The New Arrival

Welcome Bronson Herminio

7 lbs 7 ozs

March 16 in West Virginia

Congratulations to Brett and Claudia!

Grandbaby #9!

Happy Trails,
Berte

Another Disappointing Nest

Last May I bought another batch of hatchlings and this darling is one of the Buff Orphingtons that I had big hopes of hatching out a nest...I'm not giving up yet. I bought 6 pullet chicks and one rooster. I think I have 3 hens left and this one has been sitting on a nest for quite a while. I went out today and, apparently, one hatched out, fell to the floor (or she tossed it out) and left it and moved over to the adjoining nest to work on it. I have no idea how many eggs are under her but it can't too many. That's so disappointing. I want some of my own hatchlings on the farm.

Then there is this one that the rooster literally attacks (you can see the back of her scarred head --and that's not love pecks either) and she has chosen a life of solitary away from the rooster. She stays away from the other hens. Lately, she's been taking solace in the chicken house during the day so I carried her out yesterday to the barn to live with a couple other hens. I thought she would love it away from the rooster but she was back in the chicken yard today. Go figure...

Here's Food On The Table...I thought for sure I'd be rid of him last Saturday but the brakes went out on the truck so we couldn't haul him..now it has to wait another week.. All he does is eat and eat and eat some more....

Oh..and tear up the shed...

I'll be soooo glad when he's gone...

And Button is still acting like a dog and growing those horns longer every day. I wish I could get a good picture of how they are starting to turn at the tips.

If anyone has any great suggestions on what I can do to successfully hatch out a nest, I will welcome them. The only thing I can come up with is to put in a nest box closer to the ground. But I've got friends that have their nest boxes up higher and they don't have a problem.
Help!...

Happy Trails,

Where do we park?

With gas prices going up the way they are, it brings much thought to mind... where do ya park the horse while in the store? At what point do we stop paying these ridiculously high prices for gas? The prices are jumping up right before our eyes and not just by a few cents...we saw it go up 14cents before we could round the corner!

(I had to borrow this pic from the internet because, no, I have not yet taken the horse to town) ...but I'm seriously considering it...

Happy Trails,

Busy in the Sewing Room

I'm trying real hard to get back to bloggin' but between being sick, helping kids and trying to get lots of sewing done, I'm not doing too well with the blogging. But I have been busy trying to get lots of items ready to launch my Etsy shop. This gorgeous weather is helping since my sewing machine is facing the window.

It seems like every piece of fabric that I pick up is screaming "spring!" Maybe that's what's wrong with me...I've got a little spring fever. I've got so many things that I want to make, I don't know where to begin. I've helped a friend work on her first quilt so now I've got the quilting bug again. It's been over a year since I've quilted!! What?! The wheels are turning upstairs on what I can make...

I figure with the launch of the Etsy shop, I will work in a giveaway... (my daughter agrees). She thinks it should a Spring/Easter table runner. What d'ya think? And since I'll be trying to promote the shop, I'll need to figure out how to do that and tie it in with the blog. Any ideas? Maybe I should have a little giveaway for the one that can come up with some clever idea for that! I'll be back soon with details.

Happy Trails,

Do I Dare?

Do I even let the words slip through my mouth? Should I even be thinking it? Okay...I'm already sick of Super Bowl Sunday. There..I said it.. We had a wonderful church service this morning, then home for a great meal shared with friends, fed all the critters and then the tv came on. Ugh... I guess I'm going to be chastized but I just can't get all that excited about a football game. Now, of all things, the President is on tv during all this Super Bowl audience. What is going on?
I am thankful that the sun is shining and it's a beautiful day for a football game in Arlington. I do hope everyone has a safe and fun Super Bowl Day!

Gettin' Ready for the Next Wave of Cold

Thought I'd grab my camera this morning when I went out to feed. With the cold, it brings more than just putting out feed. I'm having to go out every few hours and break up the ice so these animals will have something to drink. I also fish out the ice so it doesn't freeze back so quick.

I am thankful that the wind has died down today. The past couple of days the north wind has sent hay out all over the place. Anyone have any desire for a worthless Longhorn? She is nothing more than an oversized dog with horns!

Here's my Jess..doesn't she have the sweetest eyes?

And Buddy's Cinch...he's just an all-aroung sweetheart.

Most of the chickens were in their house or huddled up in the shed. Some of them did come out and get their pot of hot oatmeal....yummm, they love it.

But it's pretty much very quiet and desolate out here...waiting for another round of cold to come in this afternoon. We're forecasted to have 80% of snow starting this afternoon ... 1-3 inches of it. This is not supposed to be happening in Texas!

Right now, all I hear is the clanking of the chains against the metal panels of the round pen. So I'll sit and wait by the fire...inside...

Stay warm and Happy Trails...

Berte

Too Cold!

Okay, as far as I'm concerned, Old Man Winter can go back out on the same iceberg he rode in on. I don't do cold. Of course, we woke up to no water. At least we had electricity until the rolling blackouts started. I am so thankful for our wood stove. It is toasty warm in here. Buddy had it down to where it kept the whole house warm all night. The only bad thing is that he left his little plastic wisk broom on the stove yesterday when he lit it and it melted it all over the top and stunk up the house for hours. What a mess.

My poor chickens.. this is what was in the nest boxes...

All their eggs were frozen. Poor things..that must have been like sitting on ice cubes! Brrrr!

Hope everyone stays warm in all this. I hope it holds true about that fat groundhog not seeing his shadow and spring is around the corner.

Happy Trails...