In case you missed the mention in yesterday’s post: there’s now a blue “random post” button over there in the sidebar. Like you’d expect, given the name of the button, if you click on it, you get a completely random post. Warning: it is a total time suck, and you might look up and find that three hours have passed while you clicked and clicked and clicked!
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Sights from around Crooked Acres.
Arnold seems to have hit his awkward stage, to say the least.
Arnold and the Cuckoo Marans are now out in the maternity yard together. Fred put Arnold in the brooder with the Marans for a few days so that he’d get used to them and they to him. I was worried that Arnold would freak out at going from the midget of the bunch to the giant of the bunch all of a sudden, but he handled it quite well. Arnold, you could say, is a chicken’s chicken. He gets along well with everyone.
Sunday, Fred moved Arnold and the Marans out to the maternity yard. Arnold handled it fine – well, he’d already been there before, so it was familiar to him – but the Marans weren’t interested in doing anything but huddling in the coop for the first day. Eventually they got hungry enough to come outside and follow Arnold around.
Maybe they think Arnold is their mama.
Toasty and his wimminfolk, outside the maternity yard.
Brahma rooster, staring off into the distance.
The Spirea bush by the side of the front porch has bloomed. It certainly is pretty.
I wish it bloomed longer, though.
The chicken yard is home not only to chickens, but also a LOT of mice. There was apparently a batch(? litter? bunch? shriek?) of baby mice born recently, and when we lifted up the garbage can (where we store the chicken feed) to check for mice, about 20 of them went flying, leaving the babies behind (they always eventually come back for the babies when the danger has passed). You can see the tails of three grown mice as they try to fit into the tunnel at the same time.
Wee baby mice. (They were alive, and I assume they still are. They weren’t under the trash can the next day when I peeked.)
To answer the questions I know you have: (1) There are no cats in or around the coop; the coop is in the back forty, which is fenced in. George and Gracie wouldn’t take kindly to cats in the back forty. (2) The chickens do eat the mice they can see, but the smart mice stay out of sight under the two garbage cans by the coop. (3) We left the babies where they were. (4) Every year, Fred traps the mice (using a humane trap), and transports the mice he catches to the other side of the back forty, where he lets them go. You’d think they’d just turn around and go back to the coop, but they don’t – after enough trapping, the mouse population dwindles pretty drastically. It probably helps that there’s a horse pasture on the other side of the back forty. I assume the mice head in that direction.
I’ve never ever seen a mouse in the house. That would have to be one dumb mouse.
“IS SNACK TIME YES?”
“I lubs snack time,” says Gracie, who has clearly been rolling around in dirt.
“In the name of King Harold of Squirrelandia, I claim this feeder!”
Finally, at least a month later than last year, the Wisteria has bloomed!
This crazy Spring, y’all. We are JUST getting stuff planted in the garden this week. It’s nuts! We probably won’t get tomatoes ’til mid-Summer at this rate!
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Yeah, Jareth spends a lot of time laying around with his claws out. He’s a nut, that one.
And Charming spends a lot of time laying around looking astounded.
Grumpy Leia.
He is such a sweet boy. Jareth’s always the first one to run over to me when I walk into the room (well no, Kate’s actually the first one. Jareth’s the first kitten. And if I don’t sit down immediately, he starts climbing my pant leg.)
They love to get in that basket and just sit there.
Jareth, sitting on my leg.
Falling asleep. His lights on, no one home expression is cracking me up.
Fighting with Charming in my lap. As long as they’re fighting with each other, they aren’t stabbing me in the leg with their little claws, so I’m okay with that.
“I can haz a snuggle?”
Jareth and Aslan (who is trying to get away) in my lap.
Aslan on the hammick. They certainly do love this thing.
And a short video, just random bits of the babies playing and being cute.
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“Ummm… nah. Not today. When you’re least expecting it and when I’ve had enough pampering and napping, then there might be babies.
“I’m not sure how much more this belly is going to expand, though.”
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Stinkerbelle, on her platform, keeping an eye on things.
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Previously
2012: “I SCARED it down!”
2011: No entry.
2010: No entry.
2009: “Hey! You! Guys! She’s got the camera out AGAIN!”
2008: Kara’s kittens, named.
2007: It’s very squirrelly in our back yard today.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
So much cute, so much beauty — and may I add that September 11, 2009, which came up randomly, was awesome. My fingers are positively aching from being crossed for Khaleesi; here’s hoping she pops those sprogs soon. Has prognosticator extraordinaire Fred proposed a new due date?
Last night he said “Tomorrow or Thursday.” Tonight, he said “Tomorrow or Friday.” I’m starting to think he doesn’t actually have any idea. 🙂
Hee. In the snacking picture, it appears as though George and Gracie are razzing you. Neener!
They’re always mocking me! 🙂
I love Spirea….it is sooo pretty!
Jareth…awwww…so sweet!
Arnold is his brothers’ keeper!
I feel like I should be putting nickels into my laptop every time I click the Random Post button. It’s like a slot machine… repetitive and addictive. Hit the jackpot a couple times too. A baby Stompers before he was Stompers squeaking with milk all over his face? Mr. Boogers growling at the baby kitten? WAY better than cupfuls of nickels coming out of my hard drive.
