Mars

(Mars with moons, Phobos & Deimos)

Mixed Emotions

This weekend was a terrible and wondrous weekend. Terrible for the ones left behind but, wondrous for one. She was a young women, a mere 15 years of age.

We are saddened by her leaving us but, her memory will be with us forever. I found myself thinking about her on my way to work this morning. Thinking about her life if she had remained here. I take comfort in thinking that it is like a book with a perfect ending that came several chapters too soon and the author is just padding it for bulk. It really takes away from the significance of the preceding chapters.

I think we should see this life we live as a testing ground. We are really not suppose to be here indefinitely. We are home, then allow to go out into this world. When we complete what we need to do we are called home once more. To do what you might say? To do what we have to do. Some peoples missions are complex and some are very simple but, we all have a mission to do in life. Only He knows your mission and when it has been completed.

I am upset that such a young women was called home so early in life but, I also understand that she had completed her mission. Not only was her mission very complex but, she was really good at what she was put here to do. She finished early and she was called home. Some people it takes 80 years to complete what she did in so few. Some will live to 100 and not even come close to touching as many people.

I am not sure if I communicated my thoughts correctly but, I am trying to wrap my brain around this whole process. It is the only way I can make sense of this.

My thoughts and prayers are with the Fiscus family. God bless and be with you all.

Poolin

We have basically moved outta the house and into the pool. It has been so hot today. The van showed 99 degrees but I think its a bit high but still felt really hot. I didnt get to swim but Yuri informed me that the pool was 91 degrees. We swam in it this weekend and it was 88 and that was just about perfect for cooling off.

The water is crystal clear and the water has just a hint of debree in it. It will steadily get worse because I dont have a vacuum to get the stuff off the bottom. The only hope is to get the kids in there to stir it up and hope the debree gets near the skimmer or the suction to the filter.

Been trying to make sure the chlorine level stays up on the pool because in this weather and the sun and temp will cause water with no clorine turn to pea soup in a few hours. Wish me luck.

Just Bloggin

Not too much has been happening around here. Mom and Dad came to visit last week and since then not to much to report.

We set the pool up this last weekend and it is warming up nicely. It was about 70 degrees when we first filled it and now it is about 84 degrees. The kids seem to be able to bare it but I like it just a bit warmer.

Yin has started piano lessons and is now playing twinkle twinkle little star with her music book and stickers on the keys.

Yuri sucessfully went to church camp for a weekend and was there all weekend with out having to call home or be upset. He said he had a really good time and we are happy that he did.

The chickens are doing well in there new diggs. The chicks are growning and I havent lost any for about 2 weeks now so that is a good thing.

The neighbors came down last weekend and we sat in the back yard burning a stump out of the ground and cooking smores over the fire. We sat on the tailgate of the truck and chatted until about midnight. It was a good time.

Me nieces and nephews came over today and went swimming in the pool. They all looked like they were having a good time.

The chicken tractor will find a new home on Friday. A friend from my work is buying it and I will also give him a few of my hens to get him started.

Moe even after several attempts by Brando and I will not yodel.

However Yin can make him yodel like no ones business.

Watched the first season of TruBlood on DVD and it is pretty good.

Just got finished watching Underworld Rise of the Lycans and it was good and kept to the story line as told in the first movie.

I am dreading going to work tomorrow and want to stay home.

Moe is watching me type this. He is a nice cat and the only thing I wish I could figure out how to help him with is why he digs in his water bowl. I have changed to a 9X 13 cassarole dish because I read that if thier whiskers touch the side of the bowl due to being too deep or too small it makes they want to dig but he still digs from time to time.

Well thats about it for now. Have a nice rest of the week and a nice weekend.

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Pictures of the Chicken Digs

Ive been threatenin to post pictures so now imma gonna do it. Here is some pics of the new chicken digs.

(Chicken Yard)

(Hens with rooster poster)

(Brooder)

(Perch for egg boxes water and feed)

(The roost)

(Egg boxes)

(Exterior of the coop)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY YURI!!!!

Today is my baby boy is 10 years old. Can you imagine that? I am shocked. It hit me this morning that he is 10 years old. I took him to the movies this weekend to see the new Star Trek flick. We got home at 11:45 pm and he was really fighting to stay awake. I think he saw the whole movie. We stopped at McDs before the movie so that I would not have to get a small loan for the popcorn and soda. I think he liked the movie pretty good. I know he was upset when his Mom and I went without him a week ago.

