Sometimes I feel like the Clampets house

I guess if you are on a farm everyone has those times. Somehow this summer I have managed to inherit several orphans here. First it was the lil kittens with no momma. They are doing fine. After the last post I started setting out a bowl of food (home canned chicken and stock) for them early in the morning and late evening and they have learned to sit nearby the food dish in the weeds and wait for feeding time. They will sit and watch me put their food out but still wont come to me. Thas OK tho as long as they eat. I have to make sure they eat before I let the chickens out for the day or they steal the food. All the while I have to make sure Luna and her lil girls have food out so they don't take the kittens foods. Kinda tricky and time consuming to get those critters fed. Then I let the big chickens out after the kittens eat so they can do their thing. Which usually includes dusting under my shrubs. They move a lot of dirt but the base of some shrubs are sure weed free. Not to mentioned fertilized. So its all good. I let the chickens out today and checked on the hens with the babies. The first babies are about a week and a half old and doing good. I had one lil fellow that hatched out late and his momma didn't want him. I had him in the house with me one night till he got stronger and then took him back to the hens. Not sure what problem one of the hens has with the lil one but she kept beatin him up every time he got near her. I cant have that crap so he is back in the house in a box and is very happy not to have his lil head pecked for living. So now I have to make sure he stays warm so he don't fuss all night and keep us all up. Cant imagine how this is all gonna end. I can see me having a chicken that sits on the front porch with me because he don't know hes a chickens. Then the morning care includes making sure the meat birds are cool enough and doing OK. Yesterday I had to take a box fan and put in the building with them to move the air a bit in there. They were getting too hot. Those Cornish do not tolerate extreme heat or cold well at all. They do suffer. So this morning when I checked in on them they were doing what most chickens do, sitting in front of the fan where its nice and cool. Our temps are supposed to cool some this weekend and first part of next week so that will help the birds some. It gets to be a full time job keeping water out so all the critters have access to fresh water all day in the heat.
We are hoping for rain soon. Even tho the gardens are doing well they sure could use some rain. We did enjoy the new taters with our sugar snap peas last week. I had wilted lettuce and onions with bacon one day for lunch. Dang I could eat that every day for life I think. Just one of those comfort foods I grew up on. I usually just fry up some home grown bacon that I have cut in lil tiny pieces till it gets crisp. Drain off some of the bacon grease then toss in some sliced green onions till they wilt and then put the lettuce in the skillet till its wilted a lil and toss to coat well with the fat. Put in a big ole bowl and dig in. I put the bacon bits back on top of the lettuce after it wilts down good and for me thas a good meal. Especially if ya have some leftover cornbread to go with it. Can we say HOG HEAVEN!!
I have to tell ya about my lil observation this evening. After I had fed the lil orphan kittens and they had ate I saw our older white momma cat (the only momma we have now) had went down below the house in the yard with her kittens which are older. The momma cat and her kittens were playing with the lil orphans. When it was almost dark I saw the momma luring all the kittens back up toward the house and out back toward the outbuildings where her kittens have been staying. Kinda makes ya think that if humans don't interfere with nature, nature will take care of its own. I have to wonder if the momma cat knows the lil kittens (her grand kittens) are orphaned and is tryin to lure them back up to the house to stay in the company of her kittens so they can show them where the food bowl stays. I always feed the momma cat and her young on the back deck under a picnic table and they know there is food there. And we think animals are dumb. All animals have God given instincts and teach their young to survive. Even in watching Luna with her lil girls is amazing. She led them up here to the house where she knew there would be food when they were old enough to start on solid food. As long as she was nursing them before they were ready to eat, she kept them down across the road under the old house, safe, dry and cool. If I had leftover rolls and such I know Luna enjoyed I would give them to her in her morning food bowl. I watched her several different times take one of the rolls in her mouth and take off down the yard, across the road and take the roll to her puppies. I guess she knew it was soft enough for them to learn to eat and after about a week of this she started bringing them up to the house. I was watching her when she brought them up the other morning and she would walk slow ahead of them occasionally looking back till she led them to the water bowl I had out for them. So now they know where the water bowl is at. I feed Luna in her bowl and put the lil girls food in another container near hers. She will growl gently if they get in her food, they will just sit down an watch her. Then they will go eat from their bowl. I have noticed that she don't eat the food from their dish even if hers is empty. She will come to me when I go out on the front porch and with her body language let me know her bowl is empty. I am always amazed at the awesome work of God and his creations.
Not much else happening here, so till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella