Raising Chickens

Over the years I've talked about wanting chickens. 
Just for fun,
Just as a hobby,
Just for the fresh eggs,,,,,Bonus!

So out of the blue, my husband brings me 2 baby chicks.
SO CUTE!!! (That was FEB. 2015)
I raised them in a box with a heat lamp in the house.
As they got a little bigger, I went and bought a small pen.........
I put it outside in the back yard, under a shade tree.
My husband was in Eastern Europe on a mission trip.
He was gone for 5 or 6 weeks.
When he got home, he and Robbin built me a chicken coop!
I loved it! Kind of rustic,,,,it was perfect!

So, There were my two chickens! Robbin and I had named them Dixie and Daisy.
Each one of them laid an egg a day!

Around Christmas 2015, someone left a puppy at our Church. The puppy had been there for 3 or 4 days, we decided to take him home.We needed a yard dog, we lost our Skeeter a few months earlier. He was a cutie! We named him Bandit.
Without going thru alot of details,,,,,,he was still a puppy, he would drag stuff out into the yard and tear stuff up. That really gets on my husband's nerves. But like I said, Bandit was still a puppy.

One day out of the blue, I get a call from my daughter. I was at work.  
She tells me that Bandit killed one of my chickens. 
My daughter is SO Sweet!
I know she didnt want to call ad tell me that! She went out there to the Coop and put logs all around the bottom of the Coop and in front of the door so Bandit wouldnt be able to get to my other chicken.

Some time went by, I really didnt want just 1 chicken!
 Some friends of ours who have chickens gave us 3 little chicks. 
2 black ones and one red one. (2 Australorps and a Rhode Island Red)
So here we go again.......
I raised them in that temporary pen. They finally got big enough for me to put them in the Coop with my other chicken. 
I got up one morning and I thought I heard a chicken right outside my bedroom window?????
I went out there and found my poor chickens all over the yard. 
One was already dead. The other two were just sitting there, but they were alive.
I scooped them up and brought them to my screened-in porch.
The red one didnt make it. 
So I was left with one black one. 

I kept it on the porch in the pen, It recovered nicely.
It grew and grew!! 
We quickly realized that "she" was really a "he"!!!
He started crowing every morning!!
We sure didnt want a rooster! 
Remember I wanted EGGS! and we sure didnt want to hear a rooster crowing every morning at 6am!

I actually fell in love with his crowing! I looked forward to it every morning.
Well, now it was time to go ahead and put him out there with my ONE chicken!
(She is one of my originals! "Dixie" She has survived all of this!!)
So we put him out there in the Coop and he was doing Great! 

I got up one morning and I dont hear the rooster crowing. 
I run out there and this time, it is our OTHER dog, BB,,,,she is actually INSIDE the Coop!
BB is still a puppy and she was acting like she wants to play with the rooster.
The rooster is crouched in the corner with his head buried.
I get BB out of there, I run the dogs off!!!!
We have worked and worked on the chicken coop and the dogs still seem to find a way to get inside.
I was worried about other "wild" critters getting my chickens,,,,,but I didnt think it would be my OWN dogs!!
The most recent INJURY is Bandit got a hold of my rooster.
I was walking outside to get in the car to go to work and I decided I would check on my chickens.
I looked out there towards the Coop and I saw my rooster sitting on top of the temporary pen on the outside of the Coop. His back was bright red,,,,,bloody.
My heart sank.
I ran out there.
All of the feathers on his back were gone. His beautiful tail feathers were gone. 
What was really bad was the skin was gone too,,,,,it was just bare meat exposed!!
Poor guy!
I really wasnt sure what I should do,,,,,,Should I try to save him? or should I have my husband put him down?
I put him in the pen. I gave him food and water. 
He could walk and he was drinking water and eating the food. So I thought that was a good sign.
That all happened Saturday morning. Today is Tuesday.
He is still alive. He is healing. He has 1 lonely tail feather.
I feel so bad for him. 
I've worked on the COOP SOME MORE to try to make it "dog-proof."
Lots of people, including my husband have said to get rid of the dogs! (mainly Bandit!)
Well, the thing is, my whole adult life Ive had dogs. Even as a kid,,,,,I grew up in the country, we always had dogs! 
I think I can live without chickens.......I just wanted some chickens on the side, as a hobby.
But maybe I'm not meant to have chickens,,,,,
:(

You know one of the saddest parts of this whole story?
My rooster doesnt crow anymore. Of course, I know he was severely injured and he is recovering from that. 
I always felt like his crowing meant he was healthy and happy. 
,,,,,,,,,,and now he doesnt crow at all,,,,,,,,,,,
 

Sweet Little Bird----She made my Day!

