Oh the cuteness..

I've been completely smitten with Weezie since I brought her home as a tiny little chick from a Blue Ridge feed store the Thanksgiving 0f 2008. So when she decided this spring she wanted to be a momma I did my best to help her out. I snuck her little unfertilized eggs out from underneath her and replaced them with fertile eggs from my other hens that happen to reside with Mr. Edgar, one of my roosters. She sat and she sat and she sat. Nothing happened. After 24 days or so I snuck those eggs out and replaced them with new ones (they should've hatched in 21 days). Same process - she sat and sat and sat. Although several times she was sitting beside the eggs instead of on them.. I don't think she quite had the process down but boy was she determined! So when those didn't hatch either I removed them, told Weezie I was sorry and that she was just going to have to try again next spring and all this sitting was bad for her! She needed to get on with her life as a chicken - out scratching for bugs, taking dirt baths and napping in the sun. But she wasn't hearing any of it. She refused to budge. She continued to sit - on nothing! I'd take her out of her little cage, she'd cackle at me, run around for about 2 minutes and then run right back in and sit again. This went on for nearly 2 weeks - I really thought she'd give up after a few days but I was proven wrong.

This may sound a little crazy but I could tell she was sad. She wanted to be a momma so bad. So on a recent trip to the feed store they had just gotten in a shipment of bantam chicks - it was Weezie's lucky day! I picked out this one odd little black and yellow chick that I just knew Weezie would love and boy was I right! I got home with him, put him in with Weezie, they looked at each other, he chirped, Weezie cooed at him a bit and then he nuzzled himself right under her wing and that was it - Weezie was in love! She's as happy as she can be now and she's just the best little momma a chick could ask for - I'm sure of it!

So here's my completely spoiled rotten Weezie and her new adopted "child" Watson after a long day of scratching up bugs and worms under my shrubbery =).
You gotta love happy endings!

Weeze has a new 'do

If you know me or follow me on Twitter you've undoubtedly heard me talk about Weezie - my completely spoiled rotten silkie hen. Normally she's just a big fluff of white feathers but today, thanks to the rain, she's sporting dreadlocks. I can't stop giggling at her new 'do and I think I may be giving her a complex. She's awfully quiet when normally she has a ton to squawk about.. maybe I should dry her off w/ the hair dryer.. nah she's too cute w/ dreads =).

Umm... OUCH!

So apparently I broke my finger last night playing volleyball...ouch! And I'm wearing this nifty little robotic looking splint that Shirley is totally intrigued by so I can keep my poor little aching finger out of more trouble. This is definitely putting a damper on my productivity and my typing abilities =P. We're heading on a little camping trip to Tallulah Gorge in the morning too and I'm almost afraid to leave the house - I seem to be accident prone here lately. Hope your Thursday finds you accident free and healthy! =)

A week later....

It's spring! It's hard to believe just a week ago we had nearly 7 inches of snow on the ground and this weekend it was 79 degrees! We spent the entire weekend working out in our yard clearing away all the branches that had fallen, raking all the little prickly balls from our Sweetgum trees and getting the spot for our little vegetable garden ready and I have the calluses to prove it - ouch!
Preparing our garden site was a family event and here some of the ladies are helping us spread our "organic" matter around and adding a bit more of their own ;). They had a regular little chicken buffet going on here with all the worms and larvae they were finding.
Thelma and Louise were supervising the activities and making sure no one went out the gate that wasn't suppose to while we made trips back and forth to the compost pile.

Mandy had to come poke her nose in to see what was going on =).

And this is Golly's big mouth. You can't carry on a conversation anywhere near him otherwise he thinks you're talking to him and he likes to talk back. ALOT. And very loudly too. ;)

And I just had to add this picture of Thelma and Louise because they're so darn cute and they look like little abominable snow chickens.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Edgar says...

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Hope everyone has a weekend filled with love with those you care about! =)

The Chick Inn has Arrived!

Even though it's cold and rainy I am a happy girl today and so are my little chick a loos - Their chicken condo (aka a coop but it's just too cute to be called a coop) has arrived! So cute that I see 3 other folks decided they needed one too! I asked where the other 3 were going and 1 is going to Dublin, GA, one somewhere near Savannah and the other is going to Lakeland, FL. I ordered it from a company in Pennsylvania (it's built by the Amish which I think is pretty neat in itself) last Thursday and I wasn't expecting it for another 2-3 weeks but they called yesterday and said they were in South Carolina with it and they would have it here by 10am today. Talk about a fast turn-around time! And it matches our horse barn perfectly down to the green tin roof! Some of my neighbors drove by as they were unloading it and I think one nearly broke his neck trying to turn around to see what in the world we were doing ;). They had this neat little pulley system that just rolled it to the end onto a hydraulic lift and then to the ground. They put little rubber wheels on it and the driver and Dan just pushed it where it needed to go! Pretty nifty!

After we got it situated I had to go get the ladies and introduce them to their new home. They've been tucked away in the barn for the last few days because it was just so bitter cold but now they have their own little warm home to come and go as they please. Laverne is checking out all the new "bedrooms" ;).

And here comes Mona to see what's going on. Nothing entices Laverne quite like food - the others came and went but not her! If there's food involved she's staying put! In fact I'm looking out the window now and I think she's still in there!

