Watkins Farm

Car won't start?

2011-12-03T11:49:00.001-05:00

I have a car with one of those handy-dandy "push-button start" thingumajigs, which is real neat. It has a fob which I keep in my purse. When I approach the car, it senses this fob and illuminates the side lights and unlocks the door when I touch the handle. When I get in, I put my foot on the brake and push the button and it starts right up. When I arrive at my destination, I push the button to turn it off, and when I get out of the car, I hold the door handle and it magically locks all by itself. In my mind, by using this fob, I appear to be really cool and sophisticated...

What happens when the battery dies in this fob? I found out the other morning on my way to work.

For the past couple of months, when I'd get to work in the morning and turn off the car, a warning message would show up on the dash that said "KEY LOW BATTERY." So I thought, well, I need to replace that battery one of these days...then I'd get out and go to work and not think about it again until the next morning, when I'd tell myself, again, Well, I need to replace that battery one of these days.

I stopped at a gas station Tuesday morning to get some gas on the way in to work and when I got back in to start the car, I pressed the button and the dash warning said "KEY NOT DETECTED." No start. No nothing. My heart started pounding. Well, I thought, This fob has a key tucked into it. I'll just pull that out...
Well, it does have an actual key in it. The thing is, there's no place to put it in the car. That key is there to unlock the door! Shoot! It was 6:10 and I'm sitting in Laurens, due in Anderson at 7:00. Oh God. I thought about calling Kip. I thought then, Well, what's he going to do? Come pick me up and take me to work? Then what? Come get me later? No, no, no, that won't work....I rambled through my purse and found my SMART PHONE! Fortunately, this was ONE morning that I remembered to bring it~~many mornings, I run out of the house and leave it sitting in the kitchen....BRAINS! Come on, Google....my hands were shaking, people at the gas station were looking at me, wondering why I wasn't moving....

"Start Lexus key fob dead"...I stumbled upon a forum and in the fine, fine print, there's a man who posted how to get out of this predicament.

"Place the fob next to the start button. The light will turn green. Start your vehicle."

It worked. IT WORKED! Turns out, the battery is there to transmit signal from this chip in the fob to the starter mechanism. The chip itself requires no battery. Oh, sweet baby Jesus...Panic attack diffused,
I was, once again, on my way to work, albeit a few minutes late. And here I'd been considering terminating my internet capabilities on my phone.

Hatching in Winter

2011-12-03T11:18:00.000-05:00

My one female African Goose has been laying eggs for a couple of months now. She's laid over 15 eggs. The problem with this is that it's cold out and she's not sitting on them. She's hollowed out a nice nest and all, but she apparently doesn't know what to do with all of these eggs. I waited and waited for her to figure it out until, finally, something started getting them. One day I had 13 eggs, then there were 10, then she'd lay another one, and the next day I'd find shells and 7 or 8 eggs. I took up two of her most recently laid eggs and put them in my incubator to see if they were even fertile. These geese are only 7 months old and it's unusual for them to start laying so soon, let alone have viable eggs.

A week later, I candled the eggs and found that they had little goose embryos in them!

I checked the eggs again on Tuesday, the 29th of November, and found that one had pipped the shell and was squeaking at me. The baby hatched out Wednesday morning sometime. When I got home from work, this is what I found:

Well, I didn't find him on a paper towel in a box, but you know what I mean...

He's still drying off from being in the humid incubator.

I put one of Sunshine's doggie toys in with him so he wouldn't be so lonesome.

He's so smart already. He took to that toy and I've found him snuggled up under a wing, sleeping.

Today, he's three days old. I hold him up against my neck and he wiggles around until he's found a perfect spot to sleep. I took him to the goose pen yesterday and showed him to his mother. She was interested in him, but I was afraid to get him too close. I know that if baby chicks are given to a hen who hasn't hatched them herself, she'll kill them, and I don't know about geese. I'm going to keep him here and hopefully integrate him into the flock when he can fend for himself in the spring.

Here he is this morning:

I bathed him in the laundry sink yesterday and put him back under the warming light to fluff out.

Very sweet!

The newest addition from the woodshop

2011-11-27T20:03:00.000-05:00

This piece took approximately 4 weeks to put together. It's a gorgeous walnut sideboard made by my terrifically talented husband.

It's so shiny, I kept getting glare from the sun coming in the window. I wasn't using a flash. Left: Detail of the walnut veneer.

Bell-flower inlays, all done by hand.

This is a Hepplewhite sideboard.

I can't wait to see what's coming next from the woodshop!

Woodworking around the house (part II)

2011-11-07T17:23:00.002-05:00

Most of the tables in our house were built by Kip. As well as the bedroom furniture, my computer desk, end-tables, side tables, and sideboards. He's working on another Hepplewhite style sideboard now. I'll post pictures of it when it makes its debut in the house...

This is a high-boy in Kip's office. Gift wrap is stored here. :)

Details on the high-boy, all done by hand.

This is the ball and claw foot on one of the chairs in the foyer. I am amazed at the skill he has. He is self-taught.

This is his chair at the kitchen table. He even wove the seat.

This is the table that sits next to my chair near the fireplace in the kitchen. He also made the box that sits on top. It's a Mancala game.

Here's the Mancala he made for my son Nicholas, the master champion of Mancala...It's made of walnut.

A lovely mahogany table behind my chair. I keep magazines and a candy dish on top.

The top of the table.

A cupboard. As you can see, I use it to store just about everything.

Side-view of the cupboard:

Detail of the cupboard:

Below is our kitchen table. He also made both end chairs.

This is the mantle in our den. Beautiful work. We have 4 fireplaces.

This is the foyer. He built everything in it, including the mirror frame and stair rail.

This is the mantle in Kip's office.

A cabinet in our dining room...

A corner cabinet in the same dining room:

The dining room fireplace mantle. All carved by hand.

My dresser. He also made the jewelry box on top, and the heart-shaped box on the right side.

Detail of the heart-shaped box. He gave that to me for Valentine's one year. I asked him why he didn't engrave a message. He said, "Isn't it evident what it means?"

I'll post some more in a day or two. There are many other pieces, but I have to go make dinner now. :)

The Merits of Woodworking

2011-11-07T16:48:00.002-05:00

For many years now, my husband has been building furniture in his "spare time." I do not know how much of this "spare time" he had while maintaining a practice as a general surgeon for thirty years (one of only 3 and, at times, 2 in the whole county), but the results are beautiful nonetheless. There was a hiatus for a while, during which he trained our draft horses, kept our garden, grew gorgeous flowers in many flower-beds around the house, built a cabin, worked on patients in surgery and in his office, and completed many other tasks which are evident on this blog. Since his retirement last August (2010), he has had a little more time for building furniture again. Here are just a few of the items that make our home unique...

This is the secretary that sits in our foyer...

It took him about 6 months to complete.

Some of the detail work:

The chair below, he made sometime back. It is absolutely beautiful. Last month, he completed it's twin,

and here is the match to make a pair.

What's so special about these chickens?

2011-10-29T14:23:00.001-04:00

Many months ago I purchased some eggs from an ad I saw on Craigslist. I'd been looking for some Black Copper Marans chickens. They're an old French breed and the chickens themselves are very expensive. Some websites offer a pair for upwards of $300, which I found a little hard to swallow. The hens lay dark, chocolate colored eggs, a very exciting prospect for me. The Americaunas I have lay blue, green, and sometimes pink eggs. That just wasn't enough!
I hatched 8 eggs from the 12 I purchased. Not too bad a hatch rate. The shells are harder than average eggshells and some of the chicks died while trying to get out. Unfortunately, I was away at work while some of the hatching was going on, and I couldn't assist them. Anyway, 5 of them were roosters. I ended up with 1 hen out of the bunch. A couple of weekends ago, I traded out 5 roosters and gained another hen and a better stock rooster.
This morning, I was rambling around in the chicken palace and thought I'd just take a peek into the nest boxes where the Marans live....

Four gorgeous eggs! I was not expecting them to lay this year!

For color comparison. Top left is a cream colored egg from a mixed-breed hen, top right is a pale-blue Americauna egg.

The Marans egg coloring is a result of color pigments being deposited onto the shell before it is laid. The younger the hen, the darker the coloring. The bottom right egg is just about perfect, although I'm quite pleased with all four of them. I think they're beautiful!!

Goose Egg

2011-09-19T16:53:00.000-04:00

There is a lot to report here from the farm. A little over a week ago, we welcomed Ethan, Kip's second grandchild and first grandson, to the world! His eldest daughter, Anna, Olivia and Ethan's mom, is doing well. Olivia is a big sister!
Today when I got home from work, I found this little blessing in the goose pen!

I don't know how the Mother Goose will do, but hopefully she'll sit on some eggs and we'll have a few more African Geese on the farm!

Knights Templar church outside of Pougnadoresse

2011-08-20T17:38:00.001-04:00

The Knights were active between the 10th and 14th centuries in France. This church is still standing and presently being restored. Lack of funding makes the project particularly slow.

