For those of you who HAVE to have a DOLLY FIX to start your day… How about this? Jan was the winner of Stella’s Farmer’s Market set and she sent me these pictures of herStella in the outfit!
Instead of braiding her hair, she tied the ribbons on Stella’s basket… Pretty clever, huh?
Thanks for sharing your pictures, Jan! She looks just like MY Stella! :o) Glad you are enjoying the set…
Julia just received some new little furry friends… 4 Rhode Island Reds and 4 Black Astralorps!
I bet she’s having fun with them… this is what the hens will look like when they get big. If she got any roosters, they’ll look pretty regal with those long black tail feathers!
It was hot again today and humid and my hubby said he had read about a lady in a poultry magazine he gets, who got a kiddie pool for her chickens and they LOVED it… well that’s all it took… he kept talking about it, telling Rebecca, and I found myself picking up the phone and calling Walmart… “Do you have any kiddie pools… you know the molded plastic kind? Oh, you do? Thank you…” And I was off to Walmart… he was thrilled…it was $7.88 and we wanted to see what our girls would do…
He got in the pen with some cilantro scraps…(first he checked it out to see if Cilantro was acceptable for chickens) They were okay to give them, but it was new to them and they didn’t care too much for them…
BUT, when we put the new pool down we were hoping they’d jump right in… uh… not so much…
He put a couple of bricks down in the pool so they could sort of walk into it…
He thought maybe if he broke up some bread and put it on the edge of the pool, they might jump in…It’s an 8 second video.
If you let the videos buffer and when they get to the end, hit play again and you can see them without the stopping and starting.
They were just a little bit scared of it, but he thinks they will get used to it… and if a bug happens to get in the water and they see it, I do believe they will hop right in…
He gave them part of a tomato and one of them reached into the pen and grabbed it… and ran off with it…This video is 5 seconds long.
He tried picking up a hen and setting her in the water… she didn’t stay long… It’s an 8 second video.
They get hot and dig holes around in the mulch and dirt to get down to the cooler ground…yesterday I saw a hen in that far right corner of the pen, down to her neck in that hole…
We do have 6 more hens that have been growing in the shed, and he said they will be added to the big girls house in just a little while… I told him maybe a pool party would bring them all together and they’d forget some new girls were added… but he said not today…
I had a dentist appointment at 11:40, but we got in a few hours work before I had to get dressed… we did get the starter strip added to the bottom of the siding and a few rows of siding above it, but it wasn’t without its challenges… we were both laying on our sides, and looking at the bottom 3 inches of the siding, with our heads practically laying on the roof, trying to keep it straight and level with the membrane… then we had to cut and get that corner piece added on… it had to fit from top to bottom, which were both at angles, and then the siding had to fit into the sides you see, and on the other side of the house… it was QUITE tricky… since I do patterns and templates, he usually asks me to cut those angles and shapes… it only took about 10 times to whittle it down to fit… Here are just a few pictures of him in various “angles” himself, cutting, caulking, using snippers, and a utility knife and a sliding siding tool.
We did get this project done… and we have the pieces cut for the other 2 areas…but they had to wait till tomorrow…
You wouldn’t think something as simple as adding 2 1/2 rows of siding and adding a starter strip would take so long, but the caulk gun ran out of caulk, there was nothing substantial to screw into on that corner piece to hold it in place, we got it all done and our 3″ sliver on the left end had come loose, so we had to unscrew everything and get it back in the groove and then put it back together, my hubby had to go find some longer screws, and on and on it went… okay Jeanne, that’s enough whining… :o)
Sorry it wasn’t a dolly post, but it will be soon…
Blessings, Jeanne
Lots of variety in your post today!
Jan, your Bella looks wonderful in her new outfit! I like the addition of the ribbons to the basket.
Julia, your chicks are so cute! I’m sure it won’t be too terribly long before they’ll be all grown up.
Fun to see the videos of George’s chickens. I wonder if any of them will decide to like the pool?!
What a tedious job that last bit of siding was! But at least That section is done now!
Today was a long day for me–had to take Ron to the ER when he was short of breath, etc. late this morning. We were there about 3 hours, they did an EKG, labs and x-ray; he does have some fluid on his lungs (not surprising, with all his heart issues), so we will follow up with his GP. At least it wasn’t a heart attack, and we are thankful for that. Tomorrow, though, I really HAVE to get over to church and practice. I’m playing again Sunday, and by myself this time, so I have to be ready!
