



In the middle of all this craziness, we had a happy little surprise. We had thought that a skunk got one of our hens a few weeks ago, as we had smelled the vile creature just before she disappeared. Well, it turns out that she was here the whole time- under the big lilac bush, sitting on a clutch of eggs. Last Thursday we were standing outside and here she comes with 14 baby chicks!! We couldn't believe our eyes. It was too late to do anything with her that night, so we just let her be, but the next day we got her in the coop with all her babies. They are happy and healthy as can be, and she has her hands full trying to keep track of all of them. She's doing a great job, though, leading them to the feeder, then the water, and when they are ready for bedtime they all crawl underneath her and snuggle in.

That's it for this installment- stay tuned for more updates coming soon.