The egg bowl runneth over

The chickens started laying again about a month ago. They only took about 6 weeks off for winter. I was surprised how quickly they started laying again.

After all the drama and cannibalism in the barn was over, I started finding eggs everywhere. The divas are giving about 6-7 eggs a day. There are still several that will start laying for the first time in the spring. Things are very eggciting around here. Sorry, it's a rainy Tuesday. That's the best joke I can come up with on a gloomy day.

One of my Americana hens started laying yesterday. I was so happy to see a beautiful green egg waiting for me in the nesting box. Lee told me it was not ripe yet and to put it back in for a while. ; ) Finding the egg made my whole day, which is good because I was having a pretty cruddy morning.

It has been so rewarding to raise these chickens from fluffy, soft, yellow, chirping balls to hens that are providing food for our family. I don't think I would have appreciated them nearly as much as if I bought them full-grown and laying.

It has been a lot of hard work, drama, and some heartbreak raising them the past year. It was worth it though. I am one step closer to earning my farmer membership card.

The Silence of the Chickens Part 2

Decoys are often used to catch serial killers. Something to lure them in. I thought and thought. Finally, I knew just what to do. Golf balls. Golf balls would be the decoy. Hard, semi-egg shaped and impenetrable. It was time to go back. Back to the dark barn and set the trap.

Inside the barn, I moved slowly and quietly. Shaking, and gasping for air, I felt my way along the chicken wire to the nests. Henrietta was sitting on her eggs in the corner, crying and clucking quietly, begging me with her eyes to help her.

With stealth and accuracy, I switched the eggs with the golf balls before Henrietta could say, "bawk."

I made my way out of the barn as quickly as possible without disturbing the other chickens or tipping them off to the trap. I settled myself just outside the barn where I could watch without being noticed.

Then waited.

And waited.

And waited.

(Hey, have you ever waited on a chicken to lay an egg? They take forever!)

Finally, there was movement. Henrietta raised herself up to reveal 2 newly laid eggs among the golf balls. Then, she started to peck. Peck her own eggs! All this time, I thought it was another chicken. I suddenly realized that she wanted in the house to come after me not for comfort. That manipulative hen! I started trembling. The screaming of the chickens started playing loudly in my head.

Henrietta started pecking at the golf balls. She pecked and pecked but could not break through. She shuffled the eggs around and tried again with no luck. Genius! The balls are working. Her inability to penetrate the balls was making her lose her cannibalistic cravings. Desensitizing her to the temptation just may work!

Over the next several days, I snuck in the barn to switch her eggs with golf balls. I've found no more broken eggs and no sign of yolk on her mouth. I even tested her by leaving a few eggs in her nest for a couple days. She was not even tempted.

Everything has returned to normal in the barn. The chickens are leaving their roosts and happily chasing bugs again.

Henreitta is cured.

Just call me the chicken doctor.

If you are wondering, the chickens have been silenced. No more nightmares with the screaming clucks of chickens.

My egg bowl is overflowing once again.

And the Clucky winner is................

With much laughter, deliberation and nail-biting, I chose the winner of the caption contest. It was a hard choice because you all are so dadgum funny!!

If you did not win this time, do not despair, I plan on having many more name the caption contests. Also, if you will e-mail me your address I will send you a nice little consolation prize.

This was so much fun, I can't wait to do it again.

The winner is..........SmrtMama. Please e-mail me your address (camd23 at hotmail) and I will get your prize in the mail. : )

Wordless Tuesday....

Yes, I realize that most people post Wordless Wednesday pictures. Maybe because wordless and Wednesday both have "W's". Who knows?

Well, I am never one to go with the flow. I'm a rebel, a bad girl, B-b-b-b-b-b-Bad to the bone... da nu nu nu nuh.

What? What's that you say? How can this be a wordless Tuesday picture if I won't stop typing? Well, that's because I'm not talking about the picture.

Get it? Got it? Good.

Anyway, I won't talk about the picture because I think it speaks for itself. I was going to give this picture a title like, "Getting Chicky With it," however, I did not think Will Smith would appreciate me mutilating his song. I like Will too much to do that. We're tight like that.

So, in honor of my first Wordless Tuesday post, I would like to have a teeny, tiny, small little giveaway. I would like you to name my picture. The cornier the better. Puns, similes and metaphors are all accepted. Heck, I'll even accept haiku.

Winner gets a $15.00 Starbucks gift card. Just comment below or e-mail me if that makes you feel all warm and gooey inside.

I will announce the winner on Friday, the 22nd. Sometime after my morning java hit but before I climb in my soft, warm and heavenly Tempurpedic oasis.

I look forward to reading your brilliant submissions.

Silence of the Chickens

Hannibal Chicken: I do wish we could chat longer, but I'm having an old friend for dinner.

Crazy Farmer Lady: If you didn't kill him, then who did?

Hannibal Chicken: Who can say. Best thing for him, really. His development was going nowhere.

Hannibal Chicken: I ate his yolk with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.

I went out to the barn the other day and found a broken egg with no sign of yolk anywhere. I thought it might have just been an accident.

Then the next day I found two, then three and now four.

There is a murderer loose in the coop. The chickens are quaking in fear. They are afraid to leave their nesting boxes and roosts.

Rumors and gossip are spreading like wildfire. They are turning on each other. Henrietta is begging to come in the house to sleep, she thinks her nest is next.

Just when I settled in for the night, the phone rang. There was heavy clucking on the other end.

Finally a voice says: "Are you close to catching somebody you think?"