He is getting big and seeing him every day it is hard to gauge just how big he is getting. I know that he is getting big when he can wear Brandos flip flops and they fit. Also he is pretty close to Brandos height. I know that I am constantly on him about one thing or another but, when I am at work and have a moments peace to think about it, I just thank God that he blessed us with the best child anyone can hope for. He is helpful and loving and caring and has a pretty good head on his shoulders. He has made a mistake or two but such is life as a child.

I love Yuri with all my heart and he makes me proud of him with the decisions he makes. I have seen him open doors for the elderly with out them muttering so much as a thanks and seen him do it again and again. He can play the piano and sometimes I want to cry at how well he can play a piece at such a young age. I have seen the boy that he has become and hope that when he becomes a young man, he understands why I am here to be his father and not his best friend. If done right, like my father done for me, one day he will realize what had to be done for his sake.

Yuri I love you so much and want to wish you a Happy 10th Birthday. I give you all the credit in helping me become the dad that I am. I know I am not always the best dad in the world but you have made me alot better than I was. You are the best son and I could have ever hoped for.

HAPPY 10th BIRTHDAY YURI!!!!!!

The New Coop

Hello everyone. The chicken man has been busy so I have not got pictures yet but they will be posted very soon. This weekend I have had some good times and some bad. The bad time happened this Friday when I arrived home after work to find that 7 of my 11 chicks, that were doing well all week long, had died. I am not fully sure what happened but all the youngest ones didn't make it. At first I was thinking that the older birds pecked them to death but they do not exhibit any damage to elude to this conclusion. The rabbit that is in the next cage had found his way over and the carcases were flattened but this happened, I believe, post-mortem. After thinking about it I think a raccoon or cat may have pestered them until they croaked. I think 1 chick was actually missing by the perp. My CSI team members (Country Scene Investigation) and I will not stop until the culprit is found, tried, convicted and sentenced (shot dead).

After this discovery, I moved the remaining chicks to a new more secure location and stepped up work on the new brooder for the chicks. The 6 straight run chicks are doing well and growing like weeds. The coop was completed Saturday and chicken moved in that evening. The next morning we were told that they approved of there new digs by 3 eggs in the egg bins.

The run was completed on Sunday and Brando was given the honor of opening the new coop door to let the chicken explore the new run. Due to her impatient nature she ended up shoving the first one out and the others followed in suit. After watching them for a bit I see a need for a shaded area because they all seemed to hang out in the shadow of the building. This is next to come. I wonder how long the grass will hold out with these 6 chickens? A couple of weeks I suppose.

Like I said I will post pictures soon. Thanks for reading.

Chickens Galore

This weekend we purchased a chicken coop that a friend of mine is no longer using. The 4x8 coop is came complete with a rooster named Roho. I was warned that he was mean and to not turn your back on him.

We also purchased a few new chickens. The first group we bought we about 4 weeks old and seem to be doing well in their new surroundings. The first group consist of 3 Americana or colored egg layers, 2 Rhode Island Reds, 2 Phoenix, 2 Golden and 2 that I cant remember the breed of.

Roho spent one night with us and the next morning we put him in a pet crate and took him to where we bought the chicks. The man took one look at him and said "I need him." I told him that I had no need for this rooster and he informed me that he would trade him for 6 straight run chicks. I said, "It's a deal." Now I have 6 more baby chicks.

So the total count so far is 6 original chickens from last year. 11 chicks of the first group and now 6 smaller straight run chicks. That is a total of 23 chickens.

I am thinking that we may have a few too many when these get bigger and I am considering letting a few go with the tractor that I sold to a friend at work. I think we have a while before we can place these chickens all together so I have plenty of time tow work on my coop. I have been thinking about how I want to place things on the inside to make for a efficient and easy to clean coop.

I have decided to place the laying boxes on the outside of the coop so you can collect eggs without going inside. The water and feed with be close to the door and the roosts with be place along the wall opposite of the door. I will cut a door in the side for ease of cleaning litter and above the roosts I will build a small brooder. That way all the chickens are all together and I will have to go into the house to check on the chicks but this is a very small amount of time in the year as to all the other stuff that will have to be attended to every day.

Wish me luck. I hope to post pictures soon of the progress.

As you may know....

