Earless Bunnies

I have some fantastic friends, some that advise me, others that guide me and some that well, just make  me laugh. Miss H is one of  those friends, she is always there to bring a smile, and when she commented on a photo the other day I literally Laughed out Loud!

We were given Guinea pigs, not for any reason other than an unwanted gift, so I put a photo up of the pair, and Miss H who is a little bit of a stalker on FB was there in a second. Her first comment was "Are they bunnies? where have their ears gone????" Now I learnt a long time ago, the number of question marks increases when she is stressed, and the fact that she had used four meant she was in a panic.

She then messaged me, and asked who cut the bunnies ears off, now I would love to say that she was joking, but knowing Miss H she meant every word. At this point I realised that she had no idea they were Guinea Pigs! Which I then pointed out, whilst laughing incredibly loudly.  She honestly thought they were earless bunnies!

It seems Miss H had never seen a Guinea Pig, and had presumed that someone had taken a pair of scissors to an unexpecting bunny...why would you want bunny ears? So, thank you Miss H for brightening my day, making me laugh, and yes you are special but not in a window licking sunshine bus way! The moment I have a case of earless bunnies I will let you know.....and remember we all love you!

10 Chickens and a Rooster!

My daughter has been referred to for many years as Jack....because like Jack and the beanstalk she goes out for one thing and returns with something completely different. I asked her to pick up some chickens the other day, 10 chickens! I thought this was self explanatory, 10 chickens, gave the precise money, and off she went, only to return with 10 chickens and a rooster!

How the hell did she manage that.....I have no idea, apparently she simply asked the chicken man for the rooster as she wanted another one! Errrr why was my first question...rooster do nada, oh apart from crow all day, and eat chicken food. So we now have 4 roosters who all hate one another, and argue over the few remaining chickens that we have!

At least if she is going to return with extra things can they be useful......no magic beans required!

That time of Year Again!

Molting time is a headache, the chickens have as many feathers as they have eggs, which is the grand sun of None! Although I have had chickens for a few years now, I always forget about molting until it is slapping me in the face. Therefore, I do not notice until there are no eggs, and the chickens look like they are ready to go in the oven.

This is also the time of year when it is considered the best time to "get rid" of the non laying chickens. Now this is where I stumble, due to the fact that I rescued many of these birds from the battery farm, how do I then go on to wring their necks. Well this year the process was removed from my hands, they just seemed to pop their clogs all by their selves.

Every day I have gone out and stepped over dead chickens as I have walked in to the chicken area, to the point it begun to worry me. I made a call to the chicken man and expressed my concerns, now he thinks I am crazy at the best of times, and questions everything I do. So the latest call made him laugh as usual, as he explained this was normal, nature playing its part and not allowing the weaker chickens to survive the harsh autumn molt.

So, not only do we have no feathers, no eggs, but at this rate we will have no bloody chickens either! I suppose as usual it is natures way of dealing with things...... and my task to clean up feathers for weeks and weeks before the new batch of chickens arrive.

The End is in Sight

When we moved in to the goat shed in the middle of the field, me being me believed that it would be built and finished in weeks. As the weeks turned into months, I begun to realise that hubby was yet again right! Building your house, is a lot like peeling an onion, hurts all the way through, brings tears to your eyes, but the end result is satisfying.

We finally placed the last blocks, laid the last floor, and put the last piece of roof on the building, don't get me wrong it is far from finished, but the end in in sight. We will be water tight before winter, and I finally have somewhere to sit and watch TV. For many people this doesn't seem like a huge deal, but for us, the long build has been an achievement.

There are many things left to do, and a huge amount of tidying, painting and skimming, but we are one whole building, and this feels brilliant. So, sorry for the lack of blogging, exhaustion has taken over, and my desire to sit in front of my PC was limited. However, things are calming down now.....who am I kidding!!!!

Monster Killer Bugs

Now, alongside the dark and failure I am slightly scared of bugs, not little bugs but big bugs that have the capability of killing you and disposing of the body. In Fact spiders are my weakness, and I cannot go near them, not even on the TV. Therefore, when I found a spider the size of a small child the other day there was only one thing for it, yes I stood and screamed.

Moving some stuff the other day I discovered that dust can penetrate everything and a rug that I wanted was filthy. As I went to pick up the rug, I noticed the creature, I cannot refer to it as a bug as it was huge, with giant legs, big eyes, and a menacing stare. So, I did what any 6ft grown woman would do, stood rooted to the spot hyperventilating and screaming.

Now when I say I am scared, I am scared, I have no logical reason for this fear, as often I can be heard saying to my kids don't be silly you are huge in comparison to that bug. Yet when it is me, and a giant spider is stood staring at me, I cannot do anything up scream. At this point hubby knows he needs to assist, and even the kids know there must be a spider in the vicinity.

So, everyone rushed in, and instead of quickly removing the bug as I hoped they would, they decided that a full blown conversation was needed regarding the size of the spider. No, I did not need to hear it was huge, No I did not need to wait for the camera to be grabbed, and No i did not want to wait whilst they debated what breed it was.

Finally the spider was debated, photographed and removed, and I could begin to breathe again like a normal human being. Just as I was returning to some form of sanity, I lifted the rug, and hubby muttered, "oh look is that another one" At this point I left the room, I didn't look back and I didn't wait to see if he was joking, I kept walking far, far away from the killer spiders.

Magic has Friends

Magic is a large creature, therefore, you would think that any friends he made would also be large, however, he has decided that his new best friend will be a chicken. Yes, a small, stupid chicken has moved in to his stable. Now this was strange enough , but then she decided to hatch chicks, and moved those in there as well.

Now, Magic is not delicate, careful or considerate, however, he does not mind the chicks being in there, in fact he seems to enjoy the company. Although he is careful around the chicks, one was victim to his size, but other than that the other eight seem to be thriving. They come and go, sleep in his bedding, and generally spend most of their day running around his feet.

So, who needs expensive horses to keep your horse company, simply get one broody hen, and you have an instant playground full of friends!

Ferrets!

Whilst driving yesterday I saw something that made me stop the car in the middle of the high street. Yes you guessed it it was an animal, however, not one that I expected to be on a lead going across the road. My husband is always claiming I have the attention span of a gnat when I am in the car and get distracted easily.

However, in my defence yesterday, there was a ferret on a lead walking across the road! Now, I love ferrets, always have done and had them when I was a child, yeah weird I know my friends had hamsters, I had ferrets. This should have been a sign of things to come.

Anyway driving up the main high street, stopped at crossing and thee it was with an elderly lady casually walking on the lead. At this point I begun to hit my husbands leg, come on ladies we all do this when we want their full attention. "look, look, its a ferret" I screeched in a high pitch. 

At this point he calmly looked at me and said "NO, You are NOT getting a ferret" my reply was......"yeah, whatever, you said that about the goats!" This did not go down well......when will I learn to shut my mouth and sneak the animals in, not pre warn him they will arrive at some point in the future. 

So, off trundled the little ferret, who had obviously done this trip many times before, and I begun to plan how I would get a ferret in the property without my ever suffering husband knowing!