Anything but Dull Around Here~

Well, my mom finally came home from her long journey…

and winter keeps flitting in and out,

BUT life has been anything but dull around here!

My sister came all the way from Washington, DC to visit me!

She stood up for me…

admired my fine feathers…

and we had some “girl talk”…

cuddles…

and

sad farewells~

I have to put up with all the B – O – Y – S…

BUT

the peacocks are in the barn now, so I don’t have to deal with THEM!

Especially that Esmeralda!

The garden is looking barren

and a strange bird is hanging around the yard.

My dad tried to feed him and he ran away but

he came back today.

He has a white ring around his neck and makes a weird sound.

My mom and her friends have been going crazy making things

and decorating lately.

She even made this ornament of me!

The grandchildren came to visit… they like me…

and disagree over who should hold me…

not sure how I feel about this!

PHEW!   I was glad when they left!

(photo by Bonnie Lucente for “Home in New England“)

Lots of people came to visit us this weekend… the first thing they saw

was a sign with MY PICTURE on it!

My mom tells me that Candy Looker painted it

because she thinks I’m PRETTY!

Father Christmas came to visit… some people thought he was more interesting than ME!

(Photo by Bonnie Lucente for “Home in New England”  left to right, Bonnie Lucente, Father Christmas, Maria Cardillo of Country Culture)

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT???

(Karen Boulay, Primitive Thymes)

Some people thought the D – O – G was more interesting than ME!!!

THEY SHOULD KNOW BETTER!

SEE!!!  HE COPIES ME!

Doesn’t he know that feathers are for BIRDS???

SO, every time the door was left open

I SNUCK IN THE HOUSE

just to REMIND THEM who

is PRINCESS around HERE!

(Photo by Bonnie Lucente for “Home in New England“)

My mom let me sit on her shoulder

and

have a sip of her mulled cider in the Garden Shop

(photo by Maria Cardillo)

where I hung out all evening with my Auntie Celeste

(photo by Maria Cardillo)

until I started biting people.

My mom decided I was tired so

she brought me to my dad’s woodshop to sleep.

One the way we passed the dyeing pots…

(photo by Maria Cardillo)

which are pretty SCARY at night!

I JUMPED UP ON MY MOM’S HEAD and

wouldn’t come down until she put me on my roost!

Some people saw me and thought it was funny, but I didn’t!

The grandchildren came back, but lucky for me, they liked HIM more than ME!

I snuck in the house again

and Auntie Celeste let me visit.

I know how to make her laugh!

More people came to visit… Karan (Richmond House Antiques) said she isn’t afraid of my biting…

since she has chickens at home!

BUT my mom put me back outside anyway.

It was fun to see everyone, but I’m glad to have some time to myself.

I snuck in the house again

and helped my dad on the computer.

He wasn’t so sure he wanted my help, especially when my claws slid down his scalp…

so my mom took me away!

But first, she gave me kisses

and let me pose in front of the Christmas tree~

Well, that’s it for now!  We’ve got to plant garlic before the snow flies.

Until next time~

A little excitement goes a long way~

It’s been awhile since I last wrote

but life has been very busy around here.

Some days are easier than others.

I thought the C – A – T was going to be my biggest problem,

BUT, he’s pretty easy to get along with…

HE likes to help mom in the garden

just like ME!

On the other hand, those stupid birds are taking over!

HE was posing for mom…

and those dumb birds chased him away… can you believe it???  BIRDS chasing a C – A – T ? ? ?

BUT they do

AND they get away with it…

HE RUNS!

They are taking over MY dooryard…

This one is very nosy, she always has her beak somewhere where it doesn’t belong!  Not like me at all!

Sometimes I have to fly up onto the plant tables just to get a break from them!

They sneak into the coop and steal our food.  Pretty annoying.

Oops… not sure I should go in there now… looks like she’s coming, too!

YIKES!

Now they’re chasing me away!  THIS IS NOT FAIR!

Sometimes my people leave the back door open… and I sneak inside!

I like to snuggle on mom’s shoulder…

Mom helps me with my blog… it’s hard work, you know.

