Where I Stand Sunday

Living on 8 acres - has it's benefits - and it's drawbacks.  In summertime the grass area we mow, which is most of it, seems to be a never ending task.  As soon as you are through with the last part...you are ready to start the first one you did.  This mower was 'descompuesto' last week so the dog yard, which it is used for, became a little unkempt.  Now it's fixed, thanks to DH - always a small engine mechanic/troubleshooter.  Time to tackle it again and it is so hot that you cannot escape getting fried when you go outside. I had some trees to trim around as well, by the time I was done, the heat had once again gotten to me.  As I sat in the shade of the porch with a wet cloth and ice pack over my head guzzling a bottle of cold water, the little thermometer we have read 104 degrees in the sun with 119 heat index.  This was at 10:15 in the morning. I think I am inside for the rest of the day.

Our one big concern, although they seem to be handling it pretty well - are the chickens.

They have lots of shade, but that doesn't waylay the hot breezes that blow through the run and of course the chicken coop heats up so they can't go inside there for relief.  We set little fans around the bottom of the house, where they are seeking shelter from the sun, it seems to help some, at least they can get a breeze under their feathers.  They have begun their dust holes, where they scratch and hunker down in the coolness of the earth in the shade.  It has been amazing to watch them grow and grow.

This is Harlough, the little chick who is all of 6-7 weeks old now.  The biggest of the three - and NOT a Bantam, like I thought.  Check here to see how small she was when we got her when she was hatched.

This is Queenie the Bantam rooster.  He practices his crowing now...it is the cutest thing to hear, it isn't quite there, but darling all the same.  I experienced wishful thinking when I bought the other two chickens that they would all (3) be hens and the name 'Queenie' stuck for such a pretty bird. 

And lastly ~ Chickenator ~ named so because she escaped the box one night in the studio and had quite an adventure in and around my books and supplies leaving evidence of where she had been.  She is a small Banty and has a lovely color to her feathers.  They have such interesting coloration.  Her girth is nothing like a chicken I have ever seen...sort of petite and thin and wirey.   She and Queenie SPAR a lot.  It is comical to see little chickens act like big chickens.  Almost certain I have two hens and one rooster..and yes, Queenie will get to stay here with us.  In these parts some people get rid of their roosters or put them outside the run to live, I am going to resist that.  This is our flock - they provide us hours of entertainment in the late afternoon and hopefully someday some eggs for meals (they are also our pets, so we won't be eating them)! 

Where I Stand Sunday is an ongoing photo essay examining the different places I spend my life standing.

Too often we take for granted the everyday places we spend our lives walking on.

There are several others who also write this on Sunday, see sidebar.