It's always a little awkward when I have been absent for a while. Kind of like showing up for class after skipping for a couple of days. You hate to overdo the explanation of your absence, but you feel that accusing glare as you take your seat.

Here are some pics of some of the things we've been doing for a couple of months.

We built a chicken coop and were still nailing the wire into place on Easter.

These little ones are the latest addition to the coop. Austrolorps and I can't remember what kind the red one is. These little ones have grown quickly. One of them is very social and comes right up to us. It likes to stand on our finger. One of them is a rooster. He doesn't know it yet, and I'm not sure if we're keeping him. We really only need one...

These were the first bunch of chickens. The golden ones are from the same batch and are Buff Orpingtons. The smaller one is a lavender Orpington, and turns out he's a rooster. The lavender ones are more rare, and he's the one we'll keep if we can only deal with one rooster. They've all grown quickly, and I'll ad some new photos soon. I can't tell the golden ones apart except for one that still has some baby feathers around her neck. She is kind of unpredictable, and I named her Juanita. Each one has a unique personality.
We hope to have some eggs by next month.

These guys showed up and worked on our property for quite some time. We logged a couple of acres of the land, and cleared some at the back to open it up for sun. We want a pasture and hope to have a couple of pasture animals in the near future. No cows, though. I don't want any large pasture animals. Too much poo.

Dave and Jewel graduated from college this year, and I took a short trip to Tennessee to be there for the ceremonies. It was so great to get away and enjoy some time there with family and friends.

On  my last full day there we took a little trip to the lake house to enjoy a day on the lake. It was raining when we headed out, so we stopped off at Brown's in Hampton to look around and wait for the weather to improve.

We brought the kayaks and met up with Dave and Grace, stopped off at Chik-fil-A for a chicken biscuit breakfast, and were on our way.

It turned out to be a beautiful day and perfect weather for a day on the lake. I had never been kayaking and I loved it. I am already shopping.

I love this little girl! I had so much fun spending time with her. She is so precious.

Dave and I stopped off for lunch at Applebee's so I could say goodbye to Jewel before he dropped me off at the airport. She had to work that day. I miss them all already. Can't wait to go back.