Hurricane Irene came to town and my family came home…

with guests and more guests… this guy had fun with my birth mother, Brownie…

a relief to me since he keeps picking me up and putting me down!

The kitchen was very noisy with all those people, hard for a chicken to get any sleep!

it was raining so hard mom wouldn’t let me go outside…

FOR TWO WHOLE DAYS!

I was getting pretty bored!

I was allowed to stay up all night with my sister’s friends playing cards.

This is the morning after.

The grandchildren came over to play and drove me nuts!

I started biting people…

DON’T THEY KNOW that I don’t like to be touched ALL THE TIME???

We made chocolate chip cookies…

and cuddled a lot

then the dog modeled his new eyes

and I showed everyone how lovable I can be.

The rain stopped and everyone went out to investigate…

PHEW!  A BREAK!

Mom still wouldn’t let me go outside…

she was afraid that I might get blown away.

FINALLY, the sun came out and I was able to take my dirt bath!

That is until my birth mother showed up!

We had quite the laugh, watching the turkey talk to her reflection in the truck bumper.

My friend, Peg, came to visit from Florida and brought me a very pretty necklace… good enough to eat!

I had serious issues with how it ruffled my feathers… so now I just LOOK at it!

BUT… I LOVE Peg!  I can’t wait for her to come visit me again!

THEN, we had issues…

there were these big crashes tumbling through the house…

It turns out that those stupid birds were up on the roof

knocking loose bricks down the chimney!

Here is one flying off the roof.  They SCARE me!

They scared the cats, too… is it safe to come out?

We had A LOT MORE RAIN, things were flooding everywhere!

Boy, was I glad when the sun came back out.

It started getting dark earlier…

and I had to let someone know I was ready to come inside.

C’mon Dad, pleeeeeeease let me in!

FINALLY!

SAFETY at LAST!

Dad decided to move the chicken coop to the other side of the yard.

He didn’t notice that I hitched a ride!

It got a little scary up there.

So I got down!

The siblings couldn’t wait to steal MY food!

Mom says I’m all grown up now since I laid my first eggs…

She said they were so pretty she was going to keep one!

Little did I know that I was going to have to stay OUTSIDE now!  The coop was moved for me to live in… NO MORE HOUSE!  My mom says that is so I can get used to the colder weather since I can’t stay in the house for the winter.  It makes me sad, but my mom and dad still let me come in to say hi.

Those stupid birds decided to take a dirt bath IN MY GARDEN!

Good thing my friend, Celeste, was in the garden weeding!

We shared an awesome sunset…

and I had fun cuddling in Celeste’s hair.

Mom designed a rug about me… she finished it just before the big show!

Now she’s working on another one with just ME in it!

I helped my mom set up the Garden Shop.

I wanted to play in these nesting boxes, but mom thought the garlic looked pretty there.  I didn’t argue.

THEN, people started arriving and setting up tents.

These are my friends Cindy & Denise.  This was Cindy’s tent with her husband Joe (he picks things up and put them down!) and they own Hometown Antiques in West Brookfield, MA.  Denise owns Sassafras Hill Primitives in Enfield, CT.

Here is my friend, Robin… she likes to carry me around and is really nice!  She ran the admissions booth for the big show.

It rained and rained and rained… lots of people got really wet

and so did I!

We had lots of people over for dinner…

MY dad cooked for everyone.

(Sometimes he saves bits of bread for ME!)

MY mom let me come in and visit after most of the guests left.  (Photo by Bonnie Lucente)

We had special guests from the west coast staying with us for a few days.

THEY really liked ME!

Here is my new friend, Paul giving me a kiss ~blush~  (Photo by Bonnie Lucente)

Paul is a bookbinder from Washington and runs From Common Hands Studio.  MY mom LOVES his books… she has 4 and wants more!

My friend Bonnie came back to see me, too!  She writes a great blog called Home in New England.  (Photo by Paul McClintock)

MY friend, Maria, gave me a kiss, too!  She brought presents for ME!  (Photo by Paul McClintock)

All of a sudden, there were people EVERYWHERE!  I didn’t know where to go!

The peacocks hung out in the Liberty Garden, showing off their pretty feathers but not being very friendly… like ME!