Graffiti from troops in 1940.

The left side of the wall has been rebuilt. Unfortunately, there are present-day graffiti artists who can't seem to resist painting "Steve + Lori=4-ever" and things like that on the walls outside.

Villages around Uzes

2011-08-20T17:21:00.002-04:00

The first week in Pougnadoresse was hot. 90 degree weather. The humidity was low so it wasn't too bad, but we were surprised it was so warm. It had been in the 70's in Paris. The house has a washing machine, but no dryer so the weather made for very rapid clothes drying by hanging things on the clothes line out front.
After the first week, Bill and Kathy joined us. We set out one Saturday morning for the market in Uzes. There were probably 100 vendors there, selling everything from sausages and spices to children's toys and goodies. French fabrics and fresh seafood from the Mediterranean Sea. It was fabulous.

Fresh spices, some pure and others mixed for application on meat or seafood, etc.

Sausages and rotisserie meats. Prices in Euro, of course.

Big bell pepper next to Kip's head for comparison! :)

Fanny packs were a scourge on the populous...

The pralines were super yummy. If you wanted a pocket-knife to go with your pralines, they were on the board behind the lady to her left.

Pougnadoresse, France

2011-08-14T15:09:00.002-04:00

Pougnadoresse (POON-ya-dor-ESS), France. Pop. 190. Approximately 15 minutes from Uzes, France. We stayed at a house called Le Presbytere, owned by Bill & Kathy McCullough, our friends who live in Kingstree, SC. Bill is an artist whom I've mentioned several times on the blog.
The village is small and ancient. Homes are built literally out of the rocks in the earth. The back wall of the house is stone.
When we all arrived, we settled in, had some wine from the cave and relaxed.

Anthony emerges from the studio.

"You see why I wanted to come here...." Kip says.

View from the kitchen window.

Looking out the bathroom window.

Kip's favorite sitting spot. He could reach up and pull figs from the tree.

The house is available for rentals. Google "le Presbytere, Pougnadoresse" for results.

"Lazy Summer"

2011-08-14T15:00:00.001-04:00

First update in months. Let me start by saying I've been anything but lazy. I titled the entry as such because I'd love to have the time to be lazy! Kip and I started our summer by taking a 3 week trip to France with my two guys. It took almost a year of planning: monitoring the airlines, looking for an ideal price, getting animal-sitters lined up, and coordinating our dates with our hosts, the McCulloughs, who have an incredibly busy schedule and farm of their own.
I thought I'd missed our airline ticket opportunity last November when prices took a dive and then sky-rocketed. I watched the prices grow from $850 to $1500, kicking myself for not purchasing them earlier. I lucked out with a price alert on Memorial Weekend. My new phone texted me that prices were down to $800 apiece. Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to go ahead and purchase because the next day, they were back up to $1300. Next time we travel to Europe, I think we'll skip the busiest time of year.

View from hotel window in Montparnasse region, Paris.

View from atop Eiffel Tower.

Anthony & Nicholas on the first level of the Eiffel.

Anthony surveys the city below from nearly 1000 feet.

Paris was pretty, as far as cities go. It's a very busy metropolitan area. Everyone smokes everywhere, and prices were astronomical. No kidding. The value of our American dollar was pitiful. One dollar got us 60 euro cents. At sidewalk cafes, they asked 6 Euro for an 8 ounce Coke. 10 Euro for a 12 ounce beer. Ridiculous. I was glad to get out of Paris on our third day. We rode the TGV (Europe's high-speed rail system) down to Avignon, which was beautiful, and somewhat less expensive. Traveling at over 190 miles per hour, we arrived in 2 hours 45 minutes.
Our journey really began when I got on the Autoroute in a small Peugeot and had to navigate round-abouts and unfamiliar roadways at unconventional speeds whilst trying to convert kilometers per hour to miles per hour in my head with kids in the back thinking I was really driving 90 miles per hour when I was only going 53.....We were relieved to arrive at our destination for the next 3 weeks: Pougnadoresse, Bill and Kathy's village, which became our second home...

More chickens? Well...yes.

2011-04-30T08:57:00.002-04:00

Four weeks ago, I purchased some Black Copper Marans chicken eggs from a very nice lady up in Travelers Rest. Having chickens here at the farm has many benefits. Any left-overs from meals go to the chickens (they will eat just about ANYTHING), the bug population in the chicken yard is kept at a minimum level, which helps in the adjoining blueberry garden and around the fruit trees, and of course, the eggs are fabulous.
Black Copper Marans chickens lay very dark brown eggs. They're the color of chocolate. Presently, I have chickens which lay green, tan, and sometimes very light blue eggs. I thought having some gorgeous dark brown eggs would be a nice addition.
Three weeks of anticipation, watching the dozen Marans eggs, produced 8 pretty little chicks. I also hatched a few bantams. They're the yellow babies in the picture below.

Hatched Easter Sunday

Springtime

2011-04-30T08:43:00.001-04:00

The geese are 5 weeks old now and, as I expected, they've grown enormous. I have moved them to an empty pen in the chicken yard where they have day-time grazing and night-time shelter. Most of their diet is greens now. They still miss living in the warm confines of their "porch-pen" though. They used to follow me around to the front of the house every evening where I'd pick them up and put them inside for the night. Now, if they see me in the evening, they all huddle at the gate and call for me to let them out. Instead, I go in and sit with them inside the coop where they'll settle into the hay and mumble around a bit until it gets too dark for them to see. I can sort of sneak away and leave them then...

African Geese come to live at the farm

2011-03-26T20:20:00.001-04:00

We went to the feed store last week, looking for some seeds to plant in the garden. Along with several packets of seed, I came home with four, week-old African Geese. These photos were taken the day I brought them home.

They've already grown to twice this size in less than a week! I've read that out of all the animals, goslings are ranked highest in their imprintability, meaning, they think I'm their mother! They do what I do (I pick grass, they pick grass. I play in water, they jump into it), they follow me everywhere, and they recognize my voice. When I speak to them, they calm down and listen. It's really amazing.

These pictures were taken Thursday, two days ago (this last one) the two upper, red-colored ones were taken today. They're in a brooder with a red heat lamp in it. The red light allows them to sleep more easily than a white light, which is harder on the eyes.
It's been raining today, but I took them out for about 10 minutes and let them splash in a puddle and eat some nice, wet clover. Then I changed their bedding and put them back to dry out and take a nap. They're going to be BIG birds before long...

These are grown African Geese. Picture from the internet.

Busted!

2011-03-26T20:07:00.001-04:00

I got home from work one day and felt a distinct breeze coming from somewhere in the house. Recently, my husband had installed some weather stripping around our doors, and instead of taking down the old stuff and replacing it, the new just went on top of the old, so the doors wouldn't shut tightly without significant effort. As I rounded the corner to the kitchen, I found the back door wide open. Hmmm...Who knows how long it had been open, but it was long enough for some rogue birds to sneak in and take up positions in the warmest spots in the kitchen.

"Ooops! Didn't know you'd be home so early!"

"I was just enjoying some afternoon sun...Really!"

"D'Oh!"

He seemed to have some sense about it and headed toward the open door...

These two passed the door and went down the hall to another exit.

The last lady took off in a hurry!

"Next time, we need to be out by 4:00. I told you we'd get caught!"

No "Snow Days" here!

2011-01-16T10:26:00.001-05:00

A week ago, about 6 inches of snow fell here at the farm. Well, not just at the farm, but all over the Upstate. Weather forecasters predicted "up to 7 inches," and some places reported up to a foot. It made for some rather harrowing driving experiences on this end. Our road in front of the house was a nice, powdery wonderland on Monday morning as I ventured out to work at 4:15 a.m. It wasn't so bad. Driving a front-wheel drive little Lexus ES 350, I got along pretty well. Arrived at work at 6:45, right on time! The way home was another story. 42 miles of pure ice!
Tuesday, I drove the pickup with 4 wheel drive. I think I actually approached 35 miles per hour once on that drive in....I must admit, I passed a few people at the blazing speed of 30 m.p.h., but that's just between us. And all the time, I'm hearing people calling in the radio show I listen to, saying "There are actually people trying to PASS OTHER PEOPLE!" "What a bunch of jerks!"
Well, I guess that was me. I don't think anyone else had somewhere to be at that early hour. That's what I kept telling myself anyway.
Thursday afternoon, it was almost all dried up on the roads, and I was back in my little car. Just as I'd get up the guts to go 45 m.p.h., I'd have to slam on the brakes for someone who, surely just moments before me had the same thought of getting some miles down, and unfortunately, slid into the ditch. Humbling.
Today, this lovely Sunday morning, the sun is shining, the snow is melting, the chickens are coming out of their coops to survey the landscape that literally kept them cooped up most of the week. Their little chicken feet don't have much traction. It was sort of comical to watch them try to dig in and slide around on the ice. Their feathers softened their rumps when they'd fall down.