Me (Crazy Farmer Lady) : Yes, well I think. I think one of the hens may be eating their own eggs. It's just a matter of time before I find out which one."

Hannibal Chicken: "You still wake up sometimes, don't you? You wake up in the dark and hear the clucking of the chickens?"

Crazy Farmer Lady: "Yes!" " Yes!"

Hannibal Chicken: And you think if you save poor Henrietta, you could make them stop, don't you? You think if Henrietta lives, you won't wake up in the dark ever again to that awful clucking of the chickens?"

Crazy Farmer Lady: I don't know. I don't know.

To be continued.........

A quick update...

Boy have we been busy. Like everyone , we are trying to get back in a good routine after the holidays. That would be a heck of a lot easier if water pipes, duct work, and gas lines did not all burst, break or malfunction all at once.

Lexy the Chemist.



Apart from repairs, we have been going on several field trips. We were able to visit a Hyundai manufacturing plant. They had over 2,000 robots that we were able to see in action. It was awesome! Of course, we could not take pictures so you'll have to use your imagination for that one. We also visited the Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness exhibit at the Birmingham Museum of Art.

http://www.artsbma.org/about-the-museum/newsroom/press-releases/538-life-liberty-press

It was outstanding! Again, no cameras allowed. The art on display was from the 1700-1800's .

Seeing paintings from the Revolutionary War and the founders of our country was inspiring. The children learned so much and left with a sense of pride and patriotism.

Then we headed to the McWane Science Center. http://www.mcwane.org/exhibits

We had a blast.

They were "transported" inside a game that let them play the drums, participate in a soccer game and play volleyball. I think this is the next generation's game system. So cool!



Visit a weather center and play with a green screen to report the weather.
Dig for fossils.

I really need this at home when the kids won't listen. A bed of nails. Bwa ha ha.


This booth replicated high wind speeds up to 90 mph.
This was a ball gadget course. Probably the boys favorite thing to watch.



Then, it was back to work. Stumps and more stumps. Can you see how massive the stumps and roots are? Some of them are as thick as the stumps themselves. I can not wait until they are gone and grass and flowers take their place. I'm tired of looking at them and digging them up.




I hope everyone had a good holiday season and are making progress with your goals for the new year.

Snapshots from Christmas

We had a very quiet and simple Christmas. It was wonderful. Lex and I went to The Nutcracker as we do every year. Just us girls. It is something we look forward to every Christmas.

We were able to visit with family that drove down from Arkansas. They spoiled the kids and played a billion games of connect four with them. It was bliss.


We made a gingerbread house and so many sugar cookies that we could not eat them all.

I read The Nativity on Christmas Eve then we opened presents on Christmas morning and spent the day relaxing. It was so nice.



Lee's Christmas present to me was a huge pile of lumber and glass that he will turn into a beautiful greenhouse for me. He is so thoughtful and sweet. Or just really tired of me filling up every nook and cranny around the house with seedlings and pots.

Lets go with sweet.

Today, we are putting all the Christmas decorations away. I resisted the urge to do so the day after Christmas but I can no longer resist. It has to be put away today before my eye starts twitching. I need my house back to normal.


This is as close as we got to getting snow. A little frost that melted by 9:00 am. I'll take it though.


I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed the time with your loved ones.

Goodbye...

Butter died unexpectedly last night. Monday he was running around and doing well. Tuesday he was found on his side, unable to stand on his own. He ate a little but deteriorated quickly throughout the day. He lost functioning of his legs, then the ability to hold his head up. I never saw it coming. I am so sad and sick over this. I know it is a normal part of farm life but that does not make it any easier. I buried him this morning. I don't know if he even had a chance to breed the does. I guess we will find out in the spring. He was such a sweet buck. I will miss him.

Just so you don't think I'm exaggerating........

Not too long ago, I went out to the orchard to take care of a little piece of mesh wire.

There was about 6" of wire sticking up out of the ground. It posed a hazard to our lawn mower and 4-wheeler, so I wanted to get it out of the ground real quick while I had an extra 5 minutes.

Well, 5 minutes turned into 3 hours. After 3 hours, I uncovered what you see above.

Yes, it was all underground. A small piece of mesh wire turned into a whole flippin landfill.

So you see, when I say trash and treasures are sprinkled all around our property like fairy dust............

I'm really not kidding.

Every time the shovel goes in the ground, another landfill is discovered and I down another bottle of Aleave.

Someone tell the junk fairy she is not welcome here and to go away. I've had my fill of her presents.

Thank you..

Eat Your Hearts Out, Ladies.

My husband and I just celebrated our 14th Anniversary on the first of December. I can hardly believe we have been together that long. He is perfect for me. My best friend and the only person I can see myself old and senile with.



I look just like this baby when he holds me. At peace, restful, and maybe drooling a little.



I hope you can commit these pictures of him to memory because they are the only ones he would ever let me put up on the Internet. You could not imagine the amount of groveling and begging I had to do just for these two.


The first one shows his sweet side, the second his strong. Just the way I like him.

I am more in love with him today than ever.

Top Five and music from the Farmer

Since this month marks our one year anniversary of moving to Alabama, I thought I would post the five most read stories of the year. Have a good laugh at my expense.


How To Have A Really Fun Sunday

I Need To Stay Away From Anything With Water In It

Gardening is Dangerous

No Respect

The Sky Is Falling

Just in case you have not seen it, enjoy the musical talent of the crazy farmer lady....

Morning On The Farm