None of "U"

[tree]

Yay! The chicks that were yellow now have
a black spot on top of each head. And their
wings are showing some color, too.

This isn't a 'chicken' thread, however,
I like to try to write within the parameters of this
game and 'chicks changing color' is on my mind.

 

[tree]

The weather is hot today.
For the time being, I am not wearing
a sweatshirt.

 

[tree]

Two and a half days and
still don't need a sweatshirt.

The little chicks have tiny tails, today.

 

[tree]

One of the chicks got eaten.
Something made itself very skinny, to fit in between
the wires of the cage. They are maybe one inch
by 2 inches.

I saw a rainbow last night when I was walking.
It was still daylight.

The tiny toads have hatched.
They are so small.
I can't think of how to express conditional tense
and still avoid the forbidden letter.

Dime with a toad on it means room left over.
Lots of room.

 

[Turanga Veela]

I'd dearly love backyard hens, as city ordinance allows them.

Was looking into another smaller domestic bird which lays the tiniest of eggs, and are docile and more agreeable to neighbors (and partner). Alas, they aren't easily sexed, have short lifespans compared to chickens, and can be hard to order in non-embryonic form, so one gets what one gets. I can't stand to think of "processing" the spare males for meat. I also worry that my dogs mightn't let them live in peace; they're easier to rattle than chickens.

 

[tree]

I wonder if that smaller bird has a name that starts
with the letter "G"?

I have so many roosters.
All the hens have all their feathers, however.
None are naked.

I think I still have 10 roosters and 10 hens.
They live together in a small coop.

I am glad someone else wrote.
It does seem like the mystery bird is the G bird.
My father scared the peep out of a flock of them
once, shooting off bottle rockets. They threw
open their beaks and not a peep emerged.

That was not too easy thinking of words to mean
hearable peep and yet not employ the forbidden
letter.

 

[Turanga Veela]

I know the 'G' birds referred to; these little birds begin with 'Q.' Colony males will attack to kill if there's a lot of hen competition -- not so docile then!

Sigh. I wish we had some real land. The last owners of this home kept a few roosters, and the whole sordid tale was related by the neighbors, who'd throw eye daggers if we repeated the same crime. As of now, they only think we're weird.

I remember when we first moved in, and, doing some yard work, spotted a forgotten egg in the tall weeds. Oh, the smell! Like Templeton's egg from Charlotte's Web.

(I keep writing, and retroactively spotting and removing the forbidden letter words like wormy apples from a basket, replacing them with acceptable specimens, paranoid that I'll miss one...)

 

[tree]

Ahh. "Q"s.
I didn't think of them.
I have never seen anybody keeping them, domesticated.

If I knew what a bear smelled like, then I'd know whether
there was one walking in my yard night before last.

There was an odd smell that wasn't the kind from
a black & white animal with a stripe on its back or
that other thing with the white pointy face, pink paws, &
ratty tail. [None of those ever played dead for me.]
Those two, I know how they smell. I don't know the
smell of a bear.

 

[Turanga Veela]

Perhaps a raccoon? Coincidentally, they're master egg thieves, with their fiendishly agile fingers. And smarter than the average bear, one might say. I've seen them, the rat-tailed hang-downers, and the sweet-faced stinkbombers here in the neighborhood. Can't say I've smelled more than one.

 

[tree]

The black & white fellows get beneath the
dwelling in which I live. The smell is metallic
and stings that part within my oral cavity with
which I speak.

Coons definitely were a problem here a few
years ago. They got in the coop and killed *many
chickens. Then we made electric fence circle the
coop. They haven't been a problem since then.

There is a chicken thread here. It is not a game,
however.

*Many chickens: five at a time.

 

[Turanga Veela]

I help feed a colony of two dozen feral cats every week. The early stages of raising of new dwellings in the larger part of the field has sent the black and whites that resided there into my feline territory, making feeding a whole new kind of thrill. Two and two days ago, I spotted three (and was charged by one of them!). I've been told there are eight-ish now, and they're insatiable, leaving the cats with less kibble. Soon the colony will have to be moved; I wonder where the stripes will go?

 

[tree]

My friend who lived in town fed cats on her porch.
And the black & whites. She didn't have any problems
with them. She enjoyed the stripy animals and looked
forward to seeing each one. She identified them by
the size of body and the degree of black or white.

Some of them were almost all black. Some were nearly
all white. I don't know what happened to the cats and
other animals after she died last year. I think another
person took over the cats. No one else is likely to be
feeding the others.

 

[Turanga Veela]

I think the black and whites are adorable and fascinating, for the most part. The wee babies! Alas, there are two large seniors in the pack who are very aggressive (the colony feeder leader was sprayed two weeks ago, yikes, poor woman). I try to be wary and make lots of noise when I enter the tall grasses. Windy days make me skittish; was that only dry grass? or was it a small stalking mammal?

 

[tree]

Little baby stripies are so appealing, following their mothers.
Walking behind them in a line.

 

[tree]

I moved a snake yesterday.
He was very small.
A Little Brown Snake. That is what they
are called.

I didn't hold onto him long at all.
Maybe 2 seconds.

 

[tree]

The blood is all gone off the road.
The fawn's body is gone, too.
The mother deer stayed for awhile.
I felt bad for her.

It was not on my road.
It happened between the corner and
half way to the cemetery.

I relocated a big caterpillar tonight.

 

[Turanga Veela]

Poor mama doe.

I had to evict a nice spider from its weaving tonight. It was rather a not wise decision on her part, to get creative between the camellias on either side of the front entry, which is the only way to reach the door. She was fast; I'd only been gone less than two sweeps of the clock's small hand, and her handiwork was already impressive.

 

[tree]

When I walked to the Township Hall today, to go
get my check back, I saw at the edge of the road,
the fawn's tail. That is all that is left.

I had to get my check back since whoever sent
the notices mistakenly added interest to everyone's
taxes. They won't accept the checks people sent,
so now anyone who had already paid this season's
taxes gets to do it again, for a smaller total.

I saw two more of those smooth caterpillars on the
way over. Red [faded brick] stripe down the center
of the back; bands of black with circles
of yellow the size of the head of a pin, alternating
with bands of blacks sprinkled with pinprick sized
yellow dots.

I have never seen caterpillars like this before. One
was the size of my index finger. The other was
smaller.

 

[Turanga Veela]

Late strawberries are appearing. Wee green things. I'll have to fence the beds to keep the dogs away. I've been feasting daily on greens, green onions, and chives.

I worry that we started the peppers too late. I've never grown them, and certainly never in a Mediterranean climate, so the worry is probably misplaced.

I've also never grown fall/winter veggies; think I might try broccoli and root vegetables in late October.

 

[Guppyfry]

Hats of to the talented verbiage from the participating members, very impressive.
I cannot speak of hens or veggies, as I have none here on my property. I do however have acreage and wild woods, and visits from bears and moose and flying tree-climbing rodents, who are of the night-loving type and rarely seen. Coyotes and foxes are also common.

Did anyone know that a mother moose with calf will face off with what she considers a threat, lower her head and flatten her ears, and give a warning growl like a dog if trapped between a person and said person's dog in the driveway of person with three-foot high snow banks on each side so no way to escape other than the road where said person's dog is? (This might be one of the longest sentences I have ever written, solely to avoid the verboten letter). I backed away and dog went off to sniff so Mama Moose and calf did get away, however, it was intense for a while.