Now I've decided the chicken condo needs a name and I've about settled on "The Chick Inn" (a play on check in -I know I'm dorky ;) unless someone else has an idea I like better. And then I'll have someone on Etsy make me a little wooden sign to hang out front. =)

If you ever need a chicken coop or a barn - they deliver full size horse barns too! - I highly recommend Horizon Structures! We found them at the Georgia National Fair in Perry this past fall and I have been dreaming about this cute little coop since I laid eyes on it in October. So Merry late Christmas to me and the chick a loos!

Hope your Sunday is filled with pleasant little surprises! =)

Cold Sunrise!

Even though the sun looks warm and toasty coming up over the hill off my front porch this morning it's definitely deceptive! It was 14 degrees when I woke up! Now I know that some of you northern folks are thinking "That's nothing - that'd be a heat wave here!" but you have to remember that's the coldest temperature we've seen around here in 6 years! So I had to bundle myself up to go feed all the "kiddos" this morning and I'm about to have my 3rd cup of coffee to thaw out!

Thelma and Louise have become my "house chickens" because it's just too cold outside for them and they're still not quite 8 weeks old yet. And honestly I enjoy their company and their little chatter during the day ;). There are several people who think I'm just a little looney for keeping chickens inside (I won't name any names but "hi" mom) and maybe I am ;). Maybe I'll just tell everyone they're a new breed of parrot and no one would think twice about them being indoors ;).

Hope you're staying warm!

Working Away..

I've been a bit lax in my blog postings since Christmas so I'm going to get back at it! But it's not from being lazy I can assure you ;).

If you've visited my jewelry shop lately you'll have noticed that I have been busy listing some new work including these little sparklies - my "Potion" earrings. I plan on offering them in Amethyst too for all those February babies! Obviously I've been inspired by the upcoming Valentine's Day holiday as most of my new work is centered around reds and pinks. If pink and red isn't your thing not to worry I have some Moonstone and Labradorite danglies coming this week as well!

It's been pretty calm around here on the little farm the last few days, which is how I like it, and which is quite the opposite of how the new year started out. First Buster, the rescued pony across the street, busted out and wrecked havoc around here. Every horse in the neighborhood (and there are quite a few) including mine were all bent out of shape at the site of him running up and down their fence line. So I spent an entire Sunday afternoon in the rain trying to chase him down and he wasn't having any part of it. Finally Mr. Norman and his son were able to corral him at 10 o'clock at night using their truck. I think this episode of spending the day out in the cold rain led up to me catching the flu for several days and causing me to miss my gem show =(. And finally this past week we had some major winds from a cold front that came through and completely destroyed my chicken coops and took the top out of one of our trees. Dan and I spent the entire day this past Friday re-building the coops. Luckily none of my little chick-a-loos were hurt but I'm sure it gave them a good scare!

Now maybe, just maybe, things have calmed down for good! Hope your new year is less "interesting" than mine! =)

Ummm...

Who is this and why is he wearing my crown AND giving me a dirty look?!

It is cloudy, rainy and we're under a tornado watch until 3pm today so I let the little chick-a-loos out for a bit before the really nasty stuff gets here. Chick Pea, who you might recognize from my custom item listings in my little shop, doesn't seem to remember Mr. Toad who she has "met" several times before. I think it's the dirty look that's throwing her off ;).

Hopefully none of us will have to duck in the closet today but we could very well get washed away! It's pouring!

Hope you're staying dry and cozy! =)

My kind of Black Friday Shopping

This was definitely my kind of Black Friday shopping today =). After we spent the first half of Thanksgiving day with Dan's family in Sandy Cross we hopped in the car and drove 2 hours to the north Georgia mountains to my Aunt and Uncle's log cabin in Blue Ridge to spend the second half of the day and the night with my family. We got up this morning had some pancakes, blueberry muffins, coffee, fed the fish in my uncle's pond and then took a stroll around downtown to do a little shopping. My uncle knows me all too well because he couldn't wait to take me to the local feed and seed store and now I hate to say it but I think I have a new favorite feed store! It's too bad it's a 2 hour drive away! But this little lady, Baby, was their "desk clerk" and yes that is a blue bow in her "hair". How stinking cute is she?

And this little man was their "security guard". He sat perched up high watching everyone come and go. He would occasionally hop down to take a little stroll to make sure everything was in place but every now and then I'd catch him slacking and dozing off. Kinda reminded me of the little old security guard that we had at the local mall back home ;).

But finally some more folks who get my obsession with chickens!

And of course I couldn't leave empty handed and who could resist these little cuties?! So please meet Thelma and Louise (which also happens to be my mom's name - although she wasn't quite as amused as I was that I honored her by naming one of my "kids" after her ;) . These little sweeties rode all the way back home with me in my lap and they'll be my new studio helpers for the next several weeks cause it's just too darn cold outside for little babies right now!

Hope you had a happy Thanksgiving!

Cluck Cluck

I've had a couple of requests to share more chicken mugshots so here you go! Say "hi" to Mona =)

Naked Chicks

Well not entirely! My little ladies are molting so they look like vagabond chickens at the moment. I think they get a complex about it too because they stop laying during this process and me telling them they look like little hobos probably doesn't help either ;).

But I have quite the collection of feathers now... I've been thinking about listing them but I have no idea what the going rate on vagabond chicken feathers is these days.

Happy Veteran's Day!