NY chicken lover!!!!

[stonykill]

 

[armorfirelady]

Stony I can't believe how big those ducklings have gotten. They are adorable

 

[Lynzi777]

Stony I can't believe how big those ducklings have gotten. They are adorable

X2! I love the ones with the gray markings on them.

 

[Pyxis]

They are so cute! I forgot how fast they get big. I love the grey spotted ones.

 

[stonykill]

X2! I love the ones with the gray markings on them.

They are so cute! I forgot how fast they get big. I love the grey spotted ones.

I assume those are mutts. Pekin / Runner mix. Miss P horded eggs herself while Iwas on vacation. So I had no control over what she sat on. If I'm correct the grey spotted ones will look like this guy



and here in the back

 

[Tough Old Bird]

Stony,

The mama duck has such a lovely apricot color to her feathers...very pretty.


Tab,

sorry about your cousin's chickens getting killed. I feel badly for the kids. It was nice of you to share some of yours. Seems like there are a lot of dog attacks on chickens.


Lynzi,

Ohhhhhhhh boy! The recipe for fritters sounds heavenly! I will give it a go soon. Lots of apples here. THANKS.


On (human) kids....

I took my sweet time having my two boys. We intentionally waited over 5 years into marriage before we took the plunge. By then, I was as ready as I ever would be, but it was still a scary leap. Parenting should be taken seriously; knowing yourself well and honestly enough to realize you don't want to have kids is fair enough. My brother made that choice; he is a fun uncle to my two boys. Too bad there aren't more people who take the choice seriously and give it the consideration it merits. That being said, I can't imagine not being a mom. Who would have known all those years ago that I would actually be a good one now that I'm almost 16 years into the role!


On (canine) kids....

We have learned that our incredibly sweet, silly and lovable 5 year old pit-mix has terminal lymphoma. I am just heartbroken. Life is definitely NOT fair. We are trying to enjoy the time we have left, but it's an aggressive cancer and I don't think we will have him too long.

We will not let him suffer and have braced the kids. Right now, Prednisone therapy has given him a little remission. He is doing OK for now. Having animals my entire life, I have to say Merlin is the sweetest dog I've ever had. There will be a huge hole left when it's time to say good-bye. (For anyone considering pits or pit crosses, we have two and they are AWESOME with all kids.)





TOB

 

[Tab's chicken obsession]

TOB--I'm so sorry about Merlin. So sad.

Metella-- Lorelei is nice. I didn't realize Bella from twilight was short for Isabella. I think we mentioned Isabelle as a possibility, but that is too close to the twilight name. DH likes the popular names and I like the more individuality.

Being a parent is not always easy and is a lot of work. It has its pluses and minuses, but when I look at my girls I wouldn't have it any other way. My sister doesn't ever want kids of her own but she loves mine. She likes being able to spend time with them then send them home. That's enough for her. Knowing my girls I understand and respect her decision (same with anyone else's choice). What bothers me is when people keep having kids they don't want just to get more government aid that they don't actually use on the kids. Children are a responsibility not to be taken lightly.

 

[Lynzi777]

TOB - I am sooo sorry to hear about your dog! That is just heartbreaking and you're right, life isn't always fair. I am so sad for you and your Merlin. :-(

Tab - All this talk about baby names I can't wait to hear what you end up naming this baby! I love all the names you've mentioned so far. Especially Rowyn. ;-)

On the subject of kids, funny I babysat for a family of 7 kids for 10 years. (They were a very wealthy family, not one that just kept having them and didn't care to take responsibility for them) I started babysitting for them when they had 3 and I was in middle school, until they had 7 and I was soon pregnant myself with number 1. I was ther nanny and this was full time job for 10 years. (Well full time after I was out of high school) after watching those kids for 10 years I always said I wanted a large family and I wanted at least 5 kids. After my second born was 5 months old I was like this is IT! I'm done! Lol Ever since moving to NY and having no family or friends to leave my kids with, there is no way I could handle another. I would probably run away and admit myself into the looney bin. The only break I get from these two monsters is when my husband is off from work for a day or gets home early enough for me to run some errands at night.

 

[Metella]

TOB - oh - so very sorry about the dog. When mine died last april, I let people know and then insisted no one talk about for 6 months. That's how I grieve - I let my brain do it in the background. Now it is well over a year and I can barely look at his pictures - miss him so much. The other was his companion, and she is holding on, I now call her old lady. And like you must be doing, I am just letting her have a hell of time of attention, love, treats and so forth for her last days. A good dog is worth more than gold.

However, I have found out how fond I can get of specific chickens !!!!

 

[Tough Old Bird]

TOB - oh - so very sorry about the dog. When mine died last april, I let people know and then insisted no one talk about for 6 months. That's how I grieve - I let my brain do it in the background. Now it is well over a year and I can barely look at his pictures - miss him so much. The other was his companion, and she is holding on, I now call her old lady. And like you must be doing, I am just letting her have a hell of time of attention, love, treats and so forth for her last days. A good dog is worth more than gold.

However, I have found out how fond I can get of specific chickens !!!!

Thanks everyone for the kind words. I love my dogs fiercely and it is very difficult to say good-bye. Being that Merlin is only 5 makes it even harder. This was a bit of a "sucker punch", but we all know that life is full of surprises and not all of them are good.

Metella, I had a friend that grieved for her 17 year old terrier the same way you did. Everyone has their own way, and there is no right or wrong. I am finding that staying busy helps me to not dwell on Merlin's fate, but then the emotions build and I need to cry. My 12-year old came in my room sobbing at 4:30 a.m. yesterday morning after having a very sad dream about Merlin. So we are all coping (or not) as best we can. Like you said, we are giving "Moo" tons of extra attention. I hope my 6-year old dog will also be OK, as they've been together since he was 1. They even sleep touching, most nights. I hope your old girl has some good quality time left.

TOB