FRANCIS'S BLOG 04/19/2026
Nasty weather on the way! 🙀
Stormy says, “Good morning! Everyone’s atwitter about a storm that’s supposedly coming this afternoon!”
Betty says, “I’m going back to sleep. Wake me when it’s time for dinner.”
Iris will spend the day in the stable:
Rose will, too:
They’ll be safe with the rest of us, and they’ll get their coats washed, too! (They would be safe in their usual shelter under the hay barn, but they wouldn’t be able to stay out of the mud to get fed, etc.) 🐎
Pretty kitty 😺
Buttons says, “Good morning!”
I’m about to get kicked out of Misty’s stall:
And so is Stormy:
Too late, Stormy, I ate all her leftovers:
Speaking of leftovers, Chezzie is checking if Jewel left any (she did):
And RC is checking Stormy’s dish for leftovers:
Of course, he didn’t leave a grain! 🐎
A sign of spring 😺
Oh my, it’s another gloomy day. We can’t hear ourselves think, with the chatter of the blackbirds in the pasture:
Never fear, I’ll show you something that will cheer you up:
Our first daffodil! 🐴
Oh those chicks! 🐥
Good Monday morning! It’s still muddy!
The cats are having a meeting:
Goodness! A chick jumped/flew (they sort of do both) out of the pen and is stranded on the screen (that is supposed to keep them from jumping out). Luckily the cat-cops monitor the security cameras constantly, so she wasn’t out there for long:
It didn’t take long for the chicks to be moved to the larger tank, that has much higher walls!
Aren’t they cute?
They like to snuggle up to the thermometer:
Chicks are amazing, in that between their legs and their wings, they can jump/fly to great heights! 🐥
Soggy Sunday (and a movie) 🐎
Hansel, please find a nesting box that’s unoccupied. (Hansel of course knows he doesn’t lay eggs, but the boxes are a cozy place for a nap.) 🐓
Most of the snow has melted into a lot of mud:
We were worried about the snow wrecking the new fence, but Mary and Ann put it back in place, and the chickens are back out!
Stormy says, “Good morning!”
Now let’s watch Rose and Iris!
🐎
Five inches of wet snow 😾
Oh my, look at the snow—and it’s almost April!
And just look at what it did to the chicken’s nice new fence:
Our Mary is straightening it out:
Don’t worry, Rose and Iris, the snow was dumped out of your dishes, before the feed was dumped in!
And snow or not. . .
Iris is on the lookout! 🐎
Oh that Chezzie! 🐎
The chicks are getting bigger:
Why are you sticking out your tongue, Chavez? That’s so rude!
“I’m not being rude. I’m just yawning.”
“I still haven’t gotten used to daylight savings time.”
That was almost two weeks ago, Chezzie.” 🐴
A bigger yard for the chickens! 🐔
This is an oddly-shaped egg, isn’t it?
Would I like a carrot? Do you have to ask?
Of course, if I get a carrot, everybody gets a carrot!
And of course we didn’t forget Iris and Rose!
It’s hard to appreciate in these pictures, but the chickens got a nice new yard:
They will have a lot more space, and are finally back on some grass:
The old fence is still in place, but it will be removed soon. 🐔
Oh those chicks! 🐥
It’s 48℉ right now. Patrick says, “Good morning! It’s still chilly enough to stand on one leg; or stay in the dog house, if you’re Danny Fairbrass.”
I’m laying down as you can see:
Ok, I’m up—I’m up. I suppose breakfast won’t come to me, will it?
The chicks get cuter every day:
Nosey little things, aren’t they? (Just so you know, the picture is red because the chicks are under a heat lamp.) 🐥
Happy Spring! 🐎
Dukie is here! “Good morning!” she says, “Don’t let my expression fool you, I’m happy to be here!”
Breakfast is late this morning, but we’ve decided to be patient, and let the cat-cops take care of the new arrivals:
The new arrivals are, of course, the chicks. They are in the basement of the farm house:
There are 14 of them. Did you notice the thermometer, the square thing in the picture above?
The heat lamp is keeping them at a cozy 82℉:
There’s also a camera. . .
So the cat-cops can watch them, day or night! 🐥
No news is good news 😺
I wish I had something to tell you today, other than Good Morning!
What about you, Onslow? or you, Buttons?
“We heard more chicks are coming, Francis. Is that true?”
All too true, kitties. (But I must admit, they are pretty cute.) 🐴
Please get above freezing today 😾
Good morning!
The chicks I told you about yesterday are still at Ann’s house:
They move to the farm house basement tomorrow, where they’ll stay safe until they get bigger. 🐥
Oh, great—more buzzards 🐴
Here I am, wishing you a good morning, even though it’s only 14℉ and windy:
Here I am after I found out we’re getting more chicks:
The more chicks, the later my breakfast!
Anyway, you know we have “olive-eggers,” that lay green eggs:
These little worm-eaters are called “Easter-eggers:”
As you can guess, each bird might lay blue, green, or, sometimes, pink eggs:
We’ll have to wait until they grow up, of course, before we know who will lay what! 🐥
We’re having some unlucky weather ☘️
Oh dear—it’s cold and windy, and overnight it rained, then snowed:
We’re not worrying, though: Our resident leprechaun, Francis O’Donkey, is here with his pot of gold, bringing a rainbow and sunshine!
But with prices the way they are. . .
This leprechaun has a pot of eggs! Happy St. Patrick’s Day! ☘️
Just when the mud was starting to dry up… 🙀
Iris says, “Good morning. It’s starting to rain. Hopefully it won’t rain for long. We still have mud to get rid of.”
Patrick is using his foot to wash behind his ears:
The other ducks have their blue pool, too:
And as for me, I’m having some hay out of this bag:
It’s supposed to keep us from eating too fast. 🐎
Sunny Wednesday! 🐴
What’s making me smile?