The energizer bunny ran out of juice. Also I ended up losing another chicken to the other hens. It was in the coldest part of the year and I was heading into a turnaround of about 40+ days of 12 hour shifts. The chicken that was attacked by the dog was in pretty good shape but with the addition of the other chicken that the others had pretty much mangled from pecking, they became too much work to keep them around. Wish thing would have happened different but instead of prolonging it any further, I decided to do the most humain thing I could do. Like I said wish the timing wasnt so bad because I am resonably sure that both would have pulled through with some TLC and alot of time and effort but due to work schedule, I had neither. Rest in piece little chickens.

Posting with a Nintendo DSi

This my first attempt at posting with a Nintendo DSi. It really is not too different but you can not post pictures that I know of. I will attempt to post a picture later but not sure if I will be able to.

Just keeps cluckin and cluckin and....

The chicken is still doing well. Her wing is extra crispy now and I will probably attempt to amputate the dead part some time this weekend, if I can find someone who will hold her while I do it. In 2 weeks I will be forced to place her back with the brood. I hope the placing her in the coop at night trick works. We will find out. She is very healthy acting so I have my fingers crossed.

Like the Energizer Bunny....

the chicken keeps going on and on and on and on........ It has been a month and the chicken is still a kicken. She is eating and seems to show signs of good energy. Her wing looks like a chunk of dried jerky glued to her side but other than that she is ok. She has not layed one egg since the attack and that is probably for the better. She needs to keep up her strength for healing than egg production. I am tempted to clip the wing at the joint. The way it was damaged it will never be able to be used again. I may wait a bit longer just to see how it is going to do first.

Thanks for all the well wishes.

Still a clucken

My chicken is still haning around. I really hope she makes it but I am afraid she maybe going downhill. Time will tell.

Chickee update

The chicken is still hangin in there. I hope she makes it but wonder if I am just prolonging her suffering. Not really sure what I need to do. Her wing looks bad but I am still hopeful. She is still eating and drinking and pooping so I hope and pray she gets better. I feel bad about not checking as close on them as I usually do. This weekend I plan on letting her walk in the yard for a bit while I clean out her cage.

Chicken delima

A couple of days ago I got a call from Brando and during the call the neighbor rang the door bell and said our dog was attacking one of our chickens. How did this happen? I asked myself. The dog and chickens where put up in there coop and pin. Somehow the dog got out of his pin and the chicken had been out for a couple of days.

Normally when I let the chickens out they will roost back in the house after dark. Some how one didn't go back in the pin and I miss counted when I did a head count that time or it got wedged behind a piece of playground equipment and couldn't get home. Brando went out and put the dog up but the chicken pinned between the equipment and a chain link fence was chewed up pretty bad.

She had stuck there a day or two because she had two eggs in the grass behind her and when I lifted the equipment she walked ever so wobbly toward the rest of the chickens in the pin. While I gathered needed first aid stuff for her injuries, the other chickens came out of their house to inspect the lost chicken and for what they knew a complete stranger. (Chickens are not really smart.)

I caught her and administered first aid to her chewed wing and put her in a pet carrier in the building where it is a bit warmer. Covered the carrier with a warm blanket and gave her fresh food and water. I have been periodically checking on her to see if she is going to pull through and I must say she is eating and drinking which is a very good sign. If I put her in with her fellow bird brains they would probably attack her as a stranger and peck at her open wounds.

This morning she is still hanging on and still seems to be eating and drinking. I think it will be a long road to recovery if she even makes it and then I have to introduce her back to the flock. From reading it is best to introduce a single bird back in the middle of the night. When the others awake they think, Wow she has always been here.

Get well original birdy.

The Moe The Merrier

I finally relented and added another mouth to the family. Brando and the kids have wanted a inside pet (something other than fish) for a while and I have put my foot down but today I had a weak moment and we got Moe.

So far he had adjusted well. He rode home very quitely and not makeing those cat being ran through a meat grinder meows. He has been very quite and has been mostly relaxed around the house. I heard Yuri ask if he would be more active tomorrow. I hope he stays cool calm and collected. He has a pention to set on the piano but pulling the books off on him may have taught him a lesson.

I must say that he has fit in so far and I think will make a shining new light in this disfunctional family. We needed Moe in the family so we got Moe. HEY MOE! Nuck Nuck Nuck. He he he

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FRIDAY!!!!

I am glad that Friday is here. I have only a few hours left and it will be the weekend. Feels like I have just got back to work. I will have to say that my work attitude has improved and I hope that it will stay a while into the new year. Hopefully a few well placed weeks off and I will not get a case of the grumps. I hope everyone had a Happy New Year and I can't wait to write it incorrectly on my first piece of paperwork I have to type up or fill out so to everyone out there in bloggersfield.

HAPPY 2008!