Tuesday, May 21, 2013

As the Coop Turns....

I looks like it's trying to weather up here in NW Indiana, so I thought 
I'd take a moment to have a little Coop Chat.

I have no idea if this blog post will make a lick of sense.
I've traded my morning coffee for hot lemon water.
I'm in the throes of caffeine withdrawal, and like Uncle Joe - I'm movin' kinda slow.


I'm also overrun with ticks.
Now, before you tell me to get Guinea hens...let me tell you - it ain't happening.  I've found out the hard way that the Good Lord doesn't want me to have Guinea hens.  It's the only explanation for the constant demise that befalls them when I try.

How cool are they though?  Now I'm almost determined to have them!
I'm talking like I can't go hang up laundry without doing a tick search when I come in.
What's a girl to do?  I am constantly combing my hair with a fine tooth comb, and I might be on the edge of becoming paranoid.
Just a bit.
I've checked for ticks 8 times since I've started writing this post - every little itch, I think it's a tick.

And...we have a little poison ivy rash - again.
I know full well that I'm pulling poison ivy - but I don't care. 
 I wear short sleeves and take my chances.
It always wins.
I can't care.
So far it's just the size of a dime...stay tuned.
I have a nice mature vine of Toxicodendron radicans growing behind my weigelas.  
After the weigelas are done blooming, I was going to do a hard rejuvenation pruning of them, and get back there and hopefully eradicate it for good.

I have towels hanging on the line - going on two days now.  They got a nice rain shower last night, I bet they'll be super soft now.  I had to clip them back on the line today, they were hanging half off, a sure sign for all passersby that hillbillies live here.
Speaking of clotheslines...I need to know.  Do you guys hang your shirts from the tails or the shoulders?

I was thinking about this yesterday - in all the trials and tribulations in our garden of life - the good always outweighs the bad.  The flowers trump the ticks, the cool morning dew on the grass kicks poison ivy's butt, the first ripe tomato makes you forget all about tomato hornworms.  The smell of freshly sundried sheets on the bed makes you forget that your towels are still hanging on the line four days later because it's so danged humid outside.

There is more good in life than bad.
There are more good people than bad.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

And if that weren't enough goodness for one day.....
prepare yourself.


My order from McMurray Hatchery arrived on Sunday!
SUNDAY!
The post office called me.  I was really confused, but yep, I had to go knock on some back door of the post office and pick them up.

Jax and Slinx are positively enamored with them.


If there are any ails that can't be fixed by baby chicks on a bed of fresh straw - I am unaware of them.


29 comments:

  1. Cute photos of your kitties watching the chicks. How will you get anything else done with those little fluffs around?

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  2. my cherry tomato plants yielded me 8 tomatoes a few days ago. you'd think i had won the lottery....

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  3. I hang my shirts by the tail...the pinch marks in the shoulder can be a bummer to iron out!

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  4. Ugh! I just removed two ticks from my dog right before reading. We had just taken a walk out our path. That's just the way it is when you live in a rural area. But like you I am paranoid every time I feel something. Yesterday I sat down here at my computer desk and a tick crawled across the screen. I thought it was one of those annoying ads I have seen before. :P The dogs blanket is under the desk. :) The pictures of the cats are so funny! I agree with you that the good always outweighs the bad...in everything!! :)

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  5. I no longer have a clothesline...sad, I know. But before we moved to our current location I had a clothesline for 20 years. I hung my shirts from the tails...well, you know, at the side seams. And, yes, Jayme dear, the good always trumps the bad in life!

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  6. Hmmmm...I came home from work Friday night to quick throw on my knit shorts and get all comfy, when low and behold, my daughter says "Mom you have a spider on you" well, I'm brushing my behind, when a couple of swipes won't take it off. Next I am shouting for help, and Hubs comes over and gives the confirmation...Its a TICK!! It had either been on me from the night before when I was wearing them out in the yard, or maybe it got on my shirt while I had my lunch hour at the local forest preserve near my work. Now, I am crazy with every itch too. I hear ya sister! From your adorable chicks to those two adorable rascals admiring them, how entertaing. Well, I am a fancy laundry girl. My shirts go on hangers alot of the time (don't laugh) or I'll hang them from the bottom. Have always had a clothesline. Oh, homestead bliss. Debra

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  7. Jayme, I am sorry to hear of your woes but by golly, those chicks of yours can slap a silver lining on anything! :D x

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  8. Dang it, you're making me itchy again! Just finished out two miserable rounds of poison ivy, plus the daily tick battles.. lol. Your chickies are so adorable...! Arrival on a Sunday?! I want some more babies. I'm also tempted by guineas. Gee thanks, Jayme, for all these "bad" influences ;) Hugs and hope your week is great! -Tammy

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  9. My nephew's family just rescued a little wood duck by their pond. It is absolutely darling. Little animal/bird babies are just what we need to make us smile. You are one lucky gal-ticks and all. Keep telling us your stories

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  10. When I had a clothesline, I always hung shirts by the tail. Sadly, the HOA frowns upon clotheslines so I can't have one anymore - until I move.

