Adjusting

Well, Amby has been with us nearly a week now.  Balam seems to have slowly come around to accepting the little guy.  Today Mister Man found them napping together on one of the chairs.  Now that Spot has gone, Balam has taken over as senior cat and appears to be acting the part!  Amby shows proper respect, but now and then dares to chew on Balam’s tail.  Evidence of their growing relationship can be seen in this photo:

Balam is kind of like the 300 pound gorilla . . . so, one can’t blame Amby for showing a little caution.

Otherwise, Amby is a pretty good kitty.  He walked right into our home and hearts.  He loves to nap with us, he sleeps politely at the foot of the bed, and LOVES to watch TV.

We’re keeping him away from our liquor for fear that he may be too much like us!

Amby does seem to be part parrot!

Too cute!

I’ve been remiss in posting about the chickies . . . I’ll update on them soon.  They are fine and are laying eggs that are 75% full size.  Henny and Penny are getting SO big which is good.  It’s been a very cool summer which may mean we will have a cold winter.  I think the hens will keep each other warm as the temperatures dip.

Amby

So, I submitted an adoption application to the Cat House (yes, that’s what they call it).  We had intially wanted to adopt a kitten named Edward since he had perfect posture.  Alas, when we went in, he was in quarantine for some virus.  Looking around we found a little guy and his sister.  The sister had just been adopted and he was so cute! Amby is his name — why, I don’t know.  He isn’t restful but rather restless.  Here’s our new little guy:

Amby loves to sit on our shoulders . . . he’ll climb up on his own.  I now have bloody tracks all along my back from him climbing up!

Balam is non-plussed . . . well, actually he’s a little hostile.  He took over Amby’s blankie

Amby doesn’t let it go down without a fight

Amby likes to hide in the bag and then jump out!

Becoming familiar

My little guy.  He loves to nap with me and slept at the foot of the bed.  I think he’ll do!

Ode to Spot

I come home to the echos of your footsteps.  I hear your voice when I know that it is not there.  I know that you are gone but I look for you around the corners.  I miss you and know that I did not love you to my full capacity.  I shed a tear here and there for myself . . . knowing that my sorrow is mine not yours.  You have moved beyond and rest in the slumber of the ages.  I endure hoping to find you and all the others that have passed on before.

A sorrowful parting with our cat Spot

Yesterday our cat, Spot, passed through the barrier between this and the nether worlds.  Unfortunately, Spot had chronic liver malfunction due to his advanced age (15 years).  I was lucky to be Spot’s adopted mother for about 7 years — but many people loved and cared for Spot over the course of his long life.  Spot’s “real” mom, my sister Shelly and her family are surely missing their little cat.  Larisa, Tom, my parents, and many friends and neighbors all cared for this naughty whiny cat . . . he had a way of endearing himself to everyone.  Here are a few pictures of Spot:

Our last hours together, Spot and I spent snuggling in my chair.

We caught the kitties in this playful pose last week.

Tom and I miss our little weasle cat so much.

Dear Spot, Rest in Peace

We finally did it . . . ate the pullet eggs

Mister Man and I were pretty busy this weekend.  We didn’t get around to eating them until Sunday evening.  I made Huevos Rancheros topped with Mexican white cheese.  Here are all the eggs collected since July 4th:

The eggs cooking in sauce:

Huevos plated

Yesterday I made pickled vegetables, Mexican style (Escabeche)

yum.

How to lay an egg

Either Henny or Penny laid an egg this morning . .  and I was able to catch the process on video.  Nesting thru crowing took about 12 minutes.   This video is of the last few minutes; you can hear the egg drop.  Oops . . . I didn’t put enough nesting material in the box.

done

The girls have gotten quite big and should probably get even bigger now that I’ve switched them to layer feed.

Here are a couple of other photos from the garden.

Tom was going to throw out these old work boots, but felt bad to let them go.  Instead I put them in the garden and planted petunias.  The leather will degrade over time, but meanwhile we’ll ejoy the silly juxtoposition.

I planted a row of sunflowers for the winter birds.

Potatoes growing in a recycled container.  I’m hoping to get a good crop of little reds.

Mister Man and I attended Zoofest last night.  Here’s a photo with our pal Pablo

I got a new rodeo style top for the occasion!

Chickens don’t like mice

Fortuitous circumstances found me with my camera just as a mouse tried to run the gauntlet of the backyard.  The mouse did get away . . . but I’m not sure if it survived.

done

Just a quick post of yesterday’s antics on the S & M Ranchette!

Hey Baby, it’s the 4th of July

One of our girls decided to celebrate the 4th of July by laying her first egg!  Our party had just started when someone noticed there was something in the coop . . . a little brown egg.   The girls are on their way to helping us eat local, fresh food.  Mister Man and I were as proud as new grandparents!  Here are some photos from yesterday:

The Proud Grandpa

(notice the resemblance?)

The proud Grandma

The mamas

Early arrivals to the party were witness to the first egg . . . thanks guys for sharing this great moment!

Dave, Joan, and Tim

Duncan and Tom

Folks enjoying food, drink, and conversation

Our party turned out to very fun, casual, and relaxing.  Here are Joan and Kim enjoying the evening:

Entertainment was provided by Tom Martin (playing his new National), Stan Martinez (drums), Pablo Rangel (harmonica), Gunter Voelker (Guitar), and Tom Voelker (harmonica)

(left to right: Pablo, Tom, Stan, Gunter)

Phew, another great party . . . the day after has turned out to be exciting.  While Mister Man and I were enjoying our coffee outside, another egg was laid.  I took video of the process . . . .

done

Nesting

(nesting material is shredded bills, thus foiling (or should that be fowling) identity thieves!)

Hen fruit #2

done

Proud mamas

I always thought that chickens squawked when the egg was popping out . . . but we have now learned that once the egg is laid the hen jumps out of the coop and starts yelling out “hey! look what I did!”  Since we can’t tell the chickens apart we don’t know if only one is laying or both . . . but from the video you can see that both are happy about the new egg.

Pullet eggs are the first eggs laid and are small.

Comparison with store bought large eggs

The only down side to this is that I just bought a 50# bag of feed for growing chickens.  Now I’ll have to go back out to the Tractor Store to get layer  feed.   Nevertheless, Mister Man and I are so happy with our chickies – we enjoy their company and antics.  Hope y’all enjoy them virtually as well!

Why Nebraska’s state motto is “The Good Life”

Lincoln has a minor league baseball team — The Salt Dogs.  Mister Man and I venture out a couple of times each season to watch –ALWAYS on a Wednesday.  Why?  Because Wednesdays are Wiener Dog Race nights.

Not only does Nebraska have the second lowest rate of unemployment in the nation, but we have really exciting events to please the crowds!  Here’s a local newsman’s coverage of the Wiener Dog races . . . wait for it . . . race is at the end of the video.

http://media.journalstar.com/videos/?mid=M4a306a29d4b42

ps:  photo of weiner dog flagrantly copied from http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Kf8xd6skG4c/SSJEpCaodII/AAAAAAAAABo/e-5cBt45IvY/s320/dukedachshund.jpg

More Chickie-vision

Mister Man worked very hard today creating an enclosure for the chickies.  Our gals are now fully free range and seem to be enjoying their new area.  There’s a corner pile of grass clippings and leaf litter; perfect for a short nap.  The weeds are yummy, as are the bugs.  Here’s a view:

You can see Mister Man’s handywork:  a coop and the enclosure.

The cats remain intrigued albeit  nonplussed:

Today’s Chickie-vision:

done