Oh, Hail

About a year ago a real nasty storm swept through Knoxville as well as many other cities and states in the southeast. This real nasty storm brought rain, high winds, hail, etc.

Some friends of mine were out of town and I offered to check on their digs while they were gone. One evening I stopped by around 6 to collect the mail and visit the cats for a bit. A cell had already moved through so I assessed the property and sent a text giving the all clear.

A few hours later after another cell, a stonger cell, had moved through but things didn't seem too bad at our house despite the limbs and quarter sized hail.  I figured a neighborhood 6 miles away couldn't have seen weather all that different...

Upon my return I found out just how much difference 6 miles makes. A tree had crashed down on top of the pergola that crashed down on the gutters, that collectively crashed into the kitchen doors, and finally crashed into the patio that cracked under all that crashing.

As it has almost been a year I figured I should probably call somebody to come take a look at our roof and check to see if we really had any damage or not. Some of the neighbors made claims but I still didn't think much of it... until the roofers came and they showed me... and then again yesterday when the insurance rep left chalk circles all over my shingles and gutters.  We have damage.

Fortunately we also have insurance. Hooray insurance!

Hen Bathing

1. Acquire a transportation vessel.

2. Remove the dog from the path of entry.

 3. Chase/Trap the dirty chicken. Corners are a big help!

4. Place in the crate.

5. Carry to the house and into the bathroom.

6. First try a damp, lukewarm washcloth on the crusty feathers.

7. Console the sickly hen before the introduction to big water.

8. Run some lukewarm water in the sink and set her down.
(It looks like the crate is trapping her, but its just the angle.
She was actually pretty calm during the whole process.)

9. Inspect your work.

10. Strike a pose and hope that helped even a little.

Mystery Diagnosis

(Have you ever watched that show? I love it. Of course, there aren't many programs on Discovery Health that I don't like.)

For the last couple of weeks I have been noticing the Eleanore hasn't quite been herself. Her tail feathers haven't grown back in from her molting. I kept waiting for them and looking for progress only to find a mess.

I debated about sharing this, but alas, it is what this particular blog is all about so...

Eleanore had "droppings" stuck to what short tail feathers she did have. She is not moving as light footed as she used to and her comb is flopped over to one side and faded. She looks a little bloated, but it is just the way she is holding herself.

I made some Google queries along the lines of "hen with fallen comb" and "bloated chicken". The results weren't pretty. Egg bound. Yikes! Yikes for her and yikes for me. One of the solutions for that diagnosis involved a slick finger to her vent.

I handled her quite a bit yesterday and did not feel any eggs trapped. I am pretty relieved and though Eleanore may not realize it, but she should be too!

After bathing my hen to clean up her dingleberries*, I went back to the internet to "research" a more accurate diagnosis. At this point I am convinced she is having an issue with her crop. (As I understand it the crop is like a holding cell that slowly releases food into the stomach.)  The treatments for crop ailments range from a little less disgusting to a lot less disgusting. Most of the treatments involve massage. Lucky bird.





*Get excited! Photos soon!

Excuses I Uses

I have been in a rut lately. I can't seem to get excited about exercise. That is really abnormal right? It seems like the only exercise I have been putting myself through is the 20 minutes of getting my pants-to-give-a little- yoga-stretching.

In two and a half weeks I will toe the starting line of a 13.1 mile trail race in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It will be amazing if I cover 13.1 miles cumulatively in that time. I haven't been putting a lot of pressure on myself because I am not running it for a good time. I have no intention of racing it, but I would like to enjoy myself.

Here is what I say to stand in my own way and the truth that should be acknowledged:

I am sooooo busy/ I don't have the time.
I call b.s.! Your schedule is really light.

Well, ok I could go to the gym before work... but what if I want to fix my hair?
Do you ever want to fix your hair?

All right, all right, after work... but then I won't see Aaron.
Total b.s. He works out in the morning and you won't be gone that long. Besides, if he is working out after work you wouldn't see him until after that anyway.

It might rain/ storm.
Use your gym membership.

But I hate the treadmill.
There are other options.


... I'm sure there are more. I'll see if any surface while I make my way to the pool tonight.

Madness of March

I didn't count the tallies for March. I was too disapointed. Amazingly enough, April is off to a great start.  As of yesterday afternoon I had collected 5 eggs. 4 of these I found in the "other" nesting box. All of this time, with the exception of perhaps last month when it never occured to me to check there, Kathy and Eleanore had only been using the box closest to my access door.

I don't know what prompted the change, and I don't know when they made it. I don't know if one hen is using one and the other hen the other... I just don't know. I don't know how many eggs I could have collected that I didn't know were there or how long they had been there or just exactly where they went because they aren't there now. No se'.

I do know that I bought a carton of eggs for the first time in a long time on my last trip the grocery store. And then I found 4 eggs.

Do you think hens celebrate April Fools? Good one, Ladies. Ya got me. Now get back to work!

Now Showing

The previous owners of our house were quite the horticulturist by hobby. One of the best things they left behind for us (besides the riding mower) is a map of all of the plantings around the property. The first spring we experienced in the house was one blooming surprise after another.

Elizabeth and Jonah had planted daffodils, tulips and iris in the same bed. So first thing in the spring the daffodils peek through and they gracefully give way to the tulips which bow out just in time for the iris.

Admittedly the beds got away from us for a while, but since our landscaping fairy has been making weekly visits, things are starting to look under control again.

What? You don't have a landscape fairy? Keep some snacks, a friendly dog, and a nice relaxing place to ponder life or take a nap and see what happens. If that doesn't work, I'll give you my mom's number.

Azaleas

Azaleas

Hostas that made it through the winter in pots on the porch.