    The chickens will take care of the ticks soon enough. They love 'em!

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  11. love the stories. ticks...yuk - - I visited in Arkansas one time and actually stayed for awhile & the ticks were the worst. Can't hang clothes in my area as the pollution is too bad. If I could, I'd hang the shirts by the shirt tails as then no one can see the line. I can just smell the sheets and how soft those towels are gonna be. The chicks are here....that will give you something to get up in the day/night for. Thanks for sharing.

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  12. Ticks must be bad everywhere this year. The mosquitoes and gnats are quite healthy around here too. Everyone trying from Listerine mixed with vanilla and making spray to rubbing Absorbing Jr. on them to try and protect themselves. Maybe we all need some flea/tick medicine on the back of our necks like the furry babies.
    Shirts hung from the bottom unless you are my husband who I came home once and he had hung them from the top-- well almost the top of the shirts, lets just say I looked like I had well placed nipples for quite awhile.
    Love how you have a chair to help the babies watch the chicks!
    Nothing better than sheets dried in the sunshine!!

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  13. I am so tempted by guineas...until I hear them!!! Up the road from us they got 50 of them last year and they all took off for parts unknown (or they got eaten). Now they only have a couple left and the noise! But you can't beat them for eating ticks...chickens eat them too so we are going to get our freedom rangers and some laying hens as soon as we can stop working long enough to fill out the order form! Love sheets dried in the breeze!

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  14. Thanks be to God that he made the tick bite itch....can you imagine not getting it off until it was huge...uggg....and now if God could just get the guineas to pick the ticks off the dogs, life would be perfect...:) Love your new babies.....they are precious!

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  15. Definitely hang the shirts by the tails. Otherwise, you look funny with those little hinky marks on your shoulders. :)

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  17. Jax and Slinx know how to find a bit of joy . . . great photos . . .
    I hang shirts by the tails . . .

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  18. Cute babies!!! I am determined to build myself a clothesline this summer. I have wanted one all of my married life!

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  19. It's been so windy here that I haven't been able to hang out anything for fear that the clothes would end up somewhere in Never Never Land. I've had to settle on door knobs for my husband's work shirts! And the rest of the clothes go on racks that line my hallway.

    Enjoy those new little chicks - they're adorable!

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  20. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    I just received the best smelling package in the mail today. And it wasn't chicks..

    You're the best Jayme!! You're the best.

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  21. Yep, baby chicks can cure ANYTHING! They are just so adorable and I love to watch them scratch and listen to their peep, peep, peeps!

    My kitties have done the same as yours, sitting their amazed at these little creatures and wondering what the heck they are, ha!

    By the way, I hang shirts from their tails. I figured the stretching of the corners can be hidden when tucked in. Hard to hide the 'bumps' on the shoulders, lol! But, since Hubby made a drying rack for me I drape the shirts over it and hang the rest of the stuff on the line. Works great!

    Have a stupendous day! (Does anyone even use that word anymore?!)

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  22. love the picture of the kitties.........!

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  23. Thanks, Jayme, I needed a reminder that the good ALWAYS outweighs the bad. Hate ticks, love chicks, curious about the guineas until I remember how loud they are. Stay out of that poison ivy, mine always goes for the face, eww. Your chicken serum seems to be helping, my mom told me today that my face still looked smooth. A few weeks ago she asked me what was wrong with my mouth, so wrinkled! Gotta be your serum!!

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  24. Always good for a chuckle or two, yes you are! I love that pic of the kitties looking in the box!
    Ticks...never had one, hope to never see one, and certainly hope to never have to remove one form myself or anyone I know. Shuddering....YUK!!!

    Love hanging my clothes out, especially sheets! oh my! Especially when I use the homemade laundry detergent. smells just like grammie's!

    What is it with all these stupid comments on blogger? I get about 6 dumb ones for every regular one. And it's taking forever to load pictures. Ridiculous!

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  25. The ticks are bad this year. We have those tiny ones!! awwwwww..Love those babies!!

    jan

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  26. Ticks eeeeek! I've become a tick whisperer I guess, last year I woke up at 2 am and turned on the light I knew there was a tick on the wall over my dresser! No kiddin, but can never find them till I am asleep. However after years of waking up in thew night to find them, go down stairs to flush them, I got smart and put an old peanut butter jar with lid with water beside the bed. Now all,I have to do is pop found tick into jar, and go back to,sleep! I know it's disgusting but works!
    Peace
    Sharon

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  27. Skin so soft and a few drops of clove oil in about a cup of water in a spray bottle. The dog and I never have a flea, tick or mosquito problem. And it's safe for the dog. But don't use essential oils on the cats. Oh... And I hang my shirts from the tail. :).

    Tammy
    Cedar lake

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  28. i love the picture of the chickie staring at the new peeps. too funny!! love it!! you need to frame that. ( :

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