Chicken update, blackberry pickin', giveaway hint...

Since early spring, Buffy had been begging me to let her have some eggs in her nest. Each time I'd go gather them, she'd pouff up and make soft clucking sounds. I kept apologizing, explaining that I needed the eggs for breakfast, and cakes, and cornbread, and to give to the neighbors. She understood and let me take them, never pecking my hand like one of the other girls used to do. But she kept begging ~ she even got Henny Penny to help her beg, so then I had two hens asking to keep the eggs when it was time to gather them! Finally I gave in. After all, the girls are old and egg production is down quite a bit. It wouldn't hurt to have a few babies hatch and by next spring, they would be old enough to start laying ~ IF they are hens and not roosters!

The day I let her keep a few eggs, Pierre (above) had to keep peeking in to see what we were up to. I was marking Buffy's eggs with an X. We wanted to be sure which eggs were hers.

Fast forward about 21 days. Unfortunately only one of three made it, but it is a sweetie and Buffy is such a good Mama! I'll share some photos of it in a few days.

Since the chickens have stayed in the pen all summer, Tweedle Dum stays close by the pen, pacing back and forth, usually stalking Pierre. I know what Pierre is thinking.... "Boy, you'd better be glad you're on THAT side of the fence!"

Below are photos I took of Pierre and Eowyen a while back. It was so sweet ~ he would pick little bits off a plant, lean his head down to hers, and she would get the food from his beak. He did this for several minutes. Pierre is certainly considerate of all the ladies in the chicken pen! When I take them fresh water, he stands there with them, but waits until all the girls drink before he does.

Had I mentioned picking blackberries? Forgive me if this is a repeat. I'm going through photos on my pc, trying to post something I haven't already talked about. A few weeks ago I picked some blackberries at my childhood homeplace and made blackberry dumplings. I hadn't made any in years but these were delicious ~ especially with ice cream! I wouldn't mind having more this week. Maybe I'll drop by to see if there are any berries left to be picked.

and before I end this post... here's a visual hint about the giveaway prize:

Keep those ideas coming in and post them here. I'm certainly enjoying reading them and taking notes.

I'd better get busy, I have a couple more orders to finish up and then I have something new that I'm working on. It's something that I'd wanted to try for a long time, but just never found the time. I still haven't found time ~ I just had to re-prioritize and sleep a couple hours less, lol!

Take Care & God Bless,

Lana

~*~