Roots and Branches

Cluck, cluck...

Indulge me a few more chicken pictures, please?  I really, really enjoy these feathered friends.  I've always loved chickens, but now that I have my own, I really love them.  They are the funniest things to watch and so hilarious to interact with.

Today is a lovely quiet day without a huge agenda.  Time to get some fun things done!

scenes from around

I've needed a good long break from blogging.  The goats, chickens, ducks and all the other critters around here have demanded a lot of energy from me.  I love, love it - but it is a lot of work especially for someone just learning about everything.

So here are a few shots I snuck in between chores, housework, and being Mama.  Lots of nature's sweetness abounds around our place.  It's heaven.

 

I know, I know.  More chicks.  I swear I'm done now.  These are Black Australorps.  They are a heritage breed, which is something I am trying to focus on with my animals.  Okay, and they were especially cute... 

 

 

Ready to go in the garden - if it will quit being so cold around here I can get them planted!  Hopefully in the next couple of weeks they will be in and happily growing bigger. 

 

I have so totally fallen in love with these little fluff balls.  They are the sweetest things ever.  Oh, and they have names now - the little girl is Hazel and the little boy is Snowy.  They are so snuggley and I (and the kids) just adore them.

 

These ladies are so big now!  They are still pretty friendly  and really fun to watch.

 

I'm really enjoying the goats.  They are a much steeper learning curve than any other animal I have or have ever had in the past, but they are worth it.  Very cool animals and what an education!

I'll pop in soon with some photos of a sweater I've been working on for my girl.  Excited to share!

goats and a sweater

Last week, we headed up to the big city and while we were there, we bought some milking goats!  We hauled them home in the back of our Subaru wagon (yes, we did look insanely hilarious and got plenty of stares).  They are Nigerian Dwarf goats, so they fit quite well.  We brought home two mama goats who are currently milking, and 3 little goat kids (two girls and a boy).  They are so much fun!  Milking was a bit of a learning curve (that involved a little bit of hair pulling), but I finally got it.  Yesterday, Tyler built me a milk stand and that has made milking SO much easier!  This morning I successfully milked them all by myself without dancing feet being a problem and they were pretty darn patient with me! 

 This is Sheba and her baby Heidi.  Sheba is super, super sweet, great milker and very friendly.  Heidi is the funniest little goat we have.  She loves to hop on things and prance around and is very friendly. 

 This is Luna.  She is gorgeous and has the blue eyes that you find often in Nigerians.  She's not sure about us humans, yet, but she sure is a cutie.

 This is Anna.  She is a good milker and very patient.  She also has wowed me by fostering the two bottle babies.  She is allowing them to nurse!  Such sweetness.  She has the blue eyes, too.

 This little guy doesn't have a name yet, but isn't he gorgeous?  He is the friendliest of the babies (sat on my lap the whole way home) and is so snuggly. 

I'm really enjoying having all of these cuties around.  They are such fascinating creatures and so hilarious.

Also...the sweater is DONE!!  Hooray!  I really love it and am grateful that I stuck to it and got it done. 

Have an awesome Monday, everyone!

building them a home

We finally finished the hen and duck house...!!!  It was so much work and I spent the last week exhausted beyond belief, but it is done at last and the critters are so happy!  We still need to put on the tin roofing (and build nest boxes for the hens), but that will wait for another day.

I still can't believe these gorgeous gals were these little peepers just 4 weeks ago!

Check out those ducks.  Remember those cute little fluffy yellow things?  Yeah.  Those have transformed into huge white...things.  They are still very adorable, though. 

Cheers to happy critters in the backyard!!