FRANCIS'S BLOG 10/06/2025
A stray egg 🥚
Good morning! It’s a good day to stay in the shade:
Paschal says, “I agree, Francis. I’ve found my spot for the day.”
Finally, it looks like someone couldn’t make it to a nesting box:
Maybe one of the girls became too preoccupied with sifting through our poopies, and forgot it was “egg time!”
She does look lost in thought, doesn’t she? 🐴
Sunflowers 🌻 and Pumpkins 🎃
Good morning! After you watch me have my morning carrot, Gail has something to show you:
“I certainly do, Francis!”
“We have sunflowers coming up in our yard:”
“And pumpkins:”
“In a few months, we’ll have sunflower seeds and pumpkins to eat. But until then. . .”
“We’ll supplement our diets with leftover horse food. . .”
“And our old standby, cat food!” 🐔
Sunny Wednesday 🐴
Dukie’s here!
Jewel and I are “incognito” this morning:
The flies won’t recognize us. 🐴
Carrot and egg movies! 🥕🥚🥕
Good morning! Carrots are coming!
But first, the cat-cops missed this egg, so it stayed out all night:
Overnight, the raccoons missed it; but this morning, the chickens definitely won’t!
Let’s watch them chow down!
Now let’s watch Iris get her carrot:
Chavez’s carrot is a little too big, so he needs a helping hand:
As you can assume, everybody got carrots, not just Iris, Chavez and me (everybody that has hooves, that is)! 🐎
HORROR under the hay barn! 🙀
Dukie says, “Good morning!”
Egg production is on the way:
And—HOLY HORSE HOOVES!—some raccoon lost its tail!
Some dreadful fight must have happened under the hay barn:
Thank goodness whatever went after that raccoon didn’t go after the cats! Here they are having breakfast, all safe and sound:
The cat-cops will definitely be making sure the coops are locked tonight:
Some terrible, raccoon de-tailing beast is on the loose! 🙀
What happened to the eggs? 🙀
Good morning! It’s raining again, so we’re eating inside:
Buttons says, “There’s something you should see in here.”
You know there’s a coop in the hay barn. . .
Where usually the hens lay 5-6 eggs:
But yesterday—HORRORS!—something ate our eggs during the day!
We’re going to have to lock the hens out of the coop until we know we don’t have a raccoon, possum, mink or weasel around. It’s bad enough that something’s eating the eggs, we don’t want it eating the chickens, too! 😿
Queens of the hay 🐔
This little sparrow says, “Good morning! I’m enjoying the view, and we’re all celebrating the storms being over!”
We’re celebrating too, with carrots!
Hey Iris, turn around! You can’t eat carrots with your butt!
And the chickens are playing King of the Hill on our hay:
All we ask, girls, is that you don’t lay any eggs and DON’T make any poopies! 🐴
When you’ve got an itch. . . 🐴
Chavez and Stormy say, “Good morning! A storm is blowing through!”
“This board is a great place to scratch your neck, Stormy.”
I’ve got an itch, too, Chezzie. But I just can’t reach it. . .
So I’ll use the manure cart!
Ah. . .that’s the spot! 🐴
Roll with it! 🐴
Who is that saying, “Good morning?”
Oh! It’s Schroeder, keeping an eye on our just-laundered masks!
Now, watch me roll:
That’s the best I can do this morning. 🐴
Shame on me! 🐴
Good morning! I’m ashamed of myself for not having much for you today:
Jewel is having a drink:
I like this tank, too. The water is always fresher because it fills up with every rain.
Finally, here’s a video from last Friday of lovely me, enjoying the grass, all to myself:
How peaceful. 🐴
Kittens in East Moline 🙀
Good morning! I just had a spray, which makes me want to roll, but this carrot has persuaded me not to:
Someone dropped the scissors and Jewel almost stepped on them:
And Ann has a stray tabby that had 4 kittens:
She just started bringing them to the porch:
I’m not sure which kittens are which:
But I’ve been told there are 4:
I hope they can be caught and fixed:
We don’t need homeless kitties having more homeless kitties! 😿
What is buzzing in the stable? 🐴
Iris says, “Good morning! Oh, what’s this? A carrot?. . .”
“Don’t mind if I do!”
Save one for me, Iris:
Why are you looking so happy, Ferdinand?
“I just got a bath, Francis!”
And what is that noise in the stable?
Oh, somebody fired up the fan:
Good! It’ll cool us down and blow off the flies. 🐴
Oh that Onslow! 🐴
Good morning!
Rose is looking pretty in pink!
Everyday is an egg hunt around here:
And here’s Onslow, looking over a pool of crystal clear water:
But guess where he goes for a drink! 🙀
Yuck! Used duck water! 🙀
Head for the shade! 🐴
Good morning! Nobody here but us chickens:
It’s going to be a hot one today, close to 90:
The chickens are more vulnerable to the heat than we are. They don’t have “horse-sense” when it comes to keeping cool. So we have fresh water everywhere, and the coop doors are hooked open for any breeze to blow through. 🐴
When it’s farrier day, I will play! 🐴
Good morning! Since our friend Travis is doing our hooves, I get to go outside the gate. Here I am, eating grass and chatting with Paschal:
Let’s watch the chickens have a drink from Jewel’s water:
Chickens can stretch their necks pretty far, can’t they? 🐔
Tiny little flies 🐴
Wyandotte #18 says, “Good morning! I’ve had breakfast, and am on my way to a dust bath.”
As usual, I’m having a carrot. I better hurry up and finish my breakfast. . .
Because Onslow has been dying to “nest” in it:
Oh no, we’re getting those little flies on our backs. . .
