Three Lovely Ladies

My new friend Katie brought over her 3 delightful children along with their 3 delightful chickens today.  Katie and I had a thoroughly enjoyable time talking about chickens, the outdoors, animals in general and veggie gardens.  Needless to say, we have much in common.  

The kids, while initially a little sad to give up 3 of their girls, were thrilled when they saw my huge coop and the luxury the ladies will be living in.  They quickly cheered up and I assured them they were always welcome to come visit.  I was then filled in on the quirks of each of the girls.  Fran is a white leghorn and a little flighty (excuse the pun) but still definitely tame enough to pick up and pet.  Petunia is a Wyandotte and I have to laugh as Petunia has a cross beak which you will see below.  She fits right into my home for special needs animals!  I assured Katie I wasn't put off in the least by a creature who isn't quite normal!  Libby is a Plymouth Rock and all are quite beautiful in my humble if biased opinion.  I have to restrain myself from running out to check on them every half hour as I want to let them get settled.  Without further ado, meet the girls:

Libby in the background, Fran and Petunia in the foreground, avoiding the camera.

Petunia's cross beak.  She manages remarkably well in spite of it.

Fran and Petunia with their sandbox in the back.  Who knew chickens need a sand box?!

A somewhat blurry Libby who would not pose for her photo shoot.

Hook was unimpressed by the new arrivals.

Neither was Lola to my immense relief.   Neither she nor PB seemed the least bit interested in those waddling birds in the back yard.  

A view of the mountains from my office, and the unprecedented dry spell we've been having.

Hook's, well, hook, seems to be improving.  He can now stretch it out to a greater degree and often lays with it draped over Dexter.

A beautiful harvest moon at sunset last night.

Stabby, in her now familiar place at the top of the stairs in the sun.

So the farm tales will continue with the arrival of the girls.  While we are hoping for eggs, I would be just as happy having the girls for pets and watching their interactions.  My farm somehow seems a little more complete with them here.  

Finally, Katie's mom is director of what looks like a fabulous organization called Washington Outdoor Women.  They run various workshops and classes and in two weeks, I will spend a weekend at a local camp site in a tent taking classes which range from archery, to big game hunting to dutch oven cooking.  They have a plethora of classes to choose from although this year's workshop is now full.  I managed to get in just by the skin of my teeth.  I'll be taking Canine First Aid, Survival Skills (probably something I should have taken long ago!) and Kayaking.  There wasn't much left to choose from but I will definitely get in early next year.  Check out their website here.  I'll post a review once I've attended but I've heard from previous participants that they put on a great weekend.

Time to go give the girls some treats!