Gotta Roll Out

Hey everybody! How has your week gone? Mine has been so very busy. I've had so much to do before I have to leave for Florida. Well, obviously that has kept me from blogging like I'd like to do. But it's all good, right? I didn't even get things done here at work that had to be done. I'm making some notes so those here can help me out. I'd hate to come back to work and be way backed up with 2 or 3 week old stuff. On top of that, I had to go to court again this morning for a ticket I got back in February. This is the fourth time I've gone to court over it!! I was trying to get it thrown out, but I've had no luck. The judge gave me one more continuance, to which the assistant district attorney objected. I guess I will just have to pay the lousy fines! But I'm digressing. I have no pics for today. I did lose another bitty. He got into a water dish and drowned. It was awful. He had one eye open and one closed. I buried it in the yard. I"m down to nine now. But I should have some new bitties by the time I get back. I leave Sunday morning for Florida, and I'll be gone for 2 weeks. But I'll get some pics while I'm down there and tell y'all all about it when I get back! Y'all behave, and I'll see you soon!!

R

Support Our Troops

No, today is not Memorial Day. Nor is it Veterans Day. It is not V-J Day or V-E Day. It is none of those special days we have set aside to remember those who have fought for, and have even given their lives for, our freedom. No, this is just another ordinary day. We go to work, we walk our dogs, we watch television, we go shopping, we buy groceries, and do all the things we do every week in our every day lives. But our soldiers are still in Iraq. They are still in Afghanistan. Our news stations regularly announce death and destruction in these wars, but often it becomes just another far and away news story for the simple fact that we have heard it day in and day out for the past eight years.

Well, today is not just another ordinary day for those over there. Each day is lived on a wing and a prayer that God will protect each of them and bring them home safely. Today's blog is a tribute to our soldiers, our airmen, our marines, our sailors. I, now, take a moment of silence for the fallen........and offer a salute to those who still are fighting for us today, our HEROS.

(The above photos are actual photos taken by soldiers in Baghdad, Iraq.)

TGIF!!

I am so glad that it's Friday. Work has been insane, and I am so ready for a couple of days off. This credit crunch has left us hurting for help because we cannot hire. That means that I am having to extra work for no extra pay. We are not allowed overtime, either. My mom wanted me to come for a visit before I go to Florida, but I have so much to do at home, not to mention gettting ready to go. I spoke with her today, and she assured me that she knows I still love her even if I don't visit when she wants. We we gonna meet half way for dinner tonight, but my dad has to work. So we agreed to wait till I get back.
My brother is staying with us. He moved back from Texas a few weeks ago, and is now job hunting. Till he can get himself settled he will stay with us for a while. He just called me a few minutes ago to tell me that Bojangles, the Dominique rooster has escaped and has gone missing. I'm not home, so there's nothing can do about it. I'll have search when I get home this evening.
I got to count the bantam babies yesterday afternoon. There was 11 of them. A short while later I found one dead in their little coop. I'm not sure if Bucky killed it or not. He's a little bit of a hyped up one. Just to be on the safe side, He got put by himself for a few weeks. He is close by, so hopefully he will get used to them.

This is China. She has finally come out into the sunshine! Well, what she could find. We had some nasty thunderstorms yesterday. But the babies were all running about. I had to pick one up. They are so incredibly tiny!! And adorable. Of course one of my bantam pullets is all white, and one of Henry's friends wanted a white one. So, I guess if I get a white hen out of the three white ones, I will have to give it to him. Unless I give him my white pullet. Then I could breed one of my white ones to the cockrel (full grown rooster by then) that I now have. Whatever. I'm digressing just now.

I have so many jalapenos! Mike makes those jalapeno things with the shrimp, cream cheese, and bacon. I love those things. But I have never made jelly. (at least not on my own...I have helped others when Iwas a kid.) So I was searching for some recipes on the internet today for jalapeno jelly. I have four recipes...one for hot jelly, one for mild jelly, one for mint jalapeno jelly, and one for raspberry jalapeno jelly. If any of you have any recipes you'd like to share, please feel free to e-mail them to me. mikenran@gmail.com .

Y'all have a most wonderful weekend. I'll blog at ya later!!

A Few Things

After my little escapades with the chickens yesterday I came inside to take a bit of a nap. Max was kind enough to join me. ( I hate pics with my hair this short because it makes me look like I have less hair than I do.) He often naps with me, but he's been a bit wierd lately. He used to sleep with Mike and I at night, but now he sleeps in the living room in that ugly green rocking chair that Minnie's pic is in. Of course, Minnie used to have a bed on the floor in the bedroom next to where Pierre used to sleep. But since he passed away, she has begun sleeping on the foot of the bed.

