FRANCIS'S BLOG 03/28/24

Not again, Rose 🐎

Ok, what’s wrong with this feed dish?I know.  It’s empty! 

Anyway, Rose threw a shoe, again:This time, it’s her left hoof:Iris doesn’t wear shoes:“My feet are too beautiful. . .”“. . .so pearly and blonde!” 🐎

Bill visits Finn 😺

A sunny morning makes me smile, especially if it’s cooler, like today:The chickens are in their usual place; namely. . .EVERYWHERE!And poor Finn has an immunodeficiency disease.  It makes her pupils very dilated:Luckily our Bill paid her a visit, to give her medicine and lots of hugs!Bill is her favorite cat-cop! ❤️

Lovely pictures of lovely Sophie!

Our Mary (❤️) took these pictures of Sophie yesterday:Here she is, supervising the delivery of our food:We all love her.  Here she is with Rose:Oh!—and here’s a picture of me this morning, with ointment on my BITE!I’m not saying who bit me, but the cat-cops are looking at you, Stormy:He’s very, very sorry; so I accepted his apology. 🐴

A little of this and a little of that! 😺

A duck’s bill has an easier time picking mealworms out of the water:Aoife says, “I can’t help diving in!”When you have a beak, like a chicken (of course!), dry mealworms are the best!Yum!Changing the subject, who is this visitor?It’s a Eurasian collared dove:Finally, it’s time to stop guarding the carrots, Onslow:I’ll have one:And so will Stormy:🐎

An empty spreader is a happy spreader! 🐎

Onslow is chicken-sitting:Good morning!Our good friend Farmer Rich emptied our manure spreader:We’re glad to know our poopies are somewhere, out there, making corn grow!Hee-Haw! 🐴

It’s a carrot 🐎 and tomato 🐔 morning!

Dukie and Sophie are visiting to say, “Good morning!”Jewel is having a carrot:Schroeder is having some water:And Ginger and Baldy have tomatoes:However, they let Hansel and Astrid eat some, too:Chickens always share! 🐓

Slow news Thursday 🐴

Good morning:How about a kiss?Smoochie-smooch! 🐴

Carrots and cat food and beetles! 🕷

Misty and Dukie are visiting:Rose is having a carrot:I’m having a carrot:Iris is having a carrot:Carrots make us smile!Iris’s smile is particularly expressive today:The cats are having food, fresh from the bag:And this orb weaver is having a beetle. . .Fresh from the web! 🕷

Kitty Car Carelessness! 🙀

Sorry I’m not looking at you, but I’ve been distracted by the clucking in the stable:It’s just the chickens, picking through our poopies for bugs and larvae.  I agree, I should  be used to it:Oh!—here’s a pretty security cam picture from yesterday, of the morning sun streaming past Chezzie, RC and Stormy!You can always find beauty at the farm:Back to the subject of today’s post—Betty should be watching that car tire!You can’t always count on the cat-cops blowing the horn before driving! 🙀

Spooky spiders! 🕷

Betty says, “Good morning!  There’s nothing like  a good stretch!”I’m about to get cordially un-invited to the feed stall:Don’t worry, I get my food sooner or later. (If you notice that my legs look wet, it’s just fly spray):One of the chickens had a nice round egg:Oh!—just look at these two enormous orb weavers outside the tractor garage:This one was eating a fly:Finally, here’s a picture of me and the hens:Nobody here but us chickens! 🐔

More rain overnight 😾

Iris says, “Good morning.  You can tell from this picture what kind of day it’s going to be.”The kitties say, “All we see are clouds and chickens.”Oh, and look at this:It’s a little baby I-don’t-know-what! 🐴

More and more swallows! 😺

Here’s a picture from yesterday.  The chickens are enjoying their cucumbers.  They leave nothing behind but the rind (that rhymes!):It poured overnight.  There’s lots of water in the manure cart:Look at how big these babies are!They are young enough to stay perfectly still while we take their picture:They know that staying still won’t attract a cat’s attention!They are already flying, but they are still fed and guarded by their parents:We, on the other hand. . .Are fed and guarded by the cat-cops! 🐎

Finally, here are two older videos of the swallows and cats having a “disagreement:”

😾

Rainy morning 😾

Evil Cat says, “Evil morning!”  (You can’t fool us Evil, we know you’re a good kitty at heart):Time for some “sunshine on a stick!”Rose was handed her carrot through the hay barn window:Yum!Speaking of yum, Ann and Mary are bringing us another truckload of food:Food never lasts long around here. 🐴

Treats for everybody today! 🐎

Iris would wish everyone a good morning, but carrots can’t wait!And Baldy is helping himself. . .To tomatoes in the garden! 🐓

Free-range chickens 🐓

We’re pretty much back to having hay after breakfast:I’ve already had mine (I get mine first):As you know, the chickens are everywhere:They seem to have a knack for being everywhere at once:Sometimes I don’t know if we have 24 chickens or 2,400! 🐴

Let’s watch a Sophie video!

