fair fair fair

my favorite part of the fair is always the animals...always...

that and the elephant ears or funnel cakes and the cotton candy...

the rides mostly terrify me...

(just fair rides not always amusement park rides)

mainly because they get moved around and around and around...

which means taken apart and put back together...

a lot.

hell, we lose a nut or a bolt or a screw 

every time we take something apart to move...

go ahead and tell me that carnivals don't do the same thing.

well, don't bother telling me...it will do no good...

i'll never believe you.

you have as much chance of convincing me of that 

as you have of convincing me 

that some serial killer isn't hiding underneath

the make up of damn near every clown.

(and if it's not a serial killer...it's some demented individual)

speaking of which...yes, there is a clown at the fair...

no, i didn't see him...

matt & munki steered me all around him...bless them.

munki & i will be back at the fair tomorrow and friday for more 4H stuff...

munki starts school next week (the 28th)...

and fergus is almost big enough to be let out of his bedroom 

on a full time basis...

i won't know what to do.

hope everything is loverly in your part of the world...

xox.

p.s. we did let munki take one ride on the ferris wheel...

it was relatively small...

and yes, matt & i both thought...

we can rescue her easily enough if something goes wrong...

see, i was serious.

etta's first egg

look at that cute little thing!

other than a couple of tiny bumps...even the speckled area is completely smooth.

this one is tinier than ethel's eggs and much more of an olive color.

such a great first egg.

this is so exciting. 

i thought etta was at least a few days away from laying...

surprise!

fred is the last easter egger we're waiting on...

and i think she may take her time.

ruby (who is only 16 weeks old & shouldn't be ready)

is all red and large combed already...

while fred is just enjoying her tiny pea comb with a hint of pink...

should be interesting to see what happens.

~~~

we've had a busy few days around here...

this is the first day i even got on the computer since my last blog post.

munki did incredibly well at her 4H judging!

she relaxed after the first couple of minutes.

her robot performed flawlessly & she was giddy!

this pictures makes my heart want to burst with pride.

she was accepted to the state fair, but due to some poor planning

on the part of the new robotics program & the final decision being hers...

she won't be going.

in her words...

"i'm excited i was chosen, but this is my first year

& i think that may be a bit too much, momma...

i think it sounds overwhelming."

oh, my girl.

so...perhaps next year...

though it sounds like she wants to take archery next year...

we'll see what happens between now & then.

have a wonderful rest of your weekend...

xox.

henrietta

this is henrietta...

though we've pretty much only called her henry since she was a few days old.

she was the first chick to get a name.

from the time she was about 2 weeks old, she was always the first to come see me.

as she gets older, she's still the first one to get on my shoulder or in my lap.

she loves to be held and she's definitely the gentler of our 2 reds.

she has this little cooing song she sings whenever i come near her.

i've been told it's kind of a chicken's version of purring.

that makes me grin, so if it means something else, i don't want to know.

she ranks either 2 or 3 in the pecking order 

and i think it's only because she was here before our 3 easter eggers...

and they're just all very passive.

we have an awesome little flock of chickens and i adore them.

a friend of mine has labeled them the brady brunch.

see what she did there? she's funny.

so there they are...all 6 chickens.

don't think you're completely off the hook...i'm sure i'll still talk about them...

but that wraps up the introductions.

have a wonderful wednesday!

xox.

winifred

this is winifred.

i started calling her fred and then laughed because of fred & ethel...

(that either makes me old or cool depending on who you talk to)

then i started calling her winnie, which munki loves.

so...we're still back & forth on her nickname.

whatever we call her, she's hilarious.

she hangs out right in the middle of the pecking order.

which i think is where i'd want to be, if i were a chicken.

she's like a ninja.

she doesn't challenge maggie & she doesn't pick on ethel.

(the top & the bottom of the pecking order, just in case you haven't kept up)

so, when others challenge maggie...she swoops in and gets treats 

then leaves with the booty before anyone else even notices.

she doesn't pick on ethel & rarely gets picked on.

that, my friends, is where you want to be in chicken land.

she's very curious...

and comical...

& though i shouldn't post 2 pictures of her

(out of fairness to the other girls)

i have to because you NEED to see this picture.

it completely explains the bearded lady thing.

so...if you were having a crappy tuesday...

now you can't...because that right there is funny.

have a splendid tuesday!

xox.

ruby

this is ruby.

not very original, but she was named so because she's red...

and her name fit with our old lady-ish chicken naming theme.

poor ruby was in & out of the rooster box for awhile.

there are days when i still fear i'll wake up and find her 

with a huge comb and hear a cockledoodledoo.

she's been one of the most outgoing since she was a chick.

she'll sit with you and coo and make all sorts of cute noises.

she's very nosy and is always looking at my camera with one eye, 

or jumping up and pecking at the lens.

(those are not such great pictures =])

have a fabulous friday!

xox.

ethel

this is ethel.

ethel is one of our three easter eggers.

she's 15 weeks old.
she makes the sweetest cooing noises.

she's the most shy of everyone & will most likely be at the bottom of the pecking order.

she's just starting to take treats from my hand...

she may never be a lap chicken, but she's coming around.

ethel has beautiful colors.

i have not yet been able to capture them properly on my camera.

her lavender/blue/grey color reminds me of when my grammie would get her hair done.

my grammie's name was ethel.

i think she would have found it incredibly hilarious that i named a chicken after her.

my grammie would never have been at the bottom of any pecking order...

so, ethel the chicken may not stay at the bottom if she's anything like her namesake.

have a wonderful thursday!

xox.

maggie

after posting a 'just etta' post...i felt the need to include everyone else.
(i think i'll write about one chicken each day)

so...this is maggie.

maggie is a barred plymouth rock.

she's almost 11 weeks old.

maggie is the boss. 

undeniably.

and if you question it, (& you're a chicken) she'll let you know.

she's pretty sweet...if you're not feathered.

she was almost solid black as a baby and for some reason,

she reminded me of a magpie. so we named her maggie.
and oddly enough, she LOVES shiny things...
particularly my wedding band.
i took almost 50 pictures of maggie yesterday 

and finally got one that wasn't blurry.

she is in constant motion.

it's hard work being the boss of everyone, apparently.

have a lovely wednesday!

xox.

miss etta

i am posting this photo mostly for my friend, sally.

for the rest of you...

this is etta. 

(named after the one & only etta james)

she's an ameraucana cross or an easter egger.

she is 15 weeks old today.
sometimes, i'm a wee bit sad that we didn't have the 3 easter eggers
from the time they were day olds...
but i'm awfully happy that we have them now.

etta's super sweet, a bit shy and incredibly gorgeous.

i can't wait to see the color of her eggs.

have a great tuesday!

xox.