Tuesday, April 16, 2013

I got my baby chicks and they are so cute!  I also got 3 baby ducks.  They are all growing so fast that I wish I had taken pictures sooner!  I got one group of assorted chicks on March 29th along with the ducks.  Then on April 5th, I got a dozen tiny Buff Orpington chicks.  Something snatched two of the assorted chicks on the night I got them.  They had disappeared and I thought I must've only gotten 8 instead of 10, (the mind plays tricks when you start getting old! Ha!) but then I noticed that the screen on the door of the pen had been pushed inward.  There was no sign of the chicks, no feathers or feet left or anything.  So I do not think it was one of our cats as they would've eaten them on the spot and left some evidence.  So I blocked off the door with a heavy wooden panel until Steve had time to fix the door for me.  

Two of the Buff Orpington chicks died right away, so I only have 10 left.  These 10 seem to be growing slowly and getting more active.  They are growing much slower than the assorted chicks so they are still very cute and little.  The ducks are growing like gang busters although they are still covered in soft yellow down feathers.  I can't wait til we can move them to their outdoor enclosure and build a pond for them.

We had an enjoyable Easter.  The kids had a blast hunting for hidden eggs.  We had ham and lots of trimmings for dinner.  The men hid the eggs for the kids while Buddy was banished to the outside yard.  He ate all the candy and eggs last year so we did not want that repeated!

I about wore myself out this past weekend.  All of my houseplants were in need of re-potting so I tackled that job.  Little did I know that it would take all day!  And the wind did not help at all!  We have been having major wind for weeks now.  I don't think a day goes by when the wind speed is not at least 30 mph.  The gusts are even worse, sometimes getting up to 50 mph.  We have lost many shingles off of the barn roof and there is no way Steve can do any painting!  I have not hung up my hanging plants outdoors yet as I am afraid they will get blown down.  The plants in the ground are taking a beating.  I planted tomato plants in the garden.  They are clinging to the ground!  I also planted seeds for lettuce, radishes, yellow squash and zucchini.  I am watering 2 or 3 times a day just to keep the seeds moist.  Hopefully, they will sprout in about 10 days.  Then I'll have to fight off the birds!

I also completed a set of pillows for my oldest daughter.  She painted her bedroom and wanted some new throw pillows for the bed.  I thought they turned out pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.  Maybe my new business should be "Pillows! Designed by Debbie"! LOL!