Multiplicity

Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. Somehow our chickens have found a way to clone themselves. We now have 27 chickens and no idea how. We bought 4 chickens of 6 different breeds, 1 rooster of another breed, and received a free chicken with our order, yet another breed. Each night I do a head count as I close the coop. Last night, we had 27 chickens. The strangest thing is that the extra hen is one of our exotic breeds, the cuckoo maran. Melanie said that when she let the chickens out the other morning, she noticed a black head poking out of the barn stall. She opened the door and out came a cuckoo maran. She didn't think anything of it. We have accidentally locked them out on occasion. But where did this hen come from? She is the same size as our 2 month old chickens.

Tonight, we came home from dinner out and one of the chickens was up in a tree. I couldn't believe my eyes, but there she was! Way up in a tree branch.

Strange indeed!

The farrier was out this week to work on the horses hooves. Our sorrel mare, Star, had pulled off her front shoes and was way overdue for a trim. They both had their feet trimmed and are looking sharp. The farrier told us he believes Shadow is a Thoroughbred with perhaps a little Arabian in her. Maybe the mystery is solved.

Now that we have caught up with the outside work, we have been able to turn our attention to the inside. We have been busy painting the bedrooms this week in preparation for our new floors to go in next week. It is a lot of work with all the windows and trim. The rooms here have very wide chair rail and lots of windows. I can't wait to be finished and decorate. It is starting to feel more and more like home.

Well, back to painting!