Time to let me know if you want a holiday postcard! (And yes, of course I’m happy to send cards to other countries!) Send your name and mailing address to hollydays@gmail.com .
I’ll take names and addresses until December 20th.
If you’d like to send me a card as well (never ever required, but always appreciated – I don’t keep track of who does and doesn’t send a card, I promise!), send it to: Robyn Anderson, PO Box 461, Athens, AL 35612 USA.
New month, new banner! I made this one myself. That picture is the one that was on last year’s holiday card, starring one Loony Jake, who looks very leonine in that picture, if you ask me.
Sights from around Crooked Acres.
Anyone know what kind of bugs these are? If I’ve ever seen them before, the memory has been wiped right off my brain, so I need to know again. What ARE they? Anyone?
Observant George is observant.
Mama hen and her chicks.
White Silkie likes to teach her babies how to roost on the branches under the big tree.
Quick learner.
“Oh NO SHE DI-INT!”
Pretty rooster.
Another rooster. They’re so pretty, it’s too bad too many of them is a bad thing!
Pretty little zombie hen.
This is George, one of the few chickens I know by sight these days. She was so curious as a little chick that I named her George, and the name stuck.
Girrrrrrl, I think you need some lotion on those feet!
Hens, enjoying the sunshine.
“I seem to have this feather stuck to my beak and no way to get it off. Give me a beak here, sister?”
“I’ll take that as a ‘no.'”
Since we had some water in the pond, we thought it would be a good idea to herd the ducks out there so they could go for a swim.
They did not care to be herded. We’re just lucky that the four of them stick tightly together – if they’d scattered in separate directions, there’s no way we would have gotten them out to the pond. We finally did, though…
They were not as enthusiastic as we’d hoped.
They got in, paddled around for PERHAPS 30 seconds.
One of the girls flung a little water around.
And then they were like “Okay, we SWAM. Can we go back home, now??”
Later, Fred went out to find that the ducks had gotten into the pig yard and were all four crammed into a tiny puddle of water. It’s like they said “I think that pond was this way!”, and tried to get back to the pond, but ended up in the pig yard.
We tried again to herd them out to the pond a couple of nights ago, but it was raining and muddy and we weren’t having any luck, so we gave up. I’m thinking our best bet is to start slowly moving their pool out toward the pond so that they get used to going out in that direction.
I think the boy ducks are pretty.
But I think the girl ducks are prettier.
Last week, at the end of a rainy day, we had a rainbow.
Panoramic view (a little badly stitched together there at the top).
Another panoramic, without the top part (still getting the hang of the panoramic feature, obviously).
DOUBLE RAINBOW! What does it MEAN?! So intense!
Pretty Patty on the cat tree in the guest bedroom.
Snoozin’ Chuckles.
They sure do like that cat bed!
Maxi spends most of her time on the front porch these days, hanging out in the heated cat house (it’s got a heated bed in the house). If you open the door and go out there, she runs out to greet you.
Then she stretches and sharpens her claws on the welcome mat.
I know I’ve mentioned that Maxi has her own theme song. Here it is, interpreted by the Talking Tom app on my iPod Touch. It would only be more perfect if Talking Tom did jazz paws at the end.
Why, yes. Yes I AM far too amused by myself!
Previously
2010: She must have a digestive system made of Teflon®.
2009: I’m trying to convince Fred that we should take a vacation in the Spring and visit Polyface Farms.
2008: Now if you’ll excuse me, I believe the caramel popcorn is calling my name. It’s what’s for breakfast!
2007: Where Muh Daddy?! Starring Fricasee “Frick” And3rson
2006: You know, Maxi and Newt. The cats who AREN’T OURS.
2005: “Vivacious! Tell her she’s VIVACIOUS, Dr. Phil!”
2004: I eat too much of the wrong kind of food and am lazy.
2003: “IT’S JESUS DYING ON THE CROSS! HOW CAN THAT POSSIBLY BE CONFUSING YOU DUMB MOTHERFUCKERS?”
2002: No entry.
2001: No entry.
2000: Here’s a tip: If they’re your own children, it’s NEVER “babysitting.”
1999: I’m feeling incredibly lazy today (like that’s something new).
Love the new banner Robyn, your getting good at it! I was feeling all guilty I hadn’t made you a new one! I’ll say it again, I LOVE George! I just want to kiss his big head!
Georgie needs shnorgles.
If those silly duckies don’t take to that beautiful huge pond you had dug JUST FOR THEM, I’ll be almost as disappointed as you. Wouldn’t it be exasperating if they preferred a kiddie pool to a nice big pond?
Thanks for posting all the neat photos today. Your ducks are beautiful. Maybe if you put a trail of bread chunks leading to the pond, they might get the hang of going there. Put a rubber duck in the pond to lure them in. Good luck.
So which duck did you name Peanut?
Aren’t those the larval stage of lady bugs? Love the new banner.
Lady bug babies! Ugly little bastards aren’t they?
My yard is FULL of them and they used to really skeeve me out – I would put on gloves and bag the tree branches – just cut the whole damn branch off becuase they were infested – until further investigation found that they are baby lady bugs and are hanging out eating pesky aphids.
Now I wave and say hello, welcome home! Our relationship is much improved.
BABY LADY BUGS???? Are ya’ll crazy??? Those look like some sort of HUGE Beetle to me. Is that an extreme closeup???? I”ll never let a cute ladybug crawl on me again!!!
Yep. Baby ladybugs – little alligators munching on the aphids.
Your entry today is absolutely beautiful and heartwarming from top to bottom —
thank you, Robyn!
xxoo
Okay, thought you had a two headed chicken for a moment there with the pic of the white chicken with the other white chicken in the background. How do you keep the ducks on your property. Have they tried to fly away?
Second comment: If you were a newbie to the e-reader world , what e-reader would you get? Thinking about it.
Robyn, I always like your banners, but this is one of my favorites.
Starting with the sensational banner this entry is jazz hands from start to finish Robyn. Oooo… I think the pumpkin and acorn squash I am roasting is done. The peel has a certain aroma when it gets a little toasted? So I gotta bang this out.
I am totally boonswaggled about those baby ladybugs. I have been around the block in the garden world a time or two and I swear I have never seen one of those! I even used to go around and look for and then observe bugs a lot when I was a kid.
First rainbow photo is my new desktop. I second the peanut query!
I have been playing the “Outside Momma” song and my cats are going bonkers looking behind and around the speakers, trying to figure out where it is coming from! ROFL!!!!
Bugs. Yes, those are egyptian zombie beatles. Be careful! :0)
Here’s a link to a Lady Bug page. It has photos of
baby ladybug (larvae).
http://www.ladybuglady.com/ladybugweb9.htm
Did you herd the ducks with SCOOP HANDS!?
Oh, my gosh! I had forgotten about scoop hands. LMAO!
I’m with Laura, I thought those bugs were 2 – 3 inches in size and were some kind of crazy beetle. Ladybugs was a shocker. How big are they really?
I can’t speak for Alabama, but in my yard, the larvae are less than half an inch but more than a quarter. I suppose that is a log way to say about 1/3 of an inch…
They were quite the tramautic experience for me to encounter. We are buds now that I know they aren’t some creepy blood drinking, soul sucking beetle bug thing. {shudder}
PS Robyn, love the new banner! I better go sign up for my holiday card.
Libby beat me to it! I also thought it was time for you to bring out the Scoop Hands lol