The Rain In Spain Falls Mainly On The Plain

Is it really quitting today?  This morning the weatherman said the rain was gone, except for a couple of pop-up showers along the Pitt County/Beaufort County lines.  I promptly looked out the window to see it was raining still.  I do NOT live along the Pitt/Beaufort county line.  There's still a light mist outside.  We really needed the rain, but this much rain was insane!  I don't know the exact amount, but last I heard it was about 15 and a half inches over the last two days.  I can't help but wonder if any of the cotton crops have been, or will be, ruined by this much rain.  Jacksonville got several inches more, and I heard that Wilmington got well over 22 inches!  My chickens weren't in standing water.  The land is fairly high back there, but the poor things were certainly standing in mud.  One of my roosters, a white silkie, died.  No clue why, except I assume between the cool temps and the rain he may have gotten pneumonia or something to that effect.  I'll have to check them again this evening.  Mike will check them today.

I tried to get rid of a few of them.  I put an ad in the Carolina Bargain Trader, but I only got one phone call.  A lady called, who said her husband told her to call.  She wanted to discuss it with him and call back.  She never called back.  I may have to feed them through the winter, then take them to auction.  C'est la vie.  Oh, and I just sent in another ad to find homes for these kittens.  I have five that need homes.  Otherwise, I'll have to take them to the pound and hope Saving Graces For Felines will pick them up.

Well, I start my new job on Monday, October 13th.  At least I think I do.  My new boss called me last Friday and offered me the job then went on vacation.  To my knowledge he'll be returning to work on Monday.  My current boss didn't give a counter offer.  I really didn't think he would.  It was just too big of a difference.  My current position was posted in the company, and on the company web site (http://www.airgas.com/) and within two days I've heard that they've received over 40 applications.  The position is posted for 10 days, so I can only imagine how many apps there will be! 

So I will be working for Airgas National Carbonation.

I'm sort of looking forward to the change.  Thanks for all the well-wishes.  And thanks for the offer of a good meal, Jim.  How can I get in touch?  It's strange to think I will be driving a truck, especially for what they offered.  No, I will NOT be getting rich.  I don't even buy enough lottery tickets to get rich.  In fact, playing the lottery for me is a rare occasion.  But I digress.  But the difference in pay was worth moving out of the office.  At least, I think....I hope.  (I'm gritting my teeth!) 

Now this is not my truck.  But I will have one similar to it.  I know a couple of the guys I will be working with, and they're pretty cool.  But for now, the suspense is killing me!!

Babies

Thought I'd give you and update on the babies.  They are getting big now.

Here are three RI Red/Black Sex Link mixed and one Black Austrolorp.  The one in the front is gonna be a pretty bird.  The Black Aussie (2nd from front) grew much faster and is a bit bigger than the others.  The third from the front is about 10 days younger than the others, but holds his own.  The one in the back has a bit of white on him that I'm convinced with turn out to be tan. 

They didn't want to be still for the photo op!  Busy little buggers, they are!

These two are also RIR/BSL mixed.  I love the light colored one.  But that's also the one who got picked on by the others.  He had no feathers on his neck.  I separated him, but gave him a small buddy to keep him company.  He's started to heal, but keeps scratching the scabs, making it bleed again.  He looks pitiful.

Just look at the poor guy's neck!

Sometimes when I get home from work I don't even go into the house.  I go straight to the chickens and/or the garden.  Last Friday I was in a horrible mood over an issue I still have to figure out.  I went back to look at the birds, and this is what I found!  She was sitting on two eggs, but only one hatched.  He's so funny running around all by himself. 

Here he is close up.  I'll probably take him away this weekend, and put him with the others.  He was always running around.  He had no deisre to look at the camera.

And of course, I could not leave out these little guys!  Aren't they just the cutest!

This cute little guy is the runt.  He's half the size of the others.  But when they are feeding on mama he's off curled up by himself sleeping! 

Here's my last baby pic.  Well, it's not really a baby.  It's the mama.  Not sure what kind of bird she is, but here nest is in our Magnolia tree.  I'm sure the baby has hatched, though, as I found broken shell under the tree.