I suppose an introduction to Becky is passed due. I cannot, in good conscience, say that she is a sweetheart. On the contrary, she is a real devil. I do not feed her. I do not give her water. I do not clean her cage. She tries to bite me through her cage every time I even go near her. Mike does everything for her. She never tries to bite him. But he gets mad at her because of all the noise she makes. He got her in place of some money someone owed him. They offered the bird, and he obligingly accepted. But she begins making awful squawking early in the morning later in the evening when I get home. Of course, she's just being a bird (Quaker Parrot to be exact), but it's quite annoying. She does talk. "Pretty bird, cracker, She's my baby, wolf wistle, and a few more phrases." But my bird, she is not.

Finally, I was wondering if I may receive some assistance in discovering the breed of the chicken(This is Col. Sanders)? I know it's a rooster. He does not crow, or make any noise at all for that matter. But he has a rooster tail. And when I put a hen in with him he immediately topped her. His comb is rather small for a rooster. He has tufts of feathers near his ears. He also has rather long and skinny legs with long, skinny toes. He's colored like a Rhode Island Red. I was thinking that maybe he's part Aracuna? Any thoughts?

One Moving Day

I got home from work yesterday and went out to feed the birds. I have five bitties (not quite old enough to be cockrels or pullets yet) that have been in a bitty box. But they were getting a bit big for the box. So I had to move them. But I had to divide the coop for the three bantam teens first. So while I was doing all that I decided to let the ladies run around the yard to eat grass, bugs, and whatever else they thought would make a great snack. Those buffs are something else. They are quite sneaky like John Gray's little ducks. I turned my head for a moment and they were gone. Of course, they haven't found a favorite place yet. Sometimes they slip past the short pines into the garden. Occasionally they go around the side of the house to the front yard. Yesterday, they went behind Henry's shed into his back yard. And they do not like to go back into the coop for the evening, either. But I finally got the new coop set up for the bitties, and they loved it. They discovered dirt and went straight to fluffing their feathers in it. The bantams didn't like having to share a coop, but they sure were interested in checking out the new neighbors!! And, yes, China did have her babies. She's not letting them out, yet, though. She barely lets them out from under her wings! I have a pic here, but it's not a clear one. I had a half lid on it to keep the

wheat straw in, so I took it off yesterday to encourage them to come out. She will get hungry soon, and they will follow her out, I guess.

I suppose I better get some work done. I'll be back later. Y'all have a good one!!

New Borns?

I think I have some new born Bantams. Bucky's woman, China, has been sitting in her little 5 gallon bucket for the last three weeks (I think it's been that long) on about 10 to 12 eggs. This morning when I was feeding them I thought I heard some peeping from under her. But she was not going to get up for me to see. And Bucky is one mean little bloke (I used that word for you Brits :) I am anxious to see them. He's black with a light tan neck collar and so is she. I have a couple of bantam cockrels and one small hen that are about 4 months old. I thought one of the cockrels was a hen because of a small comb at the time. I am getting another hen, but Henry won't take the cockrel back. Grrr!! Maybe I can give him away. Little Chicken, who now needs a good rooster name, has finally starting trying to crow. He is so funny!! He sounds like an extremely hoarse rooster with larengitis!!

I finally got a picture of Minnie! She's camera shy. It's probably because of her weight. She loves to eat.....and it shows. She should be about 15 pounds. She did weigh 26 pounds, but has lost down to about 20 pounds. We're working on it. Now that we have moved out of that apartment she gets a little more exercise. And you have to feel bad for her when she gets in trouble, because she runs and hides. And if you yell at her (which is a very rare occasion for all the activists) she wets herself. She's my baby girl, even though I sometimes call her pork chop. LOL

I didn't really have a lot to say today, but I wanted to post anyway. Maybe China will have her chicks out this afternoon, and I can get some pics of them for tomorrow (if I wasn't imagining things ;-P) I want a catchy saying to end with, but whilst I chew on that cud, y'all have a good one!!

