Catching Up: the End of Summer, Part I

It's been a while since my last post, so I thought I'd start with a summary view of some of the things we've been up to during the last days of summer.

All of our youngest poultry are now outside and fully adjusted to their new habitats. (Well, except for our juvenile ducks who still love to invite themselves in whenever the downstairs door is ajar!)

Dog food? We thought you said DUCK food!

Hi, it's us again! We'd like the orange bag please. 

Knock knock! We know you're in there!

Now on to chickens. We love all the beautiful and interesting colors our pullets and roos are developing as they feather out and continue to grow. Fully grown chickens look so different from what they looked like as baby chicks, so it's like watching a mystery unfold! And their personalities are all totally unique.

Exploring their new digs. Safety in numbers until they know it's safe!

Couldn't resist getting a shot of this chicken butt lineup! 

Romanoff always likes to stand IN the food plate. 

This is our German Bielefelder couple, Mr. & Mrs. Beasley. He also goes by Mister Mister.

The Motley Chicken Crew

Our three roos: Lewis, Angel, and Mister Mister.

Also, finally just the other day, for the first time, I witnessed Lewis practicing his crow. Previously I had only heard crows while they were all in the coop, so I didn't know for sure who it was. (Funny, just as I am typing now, I hear him practicing again outside!)

We also have another new addition to our farm! We recently watched Peter Rabbit on Netflix, and then by the end of that same week I came home to this new bunny.

Look at that adorable face!

Sunshine AKA Sunny Bunny

Sunny Chillin' 

This, of course is only a small tidbit of all the happenings that have taken place over the past few weeks, so I will label it "Part 1" of a series. Stay tuned to the next episode for Denali's visit to the Lowe's Halloween display, Jax in high places, and perhaps an update on my gardening adventures.

Duck...Duck....GOOSE!

We can usually find one of our buff orpington chickens, Daffodil, running loose all around our property. We try to keep the chickens contained to a certain portion of the yard so they don't destroy all of our plants up by the house. However, Daffy is a little on the small side in comparison to our other hens, so she is still light enough to fly out over the fence and roam freely whenever she wants--in the backyard, the front yard, the horse pen, the side pasture....pretty much everywhere. No wonder she stays so trim! 

Daffodil by the cedars

Daffodil helping with yard work 

Daffy and Jax by the wood pile

Daffy trying to blend in with the ducklings

Daffy checking out the new chicks, with Aslan supervising

For the most part, Daffodil finds enough to keep herself occupied without wreaking havoc in our gardens, so we enjoy letting her run free. She is a friendly but independent spirit. While she's out and about she often tries to dine with our ducks. We couldn't figure out why they always seem to back away and run off whenever our sweet Daffy unassumingly strolls up and invites herself to breakfast. 

Hey guys, wait for me!

Now, here's a short (10 seconds) video I captured this past week of Daffy trying to pal around with her duck mates. Be sure to turn up the volume and you'll hear my surprise when I discover our sweet little Daffy may not be as innocent as we thought! 

Oh deer! And other creatures great and small...

Tonight as I was arriving home from work, I stopped to unlock the gate at the end of our driveway. I glanced up in astonishment to see a deer grazing freely in our yard, about 15 or 20 yards inside our gate. Not surprised to see a deer--we see them practically everyday around here. But with Aslan around, we usually see them OUTSIDE the fence of our main yard. It took me a split second for my eyes to adjust to the sight before I realized, "Oh! That's Mole'!" With his recent haircut (shearing) he looks so much like a deer!

I can never fully anticipate what I might encounter in my driveway when I get home. Sometimes it's like my own drive-through animal park--and I don't even have to pay admission! 

Here's a little glimpse at some of today's welcome wagon:

Lomi and Mole cruisin' in the yard

Lomi on the driver's side now

Some ducks and chickens running up to greet me

Aslan watching over chickens and ducklings

Baloo standing at his greeting corner

Horse hugs, brown side

Gotta get the white side, too!

Casper the Friendly Ghost Cat

When we first brought Casper home, she was just a few months old and predominantly feral. She escaped into the brush in our backyard and we would catch sightings of her as she regularly crept out from behind the wood pile to watch what was going on from a safe distance.

She got the nickname Casper because she was like a little ghost hiding behind the wood pile, who would sometimes make a visual appearance. A friendly ghost cat.

As Jax got big enough to start spending some time outside, he became the lure that encouraged Casper to start venturing further out in to the open yard and up closer to the house.

Jax and Casper both came from the same place, so maybe Casper recognized her baby cousin. In any case, her curiosity or intrigue eventually gave her enough confidence to come in for a closer look. And even as much as Jax sometimes torments her, she is the sweetest thing who never bites or scratches. (Unless you count when she grabs your hand back because she is not quite ready for you to stop petting her: "More, please!")

Here's a photo of baby Jax and Casper playing in the front yard with their chicken gang. We always have to be very careful because Casper especially likes to hide in the underside of vehicles. Here she is examining the wheel well for a possible hideout source.

For many months Casper picked the John Deere mower as her safe spot (Aslan was much smaller then!). Jax would sometimes join her--the two are definitely quite bonded!

Somewhat ironically, once we finally got Casper indoors, she quickly became a homebody. Jax is practically bursting at the seams to get outside every moment of the day.  Casper, on the other hand, LOVES her safe warm place in the house and is quite content to have most of her needs met there. 

She is not strictly an indoor cat, but also enjoys some time outdoors. The other day I caught her checking out the new ducklings while they were sunbathing in the pool. I think she's completely mesmerized by them! 

I also snapped a little video of her watching them. If you watch to the end you'll notice her typical shyness as she suddenly recognizes she's being observed.

Casper and Jax have remarkably different personalities, but their bond is inseparable. It is so heartwarming to see. ❤️

Aslan to the Eagle: Not on MY Watch!

Although bald eagles are without question a strikingly majestic and beautiful bird, they are also a very real predatory threat to many of our residents. Ducks, chickens, our cats...even some of our dogs are unsafe left unattended outdoors! That is why we got Aslan. Our Livestock Guardian Dog, Azzie, has proven his life-saving skills on more than several occasions!

Just this morning one of our security cameras alerted me that an eagle had just swooped in and landed in our tall oak trees that overlook the chicken and duck pens. What a relief to see Aslan immediately burst into the scene from the side yard! Barking and barking and barking and barking! He made it clear the eagle needed to take a hike.

Here's the footage:

If you have the sound turned on you might hear the cacophony of barking dogs, hollering ducks and chickens, and even our inside parrots calling out. Everyone finds it quite unsettling when an eagle is on the premises!

I edited out the middle stretch of Aslan's relentless barking. Here's the end of the footage when Aslan finally convinced the eagle his efforts were going to be futile and he might as well move along:

Good boy, Azzie! Good boy! (He LOVES to hear what a good boy he is!!)