Grackles, enjoying some feed, above.

Front yard, beautiful...

Turkey Day is almost here...

2010-11-20T10:52:00.001-05:00

Not a whole lot going on here. Just the weather. The chickens have taken the season off from laying. I still collect a lot of egg cartons at work for hopefuls looking forward to fresh eggs. Unfortunately, the hens aren't giving them up. Check back next March/April!
However, Mimsy, the Shop Cat, did grace us with two more kittens. Kip discovered them about 5 weeks ago after hearing some scuttlebutt in the attic of his woodshop. We had to trap them in some rabbit traps to get a hold of them. He brought one trap up to the house and told me he'd acquired one of the scoundrels. I excitedly (and naively) reached into the dark, wooden crate, only to encounter a set of teeth not unlike that of a wolverine, which sunk into my left thumb, puncturing the nail. I stood there with a look of dismay while I yanked my hand back, trailing the kitten by its tooth some distance toward the opening. I shut the door, looked at my throbbing thumb, and tearily declared, "He bit me!"
"I could have told you that." Kip replied, sipping his coffee. As I blew on my thumb, I wondered why he hadn't gone ahead and done so.
"Ohhhhh, it's hurts!"
"Hurts like a sore thumb, doesn't it?" Kip laughed. No kidding!
I nursed my thumb for the rest of the day, making as big a deal of it as reasonably possible. Kip responded with his story of how he was bitten by a squirrel once, clean through his thumb. Made my experience seem like child's play...
We caught the other one the next day and promptly scheduled a vet appointment for Mimsy. Meanwhile, we're trying to tame the beasts so they might find a residence other than the farm. One (the Biter) is a male, the other a female. We've named them Scaredy and Fraidy. Fraidy is the male and he's started to realize that we're not going to kill him. Scaredy isn't so sure...
Work is going well, and Kip's enjoying his retirement. He spends his days repairing things around the house that had been neglected for a long time. We also got some small koi to put in the refurbished fish pond out back.
Pictures of kittens to come.

Chickens, anyone?

2010-09-07T20:58:00.002-04:00

I have lost count of my chickens. I think there are around 60, maybe 70 chickens here now. It's getting to the point that some of these that I KNOW are roosters are going to have to go.

These are all Americaunas. Very sweet hens. All quite shy, as well.

These are all Speckled Sussex, except the red one. He's a cross between an Australorp and...something...

He's beautiful. Definitely a keeper. The roosters are starting to spar with one another and they've got to go before they get any ideas about jumping me. Free to good homes!

The Big One

2010-09-06T09:27:00.001-04:00

This Labor Day Weekend has been filled with activity. It's football season, which means Anthony's been busy with Greenwood's High School Band every friday night. Here at the farm, the hay's been cut, so we've been loading it in the barn, and Anthony took some time out Saturday to go fishing in our pond. He caught a huge Large Mouth Bass. It weighed in at 5 pounds.

Looks like dinner is decided!

Cumberland 2010

2010-06-05T13:16:00.004-04:00

Memorial Day Weekend is the best time to visit Cumberland Island, Georgia. Cumberland Island is one of Georgia's beautiful barrier islands, last in line from north to south starting with St. Simons, Jekyll, and then Cumberland. The launch point for Cumberland Island is St. Mary's, Georgia. It's a small, quiet little township situated on the intercoastal waterway, not far from Jacksonville. It's a five hour trip from here if you travel the interstate. Six hours or more if you travel back roads (which we prefer). Access to the island is accomplished by taking a 45 minute trip via passenger ferry or private boat. We take the Cumberland Queen, operated by the National Park Service. You may not drive your car on the island. That privilege is reserved for permanent inhabitants of the island. However much I wished sometimes that I was a permanent resident of the island, just so I could zip from place to place in a motorized vehicle, I am resigned to using my own personal energy. The wild horses show up randomly. This pair (mare and foal) made an appearance on the dunes near Dungeness.

Anyway, back on topic, Memorial Weekend being the best time, Kip, Anthony, Nicholas and I went on our annual trip to Cumberland and enjoyed the sun and the relative isolation that draws us to this wonderful spot on the map...

The weather was perfect and at this time of year, the bugs aren't bothersome. We went in August of 2007 and got eaten by mosquitoes and gnats. We're pretty hardy, but we were so miserable, we had to cut our camping trip short. It was so bad, we were spraying the insides of our tents with DEET and smacking mosquitoes by flash-light during the night. The incessant buzzing kept us awake...This time of year, the only real danger is sunburn, which Nicholas will tell you...keeps you awake....later on.

We did not camp this time, just went for a day trip to the island; the evenings were spent at the Spencer House Inn at St. Mary's. It's a lovely B&B we've been to on three of our trips now. Another great place to stay is the Good Bread House, right across the street in St. Mary's.

"Chicken Lady"

2010-05-22T10:29:00.003-04:00

When I started working, that very first week, I delivered 5 dozen eggs for people to take home. Kip and I had been steady giving them away to people who'd come to visit and we still had more to give. I think friends were purposefully staying away out of fear they'd have more eggs thrust upon them. What were we supposed to do with 2 to 4 dozen eggs each week?
I had no idea that people were that crazy about fresh eggs. Then again, why wouldn't they be? They're very good! Our chickens are happy, cage free, pesticide free, dare I say, "organic?" Hey, what does an inorganic chicken look like? Best of all, these eggs are free. I started an arrangement at work in which a person can bring me an empty carton and I'll return it to them with eggs in it. It's working wonderfully; I can use my refrigerator again for something besides eggs!
Now when I walk down the hall at work, I hear, "Hey, are you the Chicken Lady?"
"Why, yes I am!"

Mimsy's Babies

2010-04-25T11:32:00.000-04:00

After some struggle as to where the cats should be living, Kip and I decided the garage would be better than the office. It was getting to where we couldn't sit and get any work done because of the smell of "cats," if you catch my drift...

About a week ago, I moved the whole lot of them downstairs. They've settled in and taken over the place...

They all have blue eyes and are learning to play. One tried to climb my pants-leg this morning. Three males and one female who has a stubby tail.

Stormy Weather...

2010-04-25T11:17:00.000-04:00

The weekend brought a lot of much needed rain up from the Gulf. Glad we didn't see any tornado action out this way, although Kip and I discussed how fortunate we feel not to be living in Tornado Alley. I watched the Sussex hens and rooster stand out in the pouring rain yesterday and wondered why they didn't get in their shelter.

After all, the "Chicken Palace" is a happenin' place to be.

Summer's Here.

2010-04-06T20:44:00.001-04:00

We seemed to have skipped springtime all together. Weather went from mid-seventies last week to ninety degrees today. The guineas enjoyed some time in the shade of an old oak...

I took time to compare and contrast the difference between "inside chickens" and "outside-ranging-chickens" legs. Of course, the inside chicken's legs are white as snow and the outsider's legs are suntanned. It was interesting to note...

And here's a shot of the Chicken Palace's Infirmary Ward for the likes of the tail-less rooster. It will also serve as a nursery for the chicks to come in the next couple of weeks. I'll have to outfit it with a heat lamp for the cooler evenings. Right now, the rooster seems to be getting on fine and healing well. He even got up the gumption to try to spur me this afternoon, so I KNOW he's on the mend.

Mimsy, Molly's Nemesis

2010-03-27T20:51:00.002-04:00

Our cat Molly is very rotten. She does not like other cats in the house. I let a stray in one night to eat some food and she attacked it. Actually ran it off the back porch when I let it out.
The momma cat we found yesterday has been in seclusion in my office. It suits Molly just fine. That way, she can pretend it doesn't exist.

This young cat was very hungry when we brought her to the house. The kittens aren't but two or three days old (today would be day three). Eyes aren't open yet and they still have little cords attached to their bellies.
She's a great Momma though, and a friendly cat. She looks like Molly, only her spots are grey and spotted instead of black.
We've named her "Mimsy" and she has four babies...
I got three of them in the pictures. The other one is dark grey/black, like the one in the foreground.

We'll let them grow a little for a few months, then they've got to hit the road. Molly said so.