Oh my gosh, I have to share this story! 
I came home from work and our newest dog Bandit had a little bird cornered in the garage. I scooped up the bird and brought it in the house. The bird wouldn't move, I couldn't tell if it was hurt, I didn't see any blood. I put it on a towel on the washer, I put a laundry basket over the bird. I kept going over there to check on her. She drank some water off my finger.(SO Sweet!) so I could tell she was a little more alert. So I left her alone for a few minutes,,,,,,,when I went back over there, she had laid an egg!!!!!!!!!!  OMG!!!
The shell was soft and transparent. I guess she was in this process when Bandit scared her. So after that she was ready to fly! We took her outside and let her go! I will post a couple of pictures.
So Awesome!
I hope and pray she'll be safe. 
I read online where if a bird is under stress they will abort the egg. So I do hate that. But I guess I got home just in time to save that little bird.
It made my day!!!
****I've figured out the bird was a Vireo,,,She was a pretty color, some yellow. some olive-color,,,,
I am going to research it a little more.****

Obituary for Robbin H. Musselwhite

Robbin H. Musselwhite, 58 of Brementon, WA, passed away Saturday, November 7, 2015 at her residence. She was born in Woodbury and was the daughter of Norma Perkins of Cordele. She lived most of her life in the Cordele area and had worked for many years with National Vision Center in Cordele, Valdosta and most recently in Tacoma, WA. Robbin is survived by her son and his wife, Matthew and Amy Musselwhite of Brementon, WA; her mother, Norma Perkins of Cordele and granddaughters, Kameron Parrott and Haleigh Musselwhite. She was preceded in death by her son, Jonathon Musselwhite and step-father, John Perkins. A private memorial service will be held at a later date. 

My best friend passed away last Saturday. 

I was in Illinois for my parents' 50th wedding anniversary when I got the news. 

I saw her Mom today and when she hugged me, I broke down. 

All of the sudden it became so REAL!!

Ive been thinking of so many memories today.

Ive been looking at my BLOG. Ive gone back to 2007.

I found this picture of us,,,,,taken in 2008. 

She is on my mind, and probably for the next several days, I will post memories of her.

 

SUMMER 2015

It's hard to believe it's almost August!
It's hard to believe Robbin will be in High School this year!! (OMG!)
It's hard to believe my family's best friend is gone,,,,He cared about each one of us so much!
Now that he is gone, I feel like a new chapter begins.
Yes, it's been that big of a deal!

It's been a BUSY Summer.
At times it has been ROUGH!
It has had it's highs and lows.

My family went to Puerto Rico this summer on a mission Trip.
It was amazing and hard all at the same time.
It was challenging and uplifting all at the same time.

I've had issues at work this summer.
Issues with employees.
I really do like my job. I really do like the company I work for.
Next month is my 20 year Anniversary!
But the part I hate about my job is dealing with PEOPLE who are 'impossible'
Conflict, Confrontations, Coaching, Disrespect, Arguments,,,,,,
I am so confused and I feel misunderstood and I even feel betrayed,,,,,,
Being a Manager is so hard at times!
For about 2 years I was completely happy and content with the Team I had at work.
There was me, the DR., my Assistant Manager and 3 other employees.
Those 3 other employees left,,,,they quit.
1 left for another job. Another left for a different job but she inded up leaving MAD at the CO and at me! Someone who I thought was not just an employee but I thought she was my friend.
The other just left MAD!
I've pretty much decided that employees are employees......they are not friends!
I've also decided that employees will NOT be Facebook Friends! I will not allow it!

I've also experienced SPIRITUAL highs and lows this summer.
I've even questioned my faith this summer.
I've prayed for answers, But I never feel like I get any answers.

I was off today,,,,My family was not home today, so I was alone all day.
(That is a very rare event, btw!)
and I'll admit. It was kind of strange.
Now I am sitting here in tears,,,,,,I went back and read what I've written and it's PITIFUL!
Kind of depressing!
But anyway,,,,I've always loved having a day off,,,,,but today was kind of strange!
You know when prisoners get to the point where they are "institutionlized"?
I'm afraid I am going to be like that.
I am afraid that I wont be able to be happy unless I am working.

WOW, I decided I wanted to sit down and write a few things.
I started writing and it just flowed,,,,,,,,
I'm going for now,,,,
Today on FB I posted this Bible verse.
I think I need to read it every morning.

A Very Sad Week Indeed

Yes, so very sad.
My family's hearts are broken.
This past weekend, a very VERY dear friend of ours passed away.
We have talked about it, we have cried,,,,,,but its still NOT REAL!
We are in total SHOCK!
Our dear friend and Pastor, Ray Burnette is no longer here with us.
But he lives on in Glory and because he was an organ donor, he lives on through others here on earth.
This Thursday night will be his visitation and Friday will be his Celebration Service.

