So one night, while MrC was driving home from golfing, I went in the chicken coop to count the chickens and shut them up for the night. And this is what I saw:

So I quickly shut the door, thinking to myself “WHAT in the WORLD!” So I called MrC and told him there was  critter in the chicken coop and I would wait for him to get home before I opened the door again.

He got home and I snuck back in to the chicken coop and saw the full body shot:

A skunk! In the chicken coop! Then I bravely opened the door to another room in the garage and saw this:

Apparently MrSkunk had tried to crawl through a small knot hole in the chicken coop to get to the other area of the garage. Since I myself often think I’m smaller than what I really am (Where did that muffin-toppy thing come from?!) I could sympathize.

But sympathy wasn’t going to help MrSkunk b/c he was REALLY wedged in there. He was trying his darnedest to get free but just couldn’t do it.

So MrC went and assessed his tool situation. See, we have all sorts of tools… most of which are battery operated. And those batteries? Totally at the lake house.

So, he came out with a big box and fired up his CHAINSAW.

That’s right, all we had useable was a chainsaw. So he fires it up, the chickens are freaking out (it’s nighttime! I would be too!) and the skunk… well, lord only knows what he was thinking. ESPECIALLY when MrC comes at him like this:

So MrC starts cutting a diagonal line and then the skunk sprays.

For those of you who think it’s a bad smell when you drive past an area where a skunk has sprayed? That is NOTHING. NOTHING I tell you! It’s the worst smell of rotten eggs, mixed with other horrid things… and it’s so STRONG. It gets in your throat, it makes you gag.  I was able to run outside get some fresher air, but MrC stayed in there, cussing the skunk and cutting the board away.

Once the board was cut, MrC used a pair of channel locks to break the board apart. The skunk got free and waddled off.  The whole rest of the night, I smelled skunk. Yuck.

A lot of people at work said they would have shot the skunk and then pulled his dead body out of the hole. But I’m glad that MrC isn’t like that. I mean, we knew we were going to get sprayed, but that skunk has probably lived here longer than we have and hasn’t given us a lick of trouble (besides maybe stealing eggs here and there).

Another interesting tidbit: When I was looking at the picture of his face (photo 3 above) and when I increased the fill light, it really looks like he only has one eye. So his name is now BlackBeard the Skunk.

Feel free to tell me your skunk stories. Hopefully ours is one-of-a-kind!

It’s been a while. AGAIN. So let’s do some quick bullet points to catch you guys up.

1.) Our garden = major suckage this year. We didn’t keep up with it and the weeds took over. Very sad. We did get 3 rows of potatoes, so that’s something.

2.) Another kitten showed up at our house. So we are up to 5 cats (3 inside, 2 outside).

3.) We bought a (used) pontoon boat. Our other boat (which we still have) only had an 8-person capacity. And if my family comes to visit, that #8 gets surpassed very quickly. So we bought it and I LOVE IT. I would so much rather have a pontoon than a speed boat. (I think)

4.) We bought a (used) 2006 F150 truck. MrC’s truck was a V6 and we’ve been having problems with it for over a year. MrC replaced all the external engine components, then took it to 2 different dealers and we still couldn’t find the issue. So we bought a truck off of one of his friends for a good discount and now I don’t panic every time we have to pull the boat out of the water. We’re still trying to get his old truck fixed so we can sell it.

5.) I recently accepted a new job. And we have to move. AHH!! We’ve never had to move with our entire farmily (5 cats, 3 dogs, 14 chickens, and 1 turtle) so house hunting is going to be very interesting. We’ll only be moving 40 or so miles away, so nothing major, but still! It’s time to house hunt!

6.) A SKUNK got stuck in our chicken coop! MrC had to free it with a chainsaw and a pry bar. And OF COURSE I got pictures b/c I knew it would probably be a ‘never again’ moment!

At the lake during the summer, I have about 4 hummingbird feeders that I keep filled. These little creatures amaze me to no end. And they’ve scared me a time or two (their quick-flapping wings can sound like a large bee coming at you!!).

One morning, I was walking across the deck to fill up my other bird feeders and I noticed what looked like a leaf stuck in the hummingbird feeder. I went to go move it and noticed that it wasn’t a leaf, but a HUMMINGBIRD! I yelled for a friend and she came out and we gently got the hummingbird unstuck. It then fell/flew to the ground below.