The Death Metal Rooster Meets His Match

2010-03-27T08:47:00.005-04:00

We all appreciate a weekend. I finished work and stopped by the Hood's house in Belton to see some of Ted's fowl. He supplied us with some Seabright and Game chicken eggs for the incubator and I wanted to see these birds in person. After that visit, I made my way home. Kip and our friend Ken were on the back porch discussing gardens and whatnot. Ken had brought me several more Sussex hens and another gorgeous Sussex rooster!
Kip told me that he hadn't seen my Attack Rooster all day, which was very discouraging. Typically, my big Sussex wanders the back yard and garden, pointing out tasty treats to his harem of hens while shooting me threatening looks and flashing his spurs. For him to go missing was an unusual event and not at all encouraging. Around here, with foxes and coyotes, if a bird "gets gone," it's for good.
Kip mentioned he'd seen a small cat and four kittens in a hollow tree down by the pond and we decided she needed a place to stay to keep the dogs from bothering her. They'd already found her hiding spot and had been barking at her, so we grabbed the big pet-crate, boxed her and her litter up and put her on the back porch. She looks a lot like Molly except she's got grey markings instead of black. Her kittens are only 1 or 2 days old.
Next, we went to the chicken yard and started clipping chicken toenails. Now, that was an experience. I've never clipped a chicken toenail. These girls had some TALONS! I'd snip a bit and look....turn them over and snip a little more....examine...
"Just cut them!" Kip laughed.
"But, I don't want them to bleed."
"Maybe I should do the clipping and you should do the holding." He said, "Or if you're so worried, maybe you could give the anesthesia while I do the surgery."
"Hey, that's a good one," I said, snipping another claw, "Or next time, you hold them while I come out and paint them all."
He was sort of quiet after that statement.
We fed the chickens, collected more eggs, separated a few more back into their own pens. Suddenly, Kip called, "Hey! I see your Rooster!"
Poor guy was walking with his head down on the outside of the fence toward one of the gates. His tail was completely gone. He looked like a semi-truck without its trailer. Pitiful.

As soon as he came back into the chicken yard, one of the new hens walked up and pecked his poor, beat-up tail. He jumped a bit and headed for the water.
This is the rooster who loves to attack and flog me, but I still don't think he deserved to have his tail taken off. Whatever did it must have been smaller than him. He's too big and fat to run from anything.
He'll spend the next few days recovering from the attack and getting his backside washed. He's really feeling down, I can tell. I speak chicken.

2010-03-13T10:52:00.004-05:00

Two "settin" Sussex

The multi-colored Americauna "PATCH." He gave the Death Metal Rooster (DMR) a firm licking two days in a row. DMR wouldn't come out of the coop; his comb was all scabbed up...They've been permanently separated.

The one with the giant comb is Willy. If you crow at him, he squirrels his head all around, sort of willy-nilly.

Sussex Rooster "Junior." I had once contemplated replacing DMR with this one, but this one's just mean to the hens. I've have to give him time.
The white Americauna Rooster, Casper, is pretty nice to the hens. He always looks like he's seen a ghost...hence, the name.

The little chicken-mini's are the Bantams (Banties). Four roosters and two hens. If anyone wants some roosters of this sort, please come and take them.
They're just starting to crow.

Black laying hen doesn't have a name yet.

Audrey

2010-03-13T07:41:00.000-05:00

One of my husband's patients gave me a small clipping of a Beefsteak Begonia about two years ago. When I received it in a small pot, I thought, "Well, sorry little plant. Prepare to die." I've never had luck with indoor plants. Somehow in the past, I've managed to neglect every single one (unintentionally, of course) until eventually, they end up a shriveled, papery mess.
I put this one on the counter in the kitchen where I could see it every day and water it as needed. A few months passed and it grew larger. I repotted it and watered it and put it in a window.
After about a year, much to my surprise, it had grown to what I assumed was "full size." A normal looking, nice, green, big-leaved plant. But it wouldn't bloom. I rummaged through the pantry and found some Miracle Grow. All the houseplants got a dose and I went about my business...
Last summer, it grew to gargantuan proportions and I had to repot it again. I named it Audrey, after the man-eating plant in Little Shop of Horrors. Audrey has taken up residence in the kitchen window, loving the afternoon sun. This past January, she started having babies! I was so excited~~I took her out to the back porch when it warmed up last weekend so she could have some fresh air.

Audrey in her window

Harry at 1 year 3 months

2010-02-27T07:51:00.002-05:00

Harry, the "baby" who was born November of 2008, is growing by leaps and bounds. We haven't measured him lately, but we'll do it soon and report on it. His mother, Sweet Pea, is expecting again and we anticipate the arrival of another foal in April or May. Unfortunately, Lady Bug is having problems. She still isn't bred...I suppose that could be a good thing, because two foals in the summer would be a lot to handle, considering we'll soon have 8 horses.

The Black Pearl

2010-02-24T14:22:00.001-05:00

Was perusing craigslist for a decent Tennessee Walking Horse and stumbled upon this pretty little mare named Pearl. She needed a place to stay, so Kip and I offered to board her until she fattens up. Once she's in good shape, we'll give her a go and see how she does. If we can use her as a riding horse, we'll keep her here. She's very gentle, and LOVED meeting Buckwheat and Brownie this afternoon. I did see her "walk" a little bit when I let her out into the northside pasture. I think she just might be a lovely walking horse!

Above, Buckwheat takes a look...

Brownie likes to pose for the camera.

Snow Day

2010-02-13T10:15:00.004-05:00

Kip knocks the snow off Sunshine's feet.

This morning's sunrise over the pasture...

I offered to put her sweater on her, but she flat refused.

As everyone in the southeast knows, it snowed last night. Started at around 4:00 p.m. here in Clinton/Laurens and continued after we'd gone to sleep. This morning was beautiful....

A new "Mann" in town

2010-02-01T10:12:00.008-05:00

Well, he's not been named yet, but he's Mr. Mann's replacement. As you recall, Mr. Mann does have a son, The Youngun, who's nearing 8 months old now (that's him, at the very top). He's grown a lot and has eclipsed his older sister. He's an India Blue/Black Shoulder mix.

We rode down to Charleston for the weekend and on our way home, stopped by Ridgeville to pick up a new India Blue breeder pair. The male is nearing 3 years and his tail is not quite filled out (but getting there). We unloaded them into the peacock pen and they promptly made their acquaintances with the others and settled into the loft. This morning they're still huddling together, looking out the "picture window" on top, surveying their surroundings.

Crook

2010-01-13T15:44:00.004-05:00

She is a sweet heart. An Americauna hen, she was born with a scissor-beak. Typically, these babies don't survive because they cannot eat. Their top & bottom "lips" do not meet, so they have trouble picking up corn, mash, bread, veggies, shells, etc. and she certainly has a hard time. Somehow, she's made it through the year and survived the cold. I do tend to favor her and as a result, she follows me around. How could I not give her special attention?

A Trying Time

2010-01-06T10:17:00.006-05:00

I was watching the sun come up and heard a ruckus in the chicken yard. The roosters were crowing, chickens clucking like crazy. There has been a Beagle running around here lately that someone dropped and I thought maybe he'd gotten into the chicken coop and was terrorizing the chickens. I ran out back in my bathrobe (br-r-r-r-r-r-r-r!) and found....nothing.

A little later, I went out to break up the frozen water so the chickens could have something to drink and came upon this little fellow, hanging in the fence. He was head down, legs caught at the knees. He didn't make a move as I pulled him out.

Tucked him safely in my coat, finished my water-rounds and carried him to the house where he is presently recovering in a little crate next to a warm heater.

Delay

2009-12-16T12:22:00.003-05:00

Harry has grown. This is him at 12 months~~almost as big as his momma!
An oyster-roast at Em's in Charleston (this is John, Emily, Griffin and Kip in the oyster-roast area. We had a wonderful time!
Bill McCullough and Kip riding Bill's horses in Kingstree. I'm so glad they've gotten back together~~it was many years apart!
This is my son Anthony and Bill's son Kilian, enjoying Anthony's guitar minstrels. Kilian is a year younger than Anthony. They got along famously.

So sorry for the delay in postings. I have a sister blog (student anesthetist [formerly MCG Anesthetist]) that got me in some hot water with the medical college. It forced me to focus on other things for the past two months. But, now I'm back!

School is finished. I have a small hiatus during which I will try to keep up with the goings-on of the farm...

Nunshine

2009-10-09T17:05:00.005-04:00

Anthony was busy in the downstairs bathroom the other day for a bit and suddenly he rushed in, excited. "Mom! Mom!" He grinned. "What, what?" I answered. "Check it out! It's NUN-shine!"

She was wrapped up in toilet paper. We laughed so hard, we about cried....I had to snap a pic.

Sometimes, it's better not to know.

2009-09-07T11:35:00.008-04:00

Last weekend, I was cleaning up the kitchen, moved a large watermelon to sweep behind it, and found this big mamba-jamba waiting for me. Holy COW! I jumped back, took the watermelon outside, and came back in with the camera.

Sadly for the spider, I am reluctant to transport these critters in any manner so that they can live out their creepy lives elsewhere. This one is presently in spider heaven. Sorry, ol' gal. Couldn't deal with you.

Leeanne, The Guinea-Whisperer

2009-08-29T09:31:00.003-04:00

Got home Tuesday to find one of the gates to the chicken pen open. The guineas had escaped! Lee Anne used her gentle skills, ala Cesar Milan, to coax them back to the open gate...

Easy, easy, now....Not too fast....

In you go....

Close the gate....

And voila! She is available for consult on an as-needed, case-by-case basis. Serious inquiries only, please....

