Babies in a Tree Hollow

 Is there anything cuter than baby birds 

in the hollow of tree?

I'd been watching a mama bird for awhile now, 

flitting in and our of this hollow,

not too far off the ground.

Today I decided to take a peek

and look what I found! 

  So cute.

Watering System

We needed a plan to get water up to the garden

after fighting the drought last year.  It is about

a 150 ft run between garden and house, winding through the wooded

area so stringing out hoses didn't work well.   

 We lost pressure.

My husband attached a dual valve manifold to our existing faucet.

The knobs allow you to turn on or off each hose, or have

both of them running water at the same time.

He used Schedule 40 PVC 1/2 pipe with a threaded

end so we can screw on a short length of hose.

  It runs parallel to the garage behind the plantings

and then drops into a 5 inch deep, narrow ditch, created

by using one tooth on a box blade.  It cut a channel

into the gravel driveway directing the ditch towards the garden.

This is not frost proof so you need to make sure you can drain the pipes.

   On the other side of the drive it  again

comes above ground, running along the ground

on a slightly downward slope with connections

leading to the garden- through the wooded section.

There is a cuppler at the low point between garden

and drive which is used to drain the water in fall.

We installed another one at the low point at the 

garden for the same reason.  Last season that one split

 from freezing water.

The cupppler is the  bulge in the  line you can see

 just to the right of the T-post. 

Then it makes a turn and follows the T-post

up to the faucet.  It is attached with zip ties.

There is a quick connect on the hose and faucet

which allows us to move the hose if necessary.

 We also have another T-post equipped with an impulse sprinkler

which allows us to have a directional or continuous spray in a circle.

  The entire system cost us about $50 to do ourselves.

By using the rigid pipe we get more pressure to the garden.

It is nice to have  dual faucets so we can turn it off

at the garden to reposition the sprinkler or 

attach a rotating sprinkler for specific areas.

We can also quickly turn the entire system off at the house 

rather than walk to the garden. 

These photos were taken at the beginning our "Spring,"

assuming we ever see  Spring,  so there are still plenty

of weeds and not as much plantings.  I've been busy up there

and after this next set of severe weather outbreaks, 

I'll feel comfortable finishing the job.

 I have two artichokes growing this year- something new to us!  

Then there are the peppers,  cukes, some squash, pumpkin volunteers,

watermelon, herbs and hopefully more tomatillos.

Our little side garden has the salad fixings.

Cross Beaked One Eyed Chick Update

It's a special needs chick-  

one eyed and cross billed but holding it's own,

with a little help maybe.

You can see how wet it is due to the slurry I make

out of it's crumbles so it can scoop them up in 

his crossed beak.  I also believe it can't see

well, if at all.  It constantly misses it's bowl 

so I have to aim at where it pecks unless I

can get it to sit still rather than twirl around in circles.

I don't know why its chest has a large lump.

Is this normal for a cornish cross?

Is it just more noticeable since he is wet?

He heard me play the video and started cheeping with it!

You can see how he eats- this has been the best attempt.

He  bends, pecks/scoops and then lifts his head to swallow.

Again, this was a first, I normally have to follow his

head and figure out where he is going to  peck.

Often it is this, pecking down but at nothing.

I wanted to sneak him into work so I can feed it during the day

but now that I have moved departments, I have a cubicle  

which would be very disruptive to those around me.

He made it ok today.

Maybe he has me fooled into  babying him! 

Cross Beaked - Chick 5 Comes Home

 It has a crossed beak and missing one eye .

It didn't stand a chance of getting sold

or surviving with all the other chicks

competing for food and drink.

I had to take it, even it if only has a couple of weeks left.

 I was getting my fishing license at Orscheln

when I heard a chicken crying, loudly as if

something were wrong, and it was.

I saw this little crossed beaked chick and

noticed it was missing an eye.

When I told my husband I was getting it, 

both he and a friend who happened to be there too

made fun  of me.

You wouldn't make a very good farmer .

You come home with deformed chicks and

non bearing fruit trees!

It's true.  I'm a sucker for the animals no one wants.

 The clerk, a young girl, told me she would give it to me.

She has been trying to give it attention, helping

it eat and drink but she isn't at work all the time.

Another shopper lady and the clerk sided with me.

Give it a chance.

It's a cornish cross so it won't have many weeks anyway.

Unless, due to the deformity, it stays leaner.

Maybe it could at least have a good life for awhile.

I  bought an eye dropper to give it some water immediately  

but reading up on the cross beaks, they can eat and 

drink if the crossing isn't too extreme.

