The first day of Fall is September 22, well at least I think that is the correct date. I'm ready for cool days and some rain, but we may have to wait until October for Fall to really show up. I gave the hens their lettuce this morning after I called Morgan inside for her doggie treat to keep her from running around in the middle of the chicken herd. The hens are excited so Morgan is too and she wants to check out the lettuce and broccoli.
Then I went down the drive to take some September photos.
This is a view down the road as you leave our gate.
This is a view the other way toward our gate.
It is very, very dry. The trees and plants seem to just be hanging on waiting for some rain. It is amazing that anything can stay alive in that dusty rocky dirt. Soon there will be leaves all over the place and I will be busy raking. The woods have their dry dusty charm, but just wait until we get some rain and everything will look so green and alive. I want rain.
Kristine locked up the chickens tonight. Super... except she didn't check for eggs, so we went back out together. She held the light and I held the camera and we only found two eggs. See all the feathers in the nest box. There are feathers all over, so I think that means that the hens are going into molt and that explains the egg production slowing down. There were 5 hens in nest boxes, 4 on the ground, 1 roosting on the entrance to a nest box, 7 were on the roosts and 1 was on the slanty roof of the old nest box. These two hens were not happy to have me flash a light on them and roust them about looking under them for eggs. The skunk smell was a bit less, so maybe it is going to start going away. I hope!
The Auburn-49'er fire is supposed to be contained today, but the latest fire update says 80%, so I hope they can continue to gain control of the fire. The wind has calmed down, which is a help.
[2 eggs today]
Smiles
~:>
4 comments:
It sure does look dry! How far are you from a town?
You are correct! September 22nd is when fall begins! It's also my Birthday!! :)
Our Hens haven't started laying yet but I also saw feathers everywhere yesterday.
Are you hen older? Sometimes chickens will go through a molt, losing feathers and stopping egg production until they get pretty again.
Golly, you really are dry. I hope rain comes your way soon!
The Farmers Almanac http://www.farmersalmanac.com/weather/a/frigid-2010-forecast-how-cold-will-the-winter-weather-be
Says California will be mild and dry this winter.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
Lisa: We are fairly close to three towns. And yes, it is very dry, but interestingly, we have a cloudy sky today, however no rain. boo...
Carol: Happy early birthday! Tom went to get chicken feed today and maybe chicken vitamins to help with their molt.
Linda: Oh, I hope the almanac is wrong, but drought is pretty normal for Southern California, but Californians always seem to forget that. We are kinda in the middle, so some years we get a decent amount of rain.
Thanks for commenting!
Callie
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