Tuesday to come

2009-08-01T11:03:00.005-04:00

William McCullough will be back on Tuesday to do some painting here at Watkinsfarm! We are so excited to have him here, especially to have him here painting! The boys are looking so forward to it. They've been admiring his paintings for years and the prospect of having a "famous artist" to show them the ropes is amazing to them. And, well, to me, too! We cannot wait, but will have to.

He said perhaps he'll do some painting down at the pond. This is one of his available paintings at his website. The collage is from our collection here in the house (top four paintings, all McCullough's).

A cherished visit with Bill McCullough

2009-07-31T16:04:00.006-04:00

Kip's great old friend Bill McCullough came to visit last night on his way up to Greenville. He's been commissioned to paint the city of Greenville for the city's museum of art. I found out he was on his way about three minutes after I arrived home from Augusta. Of course, the house was an awful disarray of dog toys, breakfast dishes, and watermelons. After a quick swipe of the kitchen, I tackled the guest room and prepared dinner. Kip and Bill shared a nice evening and this morning, they were both gone before I got up. It was nice having him here. We have several of his beautiful paintings on our walls.

All in the family

2009-07-31T15:59:00.003-04:00

Nicholo has learned to prepare and cook fried green tomatoes. He says that like all chefs, he doesn't eat his creations...he doesn't know what he's missing. One day, though, he'll thank me for showing him how to make these wonderful Southern Delights!

Lady Bug & Sweet Pea, on their way home

2009-07-19T16:39:00.003-04:00

According to Ms. Camen (keeper of the percherons), both of the mares are bred. They are presently being loaded back into a trailer and homeward bound. It will be interesting to see how Harry receives them this evening. If they both are indeed bred, we should have a couple of new foals here at the farm next March/April.
Anyone with knowledge of a stud Tennessee Walker, let us know. We're looking to breed Rocket.

I am addicted

2009-07-19T16:29:00.006-04:00

As most of you know, I am a native of Washington State (from the little town of Snohomish pop.6200). If someone asks me "what sorts of things did you eat out in Washington?", I think of fresh seafood first off. Sure, we ate salmon, smelt, rainbow trout, clams, anything out of the water came to the dinner table at my house growing up. Other than that, nothing really regionally specific comes to mind. I must say, I didn't know that salmon came in a can until I moved southward in 1991. I still haven't tried it (to my knowledge). I also didn't know that "salmon" had an "L" in it. Out in Washington, we call it "sammon."
At any rate, I am wholly addicted to southern cuisine. There's no way I could go home now. Not that I planned to. Grits, black-eyed peas, lima beans, barbeque (oh the joys of eating Hickory Hills!), and fried green tomatoes! I've been raiding the garden for the green tomatoes hanging heavy on the vine. I bring them in, slice them fairly thick, dip them in a scrambled egg mixture with a dash of soy milk, dredge them in panko bread crumbs and fry them up. Kip and I eat them by the dozen. Fantastic part of life, they are.

Had a bad day? Fry up some green tomatoes. They'll cheer you!

At Last...

2009-07-13T22:21:00.005-04:00

After weeks of sitting, Mr. Mann's mate hatched her clutch of pea-babies! This afternoon, they were up and about and she was very protective of them. In the top picture, they're all up under her where they apparently belong. It was nice to see that Mr. Mann's work paid off! He lives!

Mr. Mann

2009-07-08T20:10:00.004-04:00

I am very sad to report that sometime Sunday/Monday, Mr. Mann was killed. He'd just finished molting all of his old tailfeathers and was starting to grow out some brilliant new ones for the fall mating season. Apparently, it was a couple of canine perpetrators. Marilyn has gone to live somewhere off of the farm.

The peahens are staying in their pen for now. Hopefully, we can find another mate for them.

July 4th Fireworks, of a sort...

2009-07-05T08:41:00.006-04:00

Yesterday morning, Kip told me that a hen had hatched 10 chicks in the pen. I assumed that he'd meant the peahen, since she's been sitting on eggs for an eternity. Turns out, he meant a chicken-hen. "Like, duh." He says.
This morning, there are 14 of them. We moved them into the safety of the peacock house in a separate, walled off area so they can scratch around with their mother. She's teaching them all about digging in the dirt.

Mrs. Peahen is still sitting. If you approach her, she makes some odd noises. A combination of low mutterings and a few hisses. I've heard they will attack when provoked, especially if there are babies involved. I'm not touching her.

Versus

2009-06-22T10:55:00.006-04:00

After yesterday's fight, the peacock is still wishing he'd finished the rooster off. If the rooster knew that the peacock could fly, he'd be hiding out in the coop. They had the beginnings of a deathmatch going yesterday. The rooster is still limping a bit today. The peacock used his tail to confuse the rooster--comical, but at the same time, very, very sad....He'd jump over the rooster and drag his tail feathers over his head, all the while, the rooster looking back and forth, trying to find the peacock's head. By the time he found it, the peacock was jumping him again. Rooster doesn't have a chance. He's too fat and clumsy.

Mr. Mann spends his day pacing, antagonizing the rooster. Makes me tired just watching them.

For those who haven't "backed up"

2009-06-20T12:50:00.004-04:00

Lee Anne, backing up her files on her Mac
I thought my computer was invincible, but sadly found out that I was wrong. It did last me ten years~~as I've learned, this span of time is pretty good for the average hard drive. Thinking that I'd not have any problems with my files, I've only backed a few things up in the past several years. Unfortunately, I didn't expect my computer to completely crash. All that I have left out of ten years of photographs is what is posted on this blog and the few items I uploaded to my laptop while I was on out of town trips. A word to those who think "It won't happen to my computer": At the very least, back up your photos and music files. I've lost upwards of $500 in itunes downloads and nearly 3,000 photographs ranging from our wedding, to our trips to Alaska, Maine, Washington, Cumberland Island, boys' birthdays, and everything else in between.

Get on it and back up your important files!! Save them to discs or an internet source. I wish now that I'd done it.

"Organic" does NOT mean "SAFE"

2009-06-15T15:23:00.005-04:00

I purchased some fungicide for our roses since they're exhibiting some black spot on their leaves. I got the bottle that said "Organic" thinking that it wasn't all a bunch of chemical mish-mash that would kill every living creature in our garden. When I got it home, I read the precautionary statements and one of the first things it said was "do not spray where honeybees are active."

Last time I checked, my honey bees are active until it gets dark, and they're active all over the place. No wonder our colonies in the U.S. are being dessimated! Active ingredient: NEEM OIL. Sounds harmless enough, but it will kill the honeybees, and if it's killing them, I know it's going to kill all of our other beneficial insects, like spiders and praying mantises. You know, you just can't win. We have to cooperate with our fellow beings out here in the garden. Black-spot funguses and all....

Please, be very careful where you spray fungicides and insecticides.

By the way, we're down to ONE GUINEA. She's awful lonesome....We have ten babies who are just too small to make it out on their own. Maybe the NEEM OIL got the others!

Froggy Morning

2009-06-15T15:18:00.003-04:00

Went down to let the chickens out this morning and on my way back, I made my customary inspection of the canna lillies for moth larvae. They sew the leaves of the lillies closed and have a party in there while they're growing. They eat the leaves and leave holes in them, causing them to shrivel and die. I inspect each new shoot and undo their sew-job so the leaf can open. Every morning, they're sewn back shut. As I leaned over my hydrangea to get to one of our cannas, I spotted a little fellow sitting on a leaf. I don't think I've ever seen such a tiny frog!

"Quest"

2009-06-06T12:36:00.007-04:00

We traveled several hours with the percheron mares to meet back up with Quest, Harry's father. When we arrived with the trailer, he went crazy! By that, I mean he was foaming at the mouth, whinnying and stomping his huge hooves, wanting to get through the electric fence to the girls.
His owner, Chris, had to snap a whip in his direction a few times to het him settled enough so we could open the gate and let them in with him.

She finally got him to stand still for a few seconds. Once they were all together, the three of them cantered off into the other end of the pasture.

They'll stay with him for about 6 weeks.

Nicholas enjoyed cracking the whip!

Happy birds

2009-06-06T12:24:00.007-04:00

It's nice to be back home this weekend. It's been raining and all of the plants are growing and blooming. Fruit is ripening (plums! Hooray!) and we've got lots of squash to eat.
These little guys were just a bunch of eggs when I left last week. Now they're hungry babies...

I turned on my flash to get a better picture and they all opened their little beaks to reveal huge throats--sorry fellas--I didn't bring any worms...

Mr . Mann is out and about. We've been letting him out to roam a little. This morning, I let one of the hens out with him. He's been showing her around. And strutting his stuff.

She is SO not interested.

Apparently she's occasionally interested, since we have 7 eggs now. It's nice to be home. Wish I could stay!

EGGS!

2009-05-21T19:17:00.005-04:00

One or both of the peahens have laid some eggs for us! They're laid in the guinea-egg clutch, so amongst the small, pointy eggs are two large white beauties. I figure no matter who's been laying, they'll be sat upon soon enough. We could have some peachicks soon!