And stayed there.

It didn’t seem hurt, just stunned. So I ran to get my camera.

I’ve never seen a hummingbird close-up. I was careful not to scare it so I didn’t get too close.

I love this next one.

We went out and checked on it every so often and after an hour or two it was gone. Hopefully it recovered and flew away.

I read in my bird book that it’s a common misconception that hummingbirds hide in trees for the winter or in the ground. They actually fly south and even though their wings are small, they can fly from north to south with no problem.

Have you ever seen a hummingbird up close? Without the aid of a camera?

So, even though the roads JUST got cleared off two days ago, it is snowing again. And we’re supposed to get another 7 inches by tomorrow morning.

Ugh.

So while I soak in my snow-induced-depression, I’ll leave you with some pictures I’ve taken recently.

and finally:

MrC sent me roses at work on Friday. I was 100% surprised!!

For whatever reason, I’ve become suddenly very interested in the birds that visit our bird feeders. I even asked for (and received!) a bird-watching book for the lakehouse. So now I’m even more annoying with my “Well, look-e-there! It’s a whatchamacallit!”

Right now I have 6 bird feeders at the lake. And the birds go through them very quickly. (With the help of a squirrel every once in a while… even though I have 2 squirrel feeders as well) But it’s neat to watch the birds that stop in. Here are a couple of my favorites:

This little guy is a Nuthatcher and is neat b/c he hops down the tree (like he is in the picture) but they can pick up their heads and look at you from that position. (A unique trait among birds, so says my Kentucky Bird Watching Book).

This guy is a woodpecker. And it surprises me how big he is. He looks funny hanging off the side of the bird feeders!

Here is one of the MANY cardinals that visit. He looks fat and sassy doesn’t he?

This past weekend, we (and by WE, I mean Mr.C and LakeHusband and LakeNeighbor) started tiling the shower in the master bathroom. You have no idea how happy I was that all my colors (the tile, accent tile, and wall color) came together. I think even MrC was surprised.

Nothing’s sexier than a man with a calculator! ;) 

 You can see the color on the wall. I think it’s called cold slate or something like that. It’s a gray-green color.

To compare, this is what the old shower looked like when we bought the house:

Complete with mold growing on the ceiling. There was also uncleanable black gunk all around the shower door.

Oh- and the rotting plywood right at the base of the shower:

Not to mention the STRIPES that were everywhere. Red and Green in fact. It actually took THREE coats of HIGH-HIDING primer to cover the stripes. Crazy.

I can’t wait to be done with it and have a fabulous master bathroom!!

So it’s been approximately 723 days since my last post. Well, close to it anyways. I wish I could say it was b/c I was out in the garden weeding like a mad fool, but alas… it was only b/c I couldn’t get pictures to upload and without pictures, what is there? Just words. Boring words.

Mr. C got me a new camera for my birthday. (A Nikon L100, that I LOVE. It’s got a 15x zoom!) so I’ve been taking random pictures around our little farm.

First up is the tomato plants. This year Mr. C decided to go a more natural (and cheap!) route to string up our tomato plants using small tree trunks. I think it looks pretty neat. (Ignore the weeds)

I SAID don’t look at the WEEDS!

And thanks to my zoom (b/c if I try to get his picture when I’m close to him, he runs to me and flops on his back), I finally got a cute picture of BrownDog with his ‘broken’ ear. I don’t know if he was born like that or what, but I think it’s cute nonetheless. Soon he’ll be headed to the groomer for a much-needed shaving.

Isn’t it cute? And it looks like he’s smiling!

And last but not least is a picture I snapped of a hummingbird. The light wasn’t good, but this was with my zoom and I was amazed at how much detail it picked up. (Did I mention I love my camera?)

What kind of cameras do you guys use?

I haven’t written much lately, but Jimmy and I just got back from vacation so hopefully things will settle down a little bit. We did see a gorgeous pair of swans while we were shopping at Barefoot Landing.

They were eating the fish food that you buy out of vending machines for $.50 .

You can see my youngest brother (#8 in the family) leaning in to get in on the shot.

And finally the both of them: