Saturday, January 17, 2009

Chickens, baseball and not sitting still!

So this weekend is off with a bang.

I just dread the point on Friday when I ask The Boss Lady "What is on the schedule for this weekend?". Especially if she replies with "Nothing, Absolutely NOTH-ing!" Which is how this weekend went to heck in a hurry.

The Talker had a gift card to spend at the sporting goods store up the street. He bought a new REAL leather baseball glove and a baseball set, including rubber bases, a tee and a pitch-back net. He scored pretty well for $40.

We had to run to Target, because it is Saturday and The Boss Lady is still alive. Got our errands run there quickly, forgetting only one item, a new pair of scissors to trim the chicken's wing feathers.

Back on Friday afternoon I stepped outside and found the chickens roosting on top of the fort. It is actually just a 3 ft tall fence panel built in a corner of our backyard. Gave the kiddos some sense of privacy while they were too little to actually get any. I built in lots of peepholes so they could spy on adults from across the yard. It was The Talker's first play space in our backyard and I haven't the heart to take it down. Turning the fort into a roost is fine. It makes for a pretty scene in the yard. Except that about a foot away is the lowest part of the fence that separates my chickens from the chicken eaters. So the fort is probably the last place they should be roosting.

I ended up using a pair of kitchen scissors and the wing clipping went fine. Everyone survived and the deed was done in about two minutes. (Yes, the scissors are now in the dishwasher.) I am hoping that by only clipping one wing, they won't be bouncing up to the top edge of the fort anytime soon. Especially since we are now only 4 or 5 weeks from first egg.

Fidget collected her first eggs the other day and I am so jealous that I could punch her dog in the head. Except that Fidget and her dog might like that, so I won't.

And after the clipping sessions, I am thinking that Kerenel is a dude. S/he was pissed at me for messing with the (other) girls while I was clipping their wings. And s/he screeched at me. It was a noise that I had not heard before but it sounded amazingly like the last part of a rooster's crow. Kernel the Cross Dressing Hen... Maybe a children's story in the works? Hey, I do live in Austin...

This afternoon I have to clean out the chicken coop. Again. Just like I do (doo) every week. I tell you what, these eggs better be good! Afterward, I am going to spread the pile I have "collected" in the past four months around the front yard. Free fertilizer!

And finally, I have been reading up on walking 10,000 steps a day for fitness. Seems easy enough. So I was thrilled when The Mother of the Bride tried to buy me a pedometer for Christmas and ultimately delivered one last week, ironically while I was wearing the air cast and not supposed to be walking. I clipped the pedometer on about a hour ago. I haven't even left the house yet and I am over 2000 steps.

It seems that I might have to slow down if I am only going to walk 10K steps a day. Shows you what 6 Dr Peppers a day can do for you, right?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

you can punch the dog in the head, it might knock some sense into him. The eggs are so worth all the excessive poo. HEAVENLY tasting (the eggs taste good.. not the poo)