My office Window View

I can see for the last week, a bird building her nest right by my office window. Strange thin tree she chose. We can see right through it, there's no protection. I'm feeling bad knowing the Monsoon has arrived, and that one gust of wind will surely knock it to the ground. The sad part, is seeing what is being used to build it. Garbage. There's candy wrappers, cellophane, and odd pieces plastic. Just doesn't seem normal. A nest built of trash  :(
I decided on gathering some of my chicken feathers, dog hair, pine needles from my tree, even some straw from the coop. I placed it under the bush near the tree.
Finally today she decided to go there and pick what she needed to finish her nest. She seems to like the straw.
Makes me feel good knowing there's something a little more comfortable there when she is ready to lay her fragile eggs.

Things are better....

My chicken coop setup seems to be working nicely. I placed a wet earth bed in there for them to lay in. I'm sure they are wondering what the heck is up with me since I check up on them every 15 minutes. :) and each time I show up more dirt is being thrown out of the box from all sides.
This hot weather is really taking a toll on them.

What's up with my Chickens?

I lost another one in her nest, and I just don't understand.
Another, found lethargic, near death. I'm thinking this heat is taking a toll on them. I managed to set up a misting system far enough up in their pen, just to cool off the area. Also, will be setting up a fan for proper ventilation. Anything at this point I can't keep losing them like this.
I picked the one getting weaker and brought her indoors to get her cooled off. After a while she perked up. She did manage to find her way back to the coop at night and this morning she seems fine again. Maybe just dehydrated....  :(  poor things
And today it's going to climb to 113 degrees.

First Day of Summer

The full, open sunflowers remind me that summer is here.

lesson learned here....to never plant sunflowers in my garden again, as they become too big and struggle at the end of their lives.... no room to grow! poor things

:(

It was a sad weekend.....one of my hens passed away.
What happened was shocking to me, as I've never heard of it before, she was egg-bound, meaning she couldn't pass her egg. It counld mean a number of reasons, but it breaks my heart knowing she suffered. It could have been prevented had I been there, but it's difficult to keep an eye on them 24/7.
I don't know if I am ready to bring in new hens to the flock, it's not something I want to deal with in this heat right now.
R.I.P. little chick pea.....

Little Peach

Only One tiny peach on my tree that's growing so fast  :)

Unusual Sunflower

I've never seen anything like it. A two-headed mutant sunflower.

Something New

Crispy carrots!
with a little herbed oil and sea salt, these tasty little things are a nice alternative to oven roasted fries!

Cooking Fun

I like the sounds of rattling pots and pans in my kitchen, the sizzling of fresh garlic and onions, the smell of something roasting in the oven, or just a few sprigs of fresh cut herbs. I'm always finding something new to cook up in my very favorite place to be. Combining veggies and herbs straight from my garden...it doesn't get tastier than that :)

Teeny-Weeny Eggie

Look at my little surprise I got while visiting the coop!
A little itty-bitty egg! I have never heard of this before, so I looked it up and found that this is not unusual, and one person called it a Fart Egg....another called it a Chicken misfire...lol If it had been fertilized this would have definitely been the runt of the litter!