web and one of the sites I found myself often referring to was : Backyard Chickens.

It was here where I found my Facebook replacement. It turns out they have a forum that you can join and not only get answers to all your questions you can make your own web page, post pictures, message other members, buy, sell , trade and the list goes on and on. I have really enjoyed browsing the site and even found a new rooster for Ariel that we went as a family to pick up on Saturday Morning.

I hope that you all don't think I'm becoming "Chicken Crazy" but I feel secure with my "Peeps" over at BYC and fear not - I will always be here to Blog about it and thankfully, with the aid of my keyboard it will always be legible so no need to worry about my writing looking like chicken scratch!

Oh and in case you were wondering our new Roosters name is Sokka. It is nice to wake to the sound of the roosters crow again - it was too quiet out here in the north woods!

Warming their new feathers

The early evenings here have been nice so I decided to let our new little girls (and boys) get some exercise and feel the green grass under their toes. I must admit I am getting quite addicted to my back yard flock and would like to build a really nice coop some day that looks more like a farm barn. The kids have really enjoyed finding bugs and worms to feed the chicks, which has really helped with human-chicken interaction. I really like having the larger brooder in the garage and I know Rebecca is grateful too! Here are some pictures of this years chicks during their first back yard adventures this week. They all got a chance to stretch their wings and warm their feathers (and what is left of their chick fluff) in the warm evening sun.

Let us back in!
The Older Girls getting some fresh greens
Navarre watching over his babies

Discovering the joy of clover

Just noticed the older Hens in the yard

Chip and Dale - sticking together

The Kids showing them the ropes

Chip and Dale's Backyard Adventure

A couple of weeks ago I told you about the new chicks we purchased in this post. Well a lot has changed since April 18th - The 6 red sex links and 3 golden comets are all in the downstairs brooder where they have more room to stretch their wings, the 2 dark colored bantam chicks are still in the upstairs brooder - just because I enjoy interacting with them and they are so much smaller than the standard breed chicks. Unfortunately the tiny white bantam chick we had died.

The kids had named the white one "Speed" because when he wasn't sleeping he would run around like Forrest Gump while plowing his way through all the other chicks! The 2 other bantams are now named "Chip & Dale" due to their colors.

Last night when I got home from work I decided to take them outside for the first time. At first they were a little wigged out from the feeling of the grass but eventually calmed down. Then Navarre came over to guard over them and that's when they started climbing on his back and hopping back and forth between the two of us. I wish Navarre would keep his ears up when a camera is around - it seems like his ears are always up and at attention until he knows that a picture is being taken and then down they go!

I am always amazed at how gentle Navarre is with the baby chicks and how big of a desire he has to guard over the mature chickens when they are out of the coop - especially from squirrels! (that's a video I need to post!)