There’s a sparrow singing, “Good morning!”
And the day looks warm and sunny:
It’s supposed to get over 50℉!
The sun is out and Iris is better 😺
Good morning. I’m holding Ann’s coffee and gloves:
Poor Rose looks very lonely:
She spent last night without Iris. As you recall, she hurt her eye yesterday. Iris was missing Rosie, too:
Her eye was closed yesterday, but it’s open today:
It looks so much better! We are so relieved:
We’ll probably let the vet look at you, anyway, Iris. 🐎
Call the vet and the farrier! 🙀
Poor Iris has a sore eye! We think she might have something in it, like a piece of hay. You can see how she’s keeping it closed:
Hang in there, girl. Ann is getting some pain medicine and eye flush; and the vet will come see us as soon as she can! 🐴
And on top of that, Rose has thrown a shoe:
So we’ll have to call Travis to put it back on.
Schroeder says, “Good morning!” As you just saw, the cat-cops are very busy.”
I’ll say one thing for us kitties: Compared to horses, we are “LOW MAINTENANCE!” 😺
An egg hunt, before Easter! 🐔
The hens escaped their pen:
The cat-cops had to go looking for eggs (here are 3 on the barn steps):
Iris says, “Good morning. As soon as I eat my hay, I’m going to the barn and dry out my hooves:
Smart move, Iris. 🐴
Do they make a heated bed in my size? 🐴
Good morning!
The cat-cops fixed the fence enough for the chickens to come out (you remember that the snow weighed it down yesterday):
Patrick is first in the bath tub:
The goldfish are keeping their distance from Onslow:
Onslow eventually gave up “fishing,” and joined Schrödinger on the pet pad:
Finally, two hens are trying to squeeze into one box:
There are 9 nesting boxes, ladies. There’s plenty of room to spread out. 🐔
Hurry spring! 😾
Last night the heavy, wet snow started:
This morning I’m staying inside with Misty:
It will be an “indoor day” for the chickens, also; but not because they want to:
The snow pushed down their fence!
A new, sturdier fence is waiting in the garage, but the snow will have to melt first. 🐔
The chickens need a new “roof” 🐔
It’s an 8-egg morning:
Jewel is nose-deep in hay (you can’t see it, but it’s starting to snow):
Finally, this was the nesting box (an old horse-medicine bucket) yesterday:
And here it is this morning:
What happened, Astrid? Was somebody jumping up and down on the top? (Don’t worry, chickens, we’ll get you a new one.) 🐴
Wednesday potpourri 🐎
Misty and I were discussing how nice it is that Farmer Rich’s hay can sit in the barn all winter and still stay nice and green:
Iris says, “Good morning! It’s breezy, gray, and chilly today, but the hay is tasty!”
The cat-cops need to change the name of this security camera:
Rose looks like neither a chicken nor a duck. 🐴
Time for more food 🐎
The birds are very noisy this morning:
Stormy knows that there’s food coming. You’ll have to wait until it’s out of the car, Stormy:
When the gate’s away, I will play!
Chezzie says, “Good morning!”
“You better get my breakfast, or I’m coming in to get it myself.” 🐎
Oh that Stormy! 🐎
Betty is in a tree:
Onslow is guarding the hay:
I’m waiting for Onslow to get off the hay, so I can have some:
Iris says, “Good morning. Our pasture is full of blackbirds.”
Rose says, “Hopefully they’ll only eat worms and bugs, and not our tiny sprouts of grass.”
And Stormy is doing what he always does, parking his butt against the hay bin:
Please don’t make a poopie in there, like you did last Wednesday! 🙀
It’s a carrot morning! 🥕
We haven’t had carrots in a while. It certainly cheered us up:
I’m not sure who this chicken is, but she’s clucking, “Good morning!”
Oh my, somebody’s tipped over the nesting bucket:
This looks better, doesn’t it? The cat-cops pulled the pink and blue bucket apart, and put lots of fresh twine in each. Now you have two buckets, girls!
And what about the tipping problem? There are now bricks in the bottom of each bucket! 🐔
Ferdinand ventures out 🦆
Dukie says, “Good morning!”
Calla says, “Let me go out, too!” (we did):
Mystery kitty Red has shown up for breakfast:
And our dear Ferdinand, who will be 9 in April, hasn’t been outside in a while. He was always Percy’s companion in their pen:
Now that Percy is in Duck Heaven, he’s finally able to venture outside:
Enjoy your morning water and mealworms in the open air, Ferdinand. You deserve it! 😺
Watch out for ducks! 🐎
Since it has been so muddy, Patrick (boy Welsh Harlequin), Danny Fairbrass (Ancona), and Aoife (girl Welsh Harlequin) are too close to the horses for comfort:
Maybe they’re expecting the horses to dredge up worms as their hooves dig in the mud. Be careful that you don’t get stepped on!
Oh, I forgot: Good morning!
And speaking of being stepped on—
See the egg? Whichever of you olive-eggers laid it, you shouldn’t have laid it by the door. It’s begging to be stepped on. 🐔
We are so sad 😿
This very morning (Thursday), we were giving Percy his bath:
But between morning and afternoon chores, he went to Duck Heaven. Percy would have been 9 next month. You were a very good duck, Percy; we love you. ❤️
The camera doesn’t lie 🐎
Oh no! Is Schroeder caught in some new kind of trap?
No, but we’re not sure why he likes to sit in there:
Horse crime! Somebody poopied in the feed bin!
The security camera caught you, Stormy:
Finally, yesterday the chickens laid 14 eggs—2 in the morning and 12 in the afternoon:
Thank you, chickens, for making eggs for us and our friends! 🐔