Silly Chicken

Woke up again to loud birds singing their very loud songs - emphasized by the open window. But the sun was shining and the sky was blue and there was not a snowflake in sight. Gonna be a good day...

6:30 am, coffee brewing, feed the cat, mud boots on, no jacket!, let the dogs out to pee, let the horses out of the barn, check on the chickens...one chicken missing. Oh geez. Kaiya and I (after a very long bout of crying for her chicken) set out in search of chicken: in the barn, in every stall. in the eves, in the paddock, in the pasture, in the yard, under the porch, in the road, across the street...only to find little chick back with her sister in the barn. Geeez!!

The boys and I passed the practical today. We are officially cleared to get a hunting license! Officer Fontaine was our practical instructor. He reminds me of my oldest brother...through and through.

Kaiya likes to put the chickens on her head. She so loves these chickens!

One Step Closer

Monday night Jake, Riley and I all passed our hunter safety exam. Yay! Part two of the exam is field day - which we'll be doing this Saturday. I've really enjoyed this class, and have a whole new respect for those that hunt and know how to handle a firearm. I'm even more impressed with those who know what to do with a deer that they've shot. I'm hoping my brother Danny (hint hint!) will come up to Vermont this fall during deer season so we can all go hunting together. The idea of learning how to stock my freezer without having to go to a grocery store...sounds like a good thing to know how to do! Jake and I wish we had a shotgun - lots of those wild turkeys are living in our backyard.

A big thanks to our instructor, Michael MacDuff! We enjoyed your class and awesome instruction. The boys and I learned some valuable things that I'm sure will be put to good use. We'll be back in a few years when Kaiya is ready to learn the fundamentals of hunter and firearm safety.

This picture is one of the chicks riding on Laney's back. Silly chicken...

Pony Rides Are for Chickens, Too

Wow, I am exhausted. The garden prep is complete and the carrots are planted. The garlic that I put into the ground last November is starting to come up. I've started a bunch of things indoors in peat pots: tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, peas, bell peppers, habaneros and peperoncinis. Next weekend I'll be planting the other early spring stuff like lettuce, spinach, radishes...

Jake and I moved a bunch of horse poop from the paddock to the pasture right behind the garden. By this time next year, it'll be nicely composted.

My baby chicks aren't babies anymore. They are very tame though and well behaved :) I couldn't resist putting one of them on Zazu's head and taking a picture. Zazu is such a good sport. Not much bothers her (except Laney).

The boys and I have our hunter safety written exam tomorrow night and field day is next Saturday. Wish us luck!

A Day Off

It has been a long hard first winter for the Southern transplants. This winter was a very cold and snowy season, even by Vermont standards, with record-breaking snow totals and cold temps that didn't seem to want to let go. And actually, it snowed yesterday - just flurries with no accumulation, but still - it snowed and it's almost May. The ice out on Lake Champlain finally broke on April 11th and is now a lake again instead of a giant ice skating rink.

I decided to take this day as a vacation day from work and make it a long weekend - and a good choice of days: it's bright and sunny with a clear blue sky - forecast high of 55° - finally!! Lots to do this weekend: clean stalls, finish prepping the garden area, clean out the flower beds, bathe the horses, wash the car...and that's just today's list.

Jake and I have been walking the horses down the road, getting them ready to be be ridden again. We walked down to Henry's place to return his drill and then continued a little further when Laney noticed them: the cows. Zazu didn't care about them one bit, but Laney did not like then in the least, and freaked out when the bull took a few steps toward us. She clearly didn't recognize the fence that separated her from the cows. I thought she was going to bolt! Glad we decided to walk instead of ride. Being on the back of a horse that gets spooked isn't a whole lot of fun.

Anyone need any horse poop? Free fertilizer for your garden! Pauley, pictured above, thinks it's pretty tasty.

Ladybugs

Today's official high temp for Burlington was 72°. No wonder my bedroom is hot! I removed all of the plastic from the windows downstairs - but still need to take it off the bedroom windows.

Major thunderstorms early this morning. The horses wouldn't even leave the cover of their stalls. Lots of rain today and a bunch of rivers are spilling over their banks.

The lake is thawing - everyday there is less ice and more water.

And my house is overrun with ladybugs! A couple of ladybugs here and there are cute - but this many is creepy...where are the bats when you need them? I really shouln't say that though, after dealing with that one last summer...THAT was creepy.

The Weekend

In less than three months my yard will look like this!

I took this picture last July on the first night I stayed at the new house, a few days before heading to Carolina to fetch my spawn.

This weekend's forecast is calling for 50°+ and all I can say about that is: finally!!

Lots to do this weekend. We'll be moving the baby chicks outside. I've decided to convert the extra stall into the tack room and convert the tack room into a chicken coop. It's gonna be a lot of work, but at least I won't have to be wrapped up like a mummy! I may even brave the elements and just wear a t-shirt :)

Sunday I plan to go for a ride on Zazu. I've been itching to ride for a while. I think I may venture north and go into the state park...or ride down by Henry's place...

Oh! And I need to plant seeds. Time to start the seedlings so when June rolls around I'll have little starter plants!

Birds, Deer, Doggy Snacks and Weather

Every spring, the birds find a place to lay their eggs and continue the circle of life. This winter was very quiet with all the birds gone to warmer regions. It seemed like from one day to the next, the birds were back in full force, singing their beautiful spring songs. As I woke up this morning right before dawn, the bird songs was the first thing I noticed.

I found this birdhouse stuck in a tree, broken at the bottom. I found some wood glue, secured the bottom to the base, attached an eye hook to the top and filled the bottom with bird seed. Just a few days later I saw a little song bird poke her head out of the hole. A little gray and blue momma found her place, making a spring home out of an old birdhouse that I brought back to life. I can relate to her. Sometimes we just have to pick up the pieces of discard and make the best of it.

Sunday morning I had to take my oldest son into Burlington for a Rugby clinic, so we got up early and headed out the door. As I called the dogs in from their morning pee, I noticed Pauley dragging something from the woods into the backyard. I thought it was tree branch and dismissed it. When I got home that afternoon, I noticed the "item" that she had dragged into the yard laying just beyond the back porch. Hmmm. That wasn't a tree branch...seems the dog found the ultimate doggy snack out in the woods. It was the hind leg of a deer! Jake and I put our mud boots on and set out on a quest to find the owner of the leg. We found it. There wasn't much left of it and who knows how long it has been out there. All I could say was "ewww!"

Today's weather was interesting. Within an eight hour period, we went from sun to clouds, to snow to sun. A friend of mind told me, "If you don't like the weather in Vermont, just wait a minute - it'll change." I thought he was exaggerating...