What did the fox say?

Apparently... NOM! NOM!

We started the Spring with 24 chickens. Not including our incubated balls of fluff. That number has dwindled down to 10. Granted 1 was eaten by a revenge-filled cat, 1 natural causes, and a possible raccoon snagged 1 or 2. The rest have been taken by foxes.

As beautiful as these creatures and the others are it makes us pretty upset. Mr. Awesome has some plans to get the remaining flock enclosed. In the meantime, when we don't let the dog out to roam the property we put a radio on. I read somewhere that one trick is to leave it on because it sounds like humans are out and about.

This is our fault of course. If we had a run perhaps we could have saved them or at least some of them. :(

In other news, our garden is in full swing. I haven't used it to its maximum potential. This year I'm

blaming it on my healing knee. Remember "The great knee incident" last December? Oh don't get me wrong I'm healing awesome. I am just a bit impatient in the process.

Mr. Awesome built raised beds for me that are working out splendidly. It has helped out well since squatting is not really something I'm doing a lot of right now.

We hatched out another set of chicks and included ducks! Out of 6 chicks and 6 ducklings, we now have 5 chicks and 2 ducklings. :)

These cute balls of fluff are not going out to range for a while. There is a hawk that has been roaming from time to time. That hawk made a meal of a newer chick.


My bees are not thriving. I had my nose in the hive several times but I am not seeing progress. I haven't talked to the bee people down the road but hope to do so to find out the magic they are using to keep the hives alive. I have been doing research on this and it still sounds as though it is due to the spraying of pesticides on farms. Since we are surrounded by farmland then it is a BIG problem for us. I'm scratching my head as to how to keep bees and keep them alive.

In other news, I was honored to be invited to be interviewed on The Bill & Kail Show about my story of abuse. I have been doing a series of videos about abuse, writing, and find us here-  Our YouTube channel. There is more but I'll be sharing that on my other blog later today- Hope When There Was None.

I hope your week is going great!

God bless and much love to you!

BIG HUGS,
Mel

Guess whose not Hen!? Help us name our Rooster!

I'm big enough to admit that there was a mistake thinking Henny Penny was a Hen. We never noticed her laying, but this isn't unheard of. Our feathered flock is well-known for laying eggs in some random spot they take a hankering for or just popping them out in the middle of the yard only to be stepped on, found until they are very ripe or eaten by our dogs. 

We have been handling our feathered flocks for about 6 years or so give or take. We thought we nailed down noticing whose a Rooster or a Hen. 

OOPPSS! It's not the first time we had sexing go wrong. When we first had Rabbits a friend of ours, that had rabbits before advised after looking over the ball of fuzz that we had 2 Girls. Well 1 of those "Girls" had a litter of adorable bunnies! 

So getting the right sex of an animal, unless it is darned noticeable as in a bigger animal can go wrong. 

We didn't notice the Sickle feathers around his neck, see spurs

since he is a fancy Banty he has feathers around his feet or did we ever really hear him crow! 

He is about  year old. I purchase him and the ducks right before we moved. I swear if I was the only 1 that heard him the family may not have believed me; luckily everyone heard the crow. I have to admit I was hoping it wasn't a zombie Rooster back from the grave. Our other Banty Roo passed away a month or so ago. Kind of freaked me out to hear the crow. I peeked around the corner of the coop half expecting to see something creepy or gross and I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw it was Henny Penny. 

Of course we were all standing around with our mouths open in disbelief. Then everything clicked into place and made sense why we found no eggs, why some of the other hens kept hanging out with him and the big one was answered! Why we never saw our other Roo have relations. DUH!

I admit I felt really dumb. But it's a wee mistake. These things happen on a homestead. 

 This sparked an idea! I'll be shooting a few vlogs about Chickens/Ducks soon. With many farm stores offering chicks now it seems like a great time to vlog about subjects such as:

* Definitions of some of the terms used in raising your flock before you buy them you may need to know

* How to get started raising your flock

* Difference between Chicken and Duck eggs


This and more! 

Well, I hope this made you giggle! I am still shaking my head. Oh! We need a name for our Rooster! Can you help us pick one out?

If yours is chosen you will get bragging rights and a honorable mention on my social media, vlog and blog! I'll also send you a surprise via snail mail for you! 

I hope your day is wonderful!

Almost blown away, Antique store outing and other random stuff!

It is windy here at God's Breath Farm and today is no exception! Here in the Midwest we are experiencing winds at 55+! 

We are on a small incline (hill) so we don't have too many outdoor things that we don't want to fly away. Kind of stinks because I would love to have a bunch of cute stuff, but that means I need to get more creative! Challenge accepted!







The animals are bravely holding on tight when they ventured out today. Ms.Henny Penny of course decided she is staying put in the coop. Can't say that I blame her.

After the billing fiasco with our propane company we did get a fill-up yesterday. Mr. Awesome went out to speak with the driver and ask for the invoice. Last fill-up the invoice blew away! More about the propane adventure on our YouTube channel. Our YouTube channel

We haven't been out to tour an antique shop in a while! Mr. Awesome suggested lunch out, visit to the local True Value and later he said how about we check to see if those shops are open?

What was my response?  That's a no-brainer!YES! 

Hope you like the pictures. I took a bunch! If you are ever in Remington, IN drop into Mini Measures and Junque shop which is across the street.  

Ohio Street, Remington, Indiana,  219.261.3665

Call ahead just in case! Both shops are owned by a Husband and Wife team. Sometimes things happen and they don't open or open later.

 Seeing this dress form makes me miss Samantha! She was the form I had for 10+ years. We downsized for our school bus tour.

No trip complete without creepy doll!  

Now pictures from Junque shop! It's a great "Man store" or should I say great for "Mantiques"! 

  

Of course I did have to come home with something! I have always wanted a Mudman! The Cats paw cow bell has also called to me. The little boy figure seems to match another I found last year. I was excited! 

      

What do you think?

Mr. Awesome in his usual fashion took care of my crowded starter plant issue. YEA! He will be able to have 4 shelves on 3 windows! They hold a bunch of plants for now. Of course they will get bigger and he has since made a support bar for the sagging. 

My dream Greenhouse will have to wait a bit more. Maybe next year... 

I love this Guy! He is keeps me laughing. He is also my memory when my Lyme fog sets in. I have a habit of leaving things half done. You ever have those times when you walk in a room with a clear intention of doing 1 thing and you totally forget and do something entirely different? Or walk into a store with things that you didn't need and forget to get what you meant to buy? 

Did you get a chance to see our Birthday cake song for my eldest Daughter? If not check out My FB page to find this super silly post. It can be found on March 6th 2017. 

I hope your day has been a blessing! More soon!