The Robins: They've Hatched!

Oh my gosh... I am so far behind on my blogging. We get SO BUSY this time of year that it seems like I never have any spare time on my hands. It seems as if we work from sun up until sun down and any spare moment I have I spend sleeping.

I hope I haven't left anyone "hanging" about the robin eggs??

... as in this post, The Robins, that I wrote eons ago. Remember?

Well, I have been checking on the nest and the eggs hatched, but the morning that I checked and had saw that they had hatched, there were only two babies in the nest. I have no idea what happened to the other two. Oh well, God only gives you what you can handle, I guess He wanted this robin couple to raise two, not four.

These pictures were taken on June 12th, the first day that I had noticed that they had hatched. I don't know if this was the actual first date they hatched, but it has to be pretty close.

Sleeping... shhhh

When I moved my camera close to the nest, they would
put their weak little heads up and open their mouths!

So ugly, cute, fragile and fascinating!
Check out the size of their eyes and mouths!!


I checked on the little ones a couple of days ago while Nick and Sarah were here visiting. I wanted to share this little glimpse into nature with Sarah. When we peeked into the nest, I could not believe how big they had gotten, but then again, I guess they were probably a week old when we sneaked our peek. I will try to get a picture of them today. You won't believe how many downy feathers they have now. They don't look quite so naked.

Well, gotta run. It's been nice chatting, hopefully we can do it again sometime soon!

Two Things You Might Like to Know About Dan the Man

Thing Number One:

One sure way to get him out of bed early in the morning is to say... "The cows are out." He jumps out of bed like someone has just yelled "FIRE!"

LOL, I'm still laughing every time I think about it because it sure was funny watching him fly out of bed this morning at 5:30 when one of the cows was on the other side of the road when I looked outside!



Thing Number Two:

At 12:22 pm on June 1, 2011, Dan the Man officially retired his long johns for the season. Note the time, because he was actually going to wear them all day, but decided at noon, that he didn't need them. Summer must be here folks!

PS, To my man Dan: I love you honey!

Lark Buntings

We seem to have an unusual number of Lark Buntings here at the ranch this year. Don't I sound so smart knowing the names of some of the birds that live around here? Well, don't let the fact that I know the name of one species fool you, I am no bird expert! The only reason I know they are lurk buntings is because one of my friends on Facebook made a comment about having some at their place and posted a link about lark buntings.

I read about them and found out that they lay "4 or 5 light blue eggs in a loose grass nest placed in a scrape with rim flush with the ground; often protected by weedy patch." So every time I check on the cows in the pasture, I have been keeping my eye open for a nest. Thus far, no luck at finding one.

The birds like to hangout with the chickens that are out on pasture. The males sit on the electric netting and sing to me when I am feeding and watering the chickens. I don't know why I've never really noticed them before this year. I am sure they have been here every year we have lived here. But I think one of the main reasons we are seeing so many this year is because we torn out the field where they are hanging out a couple of years ago, it was in alfalfa, and planted pasture grasses out there. And with all the rain we have received this year, the grass is really coming on this year. Must be perfect conditions for them.

Here you can see a couple of the chicken shelters out on pasture and the cows grazing along side them. This is where I have seen several of the lark bunting. You can also see the electrified netting that the birds like to sit on and sing to me.




Danny checking the cows on the other side of the poultry fencing. If you enlarge the picture (just click on it) you can see Dan the Man on the 4wheeler in the left hand corner of the picture among the cows.

In these last two pictures if you look down the fence-line, you can see another
bird sitting on the fence, but he is out of focus.

I'll keep you posted on whether or not I find any nests.
That is all.

The Robins

The other morning Dan the Man asked me if I had noticed the nest that some birds were building on top of the fence charger in the calf shed. I hadn't, but having a fond attraction to nests and birds, I wandered over to take a look. I asked Dan the Man what kind of bird was building the nest, but he said he had no idea. Personally, I just don't think that men are as observant as women.

I say this because I knew before I even got to the nest that it was being built by robins. On my way to the shed I noticed a couple of robins flying in there. When I got there, sure enough, there was a nest right on top of the electric fence charger. Wow, look at all that fly poop on there. Someone should clean that thing. I'll tell the maid to get right on that.







I'm slightly surprised that Mrs. Robin would choose such a place for her nest. Granted it is protected from the weather and up high away from predators, but an electric fence charger makes a ticking sound constantly while it is plugged in. Just like a clock, and loud... TICK... TICK... TICK... I think that might drive me nuts or perhaps it is kind-of calming once you get use to it?

I was curious if there were any eggs in it yet, so I climbed on some show panels that were leaning against the wall for a better look. Upon peering in, I saw no eggs. Hummm, I'll have to keep on eye on it. Sounds like a good subject for a blog post, I thought to myself.