I was going to complain that tonight’s playtime with the random post button took me all the way to yesterday. But then I clicked again and got Magoo. Magooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!! All better now.
It’s like crack. CRACK! And you’re the pusher.
http://zanylol.com/ducks.html
saw this and thought of you and how much of an issue it was getting the ducks in the pond.
This made me smile!
I love that!!!
King Harold of Squirrelandia….HA
Every Alpha Gamma Delta member has already promised him their allegiance. Did I just out myself as a former college sorority girl? The one with a squirrel as a mascot? We’re a cool group, really we are. But I did squee when I saw King Harold.
I’m surprised that you didn’t use a Game of Thrones name though!
I’m surprised I didn’t think of it, too!!!
I want to thank everyone for the advice and encouragement you gave me for my friend Amy and her diabetic kitty, Tommy. He is feeling MUCH better and his blood glucose readings are in the normal range. They have mastered the glucometer and giving the shots is no problem. Amy wanted to thank you all for the support. I bought Tommy a kitty sofa – here is a pic of him with it. He wasn’t quite what to make of it at first but he loves it now.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ibby245/8673224008/
Thanks again – you are the best.
So glad to hear all is well!!! Yay for Tommy! May he have a long healthy life!!!
Awww, I’m so glad to hear he’s doing well! 🙂
I had a dream the other night that had Stinkerbell in it with my kitties. That is weird right? right?
It depends. Was she hissing, growling, and shooting them looks of unadulterated hatred?
no, she was being all goofy and side skittering around the room with a goofy grin. I don’t get it.
must have been an imposter! lol
Baby mice and squirrels AND a video! What a great way to start the day 🙂
I could stare at pictures of your backyard all day…. sigh. Well, that and the kittens…and George and Gracie….and Khaleesi… 🙂
“…about 20 of them went flying, leaving the babies behind (they always eventually come back for the babies when the danger has passed).”
Interesting survival strategy! I guess mice evolved to produce so many bebeh meeces that their preferred method of flight involves throwing their offspring to the wind. “Sorry kids, a giant just pulled our roof off. Bye now! Don’t get eaten!” -20 minutes later- “Oh kids, you’re OK! What? Don’t look at me like that!”
I imagine they figure that if they lose any of the babies, they only have to wait three weeks for another batch of 10 or so!
I laughed when I read you’d never seen a mouse in the house. This past year I found a dead shrew in one corner of the FIV building. I couldn’t believe none of the cats ate him. I wasn’t sure who was the dumbest…
In the 1st Mice pic, I think I see a few pink mice babies scattered about? I guess when the adults run for it, they really, really Run-For-It! Every man for himself strategy.
Yeah, they were scattered all over the place. But of course Fred gently nudged the ones that were away from the rest of the litter back to them so they wouldn’t get cold. 🙂
There are not many mammals I find grosser than baby mice/hamsters/whatevers before the hair comes in. But I’m awful glad to hear that the scatterlings got reunited. (I’m imagining the babies nursing at the moment the mama(s) headed for the hills, and my imagination’s “thwuck!” sound of the nipples disengaging as the babies go flying everywhere is making me forget how disgusting and gross hairless baby rodents are.)
Ring a round the tea cup !!!! I love that the Royals are now thumping about the room.The video was great ! Have they started eating kitty food yet or are they sill content with the Momma milk bar?
Khaleesi is gonna pop soon I hope. Or else she has about 8 or more little dragons in there. Does her tummy look bigger in person? You are going to be one busy foster Momma !!!
I agree with Kelly we should be dropping in a nickel every time we hit the random cuteness button !! Could be a way we could save money and have fun at the same time.
I thought Charming was going to decide that kitten food was better, but after one try at it, he’s apparently decided that mama milk is the best. Leia tried some kitten food (and seemed to like it), but she hasn’t been willing to try it again. I’m sure they’ll change their minds soon – or Kate will convince them to change their minds!
Khaleesi’s belly is way bigger in person. I can’t get a picture that adequately shows just how big it is!
I’m anxious to see how many babies are in that fat belly! She has the most beautiful markings.
I made the mistake of cutting back my spirea WAY too much, and the blooming last spring was not only supershort, but almost nonexistent–just a handful of flowers. Wah. Hope it does better this spring. I learned my lesson–just let this thing be huge and crazy, because it’s only going to be exciting for a few days!
The first Spring after we moved into this house, I was fretting about how to prune the spirea, and someone told me just to leave it alone. Since I’m always happy to take the lazy way out, I’ve never pruned it, and it’s more glorious every year. 🙂
Sleepy Jareth…awww.
Cute li’l toots, all of ’em.
Arnold, Leader of the Pack! er, Leader of the Peck! The little ones think he can protect them in Giantville. Arnold’s all “Yeah, they know me, we’re cool little dudes.”
The poor little baby mouse in the left-hand side of the picture is cracking me up, with his little feet all sticking up! You can practically see the thought bubble over his head with a “?!” in it.