Farming, chick and Zelda

After a few bad farm years, The Husband's retirement and attention to his garden has produced a lot of produce! Those few squash vines in the front have given us a boatload of Zephyr (yellow) squash. String beans are just starting to come in, and corn is getting close to picking time. The only thing that isn't doing so well this year is our tomatoes, thanks to marauding rabbits and groundhogs.

Sadly we are down to one little chick from the broody hen. One was somehow killed in the dog crate when I was still closing them up at night. And the smallest one that I had rescued when it was first hatched just disappeared 2 days ago. 

I am pretty sure the crows got it. They are known nest robbers of baby birds, and this little chick was readily available.

Mom has adjusted and is being super protective of the last one. At night she has her all the way on the top roosting bar 6 feet up in the big coop. I have no idea how chickie makes it up there, only to have big mama sitting on top of her all night long...

Our Zelda goes missing every once in awhile and we worry about her out there in the world of predators and cars zooming by, but she is a feisty little girl and somehow always reappears. She has an orange cat friend who comes and goes as well.