Chicks and Ticks

Yesterday I must have gone out to the chicken barn (as I call it) and checked on BO (mother hen) and her chick progress about a dozen times. She did not take kindly to all my curiosity and was highly protective and secretive. Other than the one glimpse of three chicks under her, I got nary much else to gawk at. DH gently reminded me that I should leave her alone and let her get used to her new role. Well, what do you think I did the second I got out of the shower this morning (after putting clothes on, of course)? Before I even poured my cup of coffee. Before I even turned the coffee pot on. Before I said my morning prayers. Yep, you sure guessed right. And here is what I found.

Her nest where she has spent the last six weeks nurturing and turning her lovely eggs was empty with some telltale signs of hatched chicks and two that were not as fortunate. And here she is!

Okay, I see one baby chick, I know there are more...

Five chicks! Aren't they cute? It looks like those two in front of her may be quarreling and she is breaking it up, doesn't it?

Okay, enough of my parade about the new additions to our household. Good grief, what will I be like when I'm an actual grandmother of humans?!

Well, yesterday, DD19 came out to the house and she was petting our lovely dog, Cooper, who by the way is no longer limping.  She petted a lump. What kind of lump? The kind that grows and swells with blood. Disgusting! It is going to be a tick year for sure. This is his third tick and it is only mid-June. After the first two, I put that flea and tick medicine on his back that is supposed to spread out on his body and repel ticks. Apparently it doesn't spread to the face. Here you can see it on his jowl. It's as big as my thumbnail!

DH is braving holding the tweezers and pulling the thing off.

Cooper is not too sure about all of this.

There it is...