I can't figure out how it happens, one moment we are stuttering along in the midst of an endless cold, wet Spring and before you know it we are in the middle of Summer, seriously, how does that happen?? Sorry for the lack of actual words on my blog of late, OK, maybe that is a good thing.
I am feeling a bit overwhelmed this year with all the work we are doing around here, not to mention the explosion in my chicken population and trying to integrate the young birds into the current flock of nasty
old mature girls. Owning chickens I am learning all about the plethora of sayings, recently 'pecking order' is at the top of the list. The girls can be brutal about establishing this with the young ones. It doesn't help that my chick purchase of eight this Spring gave me four, yes FOUR cockerels! I had sort of hoped for one and damn if I didn't get four times that. One was a beautiful Brown Leghorn, no I didn't order a Leghorn, but he was slipped in disguised as a Speckled Sussex Hen, isn't he a beauty....
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| Gorgeous Brown (Foghorn) Leghorn Cockerel |
Sadly he was a very 'cocky' fellow and along with fighting with the other young roosters....
....he was the most noisy and had started asserting his dominance with very aggressive and unwanted advances to the young hens. He is the smallest of the Roosters, yet he managed to chase and keep this beautiful Silver Grey Dorking up in a tree
This week Mr.Leghorn and one other Cockerel were removed from the flock and peace has returned...for now.
Another sign of how fast time passes, I cannot believe how much work Clover's recent litter of 13 pups is. In past years I have raised two large litters at the same time with a lot more ease then this one large litter, I guess I have to admit that the passing of 'time' is slowing me down :-) Once more I am so very thankful that the breeding of Hilde didn't work out, I can't even imagine having her litter as well as these pups.
The pups are doing fantastic, what a wonderful, happy, sweet bunch of pups, everyone of them is outgoing and affectionate. Sunday we had many of the new owners visit for a couple of hours, I think everyone had a good time, I know the pups did (
click here to see photos and video ) and Cyrus had a blast, you can see a little of Cyrus trying to play with the pups in one of the videos on the Nursery blog.
In the garden some things are doing fantastic, some fizzled out with all the rain and we are starting to really reap in the harvest that should continue on into the fall. Below are a series of photos taken this week.
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| Flowers in the Herb Garden |
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| Our Corn |
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| Gold Finches are enjoying the spent sunflowers |
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| Squash plants are bursting out the garden fence |
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| Cardoon Plants |
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| Roses put on a stunning display, even beautiful as they wither |
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| Sunflowers the bloom of Summer |
