April 11, 2013
Where have I been all week?! Where every North Carolinian has been this week! Outside, of course! After a seemingly endless winter, we finally got a taste of Spring this week! And when I say this week, I mean two days…and then it turned summer.
We had broccoli for dinner for two nights, once the spring weather amped up production.
(forgive the pics – I had a VERY squirmy 8mo on my hip)
Then, with two days of mid-80s, the broccoli bolted. At least the chicks enjoyed the bolted broccoli.
Speaking of the chicks, they got a run this week! The tractor is on the west side of the coop so by 2pm every afternoon, there is just about zero shade left and the chicks retreat into the coop. The run is on the East side so it is much nicer in the afternoon, especially during this heatwave. There is a lot of shade and dirt – dust baths abound 🙂
(2yo spending time w/the chicks)
We had an exciting afternoon yesterday. A baby snake got into the tractor. The chicks fought over the snake, even after it bit most of them. It bit down hard on one of the chicks and no amount of pecking from the others was going to get it off. I called my husband to see what I needed to do, though I knew what he was going to say – pick up the chick and get the snake off. Did I mention this was not one of the most docile birds? Fun stuff.
Did I also mention that I grew up a city girl?! This is my first encounter with chickens…and snakes. First, I got tweezers but thought better and got tongs. Thankfully, the chick ran into the coop. (The only way to get into the tractor is to lift it up & let many other chicks out in the process.) When I opened the coop door, I saw the snake curled around a bunch of the chick’s feathers. Thankfully, the snake had missed its neck and was not choking it. As soon as I went into the coop, another chick pecked the snake off of the first chick’s neck, so thankfully, I did not have to catch the upset bird. And, finally, thankfully the snake fell to the ground, stunned, and before the chick was able to pick it up or the snake was able to attack, I was able to pick the snake up with the tongs. So, amidst all of the craziness, I am extremely thankful to the Lord we did not lose a bird and none of the humans got hurt 🙂
So now, I have the snake. The closest thing I could reach were pruning shears. These bent the snake in half but did not cut the snake.
So I had to go inside to get a meat knife and cut the snake…which proceeded to slither away. WHAT?! So I had to cut it again! Craziness!
I’ll let you guys take a breath…calm the laughter down, people. I know, I know, such a city girl 😉
I hope your week was just as wonderful and maybe a bit less exciting 🙂
Gardening Without... 