I crumbled some crumbles up even smaller and  

dropped some in it's beak, then sort of pinched the beak

a little more straight so it would swallow.

Then after it had eaten and drank, I held on to it

while it nestled down for a nap.

Chick #4, the one I rescued from the hardened egg membrane,

and who I believe may be a bit less intelligent than the rest,

  checked out the new guy.  And promptly  pecked him on the beak.

Come on- you were the new guy yourself once!

The others were a bit afraid (chicken chickens) but then

    decided it wasn't too dangerous.

I have to clean out the brooder so don't look too close!

If you have any advice, please leave a comment.

I hear that it may be helpful to moisten the food 

and feed this one separately.  Additionally, having only

one working eye it's a bit more difficult for him/her

to see where it's going.  I'm not so sure how well

the other eye sees either.  The entire skull seem a little off.

Linking    The Chicken Chick 
Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop

Rocks are Scary!

OH NO!  It's soooooooooo scary!

What has them all scrunched up?

You couldn't get a group of chicks any closer.

A Rock.

A typical garden rock.

I thought it might give them something to do.

So far it hasn't tried to bite anyone, 

if fact, it hasn't moved at all.

But it's awfully scary !!! 

Oh look!

It's not so scary after all, is it?

In fact, little chick # 4, our runt, found out 

it can be quite comfy, 

especially when nice and toasty from the warming light.

A chicken spa!

I'll have to raise their rent!

Sunday In the Flower Garden

What Season is This?

These Up and Down temperatures are challenging at best.

I quickly snapped a shot of my bird bath upon hearing the forecast

of low 30s for Saturday night.  With temperatures in the city a few degrees warmer, 

I wasn't sure they would make it.

Great news- they are still thriving!

 Maybe I had a little help.

 I have Stella D'oro lilies in front of the iris. 

Some babies are cropping up too.

 I had left out the bird bath topper during the storms

last week since they predicted hail.

There was snow to our west and south west.

The chives in the old wash tub came up pretty well again 

 since we've had so much rain.

The little frogs are back and planning their families.

The  dark purple iris are from the bed I had in the old place 

about 13 years ago.  A neighbor's light purple ones had

  made their way under the fence and  joined mine

so a few of them made the move too.

These are bee balm blooms getting ready to burst open.

This grows wild everywhere, even under my roses.

The wild columbine is one of the earlier flowers, 

very striking.

And a little rose peeks out, the first bloom.

I seriously trimmed back the viburnum

but it's as thick as ever!  It makes a nice

screen between the sitting area and subdivision road.

You can barely see it in the third photo

to the extreme right.

We attended church this morning and then headed 

to Applebee's for lunch.  I love their club house grill

but they have changed it AGAIN!

I passed on my favorite sandwich and opted for

the crunchy butterfly shrimp which is delicious.  The other

half will be dinner tonight so I guess it's like going out twice!! 

We stopped to get some tomatillo plants since I didn't get 

the seeds started in time but so far we struck out!  

They had lots and lots of them a couple of weeks ago 

but now, none!!!.  I'll keep checking around.

I also have some flowers to plant in pots still and a couple

of peppers left over from the garden planting.  We also spent some 

time fixing the watering system  but I'll post on that later.

So, today (Sunday) I gardened in a sweat shirt and Tuesday it's going to be 90.

  Again- What Season is this??????

A Chance Encounter with the Mad Housewife

 Be it divine intervention, fate, good mojo, kismet, 

or whatever you might make of it, there she was right in front of me

all mad and hawking her wares in my local Schnucks grocery.

The Mad Housewife.

In the flesh.

  It was Derby Day and I needed a dessert for the party.

I might add that we had just come from church, 

driving our granddaughter to confession

the day before her First Communion.

That's how I know it must be a sign from above.

Kathy- this wine's for you!

And it was.

I've seen this brand here and there but

never tried it.  Then I nearly collided with the kiosk

smack dab in the middle of the produce department.

Grapes = Wine.  Makes sense, right? 

It's Autographed wine nonetheless.

See the heart?  She loves me-or maybe she just loves wine.

It probably makes her less mad,

I know it has made me pretty happy a time or two.

There is a Bonus-

I got an emery board and matches!

When it the last time someone gave out matches?

Cool.

  I will say I have not had the wine yet

(remember, I was there getting a dessert)  

but I will be trying it.

I just had to brag - I've met the Mad Housewife!!

How awesome is that!

Mad Housewife Sweet Red   (click on link)A rich, sweet red blend crafted in an easy-drinking style with a luscious mouth feel and natural residual grape sweetness that delivers a velvety smooth finish. Voluptuous and smooth, this is the kind of everyday wine that goes well with just about everything. Blends: Zinfandel, Rubired, Petite Verdot & other red blenders. 