And not a peep (or honk) from the peafowl gallery

2009-05-10T10:20:00.007-04:00

Friday night, I looked in the new Market Bulletin for some peahens. There were a few ads for breeding pairs, and some males, neither of which we were interested in...finally, I saw what I was looking for: "2F peafowl, india blue, 2y/o"!! I grabbed the phone and dialed the number before I realized it was 9p.m. Hmm, oh well, it's too late now! Arrangements were made to pick them up Saturday (yesterday). Kip, the boys, and I drove up to Pickens yesterday afternoon and picked up these two lovely ladies. When Kip captured one of them, it honked very loudly, just like the male does--surprising...
We got back home and the peacock honked and screeched as we pulled the truck up next to his pen. As we unloaded the peahens, he stood on top of his perch and looked down at them with concentration.

The females flew to the top of the cage very near where the male was standing and looked him over as well. Kip and I watched as the male bowed his head down and planted his beak on the tin floor in obvious submission. He fluffed his feathers up around his neck and stood like that for a few minutes.

He gave up his favorite place to sit for the two females. It started raining a little bit later and the females were in his shelter while he sat out in the rain on a perch. There hasn't been a sound from the peacock cage since the ladies showed up. I think he's very happy now!

Something About Harry...

2009-04-26T11:42:00.009-04:00

He's growing so fast! His coat has turned from almost black to a lighter, milk-chocolate color. His tail is abut 18 inches long now and he flips it around to keep flies away...

He does enjoy a little nap-time.

He is exceedingly curious about what we're doing. From the looks of it here, he's about to bite Kip's elbow. Kip had put some electric fencing up to keep the horses away from some small oak-trees he'd planted. The fence was turned off for a day and the horses promptly tore everything up and ate one of the trees. Kip put the fencing back together and turned on the juice. Harry got a lesson in voltage yesterday...

He hangs around his auntie Lady-Bug and expresses a keen interest in her backside. I think it's nearing time for a gelding, if you know what I mean...

Creative nesting

2009-04-16T19:17:00.006-04:00

I walked outside a few weeks ago and saw a busy bird hanging out inside a rolled up shade...

I was going to use this shade this summer to keep the afternoon sun out of the den so it wouldn't get so hot inside, but this little birdie couple has other plans for it...

They have stuffed it full of moss, leaves, feathers, yard debris. They have got it going on! It's a long condominium sort of dwelling.

Timmmberrrr...

2009-04-16T19:12:00.004-04:00

Got home Wednesday afternoon to see the damage I'd heard about. Of course, I couldn't get up the driveway in the usual fashion...

It will make for some good firewood! Whoever wants to come cut it and haul it off is welcome to it....

One tree's misfortune...

2009-04-13T21:10:00.004-04:00

My husband called me tonight to tell me that a large tree had been blown over in our front yard from all the rain that's come down lately. "The Lord has provided you with a place to plant your tulips..." He said. Yay!

I ordered a whole bunch of them, so our front yard will be covered next spring--I can't wait!

At last!

2009-04-08T11:57:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, Kip and I went to visit Mr. Patterson at the end of Milam Road. We left with this beautiful peacock. He rode with me in the backseat of the truck with his tail flopped over the front seat. He didn't make a peep.

We unloaded him into his new pen and he walked around on the grass for a minute, then crouched down and flew up onto the highest perch where he emitted the weirdest noise. It sounded like a boat-horn. The guineas all gathered around to gawk at his magnificence, then the rooster crept around the corner and crowed. The peacock answered him with a loud call and the rooster postured a bit more before he gave up and went about his business of chasing hens.

All night long, the peacock called out with his boat-horn noises. This morning, I tried to get him down from his perch to eat but he wouldn't come down. He just kept hopping from perch to perch, making strange Road-runner noises at me by clicking his tongue in his throat. He needs a woman....and so the search begins for a peahen.

Delay in postings....

2009-03-22T22:47:00.002-04:00

Sorry, folks. I misplaced my camera. Turned out it was in my car where I've been living for nearly a month.
We have 25 new baby chickens, Harry is getting huge (he bit me this weekend), I've been working the bees (they stung me this weekend), and Brownie has been pulling the cart like a champ!
I'll get some shots when I return home next weekend and post!! I promise!!

Snow Day

2009-03-02T08:39:00.006-05:00

To my surprise and delight, it snowed last night. The roads aren't too bad here, but I wonder what's going on out on our highways...I have to travel across Georgia today to get to a clinical site so I can fulfill my obligations for school. If I miss a day, I have to make it up somewhere along the line. I don't want to have to do that!

Maybe I could just say that I can't get into my car....But I don't think that'll fly.

Peacocks are coming to the farm!

2009-02-01T20:03:00.009-05:00

We are planning on purchasing some peafowl. As if guineas weren't loud and obnoxious enough, we're going to add some more noisy birds--but it'll be fun!

Kip's been working hard at putting up a shelter for our expected peacocks and peahens. It looks a little rough now, but in a week or two, it'll be all ready.

The new chickens we have are a little afraid of the outdoors. They won't stray far from the coop.

We went walking out in the woods today. It was nice. Griffin and Katie came down from Greenville.My wonderful husband!

Our wonderful sunset...

Harry's Progress

2009-01-04T13:01:00.005-05:00

At 6 weeks and two days old, he's grown a lot. He's very curious about us but keeps a safe distance. I can reach out and scratch his neck for a moment, then he turns away and offers his rump.

"Here's where you need to scratch," he offers. His hair is very very curly, especially when it's wet. I wouldn't scratch him so much today because his "fur" leaves a black, oily residue and I didn't want to coat my gloves with it. He was resigned to munch on the hay I put out for them.

Mother is still attentive and protective of course.

Barn Planning?

2009-01-04T12:00:00.010-05:00

The Saturday after Christmas, Kip and I traveled up to Taylors, SC for a plowing event hosted by Vic Campbell. Every year, he invites people with heavy horses and mules to come plow his field in preparation for planting in the spring. It's a good deal, actually. He gets his land plowed and people get a chance to work their horses. Vic participates as well with his Belgians. This little lady above is a 7 month old Belgian filly. She was standing in her stall, waiting to come out while the others were being harnessed. Around her nostrils, the skin was polka-dotted white. She was beautiful.

She's "getting a drink." Actually, she was figuring out how to get her foot in the water and splash around. It was fun until she tried to drink the muddy water. Then, not so great.

After the big horses got harnessed, Kip and I slipped upstairs and took measurements of the barn. It's big and pretty. Post & beam construction, bigger than our house. Maybe we can build one similar one day?

Old Yeller

2009-01-04T11:53:00.004-05:00

Don't get me wrong. I love the guineas. The guineas love me. We have a sort of love/hate relationship though. They love to torment me and I hate it.

I've nick-named this female "Old-Yeller" because she won't shut up. She leads the pack around and shouts "What's it? What's it?" Some have said that the females sound like they're saying "Buck-wheat, buck-wheat" but I certainly don't hear it. Then the rest of them start screaming "O-bama! O-bama! O-bama!" Quite annoying. In these pictures, they've arrived on the porch where they can see me working in the kitchen. They're pecking dead bugs out of the spider webs on the bottom of the glass. Lots of guinea tongue marks all over the place.

If I go out and make purring noises at them, they all quiet down and look me over suspiciously.

A lively crew...

2008-12-17T11:24:00.004-05:00

A typical Saturday night at the house. Nick didn't have a recliner, so he went for the dog bed. Reese didn't mind a bit.

What strange birds

2008-12-17T11:02:00.004-05:00

We turned the guineas out yesterday and they hung out at the chicken coop for a while. I decided to come back to the house and they followed me! Now they're completely occupied with exploring every inch of the brickwork and rocks right behind the house. There's no rest; they're LOUD. And each time I step out onto the porch, they start squawking, as if to say, "There she is! She's back! She's back!" and they rush toward me. Gr-r-r-reat....

They're kind of neat though. Very very curious about everything.

Merry Christmas from Mollycat

2008-12-09T14:03:00.007-05:00

Molly has discovered the most comfy spot on the house (although I think a leather recliner feels better). She's been spreading out on the presents.
This year, the tree is not so big, but it's got a personality all it's own. I had to drill the hole in the bottom myself since the local Christmas Tree Farm shut down. They used to drill the hole in the bottom for me when I'd get my tree there. This year, I got the tree in town and had a hard time drilling the hole. It's a little off center, so the tree leans waaaaay back toward the corner. Only I know that though...

In this house, we leave a little wine out for Santa. Perhaps he'll get drunk and drop the whole bag of presents.

A birthday surprise

2008-12-09T13:54:00.007-05:00

I got home last Wednesday (the 3rd of December) exhausted from a clinical day in Athens, GA. My sweet husband arrived home shortly afterward and asked if I wanted my birthday present early. "Well, where is it?" I asked. "In the back of the truck." ??? Must be big, I thought. And it was. I have spent every night since then laid back in this recliner.

