Growing up...

I haven't even taken photos of the chicks I bought back on April 16th. They're no longer chicks but adolescents and have their adult feathers...5 more months to go before they will be laying eggs. Fred wanted some heavy chickens and a local feedstore had some chicks reasonably priced...I got two Rhode Island Reds, two Plymouth Rocks and the sales person at the store didn't know what the other two were that I picked out and I didn't recognize them either. I've been studying them and looking online and I'm still not sure, they may be Cochin's...

This is one of the ones we aren't sure what breed it is.

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We were hoping to get chicks from the eggs we took to school in March but they never hatched, so I'm glad I bought these. They aren't people friendly though and are always on alert when I am around...I see a big difference from the chicks hatched at school and the ones that come from the hatchery. I bought what were supposedly all females but as I've been watching them the past few weeks there may be two roosters. I still won't be positive for another 2 months or so.
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This is the first time I've let the youngsters out of their pen. I hoisted their pen up on a chair, the youngsters came out and our older hens went in...Nobody said Chickens were very bright. But you get an idea of how much the youngsters have to go to be fully grown...
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A hen had dug a hole to have a dirt bath in and the little ones were all trying to fit in it, goofy birds!! I enjoy sitting outside in the evenings and watching them, they're pretty entertaining. I didn't leave them out of their pen for long though with the hawks in the area feeding 3 hungry young ones it probably isn't a good idea...

Rain drops on roses...

Okay maybe not roses but what about mesquite branches?

We got a small shower last night. 1/10th of an inch of rain, not much but better than none at all. It has cooled down a bit and the animals were out enjoying it this morning.

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I think I'm going to call him nubs, short for nubbins.
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and another VERY pregnant doe...she was a bit leery of me and stomping her feet! Uh Oh guess it's time to go rest my ankle and stop pestering the deer. I did see the fawn, persistence, yesterday afternoon. It's up and running around kicking up it's heels, it was too precious. I was actually hoping I'd see it this morning but no such luck!

The rest of my day...

with the Macro lens and bugs...

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Paper wasp
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Eye to Eye with a paper wasp
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mud/dirt dauber
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gotta love them love bugs
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Everyone here calls them red wasps, I wasn't able to find them in my books. To me they are the grand-daddy's of the wasp! They're Huge and they pack a powerful punch when they sting! Michael was about 2 or 3 when he got stung by about 20 of them, he disturbed a nest, and I still remember his screams and the welts. Poor thing was hurting but thank goodness no allergic reactions!
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Tachinid fly, they lay eggs on a host body.
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Cicada killer wasp
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Bee
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I'm a bit confused on this one...it sure looks like a deer fly and one book calls it a horse fly but then another book I was looking in says it's a bee fly...so who knows but I love the iridescent eyes, too cool!

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Green Metallic Bee
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There is a vine growing out by our yard gate. I'm not sure what it is but it has weird blooms and just drips with nectar and today it was literally covered in bees and other insects...All I could think of was this plant should be called nectar of the Gods because the bees were totally immersed in it...

Just for your Information...

To all my friends out there in blog land I have been reading your blogs and loving the photos and stories...but for some reason Google blogger is not letting me leave comments! It's been going on for a few days but I wanted you to know I was not ignoring you!

I'm having a....

Buzzy kind of day :o)

A little color...

Today I bring you a little color

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The wind is blowing, it's 97 degrees F. and I'm having Macro withdrawl...So I grabbed a spray bottle and went outside for a bit to see what photos I could capture!

Working hard...

on our project!

We need to get this area free from rocks, grass, twigs and level.

He doesn't look like he's working hard but he was and doing a good job! I really loved his outfit...rubber boots, hat and gloves...You go Michael!!
Hopefully in the next week or two our project will be done or 90% done. We are pretty excited!

Honestly...

No photos this weekend...Not one!

Fred was home and I didn't want to listen to him whine about me and my camera so I put it up! We were busy and then again we weren't. We basically were home all weekend except for a few errands we ran Saturday morning in town. Saturday we drove down to the property to see if the hogs had been there, as I haven't seen them here for a few days. No hogs but we did see a lot of wild turkeys.

Today, Sunday, we worked on our project down at the property. I so wanted to take a photo but I didn't have the camera with me, sigh! Maybe tomorrow. We kept having to change out implements on the tractor and it was a real pain. Each implement or piece of equipment fits the tractor differently so we weren't having much fun re-adjusting everything.

Charlie, the German shepherd, has followed me around all weekend. He's such a sweet dog but he has a few problems. The main one being he doesn't like Jake, he growls and snaps at Jake through the fence. I caught him chasing the chickens and they are really upset, and the cats are totally freaked out with him around. I've had to keep Charlie out of the yard because of that reason. I really want to keep him but Fred and I have talked and we just can't afford another animal. I sure wish he would have fit in here but he hasn't. He totally adores me and Michael. I feel so bad but tomorrow I'm taking Charlie into the vets office to have him checked for a microchip. I put an ad in the paper for him Friday and haven't heard a thing. It breaks my heart but more than likely I will pay to have the vet put him down. I can't see him going to a shelter where he will be penned up and more than likely not adopted out. You may think it's cruel of me but I'd rather know they are not being abused or mistreated and that they are at peace. He's had a good weekend. I took him down to the creek thinking he might like to swim and play but he just followed me around. It's really tearing me up and I'm hoping I can get through tomorrow. I just wish people would take care of their animals and not abandon them for somebody else to have to deal with.

I hope y'all have a great week and I will try to get some photos posted tomorrow. I'm going to start shredding/mowing the pastures so it's going to be a very busy week.