I might just keel over and die now

Okay, so we have had record breaking heat for April....it has been in the upper 80's and 90's for days.

I am dying.


And the poor chickens! The tack shed is in the garage which gets HORRIBLY hot. I have doors open, two box fans running, lights turned off, etc.

Haven't cooked em yet! But close......


So I spent all weekend trying to get the new chicken run ready for them. I got home from work Friday and worked until dark. I totally overdid it. Between the heat and humidity and laboring up and down the hill and lifting and squatting and this and that.....I was ready to collapse. I think I just about gave myself heat stroke. I ended up going inside and taking a cold shower and then sitting in the air conditioning in shorts and a tshirt. I ate a PB&J sandwich for dinner and was just shaking from exhaustion.

I was in bed by 10pm! Let me just note....I am usually up until midnight or 1. Or 2. Or sometimes later.

I don't think I have been in bed by 10pm in MONTHS. So I hit the hay and slept straight until 8am. Then got up and did my morning stuff (dogs go out, chickens go in pen, norman gets his medicine, etc) and went back to bed for a 2 hour nap. Then I had a baby shower to go to......finally by the time the shower hit, I was feeling a bit better. I had been chugging water and green tea all morning and stayed inside with the air turned up high.

So, I was very cautios last night.....made a Home Depot run and got home in time for 1.5 hours of work before dark. That went better, no crazy exhaustion.

Then today? I go out to finish and spent...um...ALL DAY working. Or actually, I went out about 10ish? And by noon had run out of shade....went inside and took a little nap and ate.....went back out around 3:30 and stayed out until 8:30ish.

I am fricking exhausted! I worked smarter today, took breaks inside in the air conditioning, ate popsicles, stayed in the shade, etc. Friday was bad. Definitely need to never do that again.


But the temporary chicken run is done! I ended up building it NEXT to the soon to be chicken coop. And when we eventually finish the run, it can simply be built onto this one as this would basically be the front corner.

Smart












I threw the little chickens out to test it out and between trying to kill each other, they enjoyed it! This will be the day pen for the 12 that have been in the tack shed. The older two are going to stay in their little mini pen until I can get everybody acclimated to each other.

Now, I just need to fix up the actual shed/coop. Once it is fixed up, I can cut a little door into the side, so I can simply let them in and out....right now I have to actually catch them all and bring them back to the tack shed at night..and then load them up and truck them back out in the morning.

What a pain in the butt! Good thing I didn't join the gym, walking up and down the hill in back is going to have me in shape in no time at all.

I had such serious fighting today between the older group that I think I will get rid of the two buttercups and the australorp cockerel. They were seriously cockfighting....jumping at each other with their legs and spinning in circles flapping and then the buttercups would win and grab the australorp by the neck and pin them. Craziness. They are way smaller but FIESTY.


The cochins are the cutest ever.


Are YOU looking at ME?

Their fluffy little legs are a blur when they run, ha ha ha.


I have speckled ones



Black ones and a.....blue one?



An assortment of colors




They are actually even a little bit friendly. Versus the other batch which is just made of mean and nasty.



So that was the excitement for the weekend. New chicken pen built, twisted my ankle AGAIN (fell down this time), exhausted myself, made kickass veggie dip.


Next project on the list? Chicken shed! Then after that? Maybe I will finally get that back door replaced....it has been on the list forever. I need an excuse to take a day off work these days!

Norman wanted to help model the crappy ass door.






I was also thinking of adopting another cat again.....they have some older cats at the local shelter. A 13, 14 and 15 year old.....the 14 year old is a shorthair with with orange, declawed (bummer).....old cat probably just wants to sleep. I have an excess of cat beds! ha! But then again, he would have to be able to take the gauntlet of Frankie. And also Norman. Norman can be pretty evil. Norman and Mr Kitty used to plan out their attacks on Buffy.....Norman would take one route, Mr Kitty would take the other and Buffy would end up trapped with no way out. I've tried to convince my parents to send Mr Kitty out here, but my dad just loves him too much.

I should make a post about Mr Kitty.


He was this crazy tomcat who showed up at our house one day.



Nobody fucked with Mr Kitty. He took on all the dogs in the neighborhood and won most of the fights. People would walk their dogs across the street to try to avoid him. He would still run out and attack the dogs.

It was kind of hilarious. Until he did that to a loose 100lb intact male Akita.

Whoops.


It was major drama but he ended up ripping out all nails on one paw...by embedding them into the Akita's face. And then got up a tree. He has one nick, a lot of slobber marks and an attitude adjustment. The Akita was bleeding but no major injuries.

Then he was finally converted to a house cat (we had been trying but he was SO MEAN that it was not working well).

So after the Akita attach, his mind was changed about the inside world....and we got him converted to a sissy house cat. Okay, so not really sissy.....he will still take you out.


Between his naps.





I totally need a Mr Kitty post. Its a neat story. Mange, abscessed cheeks, liver failure, serious upper respiratory illness, dog attacks.....now he is king of the hill.


Obviously.





Anyways. I have pretty much spent myself for the evening.....I am off to shower and throw my poor sad pants away. I totally got my pants hooked on a nail and ripped a big hole RIGHT IN THE BUTT AREA.

And then, because this whole redneck hillbilly thing is more and more fun everyday.....I continued to wear them.

Ha!