Our turtles are doing well today. Nobody ended up taking the last baby, so we have five at home. I gave them hibiscus flowers from our yard and was ignored.
And look — a chick has escaped! This tiny one came from the trapping site and is smaller than all the others.
Molting season
Good morning! I put in plenty of food yesterday, and look at that appetite! (Ilima, you’re inside the feeder!)
Now, who’s this bald, bald girl? There she is: Tease-chan, who hasn’t been mean for about a year now. Her feathers are falling out and she’s all scruffy. Grumpy, but holding up well.
And here’s Echiseana, even more ragged. Her back, shoulders, neck — basically her whole body. And her bottom is spectacularly bald. It looks sore. (Heart, did you come over to scare Sonata? Don’t — Sonata’s terrified.)
But a few weeks after putting up with ragged feathers, they become glossy and shiny, like Luna’s. Luna was a mess herself not long ago.
Meet Luna
Luna is an Australorp, a breed that’s fine in very cold places — a chicken that doesn’t mind snow — so her feathers are amazingly dense. She’s not suited to Hawaii at all. I bought her back when I didn’t know much, just because she was cute.
When she was little, she had white lines running from her eyes to her shoulders, like tear streaks, and they were so cute I hoped the color would stay. But true to her breed, she turned completely black. She’s big, with lovely gentle eyes.
Pineapple comes calling
Silly Pineapple has come over again to court the hens on this side. Stop it! His head is as big as a hen’s, but those feet are tiny.
Garden tour
This rosemary was only about 8 centimeters tall when I bought it. Now it’s up to my waist! The lavender I bought at the same time, also about 8 centimeters, grew this big just by being left alone. Let’s make a lavender field!
Behind it is a huge tomato plant with fruit on it. I didn’t plant it: a bird brought the seed. Our tall, slender banana plant, about three times my height, has ten offshoots, and one is already waist-high.
And the eggplant I’ve been waiting for has pretty purple flowers and fruit forming, and the strawberry plants have gotten big too. Let’s hope that by the time Koishi grows up, we’ll have plenty of eggplants. (Only eggplants?!)
Thank you for watching Chicken Paradise! See you in the next episode.