The Creation of Possum Manor

I thought this was really funny!

Kathie — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 03:32:20 +0000

I took this from Robin on Facebook. It made me laugh out loud.

And here is a little English teacher humor:

Never a dull moment with chickens

Kathie — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 20:56:00 +0000

It has just rained so much, and I cannot keep the coop dry. Poop balls are in epidemic form this winter. Today I had Jelly Bean and Phyllis in for pedicures. They were not happy with me. The good news was that because I have done this all winter, the balls are easier to get off. They were huge though.

They will not admit it, but they do enjoy the soak in the warm water.

Meet Maria’s Cat Max

Kathie — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 02:09:34 +0000

Maria has two cats, Max and Isabel. One of the things I like when I visit her is that her cats not only love to be held, they demand it. Cannot pick mine up for more than a second or two.

Meet Max:

He is sometimes a couch potato, and he even watches tv!

Always a joker!

And he will always let you know when he is done with you!

Thanks Maria!!!

Jan answered my call….

Kathie — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:33:49 +0000

Jan sent me pictures of winter in Michigan, and then she sent the cutest picture of Dusty, the cat. I giggle each time I look at it!

This is the extent of the snow:

The crocus coming up:

And the cutest damn picture:

That is the cutest cat I have ever seen.

Thanks Jan. I wonder who will send something next?

Another Sunday of Odds and Ends

Kathie — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:57:23 +0000

First some sad news. Butter Bean, one of the original chickens, has gone to chicken heaven. I went out to collect eggs around four yesterday afternoon, and she was hiding under the ramp to the house. I picked her up, and she was alert but limp. I put her in the chicken house and left her there while I did some internet research. I found that sometimes they get egg bound and you need to set them in warm water for fifteen minutes. I did that, and then I put her in a box of straw and kept her in the guest bathroom. She was dead by six. Ann took care of the funeral arrangements. No flowers please.

Maybe it is abuse. Look at how bad Brando has it:

The boy has it rough, doesn’t he?

My paint stain is slowly disappearing. I think it is four years old now. We parked on it Friday (we are on the right).

We have a very confused Christmas cactus. It is blooming.

I am making chilli today to take to work tomorrow. Keep them in your thoughts, as I have never made chilli before. lol I am also making a Mexican Chocolate Pound cake. Sounds good. I will let you know if it is.

Have a good week you all.

Is this really the end of January?

Kathie — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:23:13 +0000

Can you believe this temp? I was tempted to put the top down.

Sunday Odds and Ends

Kathie — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 18:54:45 +0000

I am done with this dreary winter. No snow is great, but where the heck is the sun? The poor chickens cannot keep dry, so once again I had to do a poop ball bath on three of them. I am getting this down though, and have figured out that if I get the front part off, the rest will come quickly. It is such a nasty job though.

Can you see the toes? Nasty. I put down two bags of sand in hopes that it would keep the coop a bit dryer. I will get more next weekend.

We have a pair of cardinals in the front woods. They are my favorite birds. Here is Mrs. Cardinal.

Yesterday I baked most of the day. I made Mandelbrot, which literally translated is Almond Bread. It is like biscotti, and I wanted Ann to be able to take some to her people at work. I made banana bread muffins too. I like muffins because it really helps me limit the amount I eat. I finished the day off with chicken soup. Today I made the matzo balls. Yummy.

This is what the kitchen looked like when I was finished:

Then I cleaned up.

How I spent my day off

Kathie — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:07:19 +0000

I cleaned the refrigerator, and believe me, it was not an easy job. How we do collect things. It had not been eons since the last time I did it, so there were not many surprises. However, the biggest surprise was a can of Crisco hidden in the back. I do not know who, when or why that Crisco was brought into the house. Honestly, I cannot think of when it would have been used. The other part of the mystery is that it expired inn 2006, and we did not build this house until 2007!!!! I have certainly cleaned out the frig since we moved it, and we started out with new stuff when we did move. Have no clue as to why it was there. (Oh, that is Ann on the right in that picture on the frig.)

Now I should do a video of the big upright freezer. It is an old one that we bought used a few years ago. So old that it is not frost free. Right now it is loaded with soup. Guess what we will be having for dinner? lol

Chicken toes, birds, and baths

Kathie — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:10:28 +0000

I wanted to figure out a title for this blog that would not come up when people were searching for porn. I am still getting at least a hit a day from “Only sluts get tattoos” and “How to cook a cat.”

The photos involved in the de-balling of the chicken toes are not good, but I had to use the phone camera and hold it while I held the chicken in the other arm. Doing it in the bathroom sink was so much easier, and the mess was pretty easy to clean up and sanitize. I did Phyllis and one of the babies. I cannot tell them apart unless they are near each other, and I saw this one come down the ramp with these big ole toe balls, and I just grabbed her.

Phyllis actually liked the bath. I did not even have to hold her in the water. Remember, she was use to a weekly bathing experience.

I will check the rest of them next weekend. I think I remember reading that I should be using wood shavings instead of straw; I don’t know. I was thinking of extending their walking area this summer. I will not mention it to Ann until I actually get this damn chicken house finished. (She reads each blog.)

Speaking of Ann…she took these next two photos while sitting on the front porch. Pretty good I would say.

I took these in the back. Interestingly, the cardinals have not come to the back yet. They always have before.

I have no clue as to what this squirrel has in its hands. It actually looks like an old piece of meat.

And finally, even though we had a dusting of snow, we had sun yesterday. We seem not be getting sun much lately, and I miss it. Think I will sit under Ann’s light today.

To give you something to look at until tomorrow’s blog

Kathie — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 02:51:20 +0000

I just saw this on Facebook, and I think it shows that birds are smarter than we give them credit for. I do not think it is important to even turn on the sound. The visual is what is great!

I will blog “The Bathing of Phyllis” tomorrow.