Hi Charlotte,
I was watching the hens from the roof as we were working up there again this morning, and I saw one of them get on the bricks and was pecking around in the water with her beak. Maybe they’ll get the hang of it soon…
I hope your hubby is feeling better by now… this heat is horrible and just going from the car to a store is taxing on anyone. I hope he is resting comfortably st home now…
Thanks Charlotte
Blessings, Jeanne
Heat wasn’t the problem here, Jeanne–only high 60s/low 70s! He has congestive heart failure, and I think that was at least part of the problem. He’s better now, thanks.
Jan’s take on Stella’s outfit is sweet.
Julia’s little chickies are such cute puffballs. How fun to have them.
So fun to see the pool party! Maybe one of the hens will figure it out and teach the rest how to swim. 🙂 I think my favorite was seeing George pick up one and set her in the water. The hen’s expression is priceless. Ha ha. 🙂
Glad the finishing siding is coming along. Here with the 100 temp yesterday and no air conditioning, not much was accomplished. Even worse is the water restriction. All of the landscaping is drying out. And no rain until probably November. Going to be a long summer.
So sorry to hear about Ron, Charlotte. You’re doing everything right. Hope you get some dolly time to do some sewing.
Good news! My RRFF Cozy Vacation Kayla is supposed to arrive tomorrow. Now, if July Joy gets shipped, all will be well. 🙂
Hi Joy
When I first saw Jan’s picture of Stella, I instantly thought, I have one of those too…and then I remembered…oops…
That WAS mine… I sold it… :o)
That video was my favorite too…I just wish I had let it run 3 seconds longer…when she hopped out…
Congratulations on your new girls coming soon…I can’t wait for you to get them… we want to see pics of them please…
Thanks Joy
Blessings, Jeanne
What a variety of activity today! Something for everyone. I hope Julia will send update photos on the chicks growing. I don’t have chickens but I do feed the birds and also throw food on a bare ground area like you do for chickens and especially the mourning doves like that. Lots of birds are ground feeders and they scratch around just like chickens. Never seems to be leftovers to draw pesty night raiders. I keep a bird bath for lots of dirty birds who are sometimes waiting their turn! So fresh water a couple times a day. Thinking about the activity at my bird bath it seems reasonable that the chickens will come to love it too. A couple of weeks ago I saw a wild turkey taking a dirt bath! I wish I could have gotten photos of it, never saw such a big bird do that. I grew up on a farm and was always in the barn or pastures so now living near the city (Pittsburgh Pa) this feeds my love of animals.. Such a variety of wildlife . There are nesting hawks at the edge of the yard so I keep a close watch on my chihuahua when we’re outside. Besides sewing for dolls, I’ve also been restoring (rebuilding!?) a 1910 cottage. A great handyman helps a lot as I get older!! Lol
So that’s why I love your blog it has everything that feeds my soul. I look forward to your blog every morning with coffee and the sofa sisters.
Hi Dorothy,
I bet all the birds are thankful you feed them…
Wow…a 1910 cottage!!! we would love to see your place and tell us what you have done to it…
I’m glad you enjoy my blog when I have to mix things up a bit…
Blessings, Jeanne
I can’t believe how much I enjoyed a post about CHICKENS! I guess that’s why animal videos are so popular.
Hi Debi,
Glad you enjoyed seeing my hubby’s “girls!” Usually I only talk about my girls!!
Blessings, Jeanne
It’s always fun to see pictures from people who have won one of your auctions. I love the bows on the basket too. Cute!
I love chickens. David raised them when he was growing up and our son used to raise them. For years I had a wonderful supply of eggs and he sold some to the neighbors. His chickens were prolific layers. He had some Bantams too for awhile. Those are the most adorable chickens. I love all chickens when they are chicks. So soft. But I did learn a lot about the “pecking order”. We had some ladies that were absolutely nasty to the others. One night I heard a noise outside and got up to look. It was Sean and David outside fetching chickens out of the trees. The gate to the chicken yard was left open and they decided instead of going back in there they would roost in the trees. It was a funny sight to see. They rescued them before dogs could get them. We used to have a lot of dogs running lose and they loved chicken.
Right now my day is kind of on hold. David started his out-of-town job this week and the coil cord for his laser equipment quit working. There was nothing in Houston or San Antonio (near the job) so I decided to check eBay. I found something but we need it overnighted and that wasn’t a shipping choice. The company said they would do it and I’m waiting to hear back to see how much. At the moment it doesn’t really matter but I still need them to help me place the order to do the shipping right.
Hi Barbara
Well, I’m glad I showed the hens today…it seems everyone enjoyed seeing them… they still haven’t figured out the pool yet…on this very hot and humid day…they should have!
