New Chicks!!!

Well, the friendly folks down at Pittsboro Feed and Garden decided to order baby chicks for the fall, and, well...

We've got 10 baby Ameraucanas. These are very pretty chickens when they their feathers come in, and of course chicks are always cute. These are the chickens that lay light blue or green eggs, so sometimes they're called "Easter Egg Chickens," but the breed name is Ameraucana. They're related to the South American breed, Araucana, and look similiar. Araucanas also lay colored eggs and have bright, jungle-fowl-ish plumage. They have ear tufts and are rumpless, that is, they don't have tails. Ameraucanas are a breed that came from crossing American breeds with Aracaunas, which are rare in North America. The result is that Ameraucanas have tails, and no ear tufts. Some do have ear muffs and beards, which are feathers around the sides of the eyes and on their upper throats.

These are so freshly hatched, most of them still have their egg teeth, that little bump on the end of the beak that they use to break out of their shells. Left over from the dinosaur days. The egg tooth falls off a day or two after hatching, so obviously these babies are fresh!

In case you are wondering, yes, the USPS does ship live baby chicks through the regular mail. We ordered some last year and, boy, were the people at the Post Office excited about that package!

Buck really likes watching all the chicks cheeping and scratching around in the brooder. This one looks like it might have ear muffs.



We've had a lot of heavy rain this week and last, with the result being that mushrooms are popping up everywhere. Last year the drought was so bad I don't think I saw a mushroom all year. When a bunch popped up after a rain it was like I was seeing them for the first time-- I'd forgotten that they just spring up overnight! These are some of a large crop growing in the dog pen by the doghouses.

And here's some pretty blooms on Buck's swamp sunflower. I bought this one at the NC Botanical Gardens about a week before he was born. It was just three or four inches tall. You can see it's thriving just like Buck! We planted it in a spot where it can spread. Now that we have this one, I've been noticing them everywhere along the roads.