So many things!

July is here, the days are hot, the garden is growing, the chickens are maturing, and there are so many things to do!  After the last rainy bout, dozens upon dozens of tiny little weeds have popped up among my corn and squash.  So, yesterday I pulled out my newest and favorite garden tool (my pointy hoe) and went to work.  I do enjoy the satisfaction that comes from pulling up big monstrous weeds, but trying to till under tiny weed sprouts without damaging the actual plant is not near as fun.  On the bright side, my corn is eight inches high, the squash and zucchini have their second set of leaves, and two of the tomatoes are nearly three inches tall!

While things continue to improve in the garden, we currently have a sick or injured chicken on our hands.  Speck (one of our original and therefore named Australorps) has been limping, laying down almost all the time, and has lost a lot of weight.  She does not have any of the symptoms noted with any classic chicken illnesses, and if she was sick it would be unlikely only one chicken would be ill.  We think she may have gotten hurt in a fight she had with mama hen last week.  Our biggest concern is her lack of appetite, the only thing we have seen her eat was a little watermelon.  I know Jesus said that God looks after the birds of the air, but I bet that covers the birds hanging out on the ground too; I pray she recovers soon.

All the other chickens have been doing splendidly; the teenagers continue to grow (size wise at least, not so sure about intelligence) and we hope they will start laying soon, and tonight mama hen took all the chicks into the main coop instead of their brooder!  Tomorrow I will clean out the brooder and turn it into storage till it is needed again; just one more thing to add to my ever growing “to do” list!