I loved your chicken stories…we’ve had some doozies too…our neighbors dog got after our hens one time when we let them wander in the yard. I heard Rebecca screaming outside at the dog and swinging a baseball bat at him…
The dog killed 4 hens and one died in my hubby’s arms when he picked her up…
Thanks Barbara,
Blessings, Jeanne
Finally commenting, since I have been outside watering and trying to get that done before we hit 102 degrees this afternoon! Probably will feel worse with the humidity, and I hope you and George are now done with whatever you need to do today. There is always tomorrow! It already feels like 102 here as far as the heat index goes!
Oh, I love that sweet outfit on Jan’s Stella! What a lucky doll, and that was a cute idea to tie the bows on the basket!
Julia’s chicks are so cute! I had chickens too when I lived in the country. We had the cute little bantams with all the different personalities that were so fun! We had one that we called Ethel Merman because of the tuft of feathers she had on her head, but boy was she a feisty one. You didn’t mess with Ethel! She didn’t like people very much, and let you know about it! She would leave peck marks on your hands if you ever wanted to check under her for eggs when she was in her nest. She was very set in her ways, and never did lay eggs, but sat on wooden ones all the time. She met her end when a possum got into the chicken house one night. I found her still sitting on her wooden eggs……..with her head gone!
You seem to have gotten what is very popular around here in my neighborhood…. a small wading pool! Everybody here has dogs, so it seems a very popular thing to get in this heat for the dogs! My idea of swimming is to stick my feet into one of those kiddie pools! My kids have long ago outgrown them, but I still love just getting my feet wet!
Happily reading along until I read of Ethel’s demise. Must be the reason we don’t like possums around here. 🙁
HI Linda,
We did quit earlier today… about noon. When the heat index hit 99 degrees, we stopped, but we had accomplished almost what we wanted… some of the caulking needs to cure before I can paint it, so we were happy, but hot! That shower felt so good!
I enjoyed your story about Ethel…until the end… poor girl…She was definitely broody and probably should have been taken off those eggs. George won’t let ours get broody… because they do stop laying… You are so right about them having personalities… When the kids were smaller, they used to name all the hens… now we don’t, but there are some fun ones in the bunch…
They still haven’t figured out the pool yet… I did see one of them on the bricks sticking her head down in the water…. I think she was just getting a drink. If they ONLY knew how much better they would feel all wet and soothing… maybe they’ll still learn…
Thanks Linda,
Blessings, Jeanne
Loved the videos of your chickens! They probably need to get used to the giant water dish. 😁
HI Julia,
I think my hubby is disappointed the hens didn’t just dive in and go for a swim… He was so excited about it when he read the article in the poultry magazine… He just knew his girls were going to do it too… He thinks if we put some meal worms in the pool, they’d go crazy and jump in… maybe we can get some and give it a try…
Thanks Julia,
Blessings, Jeanne
Loved the chicken videos! Our kids did chickens one year for 4-H. It was a learning experience. There was a later in the season Fair that they entered some in and the entry day
was very cold so the chickens picked to be entered needed a bath….it was too cold outside so the got a bath in the house in our tub! Then wrapped in a towel and set in a row . The looked so cute with their heads sticking out of the rolled up towel. The best part was grabbing them by the feet and with a hair dryer in one hand a an upside down chicken in the other they got all fluffed and dried. They looked so pretty!
HI Kathie,
I loved your story of the toweled up chickens… I would love to have seen them all sitting in a row looking up at you… :o) I hope your kids got some blue ribbons for their efforts… if not, they certainly got some memories! ;o)
Blessings, Jeanne
Maybe fill the tub almost to the top so they can drink out of it. They might get the idea to get in, but then chickens don’t swim, do they? The chickens seem to be very happy even without getting into the pool.
Your house may set a record for quirks and angles on one continuous roof! Glad you weren’t up on it today. Wish I could send you some of our 68 degree weather, going up to 74, but I live very close to the coast. Temperatures can range from mid-60s up to the 90s farther inland on the same day.
Jan’s Stella looks great in the ensemble. I especially like the sandals. How about selling them on your Etsy shop? Julie’s chicks look to be the right size for Stella. And the hat is wonderful!
HI Susette,
My hubby thinks they might get the hang of getting in the water… but he wishes they would get in it now…when it’s SO hot and humid…
We WERE up on the roof today… early, trying to beat the heat and the sun from beating down on us… We stopped at noon when the heat index hit 99 degrees… I had to stop anyway, because Friday’s I work at the Food Pantry… It’s almost 9 p.m. here and the temp is till 87 degrees and the heat index still feels like 94!
It’s fun for me to see my doll clothes and accessories on other dolls… I am hoping my hubby can caulk my sewing room tomorrow so I can get back at my sewing table…
Hopefully he can…
Thanks Susette,
I’d LOVE some of your 60’s weather! We could get LOTS done in those temps!
Blessings, Jeanne