Coop Upgrade!

I have been hinting rather strongly to my sweety that my chickens need a laying box attached to their coop! The old (clean) litter box was O.K., but I wanted room for two chickens to lay if the urge came at the same time! He started by cutting the sides.

Here it is starting to come together.

I took the plywood side off the coop and removed the wire. Then I cut two entry holes into the plywood.

Adding a little extra bracing.

The plywood back on the coop with the holes cut for entering the laying box.

Attaching the laying box to the coop.

Checking out the egg access door. We will add tarpaper and shingles to the roof. I also need to Kilz and paint it. I can't wait to get it finished! The girls are already using it! They have given it a wing up!

Ya'll Come Back,

Lorilee

Barn additions!

We had a pretty busy weekend! It was so busy, I will be able to blog about it all week! haha. My sweety put the rooster door knockers on my barn doors for me. I guess it might seem weird to put door knockers on barn doors, but I like the way they look. They also do a great job holding the towel after washing and drying our hands in the sink just behind the barn. (It is in the shadow on the right of the barn.)

Ya'll Come Back!

Lorilee

Bunco Winner!

Boy am I behind! A whole week behind! LAST Friday, my sister-in-law, Marie hosted our Bunco group. I rolled the most Buncos! This was my prize. I love it. It also had a sweet surprise on the inside!

All it is missing is the ice!

Ya'll Come Back,

Lorilee

First Fall Weather!

It was quite warm yesterday. Today, it is cool and rainy! That is such a blessing for us. It has been HOT and DRY. I am so ready for some fall-like weather!

I wonder what she is thinking? Probably "Can I eat that?"

How about a chicken "glamour shot"!

These photos are from the Cackleberry Archive! There isn't much sunshine today, but I'm not complaining.

Ya'll come back,

Lorilee

Hummers and stuff!

It is not easy to catch a hummer with a camera. Those little birds fly really fast.

This is the Passion Vine growing on the old "monkey bars" on my son's playset.

I have had Gulf Fritillary butterflies in my yard all summer. This Passion Vine has been covered with their caterpillars all summer too! It hardly has any leaves left for them to eat.

I finally found a chrysallis!

I have had computer withdrawal today! My laptop had been suddenly shutting down for a few days. We discovered that the fan had quit working, so it was overheating and shutting down. It was cheaper and faster to get a new laptop than replace the fan. (I don't require a laptop with lots of bells and whistles!) My sweety spent the day getting all the stuff from my old laptop transferred to the new one. I spent the day actually getting stuff done since I couldn't sit around on my computer! On Saturday morning, I tilled my garden. I am hoping to plant a small fall garden. I also have to fix some holes in the fence where I saw rabbits getting into the yard this summer.

Ya'll Come Back!

Lorilee

Gone Missing-Kitty Litter Cake Recipe!

I had several readers ask for the recipe for Kitty Litter Cake! My recipe is no where to be found! You can google "Kitty Litter Cake" or "Cat Litter Cake" and get several versions of the recipe. I found a version at www.all-about-halloween.com/cat-litter-cake.html . You can also find recipes at www.fabulousfoods.com and www.allrecipes.com .

Ya'll Come Back!

Lorilee

Visiting Squirrel

I noticed this squirrel on the privacy fence. It didn't take long for him to decide the chickens weren't a threat, and head to the bird feeder!

The squirrel ate a few minutes and then fell or jumped from the feeder. He was soon noticed by the chickens.

When one chicken sees something, it seems they all see it! Soon they were all checking out the squirrel! He attempted to ignore them.

He did a great job pretending he wasn't surrounded by chickens.

Lexi wanted to "check out" the squirrel too!

The hens soon lost interest since he was too big to eat!

I let the dogs out! The squirrel high-tailed it back into the safety of the tree! The dogs did not loose interest like the chickens. They kept "watch" until we brought them in for supper!

Ya'll Come Back!

Lorilee

Sunday in the yard!

Today was a busy day as far as chores go! We had a slight coolfront which made working outdoors more bearable than it has been! I took down the Purple Martin house. We never did get any Martins this year. A dove had babies on one of the porches. I am not sure if they survived to fledge or not! I also added some wire to the old "monkey bars" on the playset. I now use them for my Passion Vine. I did some weeding, too.

This is the second bloom with bananas on my banana tree.

There were clouds all around, but we didn't have any rain today. We did have 6/10 last night.

The barn door had been sticking. My sweety fixed it today! He also oiled the weathervane so it would turn again. I may have him talked into building a laying box onto the chicken coop for my girls!

The girls were busy too! Two of the younger girls are laying now! They are checking out the laying box. (It is an old covered cat litter box--I always used liners!)

Holly seems to like the laying box!

As I was picking things up to go in and take a bath, this bird nearly flew into me! It was fairly tame and hung around for several hours. It appears to be a domesticated dove.

It was very pretty!

It was glad to get some food. It liked the red millet out of the chicken scratch. It would approach and eat with me sitting about 1 foot away!

Lexi and Honey wanted OUT!

Ya'll Come Back!

Lorilee

Angel Trumpet Blooms

My poor Angel Trumpet has been so neglected this summer. I never got it properly planted. It has had to live in a little plastic pot! It has overcome these obstacles and is covered in beautiful blooms!

I am thinking that I should plant it right where the pot is sitting. It seems to like the spot!

It appreciates our recent rainy weather too.

It is so nice to sleep late this Saturday. My 14-year-old also seems to be getting over his flu (my guess according to the symtoms). There is also more rain in the forecast, so I am happy!

Ya'll Come Back!

Lorilee

8 hens and 1 dog

The other day I was feeding my girls a treat and Honey (my dog) joined them begging! I had one dog and eight chickens jumping for goodies! When the goodies were gone, Honey continued to sniff around looking for a tidbit. The chickens would come running when she seemed to find something.

They entertained my 23-year-old son while I cut his hair on Monday evening. On Tuesday morning, my 14-year-old son awoke with headache, fever and cough. I had almost 1/2 my afternoon students absent last Friday(many with the same symptoms). The morning class had only one absent! The good news is that we have been getting rain the last two days!

Ya'll Come Back!

Lorilee

Potted Chicken!

This would explain why this planter has very little dirt and the plants are dying!

You can't hide! I still see you, Holly.

How about an egg?

Bat-faced Cuphea doesn't mind the heat and little rain! Or chickens.

Ya'll Come Back!

Lorilee

Chicken Recess?

The girls love "recess"! I know this because they meet me at the gate of their run and practically knock me off my feet to get out! Blossom and Holly have learned to get out of the run! They can frequently be found wandering and scratching in the yard! Bad girls!

The dogs don't like them on the patio and chase them off! That is a good thing since I don't want their poop on my patio! They've also picked a spot in one of my flowerbeds for dirt baths! I'm not thrilled with their choice.

Ya'll Come Back!

Lorilee

Hummer season!

It is hummer migrating season! They are appearing in large numbers in South Texas. I have seen several in my yard and several at my school. This photo was taken several years ago when I had about a dozen at one time! I believe the Rockport Hummer/Bird Festival is next weekend. For more info, just google it. I went several years ago and loved it. I'd link to my post about watching hummer banding, but I don't know how! I have much to learn about blogging!
Ya'll Come Back!
Lorilee