Pete Is Not a Roo!

A couple of weeks ago, I was convinced that Pete was a rooster.

After seeing him sitting in the nest, time after time, where we find the eggs, I'm now convinced that Pete is a hen.

No crowing. Pete, if she were truly a roo, should be crowing by now.

I had to convince Kaiya that she wouldn't be eating a baby chicken before she'd agree to eat one our farm fresh, free range, all natural eggs!

Every third egg we get seems to be a double-yoker! I love having chickens and fresh eggs everyday. And they DO taste different than store-bought. I need two more hens!

Sunday Morning

One of my favorite times of all are Sunday mornings during the summer. I've been up since about 5:30 - turn the horses out, feed the chickens, feed the cat and dogs...coffee brews, open the doors and let the damp cool air drift through the house...coffee, weather channel, laptop...the kids are all still sleeping. It's very peaceful here on Sunday mornings.

I was mowing the lawn a few weeks ago, riding the tractor in circles around the apple trees in the front yard, when I noticed that two of the three trees have little apples on them! It was exciting to see those little baby apples! Early last winter I discovered another older apple tree at the very back end of the property. I want to go investigate that tree later today, if I can get to it. Yves (my neighbor) had to come get the DR (the new belt wasn't working property) so I'm a little bummed I haven't been able to get any more trails cut. I'm hopeful Yves will get it fix and I can cut some more paths. It's time to check on the black berries, too. They should be starting to ripen.

I need farm equipment! And a truck with a plow attachment!

Pauley, Skunks Are Not Your Friends

Our little black dog, Pauley, decided to play with the skunk that had wandered into the horse pasture. I yelled and yelled for Pauley to come to me, but she ignored me. I didn't dare get any closer to her and her new "friend" for fear of being sprayed. As Pauley continued to run in circles around the skunk, the more pissed the skunk became. When it started to advance on Pauley, I ran a little closer and the skunk started to advance on me - I could actually see his teeth. I yelled for Jake, who came outside and saw what was happening, and he ran back inside to get his gun. I finally got Pauley to come to me. Less than a minute later, Jake put a .22 into the skunk's head. Bye-bye Mr. Skunk! It all happened very fast, but I'm happy that Jake reacted as quickly as he did. An aggressive skunk out during the day are signs of abnormal behavior. It may have had rabies.

So far, I have seen the following wildlife on my property: deer, turkeys, muskrats, skunks, snakes and coyote tracks. I saw a moose once as I was driving to work, but I don't think there are any moose on the islands.