Winter Update

Lizzy Ryan

Chickens: In the past, I had written about our tragedy with our chickens. It goes like this: This fall, when my sister and I had gotten home from school, all of our chickens were either gone or dead. Twenty three chickens, now just one. Some of the chickens that were still laying dead in the yard were missing their heads. It was an awful site. We thought it might be a fox or weasel.

Now we’ve decided to get more this spring, but keep them in an enclosed yard. So we ordered twenty five chicks to come in late April from Murray McMurray Hatchery. Just like our last batch they are all fancy: Cochins, the feather footed ones, Aracaunas, the ones that lay green and blue eggs, Polishes, ones that have the feathers on top of their head that look like top hats. We even ordered some that are called dorkings; they have really short legs compared to other chickens. Our plan is to build a better chicken run so that it is closed on the top and more structured on the sides. This will happen as soon as the weather warms up a bit.

Snow: Even though I’m anxious for warmer weather, I really like snow. We have barely gotten any this winter season. The weather channel keeps saying that we are supposed to get snow so then I get all excited just to find out when I wake up the next morning there is just a dusting. I hope that we get a huge snowstorm just like the ones we had last year. We were able to sled and make snowmen, actually a snow family.

Of course the adults that drive will say that they don’t want a snowstorm because the roads would be bad and dangerous. But the snow would be good for sledding, and it might possibly get us out of school. Anyway, if we would have a snowstorm like last year, no one will be driving!

New Cat: Just recently we got a new cat. In my past articles I have said how much I have wanted a ragdoll cat, the one that is really laid back, hence the name ragdoll. We finally got one. His name is Jasper and he is a flame point ragdoll, which means that he has an orange color on his ears, tail, paws and some on his face. He is really cute and is about six months old now.

It’s funny, our family spent three days trying to figure out a name for him. We had a lot of names picked out like Nelson, Charlie, and Oliver. My Dad wanted to name him cutsie names like Cotton Ball and Q-tip (which explains why, when he was little, he had a cat that he named Creampuff.) When we first brought him home, he was just as we expected: very lazy. That lasted for about five days; then the kitty came out.

He chases our other cat, knocks everything that is loose off the tables and bats them around. Before we go to bed at night, we have to "cat proof" the house. We make sure everything is put away so he doesn’t hurt himself or lose something of ours. He also has this way of waking me up every morning, very early. He seems to think that my nose is a play toy and bats at it. He pulls my hair and digs for my hand so I’ll pet him. He’s very fun to watch and he’s been a great addition to our animal population.

So there’s my update! Snow, cats and chickens!

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