FRANCIS'S BLOG 04/22/2026
Too chilly for chickies! 🐔
Good morning! Despite the smile on my face, I can tell you the wind is making this already-cold day freezing!
The chickens are out just long enough for breakfast. . .
Then, it’s back in the coop:
Let’s peek in on them with this video:
And finally, let’s watch Rose scratch in itch:
So that’s why the fence is in such bad shape! 🐎
Schroeder takes a swing at the chickens 😺
Betty says, “Good morning!” from (almost) under a car tire:
Everyone’s enjoying the first sunny morning in days!
Even though it’s also our first morning below freezing:
Anyway, let’s watch Schrödinger fight off the chickens!
Chickens are fast, aren’t they? 🐔
Eggs. . .everywhere except where they belong! 😾
Good morning! Chezzie, RC and I are trying out our zombie eyes for Halloween:
Other than that, we went to have our hay as usual. . .
And the chickens seem to be laying eggs anywhere they please:
Goodness, if I were a chicken, I’d try to find a place a little more private:
Here’s another chicken who apparently couldn’t “hold it:”
At least it’s someplace I don’t have to worry about stepping on it. 🐴
I’m enjoying the grass while I can 🐴
Guess who snuck out of the gate today?
I would say, Good morning, of course; but my mouth is full:
I have a video for you, in case you missed it:
On that Onslow! 😺
I don’t like eggs for breakfast! 🐴
Good morning! Why, yes, I am in Chavez’s stall:
Chezzie is keeping an eye on the chicken in our hay:
She’s making a nest for herself:
Oh, for Pete’s sake, Ruth!—Don’t you chickens have enough places to lay your eggs?
Apparently not:
Anyway, Red is joining us for breakfast:
I like you, Red. I’ll never have to wait for you to lay an egg before I get my hay. 🐴
Oh, no, more rain! 🐴
Good morning, everyone! What are you looking for, Betty?—roof leaks?
It’s a good day for it. We had another night of pouring rain, and it’s still drizzling. I’m glad the chickens are happy—the worms are bubbling up!
And there’s still plenty of pumpkin left (although it was full of water):
We’re having hay inside. Stormy is helping his mother finish her breakfast:
RC is helping me finish mine, but that’s ok...
I’m over here, with my own “stash:”
And you’ll notice Jewel, in the run, eating hers. 🐎
What a dreary day. 🙀
Good morning. I’m still trying to wake up:
Chezzie, Stormy, and RC look a little sleepy, too:
But the girls are awake and say, “Hello!”
This pumpkin is certainly brighter than the sun today:
Oh, and a chick is up on our hay. Why? I guess she likes to view from up there:
And Onslow is up in—whatever this is:
It looks like part of a chicken coop. 🐔
Cat-chasing chickie! 😾
Good morning!
I see Red is joining us for breakfast:
And Dukie is with us, too!
Finally, here’s a video of one of the chicks chasing poor Betty:
Oh, chick—the kitties are your friends! Be good! 🐔
More trip pictures! 🐴
Jewel says, “Good morning! Show us some more pictures, Francis, please.”
Good idea, Jewel—but where to start? Well, I visited Shakespeare’s grave in Stratford-Upon-Avon:
Here’s what’s written on his gravestone:
Here is St. Martin’s Church, in Woodstock, England:
Winston Churchill is buried here:
And here I am, back in Belgium, in the city of Bruges (also known as Brugge in Flemish, which a lot of people speak here). I’m at the Church of Our Lady, in front of the Madonna and Child, by Michelangelo:
This is the only statue by Michelangelo that is not in Italy:
I am becoming the most cultured donkey in America! 🐴
Let’s go to Brighton, England! 🐴
Good morning! It’s chilly—only 38℉!
Thank goodness our carrots are having a little time to warm up in the sun:
And here I am, posing in front of Shaun the Sheep on Brighton Palace Pier!
It’s an entire amusement park on a pier that goes out over the ocean from Brighton Beach:
There are even roller coasters!
No way am I riding that thing! 🐴
Brussels boy 🐴
Iris says, “Good morning, Mr. Carrot! Get in my tummy right now!”
And here I am in front of the “Menneken Pis.” It’s a statue of a baby cat-cop going to the bathroom outside. I don’t see what the big deal is. . .
I, the horses, ducks, cats and chickens, go to the bathroom outside all the time! 🐴
Anyway, here’s a video of him:
He also gets dressed up in various outfits throughout the year. Here, he is a cleaner/maintenance worker. Everyone’s job is important! 😺
Wonderful new construction! 🐴
Let’s start off with a beautiful October rose:
RC and Chavez say, “Good morning! Let’s eat!”
