CHICKENS FISH SNAKES

Great weekend. Mike was here. He is a good visitor. Grandpa managed to finally locate the perfect fishin' hole ready for all who come! So come on ya'll. Mike caught seven keepers and we took them with us when we took Mike home. This way Kit got to clean them. Is that dirty pool or what?

Hope could not stop clapping her hands with glee over the fish. Oh Thank you for the fish! she said. No, don't touch the fish! she ordered. The Fish are sleeping, she cried. These are my fish, she announced.

Don't you wonder how Kit managed to clean the fish without Hope knowing it?

We stopped in Nevada on the way back to Stark and bought ten new chicks. The black and white ones look like penguins. They are called Black Australorps. I have named them each Twyla. The red chicks are Rhode Island Reds and I have named each of them June. This way, when they grow up and begin to disappear, as often happens, I will still most likely have one Twyla and June.

Last night I went to put the big chickens to bed and tell them about the new arrivals. Before I could begin my bedtime tale, I was halted in my tracks as Phoebe did battle with a black snake! I was trying to watch the snake when Boss Hog made an appearance in an effort to rescue Phoebe and when my attention returned to the fight, the snake was no where to be seen and Phoebe and Boss Hog were on their way into the hen house. Perhaps now we know why egg production has dropped. Ron now is devising a trap to catch the snakes that might be stealing our eggs. Meanwhile, I forgot to tell the others about the new chicks so that story will remain for tonight...unless there's another snake. Oh dread and drat!!!