My siblings thought they should try and look pretty, but they’re not very friendly, either.  (Photo by Paul McClintock)

I decided to hang out with my new friends Larry & Paul near the garden.

My mom and Paul were surprised by their friend Carolyn from Seattle.

Nothing prepared me for what was to happen NEXT!

These really cute little girls showed up, all dressed in costume like my mom and Doreen.

I let them pat me AND…

Ryleigh held me AND…

Maria gave me a bonnet AND…

I put it on for Ryleigh AND…

She thought I looked really pretty!

Then I decided I needed a BREAK so I disappeared for a while.

My mom told me that Ryleigh looked for me ALL DAY!  Finally, I came out and let her play with me again.  She took me out to the back field to visit with Maria and Bonnie and to show other people my bonnet.  SHE LOVES ME!

(Photo by Bonnie Lucente)

I scared a little girl… I didn’t mean to!

BUT Sharon liked me!

I got to meet Fred & Kevin, my mom’s friends.  Kevin said he really liked ME!

This BIG dog decided he wanted to EAT ME!  Luckily, his dad had a good hold on him!

I ran to hide behind my friends.

Paul took my portrait.  My mom says I look real pretty.  (Photo by Paul McClintock)

Maria took a funny picture of my mom and Paul in Milltown Primitives‘ booth… it looks like fun!  (Photo by Maria Cardillo)

All in all, I had lots of fun having all these people here.  Everyone was nice to me, laughing and having fun!  Maybe they will come again.  I would like that!

At the end of the day, everyone was tired, INCLUDING ME!

Celeste let me rest with her.

I snuck a sip of Doreen’s lemonade… she let me have it!

Then my dad let me rest in his lap.

The next morning, my mom and I took a walk in the garden.  (Photo by Paul McClintock)

and our friends said good-bye.

Uncle Jimmy came to visit.  I think he likes me!

The C – A – T and I are back to dodging the peacocks and playing in the garden.

(Photo by Maria Cardillo)

Until next time~

up UP and AWAYYYYYY!

What a crazy week it’s been.

My dad gave me an aviator cap.

Then my friend, Anne Nichols, took my picture

as I FLEW OVER HER HOUSE!!!!

Anne makes beautiful hooked rugs and calls her business Annetiques.

My friend Cindy Shepard saw me fly over her house, too!  She must have seen me while she was out gardening at Hometown Antiques!

THEN, there was a lot of COMMOTION on Facebook…

NO ONE could believe I could FLY!

But I showed them!

I even ended up on Cindy Petters’ blog, Hidden Pond Farm ~ LOTS OF FUN!!!

Mom caught me snitching food from my siblings…

THEY stick together like THIEVES!

I’ve been spending a lot of time in the garden

looking for bugs and avoiding those BRATS!

They’re not coming are they?

Any bugs???

What’s this???

My favorite path…

This is my favorite spot, under the Baptisia…

BUT, look who was here…

EVIDENCE!  They’re invading MY space!

and then I have to go HIDE!

WHAT???  DID YOU CALL ME???  Nope, no one called me…

My favorite thing is to pretend I don’t hear my mom call me.  She looks all over for me, but still can’t find me… I’m very good at hiding!

When I hear the panic in her voice, I wait a few minutes and sneak up behind her like I was there all the time!

I came across the D – O – G with schmegg on his face!

I think he was embarrassed.

I’ve been helping my mom with the weeding, but one of those C – A – T – S is always under foot!  He likes to help mom weed, too!  He should know that dirt is for chickens, not C – A – T – S ! ! !

Here I am taking a dirt bath in the freshly weeded herb garden…

My birth mother is setting again.  When she gets hungry, she comes running out of her hiding place, acting like the Tasmanian Devil!

She’s squawking, frantic for food… EVERYONE is afraid of HER!

Even the C – A – T ! ! !

She was stealing food right out of HIS dish!

Another thing… the other day when I was in the garden,

this HUGE bird showed up and STAYED and STAYED and STAYED!

She finally went back to the barn when it got dark.

GOOD THING!

Even the C – A – T got irritated!