You can see them better on RC:
We’ll all get a nice spray, so those nasty things will have to find another place to sit! 🐎
Slow news day, butt (sic) a video 🐴
Jane says, “Good morning! What’s wrong with this bucket? It’s empty!—that’s what!”
I say good morning, too! 
Finally, shake that booty, Iris!
Don’t worry: This video is pretty old, so you can bet Mara and Mary have checked out her itchy tail; and I can attest she’s had a bath in the meantime. 🐴
Will it ever stop raining? 😾
Good morning. Guess what has my attention?
Why, more rain and mud, of course!
Stormy is finishing my breakfast:
We’ll have to have our hay inside:
That’s my flake, Onslow, please get off of it. 😺
Four chickens in two nests 🐔
Iris says, “Good morning! I’m feeling bright-eyed and perky-eared!”
Don’t let the blue sky fool you. Rain clouds are coming in the other direction:
Those of us that aren’t laying eggs are dust bathing:
Those of us that are laying eggs are laying them two-to-a-nest:
I have no idea what makes these nests so popular! 🐴
Colorful chicken movie! 🐴
Jewel says, “Good morning!”
Get that fly spray off my back and on my ankles! That’s where the flies bother me the most:
Aren’t the irises lovely?
Speaking of lovely, here are our chickens helping the ducks eat their mealworms:
I know a video of chickens eating mealworms is something you’ve seen before, but this one is close up and colorful! Also. . .
Did you see Jane make a “splash in the pan;” and, about 10 seconds or so from the end, see everyone look up when Dukie barked? 🐴
Mask up! 🐴
Good morning! The little gnat-sized flies have been out in force, so on go the masks:
As you know, the most popular nesting place is the bag of sawdust, because it’s high and offers a nice view. But over time, it gets lower and lower, as the sawdust gets kicked out:
Oh my! The bag of sawdust is out of sawdust!
The eggs are tumbling down the side!
I’m not worried. I know the bag will be replaced right away. 🐴
Hey! We have a new video on YouTube!
Like it says at the end, I have manners! 🐴
What happened to Buttons!? 🙀
Good morning! Oh darn, look at these clouds:
Don’t worry, the sun is right behind them:
If you cats can tear yourselves away from breakfast, have you seen Buttons? She’s been gone for almost 2 days!
What? Ann’s picking her up from the vet? Is she sick or hurt? What do you mean, “It’s that time of year for her”?
OH!
Buttons got her springtime shave!
All those nasty clumps of matted hair are gone for the summer. She says, “I may look funny, but I feel so much better!” 😺
Busy birdies! 🐦
Good morning! A storm just blew threw, so we’ve got puddles (again!):
The swallows are saying, “With all the rain, we’ve had all the mud we need for quite some time.”
“My nest is already built and the mud’s dry. It’s time for eggs and babies!”
Meanwhile, the chickens are busy in the garden, scratching and pecking, and breaking up the soil!
In their search for bugs and worms, they’ll make the garden ready for planting! 🐔
Cats eating chicken food 😺, and chickens eating people food 🐔
Good morning! It’s going to be a warm day.
I’m not laying down because I’m sick. I just had my ankles fly-sprayed, so I’m about to roll. . .
And roll!
It makes the cat-cops mad. They keep telling me, “Francis, it’s for your own good!” 🐴
Anyway, here’s Schrödinger eating mealworms. Why? You’ll have to ask him.
And look at this grilled-cheese sandwich:
The chickens loved it! 🐔
Cloudy, with a 100% chance of carrots! 🥕
Iris, myself, and RC say, “Good morning!”
We survived the nasty rain all night, and are all celebrating with carrots!
We are still mourning Roseanne; Ann decorated her grave with roses:
Jewel is giving Stormy a smoochie-smooch! ❤️
The swallows are already using the new mud on their nests:
The chickens are already slushing through our rain-soaked poopies:
Yummy-yum! 🐔
We are so sad 😿
Our dear Roseanne went to chicken heaven:
This morning she was awake, but didn’t leave the coop. Ann wrapped her in a blanket, but she soon passed away in her arms.
She was buried with a violet, and a penny for Charon the ferryman. We love you, Roseanne. ❤️
It’s a Dukie day! 😺
Good morning! Isn’t this going to be a lovely day?
I’m casting quite a shadow:
Betty is having a drink while the water’s fresh from the well, and duck feather-free:
Rose visited Dukie:
And so did Chezzie:
Don’t worry, Jewel and Chezzie got a brushing (I assume you noticed the mud). 🐴
Sorry we missed you yesterday, we’ll try to make up for it! 🐴
Good morning! Hey! How did you beat me to the hay, Stormy?
“I was feeling extra ornery and refused to go into my stall for breakfast.”
Oh my, somebody laid a “balloon egg,” that popped (that thing that looks like a white worm is/was the shell):
And the chickens had a visitor:
She was safely escorted out through the front door:
The chicken coop is not a good place for a swallow's nest: the doors are closed during prime mosquito and gnat hunting hours! 🐔
Let’s do some birdwatching! 🐴
Good morning! Recently, most of our rain has been overnight, but it looks like we might get a little around noon:
But I don’t think it will rain enough that we can’t have our hay outside:
Inside, Baldy is standing guard while somebody tries to lay an egg:
And we’re being visited by one of our several pairs of Eurasian collared doves:
They come to clean up the chickens’ breakfast:
They have a unique voice that sounds like the call of a crow, only a bit softer. 🐴
Slo-mo swallows!
Good morning! Why am I in the shade? It’s a beautiful morning!
Yesterday evening, it was almost hot, close to 80. Here are Jewel, Ferdinand, and myself, “shooting the breeze.”
As promised, let’s watch the swallows in slow motion (they will slow down in about about 8 seconds):
So graceful! 🐴