Speaking of eating, the stairs to the hay barn were falling apart:
Our Bill and Devon worked all yesterday afternoon to build these beautiful and safe new stairs!
Don’t they look great! The black strips are anti-slip:
Thank you so much, Devon and Bill! 🐴
Beautiful Brussels buildings! 🐴
I’m a little hard to see, but here I am posing (lower right) in “La Grand-Place,” the Brussels town square:
Let’s look at some more buildings:
Finally, for some perspective, let’s look at a 360º video:
Oh, and some of our chickens are molting:
Grow ‘em back fast, chickens—cold weather’s coming! 🐔
The first of many pictures from my trip! 🐴
In England, we took a trip all around the Cotswolds, which is famous for picturesque villages. . .
Beautiful streams that power ancient grain mills. . .
And fluffy sheep!
Finally, on the edge of the Cotswolds is Stratford-Upon-Avon, the home of William Shakespeare.
And here I am in front of Shakespeare’s boyhood school:
So much history! 🐴
I can’t leave for one moment! 🦝
Hello! I’m back from my trip. I have a lot of pictures to sort through, but I promise to share them with you!
I missed you, kitties!—Oh wait!—Who’s that in the back?
I leave for a week, and a raccoon makes itself at home!
Sorry, raccoon, but the tractor garage is for tractors and cats only! 🦝
I’ll be back 🐴
Well! It looks like Onslow’s trying to lay an egg:
Good luck, Onslow; and good morning to all!
As for me, I’m taking a little trip, and will be back next week. I promise to take lots of pictures and share them with YOU when I return. ❤️
Lots of seeds for the chickens! 🐔
Nixie, Calla, Sophie and Dukie are all together this morning!
Good morning! It’s almost chilly today—only in the 40’s:
And as our sunflower blossoms get older, the seeds get bigger:
The green parts can just be wiped away, revealing the black seeds. 🐔
It’s a rainy day—so we might as well get our hooves done! 🐎
Good morning! I’m wearing my halter in case I need my hooves trimmed. . .
Our friend Travis is doing Chezzie’s feet right now:
Jewel is having a look at the rain while she waits:
Other than that, Betty is joined by a chicken:
Apparently, Betty has some place to go. Betty says, “Please don’t lay an egg while I’m gone.” 🙀
Missy says, “I can’t promise, but I’ll try.” 🐔
That is one fresh egg! 🐔
Onslow says, “Oh! Is that you in the coop? Good morning! Have you seen Francis today?”
I’m right here, Onslow, watching a utility truck:
And, one of the hens has an egg for the cat-cops:
The girls have laid 4 eggs this morning, but there will be many more by this afternoon. 🥚
Wednesdy potpourri 🐴
Good morning! I have a lot of little things to tell you:
The chickens like apples, whether they are green or ripe:
Somebody knocked over a nesting bucket:
What’s this? A raccoon-size hole in the poultry’s feed shed (my feed is safe in a cabinet in the stable, as you know). It will need to be plugged up:
Finally, as you recall from yesterday’s post, Buttons had a hurt foot:
She’s feeling better today, and scampered right down from the barn to join us for breakfast! 😺
A quick trip to the vet! 🙀
Chavez says, “Good morning! Give me a kiss or a carrot—it’s up to you!”
Good morning to you, too! It’s a great day to whine until your breakfast is brought out to you:
Finally, our Buttons was limping! Ann examined her, and thinks some bad kitty bit her in a fight, and the bite became infected! Her right front leg was tender and swollen; so, off to the vet she goes!
Here she is after the kitty doctor treated the bite and gave her a shot of antibiotic:
Get well, Buttons! 😺
Merry Monday! 🐎
RC says, “Good morning! I just had a nice roll in the dust!”
Jewel is getting an apple for a change:
No, thank you, I’ll stick with the tried-and-true carrot:
And so will Iris:
Finally, Red (upper-left) says, “Why are you guys staring at me?”
“I just want to be friends.” Don’t worry, Red, they will warm up to you, soon.
Remember, they already are inviting you to meals! 😺
What are they doing with my Santa cap? 🐴
Good morning!
What on earth is happening here? It certainly doesn’t look good! I’m glad I know that Ann loves us too much to be mean or deliberately hurt us, or else I would be very upset:
As it turns out, Mak has lice. Ann’s trying to calm her down while Mary gets the chicken dust. The Santa cap is keeping her still and calm:
After her dusting with the insecticide, Ann makes her feel better with a cat food treat:
I had forgotten I even had a Santa cap! Let’s hope all those nasty lice get off you in a hurry, Mak. And let’s hope they all get out of my cap before Christmas! 🐴