More chicks

One of our black Australopes decided to set late in the season and on Sept. 10 and 11 four more chicks hatched. Unfortunately, the black chick drowned in the black turkey water tub that I had put out for the turkeys while we were in Texas. (I took that tub away, needless to say.)  I hate to loose any of my feathered friends, but, alas, that is how farm life is sometimes. I always like to have a few extra because there is the chance of  loosing a few to disease, drowning, heat, or predators.

Fancy Girl

Sunday we pick up 5 tons of hay for the horses this winter. We are hoping to get it under cover before it rains. It is supposed to get cloudy and cooler next week. We've been having delightful fall weather. Fancy and the other two girls get their hooves trimmed on Thursday. John is fencing in a corral between the two sheds for winter cover for them. Then we might be able to work on their training a bit.  And the sky really is that blue a lot of the time.

The Turks

Those boys are getting pretty big and all they do is stand around and do the fan dance. Very curious birds. They like to be where we are.  I wonder what that means.

Little Ducks find new home

I put up a flier at the Big R last Friday to find new homes for the six black Indian Runner ducklings that are now 8 weeks old. They are almost as big as Rhett and Scarlett who are on the right in the photo. The problem with everyone being black is that it is hard to tell them apart. We had a call Tuesday night on them and Wednesday a nice couple came and picked all six of the duckies up. They now have a new home and it is a lot quieter in the farm yard. We are down to three ducks for the winter. Much more manageable.

Texas Friends

John and I went to visit our good friends Ralph and Marlis at their place in Cat Spring, Texas. We spent a wonderful week visiting and sightseeing with them. They have two cat fish ponds and Ralph and John tried their luck but the fish weren't biting. They did catch a branch though.  We spent a day in San Antonio and visited the Alamo and had lunch at a Mexican restaurant along the River Walk. It was a little hot but we kept cool in the shade. The Alamo is right in the middle of downtown San Antonio which is a bit of a shock.  Only the mission and the long barracks survive but they are well taken care of by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.

Blue Bell Ice Cream

We took a tour of the Blue Bell Creameries which features yummy samples after the tour. We got ice cream hats to wear. Blue Bell is a regional ice cream whose Homemade Vanilla won best vanilla ice cream in the U.S. recently. The tanks in the last photo are full of ice cream ingredients like sugar syrup and chocolate. The tour was very interesting. Now we know how to make factory ice cream is made. And Blue Bell still sells half gallons!

Antique Rose Emporium

We visited the Antique Rose Emporium not far from where Ralph and Marlis live. They had never been, and Marlis loaded up on lovely roses and shrubs for their place.  It was beautifully landscaped, the flowers looked super healthy, and you wanted to buy one of everything. John's standing by a bottle tree --  something to do with your pretty, discarded bottles. Marlis and I are wearing BFF raffia hats we bought there.

Meagan's Baby Shower

While we were in Texas, Ralph and Marlis' son had a baby shower for  his daughter, Meagan. She's expecting a girl in November. These are photos from the shower. The three ladies are the "Posey Girls", Marlis, her mother and sister, Candy. 

Harney County Fair and Rodeo

A few scenes from the fair:  cowgirl wannabees, the rides, a couple of buckaroos, the sheep that didn't want a bath, the crowd, the roping event. It was hot and always great fun.