My husband and I have been talking about it,,,,,
Its going to be REALLY HARD for us to Celebrate!
We are followers of Christ, We know that our friend is in Paradise. 
We know we WILL see him again one day.
But right now, thats just not alot of comfort. 
But I told my husband, "Its the only hope we've got!"
Because we are Christians, Because we believe what God says in HIS Word,
We know that this is not permanent! 

But right now, it still hurts!

We loved Ray and Ray loved us.
We felt like Ray was our Greatest Ally!
He loved us unconditionally.
He was always open and honest with us, but at the same time, he was always on our side!

Such a true man of God.
Such a true Servant.
He was an Evangelist.
He was a Missionary.
He was a Pastor.

We are hurting so deeply right now,,,,,My heart truly goes out to his wife!
,,,,and to his 3 children,,,,and to his 7 grandchildren! 

(Ray was at the gym one day. He had a brain aneurysm, and it burst. He was at Emory for three weeks. He was in a coma the whole time. The team there struggled trying to keep his brain swelling down.One night while at Emory, while in a coma, he had a massive stroke and that caused him to be brain dead.)

Over the last few days, there have been so many posts on FB and there has been so many pics of Ray, but I chose this particular picture. This IS RAY. Always smiling. Always joyful. A personality that was larger than life! 

We love you, Ray.

We will miss you so much!

I just want to say one more thing,,,,,
The people you love, will not be around forever. 
Some will go sooner than others. But none of us ever know when it will be our time to go.
We talked and made plans with Ray and his wife as if he would be around forever. 
When I would think about the future, My daughter graduating, My daughter getting married....
I always pictured it in my mind with Ray and Rose right there beside us.
Dont procrastinate! If you make plans with someone you love, follow thru with the plans, 
Dont put it off!

Good and Bad///Ups and Downs

 These last couple of months have been kind of tough.

 Just lots of STUFF going on. Stuff at work.......

      The biggest thing is with our friend and our Pastor, Ray. 3 weeks ago he had a brain aneurysm and it busted. He's been at Emory in Atlanta this whole time. He's been in a coma pretty much this whole time. I refuse to give up on him! I refuse to be negative about this. I refuse to give up on GOD! I hear negativity all around me concerning Ray,,,,,,but I will not give up hope.

      There has been lots of drama and 'games' at work,,,,,,,2 things I really cant stand! FORTUNATELY, one employee just got mad and left. I hate that it ended that way, but on the other hand, I believe it was better this way because I felt things were only going to escalate and get worse and worse,,,,,In the last few months I've lost 2 employees. Both of them got UNhappy with the Company about certain policies. Again, I really hate that, but it wasnt Steph's policies. But since I am the Manager, I am a representative of the Company. I lost 2 employees, I feel like I lost 2 friends. But it just goes to show you, the bottom line is I'm the boss and they're the employees. Someone said to me one time,,,,,I think it was one of my bosses,,,,,We can work together, we can be friends, but when it's time for someone to be the BOSS, that person is me.Employees get mad at bosses. Employees talk about their bosses. I dont like it, but it's just the way it is. 

All this STUFF,,,,But I just refuse to get me down!

There have been GOOD things,

I believe that while Ray has been in the Hospital, people who know him and love him have bonded closer together! They have stayed in touch. They have prayed with each other.

At work, the morale has been UP. Moods have been better, HAPPIER! Just in the last couple of days we have had to re-arrange the DR desk to make room for a new computer. I know it sounds crazy because its such a little, petty thing but today when I went to work, I felt like it was a new office. New Beginnings! 

A couple of Mission Trips are coming up for my family. We're all going to Puerto Rico the first part of July. Then my husband and daughter will be going to Kentucky the last part of July.

Tho there have been trials,,,,,

There are always good things!

 
 

A Perfect Day

Such an AWESOME DAY!!

It was a Beautiful Spring Day.

Sunny, Breezy, Not Hot

We bought a NEW Car today!! Its used, but it is VERY NEW for US!! 

It's a 2014 Chevy Impala. I love it! 

It's as answer to prayer. I am excited and nervous all at the same time.

We havent had a car payment in FOREVER!

 But it was so necessary!

I saw a Bald Eagle today!! It was flying over HWY 300.

I guess this was my 8th sighting. Always Exciting.

Tonight was our last night of Revival.

It's been a Great week! Our Speaker was Rev Glenn Sheppard.

He is definitely a man sent by God,

He's a powerful speaker,,,,,very passionate.

I'm hoping and praying that maybe he can help Chris. 

Maybe he can get him some speaking dates.

Now we're watching the movie, UNBROKEN

Very Powerful! Heart wrenching but inspiring.