Sunshine lays next to me in a chair where I've put her little doggie bed. We both are really good at being worthless. Kip said the chair is good to have "especially if you're prone to laziness." I would have taken offense to his comment if I hadn't been too apathetic to speak on the subject. Besides, a few minutes before he said it, I'd caught him sawing some logs of his own in his chair...

Sunshine visits Petsmart

2008-12-09T13:44:00.006-05:00

Sunshine had a great time at Petsmart. She kept her nose to the floor, smelling where every other dog had apparently left its "mark." She was also rather enthusiastic about the Food Aisles.

She slept all the way home from Greenville. Snored, in fact.

He shall be HARRY

2008-11-24T11:07:00.006-05:00

Anthony & Nicholas looked at the colt Saturday and one said, "Hey, he's got a little mark on his forehead." "Yeah," the other replied, "Just like...like Harry Potter!"

The little guy does have what appears to be a lightning-bolt type marking on his forehead. So, we've named him Harry. He's already becoming a little mischievous--starting to buck a little when we scratch around his croup. Kip says by Thanksgiving, he'll be "ready to kick the fool out of us." That's going to be kind of hard though because the boys and I have a lot of fool in us. It will take quite a bit of kicking. Maybe he can kick some sense into us. :)

Happy Birthday!

2008-11-21T17:15:00.008-05:00

I got home from Athens this evening and saw something black and furry tottering around next to one of the percherons...

Today, Sweet Pea had her colt. He's TALL and long legged with some knobby knees. It's very cold out but fortunately, he's covered with curly hair...

Taters made the paper

2008-11-09T14:14:00.003-05:00

Some of our huge sweet potatoes made the paper this week--one of them will make three meals. See for yourself!

Serendipity?

2008-11-09T12:08:00.003-05:00

On my way home from an anesthesia seminar in Augusta yesterday, Kip phoned me to see where I was. I told him I was near Cross Hill and would be home in fifteen minutes or so. Well, it seemed that the tractor had blown a hydraulic hose and he was stranded in the Bottoms. "I'll be there soon if you want to wait. I'll come get you in the truck." So he decided to wait on me.
I drove back toward the Bottoms in the truck and spotted Kip standing in the doorway of the cabin. I hopped out and he said, "Come here, I want to show you something."
We both went to the back deck of the cabin and he crouched down, looking out over the field. "Well, you're not going to believe this, but there was a big black and white goat under this deck a few minutes ago." What? A goat? "I got close to him and he took off in that direction," Kip pointed out toward the tree-line across the Bottoms. Well, I said. "I swear, there was a goat. You don't believe me." Yes, I told him, I believe you. And I did. Just about anything is possible out here, I've found. So, we trekked out to see if we could catch up to him but never did see him. A while later, we returned to the house and I started thinking about what to make for dinner.
I needed to go to the grocery store to pick up some things in order to make some broccoli cheese soup and on my way out, I gave Kip a lift to the barn where he wanted to pick up the other truck. I was soon on my way to Ingles...
As I drove along AB Jacks road, I saw an SUV stopped on a side road with its brake lights on. Barreling around the SUV was that GOAT! It came right at me as I passed Woodberry Drive. I could not believe my eyes! I called Kip. "I saw your goat!" He couldn't believe it himself. "What? Where?" "At Woodberry!" We laughed and laughed. "I told you I saw a goat!" He said. "I believed you!"
What are the chances that I would be driving by at that particular moment, a mile away from the Bottoms, to see this very goat come running out of a side road?

"Hand over the muscadines, Lady."

2008-10-30T18:35:00.003-04:00

I have them eating out of my hands. Pretty soon, they started following me around the chicken coop. The guineas wouldn't come near me.

After I left the coop, I discovered perhaps why the chickens were so appreciative of my presence. The guineas resumed their assault on the chickens as I closed the gate, running them off the feeder and biting at their heels. They won't stand up for themselves.

What a bunch of....chickens? Heh heh.

Nothing's done on a small scale here...

2008-10-30T18:32:00.004-04:00

Kip got some of Thomas Jefferson's beans from Monticello and planted them here. We waited to see what they were going to do. It took forever and we thought they'd not produce any beans because all they did was flower and flower.
I guess the bees were busy pollinating them because these JUMBO mamba-jambas popped out. Good grief! They're SOOOO GOOOD!
Thanks, Thomas!

Autumn Colors in NC

2008-10-27T07:27:00.008-04:00

Yesterday (Oct. 26th) we travelled up to Caesar's Head near Raven Cliff Falls and took a hike. You know how Kip and I take hikes, right? We find the trail head and glance at the map provided then take off on what we think will be a short hike. Hours later, we return, exhausted, frustrated, and disgruntled because we ended up on the 6 mile loop. This trip was no different. Only we ended up on the 4.4 mile loop. No bathroom facilities. It was very pretty though when we took the time to look around...

Sunshine looks for Mountain Squirrels. A wiley lot they are. She chased one but it was too nimble.

Big as a HOUSE

2008-10-22T19:56:00.005-04:00

Sweet Pea. Pregnant as she can be. Hopefully, she'll have a nice healthy foal in November/December. She looks like a Hershey's Kiss with legs.

Lady Bug just didn't want to stand for the stud. It's apparent when compared to her sister, the stud's efforts were in vain.

Keep away from my "sunshower."

2008-10-19T13:22:00.009-04:00

Roscoe and his "sunshower-flower"

We have been playing keep away with his sunflowers. When I get near one, he fluffs up and chases me away.

Parrot Treats

2008-10-18T18:43:00.005-04:00

Roscoe has rediscovered the joys of eating fresh sunflowers. We grew some in the lower garden and picked a bunch of them. Roscoe had eaten one about two years ago. It took him about an hour to realize that the huge "plate" of a plant wasn't going to eat him first. Once he understood this and I showed him what it contained--wonderful sunflower seeds--he tore it up. It was gone in about an hour. Since then, he's not seen any. I held up a sunflower to his cage and he said "Apple?" I said no. And he said, "Popcorn?" I said, "No. Sunflower."

"Mmmm," he said. He immediately jumped on it and ate it up.
That was yesterday. Today, he's saying "Sunshower...sunshower, it's good! Mmmmm! Sunshower!"
Funny parrot.

The itsy-bitsy spider

2008-10-07T11:11:00.006-04:00

I was pulling old blooms off of our lime tree on the front porch the other day and one of the "dead blooms" jumped back and made a hasty retreat!

Well, of course it wasn't a bloom at all. It was this clever little spider in disguise, waiting for an unsuspecting insect to come by. She's got her stance perfected. Sure fooled me.

Oktoberfest 2008

2008-10-07T11:09:00.005-04:00

We went to Newberry's Oktoberfest again this year. The guys had a good time and we ate some good German Food!

Anthony dunked the man in the booth a few times.

Big, bouncy slide!

Batter Up!

2008-10-07T11:06:00.003-04:00

Anthony spent time this past weekend working with the lathe down in the shop. He fashioned a beautiful walnut baseball bat!
It's heavy, but can sent a ball into orbit with little effort. He's very proud of his accomplishment and I'm very proud of him for doing it!

NICHOLAS WON!

2008-09-27T13:55:00.007-04:00

A new president has been elected for Pinecrest Elementary School and his name is Mr. Nicholas M. Stevenson. He won the election fair and square, up against 3 girls, one being the former Vice President. I knew he could do it!

Checking out the polls, waiting for the ultimate decision before election results were tallied. Nevermind that he's perusing a clothing catalog...

Nicholas's Presidential Pitch

2008-09-24T17:44:00.002-04:00

I'm so proud of Nicholas running for Pinecrest School President! Click here for a view of it!
http://www.gwd50.org/17432092316246600/blank/browse.asp?A=383&BMDRN=2000&BCOB=0&C=54884

Fun with Tom & Betsy

2008-09-21T18:52:00.006-04:00

Yesterday, Kip, the boys, and I went to Tom & Betsy's in Ora for a family
get-together before the weather turns cold. Anthony & Nick played games in
the yard, climbed trees and had lots of fun.

Kip sat in Tom's ancient "Scampi's" chair which he'd rescued from the beach
about 15 years ago. It had some wear on it already when he pulled it from the
trash. He'd duct-taped it back together and Kip had a seat in it. I was standing
near a tree taking pictures of Anthony and we heard a "crack!" I thought someone
had busted a tree-limb somewhere. I turned around and saw Kip lying on his back
in the yard...

"I didn't even drop my ice-cream," he laughed. The chair is history. I hated that I wasn't there to snap the pic as it happened...I mean, I hate I wasn't there to help him up! Yeah, that's it!

Sunshine has found a friend in Griffin.

Fun for the weekend!

