Freaky Egg!

So, I was out in the chicken coop the other day gathering eggs. I saw that the one nest had one in it, so without looking too closely, reached in to grab it.

I recoiled in horror. I didn't scream like a girl, but almost. What the heck was that? It was soft and spongy and cold.

It was an egg without a shell or a yolk. The regular one is on top, the no-shell one on the bottom.

I've never actually experienced this before, but I knew that it does happen, especially with chickens that are just coming into lay.

You might be better able to see here that there is no shell.

In other sad news, I am now missing one pale pullet (waaaah, my little pullet that lived in the house for a while this winter regaining strength) and three roosters. The thing is, they are going missing during the day. I don't know if a hawk is getting them, or if there is a wily (rabid?)raccoon out and about in the daylight. The odd thing is that there is usually a little pile of feathers or something showing that there was a disturbance, but I have found nothing. I am about to declare the Great Raccoon War of 08.

I had too many roosters, and was going to offer them on Freecycle, so I'm not missing them terribly. They were mean to the hens, not like Big Daddy who knows how to treat a lady. I am sorry for the fear and pain I'm sure they suffered in their death, though. I didn't want them to go that way.

The remaining chickens aren't happy because I won't let them out of the coop until I figure out what is making them disappear. Poor things.

Quick Mom Story

Last night, close to midnight, I was trying to get Mom into the bathroom as part of the going to bed routine. (Mom, you have to go to bed because I'm tired doesn't work with her!) Finally, she's in the bathroom standing in front of the toilet, and throws something in it.

A small wad of alpaca fiber. Son of a bitch. I thought I had mumbled it quietly, as I was fishing the fiber from the toilet, but apparently not. Quite seriously, and innocently, Mom asks,"What kind of bitch?"

Soon

Blades arrived back yesterday all sharpened and shiny. Let the shearing begin!

Not good

This is one of my attic vents. Either the raccoon was still in my attic when we put the plywood over the hole it had created in the roof, and tore apart the vent to get out, or it really wanted in the attic and tore it apart to get in.

Not good. Not good at all.

Nikita and Wooly Bear: A Love Story

Nikita (right) is one of the first llamas to arrive here. Wooly Bear (left) the alpaca came here a couple of years later.

It was love at first sight. At least on Wooly Bear's part. Nikita is basically indifferent. Poor Wooly Bear, his love is unrequited.

He is her protector. If another animal gets too close, he is right there giving them what for. When she had a cria, he paced around like a worried daddy. (He is a gelding, so not the daddy.) He extended his protector status to the cria (Kiwi)too. He always tried to keep himself between me and Kiwi. As the cria grew, he (the cria) knew that he had a protector besides his Mom. One day I saw Kiwi go up to the biggest llama in the pasture and challenge her, nose up, ears back, like he was going to spit at her. She wasn't about to take that from the young whippersnapper, and rounded on him to put him in his place. He ran and stood behind Wooly Bear, and Wooly Bear protected him. Kiwi grew up knowing that he could always run to Wooly Bear, and so constantly bugged the other animals, then ran to Wolly Bear. Bully!

Wooly Bear is usually just a few steps away from Nikita. She moves a few steps to graze, he moves with her. She cushes to chew her cud, he cushes next to her. She heads to the poop pile, so does he.

The other day, I let them out into the yard to "mow the grass" for me. She moved to an area on one side of the house, and for some reason he didn't move with her. She ended up on one side of the house, he on the other. Pretty soon I saw him running up and down the driveway, looking all around, and humming in distress. Where is she, where is she? He finally spotted her, ran to her side, and fell back to grazing. All was right in his world again.

I will never willingly separate them. If I have to sell the animals, those two are a package deal.

The sora and other happenings

I was moving some stuff by the shed yesterday, and surprised this little bird. Although it has long legs, the body itself is smaller than a robin. I had never seen a bird like this before. It didn't fly away, just ran. We played ring around the shed several times before I could get even these crappy photos.

I found out it is a Sora, a seldom seen marsh bird. I do have marshes/lakes to the north of me, but I'm not sure how it found my shed. We have been having 20-40 mph winds, maybe it blew off course. It was hiding in my grape vine the last time I saw it, early evening yesterday. I sure hope it finds the way back to the lake.

The brown thrashers are back too. I heard one singing before dawn this morning. I love their song.

In other news, the hay field is coming in nicely, thanks to the rain we've been having. There doesn't appear to be any winter kill, only a little where the spring run-off stood for a while. I'm hoping for three good cuttings from it this year, now that it is established. Hay is expensive and in short supply, so I am very thankful for this field. So are the llamas!

The rhubarb is also growing well.

I sense a rhubarb crisp in a couple of weeks. Or maybe a pie, or maybe strawberry rhubarb jam. Or maybe all three, and more. Rhubarb, another spring delight!

More Experiments

I made a little needlebook to help me keep track of my needles and pins. I have to be very careful with them so Mom doesn't find them. I spent a good half hour this morning searching for two banana peels. I had set them on the counter, thinking that I would run them out to the compost pile in a minute. Then I went outside to do something, and left them in the house. When I came back, they were gone. Believe me, you don't want to let two banana peels stay just anywhere! I did find them, and they are now in their rightful spot.

I also experimented with checkbook covers. Well, one so far.