Garlic! It was starting to sprout in the window sill so I stuck it in soil.

Dogwood

Different Hosta

Signs of life from a Hibiscus that resembled a stick for a long time. I'm pretty excited about it.

Tulips

Tulips

Candy Tuft

Giant Carpenter Bee. Perhaps a Queen?

One - the lonliest number.

After unsuccesfully trying to open the egg carton from the hinged side and cracking the lone egg in there, our carton still only contains one egg. Before you pass too much judgement on me and my coordination: it was one of the clear plastic, tri-fold cartons. So technically both sides are hinged. But, whatever. That is not the point. The point is: over the last 2 or 3 days only one egg has been produced between 2 chickens.

"Eggs" might soon make its way back on the grocery list. How sad.

Analogous to Laundry

Since it is now officially spring I thought it was time to switch up the appearance of the ol' blog. I don't think I am quite satisfied with it so you may see a few more "outfit" changes in the near future.

When I was younger, as in 20 years ago*, 10 years ago, and probably last week, I had this habit of not being satisfied with what I was wearing so I would change my clothes in rapid succession until I had a pile of unfolded laundry. Luckily, with the digitalness of this medium, I don't have to re-fold anything(let's be real: wad and return to the closet), there is no mess left behind. 



*It is really alarming that I can say I did something 20 years ago and have a clear memory of it.

It doesn't add up

Aaron, Charlie and I went to Tryon, NC this weekend along with my mom and her dog. We were there to visit and to celebrate my nephew's 7th birthday. We went bowling.

Zac, the birthday boy

Before we left on Friday afternoon I made sure Kathy and Eleanore had enough food and water for the weekend. I also packed a carton of eggs to take to Tryon, leaving us just a few in the fridge. But, I figured, 2 birds, spring weather, an egg a day... 4 eggs upon our return.

I was mistaken. 1 egg. 1. Just one. I don't understand. These are young birds. Seemingly content birds. At the very least I would have expected 2 eggs. Maybe they are lonely...

Stormy Weather

The unusual-for-most-years-thunder-storm-in-the-winter that we had last night, reminded me that I documented some from the night of the other, more intense weather we had a couple of weeks ago.

My mom likes to ask: "Where were you when the lights went out?"

Answer: In the dark.



Charlie was on the couch though, pinning my legs down while the thunder, lightening, and wind kept him alert (i.e. scared).

No electricity. No Internet service.

Yet, we are still able to check the radar. (Air card)

This is how far I got with my emergency preparedness. I had already changed in to my pajamas so I figured I might want real pants to pick up the pieces if it came to that. My purse - there is important information in there. You gotta watch out for looters! Sneakers - like I said, I was in PJ's so I didn't have shoes on either. My phone - pretty self explanatory. And pillows - to cover my head with while I wrapped my body around either the toilet or the pedestal sink so I didn't fly away when the roof came off. One of those was for Aaron. I figured we could wedge Charlie between us.

Luckily, we survived unscathed.

The Difference a Day Makes

Ok, so it is probably more like The Difference a Fortnight Makes...
either way here is what is in bloom this week.

Red bud budding red

Those baby grape hyacinth buds grew up so fast!

An assortment from the backyard

and the front.

This is one of my favorite spring time plants to see.

Oh look, more daffodils. These are smaller though and have 3 blossoms per plant.

And of course, Charlie.

Resisting Temptation

Chick Days are back at Tractor Supply.

If there had been glass around them, I would have left smudges from my face. Fortunately they were just fenced off so I could peek over and say "awww" and have a little girl tantrum in my head while I reasoned myself out of purchasing young birds.

They are just so darn cute. And the little peep peep peep's and chirp chirp chirp's...

I don't know how to take care of chicks, and though I could learn, at Tractor Supply you have to buy at least 6. The existing coop would get really crowded really fast. I'm not sure how Kathy and Eleanore would feel about that.

At least 29

At least 29 eggs were collected from the ladies atop the hill this month. That is how many tallies made it to the calendar anyway.


and a little information on this February 29th from Wikipedia:

A leap year (or intercalary or bissextile year) is a year containing one additional day (or, in the case of lunisolar calendars, a month) in order to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical or seasonal year.[1] Because seasons and astronomical events do not repeat in a whole number of days, a calendar that had the same number of days in each year would, over time, drift with respect to the event it was supposed to track. By occasionally inserting (or intercalating) an additional day or month into the year, the drift can be corrected. A year that is not a leap year is called a common year.


how I learned it:

It actually takes the earth 365.25 days to make a complete orbit around the sun. Ergo - every four years, we make up for it in February.

Why February and why does February only have 28 on a common year anyway? I have no idea. But, don't forget tomorrow morning to say "Rabbit Rabbit" first thing!

IMBY

I walked through my back yard yesterday. This is what I saw:

 

I don't know what this is. My mom speculates it is a type of mint. It is all over Charlie's yard and crowding out some tulips. It is kind of pretty, but it would be prettier in a different spot.



This is what was happening while I was trying to take a picture of the maybe mint.

 

Tulips - no buds yet.

 

Daffodils



Flowering Quince - I think it has been in bloom since January.

Crocus. Crocusses. Croci. Crocus.

Tilt head 90 to right. I'm not sure what this is. It sort of resembles daffodils, but the leaves (?) are much broader.

 

More daffodils. Save for Miss Look At Me here, all following the sun.



baby Grape Hyacinth buds



2 headed chicken

 

What?! More daffodils - Crazy

 

Time to mow already...



The first bud on my giant, school bus of a forsythia.



Charlie and Rosie stomping on some tulips. Good dogs! Rosie may look sad, but she isn't. I think she was losing patience with me.