2008-09-14T14:14:00.005-04:00

Puppy time! The neighbor's dog had pups about four weeks ago and Nicholas has named one "Shadow."
Nicholas, Penn and Anthony sitting on the hay wagon. Sunshine's ready to go for a ride, too.
Nicholas and Penn--great buddies!
Buckwheat likes to lick Nick's hair. Hmmmm. Did he put sugar in it? Looks like he got Anthony, too.

It's not often we get to spend time together. The guys wore each other out here...stayed up way too late, took late night "spooky truck rides" in the woods, and crazy day time truck rides through the pastures where Nick and Graham 'got some air'...ahem...

Pioneer Days in Owings, SC

2008-09-14T14:05:00.005-04:00

Nicholas, Penn and Graham enjoy cokes and pet the goats.
Tom, Betsy and Anthony ran the coke stand...
Bunnies! And Graham!
Penn and the goat. Neither seem very interested...

The 13th of September, Anthony, Nicholas, Penn & Graham came along with Kip and me to Pioneer Days in Owings. Tom & Betsy were there along with several hundred other folks. There were rabbits, horses, goats and a huge steer.

Lunch was barbecue or hot dogs and chips, coleslaw and beans. We stayed until after three p.m. when Jack Roper finished putting on a magic show for the kiddos! It was a lot of fun...

You know...

2008-08-18T20:30:00.004-04:00

This is Gus. He belongs to David who lives around the corner from us. Gus tried to get through our iron gate on the back porch and found himself stuck. Like the snake in the chicken-coop. Kip found him and we laughed and laughed. Gus didn't laugh, but Kip and I sure did. Kip opened the gate and Gus just hung there helplessly....
We removed him. Kip used his surgical expertise. Like birthing a baby I suppose...

Digesting after a shocking experience

2008-08-07T08:18:00.004-04:00

I don't know if the snake has learned anything from this experience. I have a feeling it will be back again. Maybe by that time, the chickens will have learned to roost off of the ground.

"I can't believe I ate the whole thing...."

The chickens are more concerned about eating crickets than the loss of their sibling.

"Everyone loves chicken."

2008-08-07T08:05:00.005-04:00

I walked out to feed the 14 chickens this morning and make sure they had water. As I came around the corner with my pitcher, I was stopped dead in my tracks by the sight of a black snake. "Yipes!" I thought. It had gotten into the coop and eaten a whole chicken. Firstly, I'd like to know how the snake caught the bird in the first place because they're so fast, and secondly, how the heck did it eat the whole thing??? It didn't eat the small-fry because that chicken is still running around eating corn. Sadly, instead of 14, I counted 13, just to be sure. I thought maybe it ate something else and then got stuck....like what? I don't know.

I was afraid the snake was dead. There's an electric fence around the chicken coop to keep dogs and other varmints away and the snake had tried to get out of one of the holes in chain-link and landed right on the electric wire. The electricity was popping it every two seconds and the snake's body was jumping with every pulse. I couldn't tell if it was breathing. I was afraid to touch the snake because I didn't want to get shocked. So I went up to the house, grabbed my camera and a long walking stick. I came back and tried to push the snake on through the hole. It's meal was too big for it to slide through forward. I tried and tried to wiggle it through but the boney chicken in its belly wouldn't budge. I mustered my courage and figured it was already in a weakened state, having been shocked for who knows how long...So I lifted it's body off the electric fence to stop the current flow and I pulled it out backwards. The snake moved! I was glad it was still alive, although not happy it had eaten a chicken. Sunshine watched as I removed it from the chicken coop and put it in the sun to warm up.

Semester Break, August '08

2008-08-01T20:58:00.003-04:00

I am finished with this summer's clinical rotations and classes. Only four more to go. Not summers, but semesters. I am SO glad to be home. Before I left Moultrie, I had to stop at a friend's house and get a picture of his huge Fig tree.

And his dog Molly.

Fourth of July Weekend in Tennessee

2008-07-19T17:11:00.006-04:00

We traveled up to Kingsport, TN to see the family (Kip's sister Lynda). We went to the fireworks show, and the Carter Family Fold which was fun. Sunshine barked everytime a firework went off--she loves fireworks.

Sunshine got into the river--much different than the warm pond at home! It was cool and refreshing!
Below are some of Lynda's flowers.

How to do a rain dance

2008-06-22T09:10:00.005-04:00

Go outside in a spot where you have plenty of room so you don't run into anything. Make up your own little rain-dance chant. Spin around in clock-wise circles, yelling your chant. If you want to stop rain, spin in the opposite direction and yell your chant backwards.

Sounds too easy. But we sure need it. Maybe I can talk Kip into doing this today. He's about willing to do anything for rain. The gardens are suffering and our water bill will be through the roof.

Monticello

2008-05-09T18:10:00.004-04:00

Jefferson's graveyard. The latest funeral was held there in January of this year.
The side "porch." It was a long walkway.
We stumbled upon a kid who looked a lot like my son, Nick. Hmm. I decided to take his picture & take him on the tour with us....
The front walk up to the steps of Jefferson's home. The house and grounds were beautiful, of course. Kip said the house was smaller than he expected it to be. We had a nice time last Saturday (May 3rd) and that afternoon, we visited Monroe's home, down the road. Smaller, but with some big peacocks.

PEONIES! HYDRANGEAS! AND IRISES! OH MY!

2008-04-30T13:22:00.004-04:00

Lookin' good this spring.
One of my pretty japanese irises I planted.

Dutch irises--always a hit.

My favorites in the world--I'm going to plant some more this year. I want them to do well, so I'm going to do everything I can to make them work!!

Kip brought me home 9 more hydrangea bushes yesterday & some digitalis plants (foxgloves). Why couldn't I pick something easy to grow?? I guess I'm in favor of some of the native species I grew up around in the Pacific Northwest.

This upcoming weekend, we're going to Monticello to see how Jefferson managed his gardens. It's going to be fun!!

"Is that Bees I hear?"

2008-04-17T14:30:00.005-04:00

So, again, I'm outside, watering plants and enjoying some sun when the UPS guy comes pulling up in his big brown truck. Oh, joy, I think, my button-fly Levi's have finally arrived. I went out to meet him in the driveway and he says, "Hey, how are ya? Is that BEES I hear?" Yes, I explain, my bees swarmed yesterday. They're a little irate. "Well, they're just swarming all over the place. They are ALL OVER." He says and he goes back to his truck. Oh, brother. I hope the rest of the colony hasn't decided to take off as well.
So I went looking. Indeed, there were thousands of honeybees flying around the tree above the hive...

Within 5 minutes, they lighted on a high branch and quieted down to eventual silence.

I ran to the shop and assembled a hive with some "bait comb" in it and set it up below them.
So far, they're not interested. They're too far up for me to shake them off, so all I can do at this point is hope that some of the scouts find it. Anyone have some queen pheromone???

Ugh! My first swarm....

2008-04-16T17:30:00.006-04:00

I did not take this picture, but would have liked to. They flew right over the mailbox...sadly....

So, I was out hoeing around the front yard, minding my business, getting rid of chickweed....getting closer to the beehive, remembering how Kip told me he'd been stung several times last weekend by the hybrids in the front yard. I was being really careful not to get in their way or have them get stuck in my hair, but I did notice that they were really, really restless....I figured they were perhaps happy that the weather was so nice!!

Boy was I wrong. I noticed them all clustered around one of the crepe myrtles in the yard, buzzing like crazy. I wondered what the world was going on. I stood there and watched them and within about ten seconds, they gathered themselves up and flew away in a big cluster. All I could do was wave.

Oh well. More room for the others to put up honey I suppose. I did drive around to the neighbor's yard where they had headed off toward, but I didn't see them clustered anywhere. I hope they find a good spot!

The Water Dog

2008-04-09T10:56:00.003-04:00

Sunshine enjoys this place so much partly because of all of the new experiences that await her here. Kip went fishing a couple of weeks ago in one of the smaller ponds and he commented that he had to stop casting because everytime the worm went in, Sunshine jumped in after it. Well, we walked down to our larger pond behind the barn and threw some large rocks in the water. Sunshine dove right in and the more she did it, the longer time she spent swimming around.
Now, when we get near the water, she goes right in and swims from one end to the other non-stop. She absolutely cannot get enough of swimming~~it results in a lot of baths afterward, but to see her enjoying herself so much makes it 100% worth it!

Spring Break

2008-04-09T10:23:00.003-04:00

"I have an announcement to make....I am the bubble King!"
Moe, Curly & Larry?
LeeAnne & Rosie, who tried to pick fights with Sunshine all weekend--it was very funny
Penn, LeeAnne's Mini-Me
Anthony prefers to be alone.
LeeAnne brought her brood to the farm for the weekend. We had looked so forward to it for months. Unfortunately, the weather was uncooperative and we had to spend almost all of it inside. The guys all played video games until they were sick of them. Finally, Sunday, we got to go out and walk in the pasture. It was still wet and sloppy, but a good time was had by all. I say the weekend was a success!