What Henry Knows:

Henry knows so much lately.  

He knows seeds need dirt, sun and water to grow.

He also knows his Swiss Chard never grew into a big plant because it didn't get water or sunlight.

Sorry about that, little baby plants, you never had a chance with me in charge of your care.

He randomly identified a snow leopard online yesterday.

I thought it was a cheetah.

I was wrong.

He knows all about carnivores, herbivores and omnivores.

And, he knows fossilized dinosaur poop is called copralite.

And, of course, he knows all about how eggs come from chickens.

He also knows that if you come out of an egg, you do not drink mama's milk.

I'm pretty sure he feels a little sorry for all the baby birds in the world.

Happenings

Let's just say the bite habit was easily broken with a reward, ahem, bribe, of a "big sweet treat" from the gas station across the street from our house.  Henry very much enjoyed his York Peppermint Patty and hasn't attempted to bite since the inception of his 'bite chart'.  However, it seems like pushing is going to need a daily reward since we are having a difficult time making it through the morning, much less the whole day, without pushing.  Better it is, but problem solved it is not.

Taylor got a mushroom kit from his mama for Christmas.  We've enjoyed watching the mushrooms grow and we've enjoyed eating them.  Win.  Win.  Now I just need to google a bit and find out how to duplicate the process without the kit.  Mushroom spores, coffee grinds and a box seem like it should be easy enough.

See that little bitty egg on the left?  Either one of our hens has begun laying freakishly small eggs or one of our hens is just now laying eggs after living at our house for almost 5 months.  It is a mystery.

Chicks and Contest Deadline!

My plan was to take a picture of each of our 8 chickens.

Apparently, I forgot chickens are even more active than small children.

This not-very-well-thought-plan ended 50 blurry shots later, 

with only one clear photo.

Thank you, Flopsie, for cooperating.

Is it as obvious to you as it is to me why her name is Flopsie?

We are now the proud owners of 8 hen:

Flopsie and Mopsie, Buff Orpingtons

Jessie the Jersey Giant

Lil Chick, Henrietta and Susie, Rhode Island Reds

Ramona and Corinna, Bantams

Anybody know why the Bantams are named Ramona and Corinna?

Every guess will count as an extra entry in my "Loving My Readers Giveaway" of a 4 ounce bottle of Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap.

Feel free to leave a comment on the original contest post if you haven't yet!

Contest winner will be announced Friday, October 7.

pics of chicks!

A small introduction to our Rhode Island Reds...

Henry loves them and he also loved the spaghetti we ate that night.

Can you tell?

This is Lil Chick.

 An apt title in reference to her comparatively diminutive size.

Not an apt title considering the fact that she is clearly at the top of the pecking order.

She definitely rules the roost!

We liked the idea of free-range chickens in our backyard.....

for about 3 days.  

Poop.  Poop. Poop. 

Taylor built a run connected to the chickens' sweet little chicken coop.

This has made enjoying the chickens much easier.

Henrietta is hanging out in the nesting box, i.e. our house's original sink.

Sister is pretty much obsessed with the chickens.  Approximately 412 times a day, she runs to the back door and says "gup".  

Gup is her general word for things she loves.

And, yes, we do love our chickens!