My Sister's New Family Pet...."Chick-On"....

 If you don't know my Sister, Holly, you are missing out on knowing one of the craziest people around.  Her humor and laughter are infectious and she looks at life from a different "angle" than most of us.  She has a husband that tolerates that humor with a shake of his head and a smile.

Recently one of Holly's chickens was being picked on by the rest of them in the coup.  It ended up bleeding and Holly rescued her and took her inside to see if she could fix her up.  She started out in a dog kennel in the garage and eventually ended up being a member of the family (they have a sign on their front yard that says "dump all strays here").  She was suppose to be "reintroduced" to the coup again but that didn't work out so well.  She ended up breaking her leg which meant even MORE care.  Holly said to her husband "if she stops laying eggs we know she isn't going to make it".  But, she kept on laying!

Well, now it ends up that she got a "name".  If you have ever had kids drag something injured, lost, stray home you know that once they are "named" they are yours for life!  So, this poor "hen pecked", broken legged chicken was named "Chick-On".  And "Chick-On" is with the French pronunciation "Shick-on", much like the French pronunciation of "Target" or "Tar-je".

Miss Chick-On gets a daily bath because with the broken leg she gets a bit "messy" back there!  Holly remarked "have you ever tried giving a bath to an animal that is really NOT suppose to be bathed?".  It's not an easy job but Miss Chick-On loves being wrapped up in her towel and getting a little nap in afterwards on someone's lap!

Easter came and by this time Miss Chick-On was a full-fledged family member which entitled her to her own Easter stuffie.  And what would you guess that stuffie would be?  Well of course, it was a little chicken that looked exactly like her!  You can see by the picture that it was love at first sight for them both.

Miss Chick-On also enjoys movie night with the family.  She has her own blanket that she lays down on by the kids and she LOVES popcorn!  And her favorite movies?  Well they are "chick flicks" of course!

Miss Chick-On has since healed up nicely from the pecking by her peers and her broken leg.  Sadly the other chickens will not let her back into the flock, they are the ultimate "mean girls".  So, Miss Chick-On lives in the house now, sleeping in the kennel each night in the boxes that laundry detergent comes in from Sam's Club that my Mom takes her each week.  They have the perfect U cut out in them that mimic the nests in the coup.  Holly says she won't potty in her kennel and "holds" it until morning when she goes outside!  She continues to lay her egg each day for her room and board.

Yesterday Holly's husband brought home a nest full of wild turkey eggs.  They were on an excavation site he was working on and would of just been destroyed (he would never of taken them if they hadn't been in danger of being run over).  They are hoping to hatch them out.  All but 3 are in an incubator at this time.  But, to pump up her "giving back" attitude Miss Chick-On has 3 that she is sitting on.  Holly said she is just the best Mama, sitting carefully on the eggs, turning them over with her beak and tucking them further under her belly and wings.  Miss Chick-On is "paying it forward" in her own way! 

Snowbirds Heading Home.....

We've been coming back and forth from our retirement home on Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri for about 5 years now.  This Winter trip has got to be one of the weirdest of them all.  I was sick before we even LEFT the lake this past Fall.  A trip to the Doc's lead me to the realization that I was a lot sicker than I thought, a bad case of bronchitis took me down.  My thoughts were I'd snap around once we reached Tucson and the "warmer" climate.  NOT.....We have both been sick all Winter here.  I finally started feeling better about 2 1/2 weeks ago and then Joe came down with something, he got better and then I caught it again.

We have spent the last couple months wondering when we were going to have "Christmas" as a family.  We would plan on a day and then one of the grandkids would be sick.....then it started through the adults and, well, we have to report that we FINALLY HAD CHRISTMAS TODAY!  Christmas in March, that has to be a first.  Lindsay remarked today that she was glad she hadn't left the Christmas tree up!

There have been sick kids, sick adults, hospital stays by family members, a passing of a Dear Uncle of my daughter in laws, LOTS of babysitting, picking up of kids from school, a runaway grandson that was gone for 13 days (and returned safely) and SNOW, LOTS OF SNOW.  Even the little white dog has had it this trip.

All I can say is I'm just about packed up, Joe has the house closing "to do" list just about done, SisseeLou is wondering where her life jacket is and these "SnowBirds" are heading home!  Yes, it's still cold at the lake but we don't care!  We'll have the woodstove going and a pot of coffee made within 30 minutes of our arrival, SisseeLou will have every squirrel run back up the trees and then there will be digging out my seed catalogs and the planning of the garden for Spring, visiting with friends, getting busy with our Lion's Club friends, hugging everyone at church I've missed and working in my yard....ah....SPRING is just around the corner!

 Tucson, we love you but really, we've had enough of you this Winter.....hopefully you'll be better to us in November when we return!  See ya later!!