And finally.........

SKY WATCH FRIDAY!!

P.S.  I don't know which of the baby chickens are hens or roosters.  I just used the terms he/him as general terms.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Can I Breathe?

These past two weeks have been a bit on the insane side of things.  We had open house at our branch for work last Tuesday and again at our Edenton branch 1 1/2 hours away on Wednesday.  So, that meant that I spent a good deal of Monday, and even some of the previous week, trying to prepare for all of it.  My boss flew to New York (upstate) to pick up a motorcycle that belongs to the company.  But it wasn't just any motorcycle.  It was personally created for Airgas by Paul Sr. and Paul Jr. of Orange County Choppers (OCC).  Tuesday we had a number of vendors here to sell their products (3M, Bosch, Metabo and others).  We were giving out free hot dogs, chips, and drinks.  The Hypertherm Rep even fired up a plasma cutter and let me give it a try!  My boss asked me to come in at 6 a.m. Wednesday to drive the six-figure ( I don't know the exact amount but I'm told it is between $100,000 and $250,000) motor bike to Edenton, NC, help out while I was there, then drive the bike back to Greenville that afternoon.  Then on Thursday, I had to drive the bike to Greensboro to meet someone who was taking it up to one of our stores in Kentucky.  Friday we had full gas inventory.  This week I have been trying to play catch-up from last week, plus it is month-end close out.

On top of all of this,  we have had some chicks hatch, and Mike called me this morning to say that Prissy was having her third litter of kittens (and she's not even 2 years old yet).    She's getting fixed soon.  You better believe I'm taking a much needed break this weekend.  Mike and I will be heading out to my parents Friday morning for the weekend.  I have pics, but they will have to wait till later. 
Hope you all have a wonderful Easter holiday!

A New Day

Hey! It's a new day! I'm gonna try to add some pics today. They will be my first. I have so much work to do at my real job. I may have to bring some home for the weekend. I am off for vacation next week, and I am supposed to be going to the beach with my mom, but I may have to put that on hold. I may even just work and take vacation later. But I really need a vacation.

I took this storm cloud pic outside the hospital. I was visiting a relative. This how work seems to be lately. I can never catch up. But I shouldn't complain. That's job security. There are a lot of people out there who wish they just had a job! I have a decent one. And I recently got a truck!! I have a pic, but it's not a good one. It's a used truck, but it's in terrific shape. It's a 1993 Chevy Silverado. I'll add a pic later.

Well, it's time to show y'all some of the gang. Let's start with Max. He's my baby. He's so loyal. He does this bark/howl everyday when I get home from work. I take him a Minnie out, and when we come in he jumps right in my lap and lays down.

He's so "motherly", too. When Prissy had kittens he went in several times a day just to lick the kittens. I think he thought they were his kittens. He tries to do the same with the bitties. Speaking of Prissy.

She's so rotten, too. She likes to sleep on the end tables in the living room or the night stands in the bedroom. Here she's on the back of the couch with her head hanging down. She's so skinny and small. She eats well and is healthy, though. Her kittens went to the pound :( I hated doing that, but they would have been too much.

This is them. This was taken just a few hours after they were born. I was so looking forward to sleeping in Saturday morning. But NOOO WAAAAAYY!!! Prissy climbed in a suit case under the bed and had her kittens at 4:30 in the morning, Saturday, April 18. And they meowed loud enough to wake me up. That was it. There was no going back to sleep.

Well, I have to get out of here. Let me throw a few pics o' the chicks up here. This is Bucky.

He's the mean one. He doesn't just try to spur you. He will even try to bite you. Mike has gotten him out and held him. Well, he can't spur you that way. So he turns his head every which way he can to try to bite you!! And he's loud. He likes to be heard. He crows all the time. When the weather was cooler I was sleeping with the window open. Bucky would start crowing at 1, 2, 3 o'clock in the morning. I swear, I think he was doing it on purpose. He's not that far from the house. So I would have to close the window just to get back to sleep.

I better try to get some work done. I will try to get back with you guys this afternoon. Have a good one!!