Our first egg!

Today, one of our chickens started laying!

I was so excited when I opened the nesting box, I called the family over to celebrate. It was such a tiny little thing... 

I took it right in, while still warm from the chicken, and scrambled it up... only a few bites, but oh so good.  

Our chickens

3 years ago, when we lived in the Texas panhandle, we had 4 chickens. We named them after DoctorWho  companions... Rose, Martha, Donna and Amelia. We loved those birds. They were our ladies.  

When we moved to San Antonio, we gave them to a long time friend who had been wanting chickens... but we have missed them ever since.  To be honest, having chickens again was one of the main reasons we wanted to look for a place outside of the city. 

When we officially moved in last Friday, I had a (make shift) coop waiting for us on our porch, and an appointment to pick up 3, twenty week old pullets.

Meet our 3 fates... Cleo, Dionne, and Sylvia.

Today we just extended their run to a huge area instead of the tiny run that the amazon coop had...  maybe in another week or so, I will feel confident enough to let them out to free range a little bit. In the meantime, we spoil them.

We are hoping to start getting eggs soon!

A little rain

Not five minutes after I finished planting our veggies, the sky opened up and started pouring. It was like God said "you are a terrible gardener... here, let me help you!" 

This is our first thunderstorm at the new house.  I am enjoying listening to it on the metal roof...

The kids are excited to ha e an excuse to stop being outside and just come in and watch movies...

Our kitchen isn't fully set up yet, but while I was at the store earlier, I bought some Nestles chocolate chip cookie dough... 

I think rain calls for cookies... even if they aren't made from scratch.

A late start

Since we just moved into the land, I am getting a bit of a late start on gardening. One of these days I will use the potting shed to start seeds and have an amazing garden that will supply us with fresh food. This year though... I had to buy starter plants from Lowes and use empty flower beds that are already here...  it is shameful.

Since it is an overcast day, I decided today would be a good day to plant. So I got out there and started digging holes for my little Lowes garden. I got in about 4 yellow squash plants before I hit a fire ant mound. I got covered.  Luckily I only got a few bites. I thought I would try pouring vinegar on the mound since I am growing food in the area.  I think it just made them angry. 

After all the screaming and stomping and vinegar and angry ants, I took a break... drank some water and started planting again.

I got 5 tomato plants, 6 yellow squash, 5 zucchini, 4 cucumber, 6 ichabod eggplant, 4 okra, 6 jalapeño peppers, 6 sweet bell peppers and 1 big bertha pepper into the ground.  I still have mint to plant next to the back door, but that can come later... 

I have always had a black thumb... but I am hoping I left that behind in the city.  

While digging the okra holes, this little guy decided to pop out and say hello...

Lucy is back!

While setting on porch swing, I see Fern dart out to the MBA I corner of the property... she is bounding.

I hear Fern bark... and then in the distance... I hear a lone Lucy bark. I dropped everything and went running...

Lucy had been trapped in the waist deep grass at the back of the land. If she hadn't of barked, we never would have had her back!

Fern is a hero... and Lucy is safe.

Our Lucy girl is missing...

This morning we woke up late. It was about 8:10 before my daughter opened up the chicken coop and I threw on some clothes to go about making sure the ducks, bunny and chickens had food.

As I was walking toward the coop, I saw Lucy, our 13 year old, blind and deaf doxie, walking toward the potting shed. I didn't think anything about it... she had been inside all night and she likes to hang out by the fig tree on the side of the shed. It is just a few yards from the house and she never ventures far.

I feed the critters, pour the kiddos some fruit loops and a neighbor showed up to talk for a few minutes... i threw a makeshift cover over the duckling run and go to check on Lucy, who usually y this time has come back to the porch and is waiting by the door to continue her nap inside. I wasn't gone for 30 minutes...

Lucy has vanished... not a trace of our little doxie girl. I have walked all 12 acres of our property a couple of times and still no Lucy.  I am so sad.  

I keep thinking that something got her... that a coyote grabbed her or maybe a hawk took her out... and that makes me even more sad... I love our Lulubelle... I have hope that she will just show up... or that a neighbor will find her and give me a call (she has recent tags on)... 

Today is a sad day.

Four legged visitors

With the house in San Antonio now being on the market, we decided to move us and the bare necessities to our 12 happy acres.  On our first day here, 2 random dogs just show up and start sleeping on the porch.

I don't mind. I love all animals.... but surely these dogs belong to someone! The reddish one is a Mama and I am assuming by looking at the teeth that the blackish one is her son...

I got on Facebook and asked a couple of neighbors that I have been in contact with and they informed me that the belonged to someone a few streets over who neglects them and the Mama dog frequently cannot find her way home...  since we had storms last night, I closed them in my sunroom, gave them food and water, and let my dogs, Fern and Lucy, have a slumber party.  

The more the merrier!!