The hubby left again this morning. Yesterday he got the last of the walls up and a large part of the roof framing done on the new coop. Next weekend he wants to finish it so I can begin building my pens and moving the birds during the following week. Need to get some paint slapped on that baby before I start making the big move. I figure white for the interior to help keep it lighter in there. Gloss paint to make it easier to give a good clean out when its needed.

This morning I mowed until I ran the mower out of gas. Darn it, I'm not done. Oh well, I've got tons more outside I can find to do that would justify leaving the dirty dishes in the sink for a few more hours.

Had a hawk fly over this morning. Its the first time I got to witness the Guineas reaction to one. I have one guinea girl with a single keet, the keet headed for thick cover and the adults raised a ruckus, I could hear them over the mower, and watched them move away from where the keet was hiding. I turned the mower off to make certain for myself that all was well. I could hear the keet crying for its Momma. I stood close by giving them a small sense of security, she came back, collected her baby and they moved to the safety of the coop.

Time to get out there and see what all I can get in to while its so very, very nice outside.

I have some chronic health issues that sometimes gets in the way of plans so I hung out here yesterday and cleaned the house. It needed it. I hate housework, I'd rather be outside getting dirty. Guess I just never really grew up.

Glad I remembered to turn the fans off last night, it was 54 this morning. No chance of rain this weekend which is a good thing since I'd like to see the walls go up on the new coop. This is where I need to make that trip in to town this morning and pick up the deck boards that are needed badly.

I've got 5 girls out there sitting on eggs. Its like they all got together when I wasn't looking and made this decision. I've got pet carriers and covered litter pans spread everywhere and chock full of girls. I've got two that like to brood together and raise their chicks together. It works out pretty well since one of them is a better Momma than the other.

The keets are growing like gangbusters. Its like they sense Winter coming and they need to finish off that final growth spurt before it gets really cold. I've discovered that my white guineas are not really white, they are opalines. How I got those out of Lavenders is a mystery to me but I'll take them because they are very pretty.

The predator has finally given up. I haven't seen any sign of it this past week. Dang thing, made for some pretty restless sleep there for a while.

Time to go change out of the work clothes and make myself sort of presentable to be seen away from the house. You all have a great weekend, I need to get back here and do what I love most; being outside.

This club stuff is eating in to my free time in a big way. Heck, what free time? Just trying to keep up with the stuff around here is becoming an impossibility because of the show preparations.

The birds are all enjoying the new temps, less than 100 for the past couple of weeks. We've had a little rain but could use so much more. Its succeeded in washing the dust off all of the vegetation but when you look closer you can see the trees still look very stressed. Cross your fingers that the well holds out or I'll be like so many others with a water tank permanently attached to my truck.

For some reason the email for this site is being stupid. Tells me to login when I'm already logged in. Hoping they get it fixed ASAP.

Bought a new roo this week from my friend Judy of Satin Silkies. I'm going to keep it up until my coop is full of her birds. What can I say, I like her birds. I like the chicks they produce when combined with the right partner. Now I've really got a space problem. We really need to get that new coop finished.

Well, I need to make a trip in to town to buy more building materials. There is no incentive like seeing the pile of lumber out there just waiting for me to get out there and install it. And the more I can do on my own the less my husband has to do when he's home.

It was completed about noon today. Those dishes are bigger than I realized but if it provides me the speed and dependability that I can't get from the land line then its worth it. I'll let you all if/when I explode over it not being what they say it is.

While the installer was doing his thing and being licked to death by the dogs I installed a new door for the teenage keets so that they can access the outdoors without going through the main Silkie coop. That will make the Silkies happy, no more rambunctious keets zooming all over the top of them. And for me no more head injuries by Guinea.

My junior Silkie boys are beginning to mature and go after the girls who are just not ready for the amourous attention. So I'm having to divide off existing pens to put their feathery behinds up until the new coop is complete. I will need to sell most of them and will probably get them posted some time next week.

I hope to have the floor joists complete over the weekend so I can start raising walls next week. I would really like to get the Silkies moved in to their new digs before the weather gets too cold. Luckily here Winter doesn't get really cranked up until late December early January.

This week I tossed a new website up for our local poultry club. You all need to check it out, davycrockettclassic.com. Its still a work in progress just like this site but it takes so long using dial-up. I'll keep tweaking both sites as time allows. We are getting geared up for the November show, a lot of work goes in to one of these things over an extended period of time. We'd like to see 800 or more birds this year. We hover around 700 most years.

Speaking of poultry shows I suppose I should sign-off and do something productive, like working on the show catalogue.

I've been playing catch-up on all the things that got left undone during the heat wave here this Summer. The only things I did outside was take care of the birds. Now that the heat is gone and we got a little rain I'm having to mow again twice a week. But its green now, not all brown and dead looking. The animals are loving this weather right along with me.

Some other things are going to change around here too. Tomorrow I will long longer be a slave to dial-up, a new satellite system is being installed. Not only do I have my own internet related projects but I'm the Show Secretary for our local poultry club. I should have kept a diary of how much time I spent waiting while files were being uploaded or downloaded. Then the phone system that doesn't ever seem to get fixed. Its been two years now with the line blinking on and off. At least when it thunders I have a warning and know not work on anything important during that time.

I'll be putting some of my excess birds on the site right after the install is complete, I hope. Even with the excitement of newer, faster access there is still a bit of a learning curve.

The teenage guineas are driving me up the wall. Somehow I convinced myself it was OK to have one of my Silkies hatch these guys out. It went very well until they got to this stage in their lives. Now when I'm outside and hear one of my chickens screaming like a girl I know its the teenagers causing it. I've already treated one bird for head trauma, I don't need anymore so I ban the keets from the coop during the day. Can't wait for my new chicken coop to be complete. I'll move all of the Silkies in to the new coop and the guineas can have the old one.

I'm very much looking forward to the show our poultry club will be hosting in November. Maybe you all have heard of it, its called the Davy Crockett Classic in Lawrenceburg, TN? Some of the old members have returned when they realized we were serious about enforcing changes made by holding a vote to certify that the one very big change is a done deal and not to be changed. In between playing catch-up on everything else I need to choose which birds I want to take and start getting them ready to look their best. That means keeping them out of mud holes. Well, there goes my phone line dropping off again. I'll be so glad when that's done with.

I had some minor surgery done yesterday which would have been the perfect time to implement my plans to give the coop a thorough cleaning before Winter starts to move in. Guess I should switch gears and clean the house instead. I would much rather be out cleaning the coop.

The rain is needed so badly here that I'm glad to finally be seeing it.

I didn't find any signs that the predator has been back the last two days. I tried to get one of my dogs interested in the scent the last time it was here but he showed no interest. Any other time he'd get serious about it and start tracking the problem. Not this time. Guess my next project is motion sensor lights around the coops.

Got a chance between showers to do some cleaning. Taking a much needed break for a few and then will get back out to it.

Ooops, somehow the door closed during that rain shower and the girls got soaked. Its funny to watch the dark colored birds, they're all hunkered down looking out beneath their wet top knots. Its going to work out one of two way, the primas will look bright and clean. The little piggies will grab the opportunity while wet to take a mud bath.

Well, time to go back out and do more before the next rain moves in. Just might get most of the coop clean today.

This has been the worst Summer I have ever experienced. Considering I'm an adult now that's pretty bad. Temps for six weeks over 105 and no rain, zero rain for that entire time. But today is a celebration there was nearly an inch of rain in the rain guage earlier then more came through again this afternoon.

Had to make a mad dash outside during the downpour to make sure the peeps all put themselves in the coop during the rain. Its been so long many of them have never experienced it. My lone guinea hen with keets is probably thanking me now for having not listened and made her stay in the coop today. The others all look like drowned rats.

This rain should have a positive effect on the ponds. They are both spring fed but even the springs could not keep up during the drought.

Now I've got a predator problem. Last week a coon got in to the Guinea coop, killed all but three of the keets and killed one adult. The coop is now completely wrapped in wire. I hope the critter breaks some teeth trying to break in now. Thank goodness the Silkies are in a coop that could compete with Fort Knox.

Well, its time to feed the dogs, cats and get the birds ready for bed.