dogs and chickens

it is starting to feel like fall here which is my favorite season. i'm loving the cooler nights, the angle of the sun and harvesting the end of my vegetable garden. the cooler weather has found me out on the cardinal greenway, a bike path made on an old railroad bed. it runs behind the house a ways and is a wonderful place to bike or walk the dogs.

i'm still amazed at how well the dogs and chickens get along together. there is still the occasional urge to chase but the chickens aren't afraid so it never lasts more than a few feet.  all the animals -- dogs and chickens -- have found the corn field and the bean field and like to explore beyond our property. i'm a nervous wreck when the dogs get into the field because i can't see them but they come right back when i shake their dog biscuit bag. smart dogs!!

the chickens are very curious and will come visit me in the yard no matter what i'm doing. they flock whenever we're breaking green beans and peck at the ends we throw on the patio. we put our pineapple and melon rinds out for them to peck on and they have quite a feeding frenzy. mom and i both have had our painted toenails pecked a few times. like i said they're very curious.

we hope to have eggs soon. some experienced chicken farmers have said we'll get eggs in august and others say not until late september. i give them a little pep talk when i'm closing them up in the barn every night. i tell them that we've been good to them for all these months and now it's time for them to be good to us. then i close with "think eggs, girls, think eggs"! last night when i went into the shed one of the hens was sitting in the nesting box. fingers crossed that that is a good sign!

watching the chickens is very relaxing. they seem to have their own ebb and flow of moving around slowly pecking for insects and then all of a sudden they will all take off running across the yard. they are definitely a flock and huddle closely together most of the time.

for some reason they are attracted to this plant on a stump in the yard. i call it playing queen of the hill. 

and so goes my life on the farm. my next post i'll give a report on the overwhelming veggie garden harvest. life is good my friends. life is good.