Im still here!

The last time I posted was back in August 2023! That's so crazy how time flys! It's long over due to catch up. We'll, it's October 2024 and almost reaching the finish line for 2024. January is fast approaching and it means 40 for me is almost here. My body is starting to feel a bit crispy....is that normal? When I turned 20 I remember not being happy. Twenty years old ment I was starting up the mountain. Now I am looking at 40 and the mountain does not look like a mountain anymore from where I am standing. It is starting to look like a hump....in the road. Life has been reving up to go even faster now days. My mind feels like a twenty year old that says go, go, charge! Of course my body wants a little break every five minutes. I feel like my body is always trying to catch up or I am having to remind my brain, hey wait for my body! You know the phrase I hear more now is, use it or loose it, its more like i used it enough and I think I've already lost it! 

What's been keeping me so busy all these months? CHICKENS!  Yes we have chickens! We bought 22 chickens. My husband and I raised them from chicks. We have learned so much in the process. Silly little chickens! Now the hens are a year old and laying eggs. Chickens are like little dinosaurs....velociraptors to be exact. They eat almost anything you put in front of them. 

Here is a question for you....have you ever herd the egg song? I have a hen that has white feathers all over her and when she is ready to lay her egg for the day she will squak loudly running around for a while...hence the egg song. One hen will be done with her egg song and the next one will start. You get sick of hearing the egg song! The beauty of laying eggs! It's art! 

As of right now I have 2 cats, 1 small dog,  20 chickens, and 2 roosters. I'm aching all over for a goat to get some goat milk. I've read goat milk is more easier for the human body to digest. In my rear view mirror I am seeing 10 turkeys coming my way! Of course objects are closer than they appear, meaning its coming soon! Yeehaw baby! I'm ready to get my farm on! My hubby is having a hard time keeping up with me. Once you go farm there is no turning back! I've imagined myself many times getting up at the crack of dawn, putting on my flowered covered rain boots on then go and milk the goat and on to making some homemade goat butter! With all the tiktoks and youtube tutorials i have watched....i may be a bit of an expert now. (Laughs at myself...expert!) 

When I get off work it's a race to go see my girls and collect some eggs! I am turning into a crazy chicken lady and there is no turning back! My hubby and I get to see fluffy butt's! Oh! The fluffy butt's are so pretty! The hens walk around, go down to peck their food and the fluffy butts is in the air! It's so funny to see so many fluffy butt's in the air at one time. Let's just stop right here with the fluffy butt's cause that road can get a bit slippery! I have to add i do have pictures of fluffy butts in my phone....is that weird? 

With all the love for my hens I am no stranger to heartbreak. Very recently we lost two of our hens. One black hen and a white hen. We tried everything to save them both. It's the survival of the fittest. The first chicken that passed away happened in the early morning. When I approached the coop I could see she was gone. My hubby was not home and I had to lay her to rest before my daughter woke up. I just knew my daughter would of had a total melt down if she saw this hen. I dug a hole, put my hen in her resting spot, said some words of love to her, and covered her. My hubby came home the next morning and told me to come outside to show me something had taken my dead hen out her "shallow grave", that's what he called it,  and left feathers everywhere.  My husband had the nerve to tell me to dig deeper next time! With this back! I don't think so! 40 is on my horizon and my back hurts ok! 

Now! Drum roll please! I would like to introduce King David and Mr. Darcy. My two beautiful roosters! King David is a bit older than Mr. Darcy. He is a white colored rooster and he takes his job seriously concerning his hens. King David has 19 girls he takes care of. He can get spicy sometimes with me and jokes on him....I like spicy baby! King David is such a gentleman. Roosters remind me of the love of Christ. I have watched King David with his girls and he will call them over to him, (which is called tidbiting) to come and eat. He is also on gaurd at all times. There are times a hawk will fly over the coop and he will watch and flap his wings. He will give his life for his girls. We sometimes give the chickens cut up grass and some grass blades will fall on King David's back. He will grab the blade of grass with his beak and put the grass on the dirt and call his girls over to come and get it. He will not eat the grass for himself. He is so selfless. Rooster and selfishness do not coexist! 

With having to go to work early before the sun is out...sometimes I have to let the chickens out of the coop early. King David is not a fan of the girls being out early with no sun. As soon as I open the door the girls go running out. King David will go and start by lowering and spread one of his wings down and dance around the hens to try and make them go back inside. He knows his times! He will be successful with getting some of the hens inside but there are 19 girls and they over run him and he will eventually just give up and be on gaurd. 

I have to say these girls are super fat! I know! You never say that to any woman but....their FAT! When we put the chickens in the coop at night the fattest one always ends up on the highest perch or at least tries too. Theses girls will peck each other to get the perfect spot. Kings David will make noises to try to make them pipe down. I guess the perfect spot on the perch gets the best sleep? 

Before I forget my chickens are molting. Molting means a time where the chickens feathers fall off. The girls will slow down on egg production or just not lay at all. When I go to collect eggs there are a few feathers laying around. I pick up the feathers and store them. I have a plan for all my chickens feathers....so stick around and see later what i make with them. 

Here in Florida hurricane season is winding down. We just went thru hurricane Milton. My husband and I had to bring in the chickens to keep them safe from the strong winds. We put all the chickens in our garage. The chickens did pretty well and laid a couple of eggs during the storm. We did not loose any chickens and that is what is most important. 

This is everything with my silly chickens. Chickens will change you for the better. We get so much joy from this very moment in our lives. There is such satisfaction and completeness. Fourty, for me, is so near and I welcome it whole heartily. Life is going by so fast but I have the choice to slow down and believe me I DO! Thanks for allowing me to catch up....at least about the chickens. God bless and be safe out there.