She has a very noisy toy hedgehog! 🦔

Living lawn mowers 🐎

Jewel says, “Good morning!”Oh!  Now this is something different:Misty is in the backyard—and the flowers!And RC’s here, too!They’ve got a job to do:They’re mowing the lawn!I want a job like that, too! 🐴

The birds need to share 🐓 🦆

I saw the carrots coming from 50 yards away:My expression shows just how much I love my carrots!Hey chickens, give the ducks a shot at those worms!Finally, the ducks have their chance:But it took a cat-cop moving the bowl. 🐔

Drizzly Sunday 🐎

Security Chief Schrödinger says, “Who goes there?”“Oh, it’s only a cat-cop in the house.”That bad Alfred chased Betty onto the roof of the old chicken coop.  So, Betty had breakfast served to her up there:And speaking of breakfast, would I like a carrot?Yes I would, please! 🐴

More and more swallows! 😺

Mary fed us early, so we’re already out to pasture by 8 o’clock:The chickens are still waiting to be let out:Onslow says, “I’m not getting off Mary’s car until we get breakfast!”The baby swallows keep coming:Some are still small:Some are ready to leave the nest:And some have just left it!🐴

The early chicken catches the tomato! 🍅

Good morning.  It’s only 62℉!  Hey, do I see a carrot?Yes, I do!Goodness gracious!  Does this hen have a whole tomato to herself?  If so, it won’t be for long:When it comes to treats. . .Word (or cluck) gets around fast! 🐔

Literally tons of hay! 🐎

On behalf of Sophie, Dukie and Calla—Nixie says, “Good morning!”Betty is on security watch:And so is Buttons:Remember all this hay from Tuesday?Well, last night, Mary, Bill and their wonderful friends loaded it all in the barn:A total of 491 bales!  That close to 10 TONS of hay! 🙀

Swallows and chickens (and tomatoes) 🍅

Tomatoes make a delicious part of a complete breakfast for chickens:And they make colorful pictures for us to enjoy!Finally, this swallow has a mosquito for her babies:Uh-oh. . .She’s going to need more mosquitos! 🙀

Hooray! Hooray! We have hay! 🐴

It’s cooler this morning, and we’re enjoying a double treat of carrots and clean fly masks:Onslow has found a dry place to sit (until Iris and Rose need their feed dishes):Buttons still needs to wake up:And as August wears on, the grass in the pasture has gotten less tasty.  So last night, we had hay:If it’s green and sweet, it’s Farmer Rich’s hay:And look how much he has brought us:Yum! 🐎

Two downpour days in a row! 😾

It’s raining so hard, the cat-cops won’t even come out of their cars:But the rain is letting up a little.  We know how you feel, Betty—Rain delays everybody’s breakfast:But, as I said, it’s letting up:The chickens (they’re in the yellow circles) love the cloudy weather that comes with the rain.  It really brings out the bugs, and the chickens don’t like the hot sun:Don’t forget your way back home, hens! 🐔

Rainy Sunday 😾

It’s going to be an indoor day:Stormy says, “Good morning!  Let me out—rain or not, I’m heading out to the far pasture!”Rosie says, “Oh, great—more mud!”The ducks say, “What a gorgeous day!” 😺

Let’s watch a Sophie video 😺

There’s not a lot going on today, other than it’s going to be very, very hot!  Right now, I’m staying in the shade with the chickens:

Finally, here’s Sophie in the far pasture:

😺

A change in feed dishes 🐴

When chickens want to enjoy the sun, they fan out their wings:Chavez says, “Good morning!”“How about a kiss?”Oh, I guess I have a new place to eat breakfast:Whatever. . .  They are still the same alfalfa pellets. 🐎

Dining alfresco 🐎

Rose is dining outside today:And so is Iris!The chickens are looking for bugs in our manure:And for dessert, they’re eating cool cucumbers:Cucumbers are good for you. . .And tasty, too! 🐔

What’s on the menu? 🐔 🐓

Why couldn’t you wait for the door to open, little Wyandotte?What’s that, Miss Olive-Egger?  You heard something’s new on the menu for breakfast?Oh!  Astrid and Hansel are eating a tomato!Yummy, I suppose (but I’m not a chicken, so I can’t say). 🐴

Farmer friends are generous friends 🐎

Here’s a picture from yesterday.  Iris’s tail is flying!This morning’s storm has just let up, and the sun is coming out.  Anybody that rolls on the ground today will come up a mudpie!Finally, just look at all this nice green hay! Farmer Rich and his helper brought it last night.  We seriously don’t know what we would do without him! 🐴 

Oh that Stormy! 🐎

Ferdinand and Percy say, “Good morning! We’re enjoying our meal worms in peace.Everyone else is eating outside.”Schroeder, Onslow and Alfred are all giving themselves dirty looks, and caterwauling at each other while waiting for breakfast. Hungry kitties are fussy sometimes (just like people):Oh Stormy, this was “Clean Mask Monday!” How could you have rolled in the mud so soon?I hope you can see out of that thing:Oh, well, it will be washed again tonight. 🐴

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