Our Busy Chicks

The title of this post does not refer to the feathered variety in our backyard, but to our sweet, adorable grandchildren.

My grandmother name is Birdie, so it's only natural for me to think of them as my chicks.

Look at this, Rose!

Rose is our daughter's girl and Myles is our son's boy. Rose turned two in December and is nine months older than Myles. 

Our busy chicks spent a week together at Rose's house. We were there for the last couple of days of the visit. Even when we arrived, I could tell Myles was still not completely at ease in his new environment.

Arghh! 

But he really came out of his shell on the last day.

May I, please?

This is more typical of his personality—quietly reaching for a book and asking permission with his eyes.

No more monkeys jumping on the bed!

Rose, on the other hand, is constantly in motion...

Thanks for the chicken book, Birdie and Geep. I really like it.

until you give her a book. She loves to read...

Safe in Geep's arms.

and swim in the hotel pool with her Geep.

I can do it all by myself.

You could say she has a bit of an independent streak.

It's not too heavy.

And I believe you could even say it runs in the family.

Thank you, God, for our little chicks.

Rose

Myles

They're busy little people, but we wouldn't have it any other way.

Texas Bluebonnets

It's bluebonnet season in Texas.

A Texas bluebonnet in our garden just starting to bloom.

On our drive to Fort Worth last week to visit our children and grandchildren, we enjoyed the wildflower vignettes along the roadsides. 

Sometimes a large standalone patch of bluebonnets, deep blue in color, would make me think we should stop and take a picture. 

A photo of Texas bluebonnets I took in April 2013, Gay Hill, Texas.

At other times a mix of bluebonnets, Indian paintbrush, and yellow wildflowers called to me, but I didn't listen.

We kept driving on in anticipation of holding our grandchildren in our arms, enjoying the scenery along the way, but never stopping for photos.

Another of our garden bluebonnets, more fully open.

I don't regret our decision in the least...

An armful of love!

because hugs from grandchildren are far better than flower pictures any day.

Keeping My Eye on This One

She looks innocent enough, right?

Duchess running to me for a mealworm treat.

Well, there's something you don't know about Duchess.

I only learned about it recently.

It seems she loves kale.

Remember that kale we planted? That's all it now—a memory.

I mean she REALLY LOVES kale.

She ate every kale plant in the garden right down to the stems.

I caught her as she was finishing up the last leaf.

I can't blame her, really.

She was only doing what chickens do.

It was our fault for not putting up a barrier to keep her out of the garden.

I forgive her.

No ma'am, not the bluebonnets!

But I'm drawing the line at my bluebonnet flowers.

I'm keeping my eye my on this one.

They're Getting Good at This

It's another three egg day.

Brought to you by...

The Royal Flock of Poultry Palace: Duchess of Yolk, Princess Lay-a, and Queen of Eggland.

Nice work girls!

Record Keeping and Storage

Keeping a record of egg production in our small flock has added to the fun of keeping chickens. 

We are trying to track each chicken's egg production separately, which is why we had hoped each chicken would lay a distinctive egg. It's become a little tricky now that Duchess is laying and her eggs look so much like Queenies'.

I record the date and weight of each egg for each chicken in a small weekly/monthly planner that I personalized with one of my own photos.

John is using an app called Egg Tracker, which he likes. The main drawback of the app for me is that the weight can only be recorded in grams and I prefer ounces.

I also like seeing all the information in calendar form, so I can easily know the day of the week as well as the date. 

An advantage to the app is that it keeps a running total for each chicken automatically. Obviously I will have to calculate the totals on my own.

After the eggs are gathered and the information is recorded, it's time to store the eggs. Many people with their own flock of chickens keep their eggs at room temperature on the counter, but I've opted to keep ours in the refrigerator. 

I picked up two OGGI refrigerator egg trays at Home Goods for this purpose. They are clear, which I like, and have lids. Each tray has 14 egg compartments, but in a pinch you could fit a few more in if you lay them on their side.

We've filled up one tray and are working on filling the other. Looks like it's time to make an omelette.

Egg Watch in Effect

Friday was an exciting day in the Poultry Palace coop.

Duchess of Yolk laid her first egg!

I went to the coop early that morning and found three eggs in the nest—one from each hen. We think Duchess laid the one in the middle. Her egg and Queenie's (top) are so similar, it's hard to know for sure. Princess lays darker brown eggs (bottom) than both those two, so it's easy to tell it apart.

Once again, I'll have to watch the girls closely to see if I can figure this out. Egg watch is now in effect.

There were two eggs laid on Saturday (P & Q) and two on Sunday (P & ?).

Not until this morning did Duchess lay an egg that I know for sure is hers. I collected it after she left the nest box and before Queenie had a chance to lay her egg.

