Things......

Just a few 'things' to keep everyone updated.

The baby chicks are doing well. I've only lost 2, so I figure I'm doing good. Their 'big kid' feathers are starting to emerge on their wings, and it seems they are becoming more brave with each day. When I clean out their cage, they are starting to peck at my fingers, run up my arm, or even look straight into my face as if daring me to overlook their cuteness. And it is so hard! I do have one that I am concerned for....he/she has splayed legs, and can't stand well. Its belly fuzz is either wet, or crusty from laying flat. I feel bad for it, I do, but I didn't buy these birds for pets, and cannot get attached. So I have to let it fend for itself, and either it will make it or it won't. Call me cruel, but that is the way it is.

The adult chickens are doing fair. I have one of the 3 year old girls that has separated herself from the others and is very.....blah. I figure she won't last through the week. That group has completely stopped laying, and will be taken back to market on the 4th of May. If I can sell them for $3 each, and find younger hens for $5 each, I'm only out $2 per hen purchased.

My best friend (female) Jade should be arriving here tonight. She is waiting to hear if she has been accepted into the USMC, and hopefully today is the day for good news! If she is, she will be bringing her dog Spirit for me to babysit until the end of the month. I'm looking forward to her visit, as we haven't seen each other in probably a year! Although, she'll be here late (9pm/2100) we'll have time to catch up and just relax. I'm stoked!! ;)

A small step with crazy dog Carlo. For those of you who aren't familiar with my run-ins with Carlo, him and I have led a rocky road of companionship, resulting in me getting bit. In the past, he has detested me feeding him. I have had to lock him in his doghouse, then let him out after I am completely out of his pen. Well, today he decided to be nice. I noticed a change in his behavior and decided I would fill his bowl and try to slide it in through his pen gate. Now in the past, he has always tried to either come out the gate at me, or attacking the bowl and dumping food everywhere. Today, he decided to sit quietly, and stay put when I told him to. He even had a bit of a tail wag for me, and showed no aggression when I slid the bowl in. I praised him like crazy, then left him to his breakfast as a show of "you did good, no harm from me, eat well". I can't guarantee it will happen again, and I can't say I trust him, but today was a good day. Its been almost 2 years, and 'baby steps' are slow, but good. I'll take the good ones when I get them.

As for the DH, he is doing well. Working at the new company, although not yet hauling the acid he was hired to haul. But I'm not complaining. There were 9 people in his class, and he was the first one to be called in to work a full week before the others. We aren't sure why, as I told him he probably unknowingly 'wooed' the dispatcher. Who knows the real reason, but I'm just glad there was an overlap between jobs. In today's economy, work is good. No gaps, even better. So far he has been home every weekend, although I don't count on it. I go and get him when he calls, and take the days off when I get them.

The garden is doing ok, I guess. We had a hard frost, and even though I covered the tomato plants, they died. I also lost my pepper plants. My strawberries seemed to have made it, and so have my cauliflower and broccoli plants. We'll see how the rest do this week.

I managed to get in a short motorcycle ride yesterday evening. After mowing the grass, running the trimmer, fixing kennels, strawing kennels, grooming my sis-in-law's dog, and raking the grass clippings, I was able to ride 15 miles one way to get fuel and then back. It was a nice end to a hard working day. No, I wasn't in full HD garb, and my hair was full of grass, my face dirty, and jeans filthy, but I didn't care. The wind in my face was all I needed to make it perfect. A real sole cleansing time, even if it was short. But then again, its like that every time I get on my bike. I love it!