My friend, Celeste, came over to play with me.

I showed her how I can hang limp in her hand.

I showed her my pretty legs.

I don’t even have to buy alligator boots!

I showed her my pretty feathers, too.

My mom says I’m photogenic.

The other day my dad cut his hair and shaved his beard.

I didn’t know who he was, so I bit him HARD!

How was I supposed to know it was HIM???

Sometimes my mom lets me look at the computer with her.

I love looking at pictures, especially when I’m in them!

YIKES!  I look so great flying that plane!

The things my siblings don’t even know about…

Some mornings I can’t wait to get out of the house…

D – O – G – S and C – A – T – S always in the way!

but they’re nicer to me than those SIBLINGS!

When I hear them coming, I RUN THE OTHER WAY!!!

Well, it’s past my bedtime… gotta go!

Until next time…

Miss Independence ~

I have declared

M Y   I N D E P E N D E N C E…

I will no longer

let my dad catch me

when I am outside.

I run and hide in the garden, pretending I don’t hear him.

I am almost all grown up now.

Sometimes, when I feel like it…

I let my mom catch me so children can pet me

and see how soft my pretty feathers are.

I fear I must report

H – A – R – R – A – S – S – M – E – N – T

charges.

My siblings are at it again… and that C – A – T  !

WHEREVER I go… they are THERE!

Constantly stealing my handouts…

Climbing mom’s leg, trying to share her shoulder…

Even IN the bird bath…

Don’t they know that this is for B – I – R – D – S ? ? ?

They sun themselves in MY garden.

All too often, MY shady spot is occupied!

One of these days…

I’m going to tell them where to go!

YIKES!!!  He’s getting too close for comfort…

H – E – L – P ! ! !

Maybe next time!

I am getting very brave…

I walk right up to the D – O – G …

when he’s not looking!

I wander all over the garden…

Some things are really B – I – G !

and some things are not so big…

From here home looks very FAR AWAY!

Oops!

Gotta run!

Until next time…

Just Another Day~

Hello, my name is Chickie.

I hope to give you a taste of the world as I see it.

I had a difficult entry into this place…

my mom decided to abandon me in favor of my siblings, leaving me for a dud.

BUT, my dad came along and corrected this little issue.

He noticed that I was trying to hatch and helped me along,

breaking my shell and taking me out.

He brought me into his warm kitchen and put me under lights.

I was just a little tike in this shot, about 2 weeks old, just starting to get a few feathers.

Here is a picture of my birth mother and a few of my siblings.

They don’t like me and I don’t like them.

I think I am human… every now and then.

I like to help my mom in the garden… sometimes she’s not so thrilled, especially when I hop on her head or run my claws down her neck.

Here is my  birth mother again… with my siblings.

They are afraid of the C – A – T

But I’m not.

We’ve become good friends.

Fidel likes to sneak into the kitchen and raid the counter.

So do I.

He likes the garden.

So do I.

He gets caught all the time, good thing he’s cute!

Not me… I never get in trouble.

My dad loves me, he even lets me take a nap with him.

This is my friend Celeste, she loves me too.  She lets me help her in the garden and doesn’t even complain when I scratch her by mistake.

This is where I stay at night, safe from all the wild animals.

Mom tells me that I’ll have to move out to the barn when it gets cold, but for now, I’m very happy here.

Here I am, working with my friend in the Garden Shop.  Everyone loves to stop and say “hi!” to me… sometimes they even pet me.

I squawk.

They muss up my feathers, then I have to put them all back in place.

Here I am, showing my friend Maria how my wings work.

She was impressed.

My friend, Dirk, let me snuggle against his neck.  All the ladies like him!

This is my friend Robin… she spent 2 whole days with me!

Here is my mom’s friend, Rick.  He showed her how to hang me upside down so she could tell if I was a girl or a boy.  Can you imagine the indignity of it all???

OF COURSE I’M A GIRL, COULDN’T YOU TELL???

This is my favorite spot, curled up at my mom’s neck.

Sometimes I like to play with kids.

or sneak a sip of wine… got caught on that one!

Oops… gotta run, my dad is calling me!

Until next time…