Queenie and Princess are both in the box right now. It looks like this is going to be another three egg day!

Happiness Is

...watching a Monarch butterfly in the garden.

...spending the afternoon on the porch with an interesting book.

...finding blossoms on the tomato plants and knowing tomatoes will be coming soon.

What has made you smile lately?

From Caterpillar to Chrysalis

When we arrived at the travel trailer on Friday afternoon, several of the Monarch caterpillars in Happy Camper Butterfly Garden were on the move to find a suitable place to make a chrysalis.

A Monarch caterpillar leaving the garden.

We began to look for chrysalises that were already formed. There was a nice one under the picnic table right next to the garden.

Monarch chrysalis. Notice the shed caterpillar skin remaining at the top and the butterfly inside.

There was also one on the fire pit, but something had gone wrong with it.

A glitch in the process.

While we were searching, we watched a caterpillar crawl up the leg of the pit and begin forming a silk pad with its mouth on the underside of the grate.

Making a silk pad.

Later when we checked, it had turned around and attached itself to the pad, hanging upside down in the characteristic J shape.

Just attached and hanging in a J shape.

The next afternoon, I noticed it was beginning to look a little different and I knew the chrysalis would be coming soon. I hoped I would see it happen.

Getting ready for a change.

Of course, I stepped away at the wrong moment and missed it.

Just formed Monarch chrysalis, top view.

However, getting to see a freshly formed chrysalis is pretty wonderful, too.

Newly formed Monarch chrysalis. Notice the silk pad where it is attached to the grate.

There were three new chrysalises formed on Saturday: the one on the fire pit (above), one under a small ash shovel we keep on the fire pit (below), and one under a chair on the deck (not pictured).

Another Monarch chrysalis under the ash shovel.

As we were packing up to come home, there were still caterpillars leaving the garden. This guy was almost stepped on a couple of times, so we moved him to the sign out of the way.

A Monarch caterpillar at Happy Camper Butterfly Garden. Staged photo.

I was hoping he would like that spot for his chrysalis, but it seems he had other ideas.

A Monarch caterpillar in search of a place to form a chrysalis.

Good luck, little caterpillar!

How Do You Unwind?

There are a lot of ways to unwind after a busy day at work.

All the chickens gather round for a mealworm treat.

I'm pretty sure John's way is not the most common, but it's highly effective.

Who wants this one?

All you need are a few chickens in the backyard and a cup of mealworms...

Princess Lay-a jumps for a mealworm.

and soon all the stress of the day is gone...completely gone.

Give Credit Where Credit's Due

We have a second egg layer in the flock! We know this because we collected two eggs on Tuesday.

The new egg is in the middle. On either side are the eggs from our first laying hen. There's just enough difference in color and size for us to tell them apart.

We were expecting Queenie to start laying soon, so we assumed the new egg belonged to her.

Queen of Eggland

I wanted to be sure though, so on Wednesday I put myself on egg watch. I kept a close eye on the coop and sure enough, Queenie went in the nest box. An hour later she emerged.

I felt certain I would find an egg in the nest. And I did...but it wasn't the egg I was expecting to find. Her egg looked exactly like the eggs we've been getting since the beginning.

What? You don't mean?? Oops! We were sure Princess Lay-a was responsible for all those eggs. We've been giving credit to the wrong bird.

How could you not know?

No wonder Queenie's giving me the evil eye. It looks like we owe Queen of Eggland an apology...and maybe a few extra mealworms to make amends.

Let the record show that Queenie was the first of the Poultry Palace flock to lay eggs.

We're now assuming Princess Lay-a is the second egg layer, but you see how well that worked out the first time, so I think we should just wait until we can catch whoever it is in the act.

My beak is sealed.

I'm sure Queenie knows, but she's not telling.

Happy Camper Butterfly Garden

Three years ago we planted a small butterfly garden at our travel trailer in Matagorda. We named it Happy Camper Butterfly Garden and registered it as a Monarch Waystation.

Here's a pulled back shot, so you can see its size.

It may be little, but the beauty and joy it brings is big.

Our garden is planted with a mix of host plants and nectar sources: tropical milkweed, Mexican sage, fennel, coneflowers, lantana, yarrow, gomphrena, and small zinnias that usually come back as volunteers.

Right now the milkweed is doing its thing and hosting several monarch caterpillars. Some of these caterpillars are hatched from the eggs that were laid by the tattered butterfly a couple of weeks ago.

We counted eleven caterpillars, but there could be more. They aren't always easy to see. You really have to look under and around and all over. And then look some more.

This hungry caterpillar was hidden on the underside of a leaf, munching away as fast as he could. 

It's possible that our milkweed plants will be stripped bare the next time we see them, but that's okay since that's what it takes to make a monarch butterfly.