Little Chick, Little Chick How Do You Grow?

 Little Chick #4, 

the chick that was stuck in the egg,

is growing up!!!

It's still soooo small,

you can see it next to my hair clip.

  It's head is much smaller and more rounded,

the others look like they are from an older hatch.

But it's also soooo cute!

I take it out and we sit together almost every night,

at least for a few minutes.

It starts on my lap and always runs up to my neck

unless I sprinkle some food around 

and then it's always in the mood for a snack!

Stuck in the egg story, click here.

Eulogy for a Cat- RIP Lizzie

Lizzie, our 10 yr old cat, passed away sometime during the night. She had been failing for the past few months and the last day or two we knew the end was near. She was a stray kitten found in a sheet lined box along side the road with several other siblings. It had been raining heavily and the box was almost under water in the drainage ditch.  The mama cat was attempting to save her kits; however, they had become wrapped up in the wet sheet unable to escape.  My daughter saw them as she was driving by and rescued them.

Only Cookie, Dan and Gina's (my brother/sister in law) rescue, survives from that litter. 

I will have to bury Lizzie this damp and soggy morning, not an easy task on our rocky ridge. 

She was a very good cat, becoming deaf in later years. She was content to sleep on your lap, especially if we were sitting around the bonfire. She never realized her main goal in life- to be the ONLY cat in the whole world, but was number 1 in our hearts!

Chick Stuck In Shell

 The situation became critical by Friday night as

grandchick #4 was not making any further progress

and the peeping had slowed down considerably.

The poor thing managed to break a pretty good

sized hole in the side of the egg but something was wrong.

I scoured the internet, immediately sourcing help from

The Chicken Chick  blog where there is a lot of 

great information.  I know it's not an ideal situation but

the little one either needed help or it was  over.

 It appears that there was not enough humidity and the 

membrane had hardened inside the shell; however, the

membrane had pulled away from the shell allowing me to

remove most of the shell without harm.  When I saw the leathery

membrane I knew I had to rehydrate it.  The chick was calling out

and pushing  with all it had, but it wasn't enough.

I soaked a flour sack towel in warm water and nestled the 

membrane in my hands.  The shell was still attached on the back 

of the chick but I could feel every movement the chick made.

Slowly the membrane softened and the chick was able to

stretch and  push against it opening the membrane more and more.

When it finally made it out, the membrane was still stuck to it's 

back and head so I took it to the kitchen, still wrapped in the towel and 

trying to keep it as warm as possible.  I dripped warm water on 

the back of it's head and down it's back.  Bit by bit the membrane 

became soft and was able to be easily removed.  

The chick was still very small and weak; however, it peeped and peeped

almost as if it wanted me to keep holding it.  I told him (her?) that he 

would have to dry off a bit and I'd be back.  We did make a quick stop

at the brooder so it could see what awaiting, siblings hopping around 

and peeping up a storm!

It's much, much smaller than the rest that hatched.  I include photos

so you can see.  It is definitely not as developed.  I figured it was 

 exhausted from the ordeal so I put some water on my finger

which he drank and drank. He seemed very thirsty.

It had been thrashing around, unable to remain standing

but by the time I checked back, it was making good progress.

After he was almost dry I took him out and let him rest in my

hands.  We sat in the recliner where he became more calm and

 started drifting off to sleep.  I talked to him and told him what 

a pretty chick he was and when he was a little stronger we'd go into the 

brooder with everyone else.

He really perked up!  He peeped and peeped until

I agreed to put him in the brooder, or not get any rest!

There was just a few pecks on the little guy which I 

immediately responded to by pushing the larger one away.

This seemed to calm things down and chick #4 was accepted.

They slept together and now he follows them around learning

how to eat and drink.  You can see the size difference.

From left to right:  the two first chicks, chick 3 and then 

little chick #4.  So sweet.

He is very tame since I handled him, the only one to 

come up if I reach into the brooder. Maybe he thinks I'm mom.

For comparison, newly hatched chick 1 and 2.

Newly hatched chick #3, a day later.

I'm glad the little one came out OK.  I do hope it isn't a rooster,

we already have 2 and I can't keep a third.  I would get rid of the older

one if  it comes to a choice.  He probably isn't fertile since we've 

never had chicks until the buff orpington rooster came along.

 I am so thankful for all the great information on the internet, 

accessible on demand, and for all the bloggers that

provide tutorials on how to manage emergencies.

   What would I have done without you all?!

Linking to Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop