Mother's Day Pieces of Joy

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Mother's Day this year was full of little "pieces of joy"... that all added up to one very special day.


It was a beautiful, beautiful day and we spent much of it outside relaxing, and just enjoying the sunshine.


Annie actually allowed me to photograph her relaxing too.  Usually she wants to lick the camera, or me, and I never get a good picture of her doing what she loves to do best.... which is sleeping!


The sun was bright and warm, and while I relaxed outside in the sunshine, Annie chose to find a nice cool spot in the shade.


It was a lovely day for a snooze!


Roger agreed.  He chose to snooze on the front steps, in the shade too.


Oh to have the life of a dog!


In the afternoon, my family treated me to a nice dinner at Olive Garden.  It was a very special time, and amazingly, we pretty much just walked right in!  When we arrived, my heart kind of sank, because there were tons of people milling around outside.  I told my family that if the wait was too long, we would just go somewhere else.  But, my son went in to see about the wait, and came back out with a beeper. They told him 15 minutes.  He had just gotten back in the vehicle, where we decided to wait, as the restaurant and outside areas were full, when the beeper went off!  We literally didn't even wait 5 minutes, and we went in and were seated right away!  That was a real treat in itself!


We enjoyed all the food, but most especially the desserts!


Sicilian Cheesecake -- ooh it was so good!  I couldn't finish it all, so brought it home as a treat for later.


Going out to check on our sitting hens and I found another amazing surprise!  The baby chicks had hatched!


What excitement! We didn't get to see the process, but here they were - right on time for Mother's Day!



At first I only saw one.


So sweet and chirpy!  It seemed it had been born several hours before, because it wasn't wet, but completely dry and happy.


Then I wondered ... are there more?  What was Momma hen hiding from me?


Sure enough, I began moving the hens - who got VERY angry with me about this! - and discovered two more baby chicks, another yellow one, this one with little brown stripes down its back...


... and the cutest little black one! Unfortunately, as I looked around the coop, I saw a sad sight.  One little black chick had hatched itself out of the egg, but met an unfortunate ending somehow, and it just broke my heart.  As I stood and watched the chicks with the mothers, I realized that some of the hens weren't being very nice and wondered if perhaps our little black chick that didn't make it was because of the way some of the hens were treating the chicks.  We decided to remove the three chicks and bring them inside.


Here they are all warm, safe and comfy.


It was obvious that they didn't feel safe, as they all crowded into one corner together, huddled and trying to understand their new surroundings.


I can imagine it was quite a shock to be taken away from the safety of their mother's wings, however, I was worried about the other hens not being so nice to them, so it was in their best interest to come inside with me.


Welcome to your new home!  They were unsure of their new home without the safety of their mother's wings, but after I turned the red heat lamp on, they began moving around and chirping happily.


They found the food and water bowl and began eating and drinking and chirping quite loudly.


This one is really the "poser" of the three.  The other two didn't really care for my camera, but this one was curious.


This sweet little chick has a very, very loud chirp and when it decides to chirp, it chips so loudly, you can hear its voice through the house!  I just wonder... is this a rooster?  LOL!


We had a mishap a week or so ago with Annie.  She got loose from our yard, and ran over into our neighbor's yard, and killed 7 of their hens.  :(   It was terrible.  So, our neighbor and I agreed that when our chicks hatched, I would give her 7 chickens from them.  Only problem being is that I think we are only going to get 3 chicks from this batch of 18 eggs, which is not a very good hatch rate.  Our friend who brought us the eggs said he had a 40% hatch rate with all his in the incubator.  He thinks his rooster wasn't "doing his job".  LOL... So... that meant a trip for me down to the feed store to buy 7 little chicks to raise and give back to our neighbor.  And that means all the excitement of 18 possible eggs, may translate only into 3 new chicks for us.


So here are the 7 little chicks I got from the feed store.  They have adapted somewhat well to their surroundings, but still freak out if I try to touch them.  I suppose it will take them a while to adjust to this new environment, after being through so much handling, and scary adventures from hatching, to the feed store, and now home with us.


But my 3 little babies hatched by our hens do not move away in fright from me at all, and even hop into my hand when I offer it outstretched.


And this little yellow one really enjoys the camera!


I am already calling her a "her", and hope that she is a she! LOL!


"She" lets me hold her in my hand quietly and seems to enjoy being touched and talked to.


So precious!


I will never cease to be amazed at the circle of life, and how a beautiful little life like this comes from an egg!  I am told that we will not be able to tell the difference between sexes probably until their chirps change and you will hear a rooster make its signature call, and then you will know just who is who.  So for now, I have not named these sweet little ones, except that I really do hope that "she" is a she!  lol!

These lovely pieces of joy served up a lovely and wonderful Mother's Day spent relaxing, and enjoying the special day with my family, and that was made quite memorable by the arrival of three little fluffy peeps. :)

24 comments

  1. I love chick time. We raised chickens too. Laying hens, and meat hens. My daughter and her family carried on the tradition. Her three girls LOVE this time of year!!! They are constantly holding their little chicks, and playing with them out in the yard. They have many different breeds of hens for eggs, and pets.
    I LOVE your post. Brings back sweet memories.
    Debbie
    xo

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    1. We are really enjoying the chicks! This is my "first" for raising chicks from eggs, and we are really enjoying it. I'm glad you enjoyed the post bringing back fond memories, as we are in the process of making those memories, lol! Have a blessed and wonderful day :)

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  2. Oh, I have had those desserts and they are just lethal :0) what a wonderful time of year to see the chicks chirping away and growing so beautifully! I am so glad you had such a lovely day! mari

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    1. The rest of the family finished off their desserts, but I took part of mine home and enjoyed it yesterday - stretching out the goodness :) We are really enjoying the chicks too, they are as happy as they can be. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts, much appreciated! :)

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  3. Replies
    1. Yes, it was a wonderful day, great memories and times! Thanks for your visit today :)

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  4. I really enjoyed reading this post today! So fun. I love animals, babies especially, and am always mesmerized by the circle of life myself. How exciting that you are a witness and such an integral part of the chicks' survival. Enjoy them...and your cheesecake leftovers! ;)

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    1. Yes, we are enjoying the journey so much, and as this is our "first" time hatching and raising chicks, it is quite exciting! I did enjoy my cheesecake leftovers very much :) Thanks for your visit Kim!

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  5. Very sweet! And lovely photographs. Is it an option to put the chicks back with mom and isolate the little family from the other hens? I know all about dogs killing chickens.... I hope things go better and relations with neighbours are repaired. How wonderful to have those little chicks around to enjoy!

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    1. We don't have any way in our chicken cook of separating the momma hen from the other hens. It would be best, I think, if we could keep them together, but this is the next best plan. Our neighbor thankfully was very understanding about the hen mishap, and we are good friends too. She said her old hens weren't laying much anyway, and so may be a "blessing in disguise" for her to get new chickens. I am really enjoying the chicks!

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  6. You take beautiful photos. Thanks for stopping by my blog!

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    1. Thanks Kim! I love taking pictures, it is my way of sharing the beauty of God's creation, which always amazes me. Thank you for coming by for a visit! Have a blessed day :)

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  7. Oh, so cute and fuzzy!! :)

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    1. LOL... Yes, they are so cute and precious, just an amazing thing to watch them as they grow. :)

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  8. What a beautiful blog you have! This is my first time here, and I am so glad to "meet" you. I loved seeing all of the pictures of the chicks, and seeing the Olive Garden food made me hungry! We love their food, too, and go as often as we can!!! God bless you. :)

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    1. Thank you Cheryl! I am glad to have met you too, and that you were able to stop by for a visit. I love taking pictures of the beautiful things the Lord has created for us to enjoy. It brings me much joy. I too love Olive Garden, and since we live in the "boonies", and hardly ever eat out, it was a real treat for us! Appreciate your visit today!

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  9. What a handsome dog! And I love the photos of the chicks. So sweet.

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    1. Thank you for your visit, and yes, we are kind of partial to Annie. She is quite the "princess" lol!

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  10. So glad you had a relaxing Mother's Day. Those little chicks are just so sweet.

    Hugs,
    ❤️Ana

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    Replies
    1. It was a wonderful day and the chicks were certainly the icing to my amazing dessert :) Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts :)

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  11. Awww... your chicks are just too precious! My son and I were at Murdochs about a week ago and he saw their baby chicks and wanted to get one.... I told him they don't stay little and fuzzy for very long :)

    Those cakes, oh my! They made my mouth water! I would love a bite....or ten right now :) Thank you so much, sweet friend, for sharing with Roses of Inspiration. Enjoy your evening! Hugs!

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    1. Oh yes, the chicks grow really fast, lol! They are just so cute though when they are little like this! Yes, I wouldn't mind another piece of that amazing cheesecake myself, lol!

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  12. Looks like you had a great weekend and it looks like you are going to have tomatoes at least! ;) Great photos!

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    Replies
    1. Yes, it was a beautiful weekend! I appreciate your visit today, and hope you had a wonderful weekend as well :)

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