Chook chook chook

The chooks are getting bigger and braver and just tonight I saw Miss Dangermouse (the black silkie) actually attempting to go UP the ramp. 

She has of late been managing to get down it in the mornings but still would not go up. 

Until tonight.

But she was nearly thwarted by her mates, who sat at the top of the ramp watching her and would not move their feathery butts out of the way so she could step off the ramp and head inside. 

Poor thing, couldn't go back down because she was facing up but couldn't get inside, hubby and I just stood there laughing at the lot of them.

No one's ever said chickens are clever, have they?

The garden's been tootling along alright, it got a bit hot for a lot of the toms there but we have been managing to eat some fresh every day.

And see that funky looking thing on the left? That's our new compost bin, of the spinning variety. 

Little man in the picture wanted a ride in it, asked me to empty it of the chicken infused straw I had just put in and give him a spin.

I was tempted...

Want some sad songs?

Ya know those odd days when ya just wanna indulge your weepy mood?

Let me help you out.

And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda

The Pogues

Cat's In The Cradle

Harry Chapin

This one not weepy perhaps, but still...

I Was Only 19

Redgum

Feel free to indulge with me, if ye be in the mood....

Wyandottes and silkies - the new members of our family

See who arrived at our place for Christmas...duly named by their proud owners...

Dangermouse

Penfold

Anakin Skywalker

Shuttle

All a little bigger and braver now, the wyandottes are bantams and the silkies just stay small.....I think.

I didn't do much research, beyond looking up the council rules and regs. 

So now, as well as putting my boys to bed, I put these darn chooks to bed too.

The silkies won't go up the ramp...I discovered silkies don't fly, hence their reluctance to use the ramp and they are inclined to sleep in a heap in the corner. 

Which is ok, except Anakin and Penfold won't go anywhere without their fluffy friends. So they all snuggle in in a corner of their run downstairs. Which again is ok, except when it's cold. Like tonight. (What's up with this WEATHER?? I have my electric blanket heating in the middle of summer.) 

So, after the boys are in bed, I go out and lift Dangermouse (black) who is particularly timid, up into the more enclosed upstairs area. Then I lift up Shuttle (white). Who will go down the ramp, but not up. But she squawks for Dangermouse if one is upstairs and the other not. And the wyandottes won't go up if Shuttle is not up. So up she goes. Then the other two squawk confusedly for a bit, then follow the fluffies in a series of hops and flutters. 

And they all settle in for the night.

In the morning, Shuttle, Anakin Skywalker and Penfold have always made their way downstairs, but Dangermouse just will not go down the ramp. So I lift her down or I'm sure the silly chook would just stay up there and starve.

Here are my boys on Christmas morning...see the miniature cherry trees in the background? 

The boys love having their own trees, I can't help but wonder though, are we the only weird parents who give our kids chooks and trees for Christmas?