Florida Bound

What an uneventful weekend. I had drill this weekend. I am in the Army Reserves. I served four years on active duty, and did a tour in Iraq. That was the worst year of my life. I decided to go back into the reserves because I can live my normal life with the exception of one weekend a month (and two weeks a year). I have been back in the reserves since February. I kinda like it. It's a totally different creature from active duty. We have had some fun weekends. We did some team building obstacles courses and land navigation tasks in the woods of central N.C. a few weeks ago. We also went to Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, NC for some range qualifying and enemy scenarios. And we've had some boring admin weekends with classes and/or paperworks stuff. Overall, I enjoy it. We are heading to Jacksonville, FL in two weeks for training. I think that will be pretty cool. We are going to try to go to Disney World and/or Universal Studios while we are there, as well. The way work has been lately, it will certainly feel like a vacation. I know that I am so ready for it.

Flora

My garden didn't do as well as I hoped it would this year. But it's my first real garden that

wasn't in containers. My canteloupes did fairly well. They just took forever to grow. This is one of my ripest melons, and it's not quite ready to pick. I didn't care for canteloupes when I was younger, but I love them now. My grandma loved them, and now that she's gone I think it has something to do with my liking them now.

My banana peppers were planted late, and they are just now putting out peppers. I haven't even had any yet. This is one of the first. I will be picking it this week. I love to put them on my salad.

My watermelons did okay, too. I planted seven plants and six survived. One is still pretty small with only a few leaves on it, but it didn't die!! They were slow growing, too. This is my largest one, that ain't ready for a picking yet. Soon, though. It's a Jubilee. I hope it's nice and sweet. It will be great for a Saturday afternoon cookout with my nephews and nieces.

My jalapenos did great! One plant put out peppers later than the others. But that's because it just kept growing! It's not huge by any standards, but it is larger than the others. Mike makes these great jalapeno popper things. Slice a jalapeno in half. (canned, pickled jalapenos work, too, and are not as hot.) Scoop out the seeds. Spoon in a little bit of cream cheese. Cover with a raw shrimp. Wrap with a piece of bacon. Grill on the grill or bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until the shrimp and bacon are done enough! I love these things!! They are great right off the grill or out of the fridge, cold!!

This is one of my sad (also planted late) straight neck squash plants. I have neglected that end of the garden. All the grass and weeds have grown up around them and my cucumbers. My okra is okay, but I still don't have any okra yet. I planted my crook neck squash early, and thy have fizzled out. That is, the ones that the worms didn't kill. My tomatoes have not faired well, either. Worms got them, too. :(

This is my garden partner. Prissy loves to follow me out to the garden. She hides in the grass, then jumps out and runs down the rows. She also loves to pounce on and eat all the bugs. I have never seen a cat that loves to eat bugs as much as she does. That's why I sometimes call her Silly Cat.

Well, I better get my nose back to the grind stone. It's a wonder I even have a nose left, as much as I keep it there. Why do people say that, anyway? Why would anyone even put their nose on a grind stone? Well, y'all have a good day, and I will see you all on the flip side of blog world.

No More Holiday : (

Well, my little holiday is all over. What a very sad thought. I have returned to the chain gang. I didn't go to the beach. Some things came up. I had some business affairs that I needed to take care of this past week. Isn't that a lovely way to spend a holiday? I did have a nice 4th of July. Mike and I drove to my parents' home on Friday. Then my mom and I went shopping. We picked up a whole pig that I cooked for the holiday. My niece and nephew were at my parents' also. Then on Saturday all my brothers and sisters and their spouses and children were there. I wish I had taken a picture of the pig, but I didn't take any pics at all that day! How dumb of me. We had a good time, though. Oh!!! Elvis came home!! He showed up Thursday evening!! He almost got shot at with a pellet gun. Prissy is in heat, and this male cat keeps hanging around. So we have to shoot "at" him with a pellet gun (not shoot him) to scare him off. He's black like Elvis. So at first we thought Elvis was this black cat. Anyway, he's been in my bedroom since Thursday. His food, water, and litter box are in there, temporarily for sure. He's eating, drinking, and pottying, but rarely comes out of the room. That's not like him. Hope he's back to his old self soon.

Here's the beginning of the new coop. We obviously have not finished yet. I haven't gotten the wire either. I think it will be nice when it is finished. It's hard to find the time to do all the things I want to do around the house, though.

These are a couple of the ladies waiting on the new coop. At least I think that's how we're gonna do it. I think the Buffs and the Sex Links will go to the new one. We will see if I ever get it finished. One of my Buffs is in with Perogi. She has four eggs that I'm hoping she's gonna hatch for me. I just wanna see what the kids will look like. LOL!

I need to get outta here. I have some fuel reports that are not matching up. I'm even coming up short 500 miles on one. I'm sure it's a simple mistake, but they're getting old. There's always at least one that is wrong every month. Wish me luck! Have a good one, y'all!!