A few days later was when Nathan came to help us for the day. As I was showing him around the place, I decided to let him in on my secret and took him over to the nest. We looked again, and still no eggs.

Then on Monday, when I was out and about taking pictures I looked again and there are now four beautiful blue eggs in it.




Mr. and Mrs. Robin kept a close eye on me as I was eyeballing their children. I told them I promised not to touch if they would share their babies with me and my blog readers. I told them not everyone gets to see a robin's nest full of eggs. And if they would be so kind, I would like to document the hatching of the eggs and share it on my blog. The didn't dive-bomb me, so I think they have agreed to let me take pictures every once in a while.

Mr. Robin keeping me in his sight.

Still watching...

I also found a swallow's nest, but I'm not sure I can get such great pictures of it because it is built so close to the ceiling of this shed, but I will keep my eye on this one as well.

And so begins the documentation of "The Robins."

Ode to May, Continued...

I showed you the hoo-humm side of May in the previous post...

this is the beautiful side.


PS, Do yourself a favor and click on each picture to see a full screen view of them.
They are meant to be viewed full screen.

Dandelion almost dande-done.

Raindrops on pasture grass.

Raindrops on pasture grass.

Raindrops on chives.

Rain caught in Sedum.

Blue Flax, grows like wild here!

Who knew a naked Dandelion could be so beautiful?

One lonely seed left hanging on to the Dandelion.

Raindrops on Sedum.

Raindrops on chive blossoms.

Raindrops on chives.

Salvia in bloom.

Raindrops on pasture grass.

Raindrops on chive blossom.

Crack Head.
What happens when you overdose on rain.

An Ode to May...

It's hard to believe that this is the end of May.

Where has the time gone?

I have worn shorts only once so far this year...

It has rained what seems all but two or three days this month.

I don't remember the last time there was no mud in the yard.

The rain has provided green pastures, but without the warmth, the grass isn't growing as well as it could.

The rain has been hard on the cows and calves, they continue to look for dry spots in the pasture and have mud caked on their heads.

The rain has been hard on the chickens in the pasture. It's no fun to run around in wet grass ALL the time. I kept telling them while they were in the brooders that they would enjoy it when they were old enough to go out to pasture and run in the warm sunshine and eat the tender shoots of grass. They think I have mislead them and prefer to spend the majority of the cold, wet days in their shelter out in the pasture.

The rain has been hard on the Country Chicken Girl and Dan the Man. It's no fun doing chores twice a day in the rain and mud. The rain only makes the chores harder to do, takes more time and makes the Country Chicken Girl cranky. Dan the Man is still wearing his turtlenecks and long johns.

The rain is hard on the cats who now have a severe case of cabin fever. Although, they do go outside and come back in, tracking the house full of mud. Dirty paw prints are everywhere. The Country Chicken Girl wishes the cats would learn how to wipe their feet.

Goodbye May.

Dear June, I would like to pre-order some sunshine and nice weather for when you come. That is all. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Country Chicken Girl

PS Below are some random shots of May on the Open A Bar 2 Ranch, the home of the Country Chicken Girl and Dan the Man. You can click on the photo for a full screen view of it if you want.

Angel and her little heifer nursing.

Cupcake, she is always convinced that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence!
She has this maneuver down to a science so she does not get a shock from the electric fence.
Who knew a cow could be so nibble?

Dan the Man checking on his cows, still wearing his winter gear.


Chickens out on pasture.



Cat tracks in the mud.


Country Chicken Girl tracks in the mud.


Driveway... full of mud.

Update On Mystery Egg

Well, after several suggestions as to what the "mystery egg" was in my previous post, the general consensus is that it is a quail egg. So interesting, because I'm not sure I have ever seen a quail on our property.

Mystery Egg appears to be a quail egg.

According to Wikipedia:

"Quail eggs are considered a delicacy in many countries, including western Europe and North America. In Japanese cuisine, they are sometimes used raw or cooked as tamago in sushi and often found in bento lunches.

In some other countries, quail eggs are considered less exotic. In Colombia and Venezuela, a single hard-boiled quail egg is a common topping on hot dogs and hamburgers, often fixed into place with a toothpick. In the Philippines, kwek-kwek is a popular street food delicacy, which consists of soft-boiled quail eggs dipped in orange-colored batter before being skewered and deep-fried. In Vietnam, bags of boiled quail eggs are sold on street stalls as inexpensive beer snacks.

Quail eggs are often believed to be very high in cholesterol, but evidence shows their cholesterol levels are similar to chicken eggs."

I really think it was sweet Tay-tee Cakes that brought the egg in for his beloved mother (me)! He is such a mama's boy.

Tay-tee and his mother, the Country chicken Girl