Molt

Someone decided it was too damn hot...

 ... and that molting had to come early this year.

Notice the resemblance to a porcupine.

Escaped Chickens

Those birdies are perched on the front gate between the area near our house where I have them temporarily and the front yard (note the protective dog in the back ground. Good girl Lily!).

Because their new house doesn't have wheels on it yet, I haven't moved them to the back half of the property where they'll rotate to new pasture every few days (note #2 - my very stupid dog has gotten immovably tangled in the pasture fence twice this month - the second time because she really wanted a piece of raw sweet potato I gave the birds).

Busy Winter

It's been a busy few weeks. Travel, the making of Christmas presents, family events... all fun but I'm glad things are winding down and my life is (almost) back to normal.

While in Austin a few weeks ago I went to The Natural Gardener for the first time. They have one of the best collections of native plants I've seen (and that's just during the winter, I can't wait to visit in spring) plus a great selection of herbs (I'm talking 6 varieties of sage, 8 different types of rosemary, 3 eucalyptus, etc). 

My Dog Just Ate a Ficus

My dog just at the ficus in my living room. That must have been where she was going! Not just the leaves but a significant amount of the trunk and stems as well. So now we know: sometimes a dog needs to munch a ficus.