Yesterday was a rest day, which was a good thing because my legs were tired from Monday’s track workout. It was also good because I woke up in the morning with pink eye. I thought pink eye was something you only get when you’re 7 years old, which I’m pretty sure was the last time I had it. I went to the doctor and got some eye drops, so I should be back to normal in a few days. I was feeling kind of crummy yesterday, but better today so I’m planning to run my 7 miles this afternoon as scheduled.
It’s been awhile since the chickens made an appearance on the blog. All six (Agnes, Cecilia, Reba, Beatrice, Ophelia, and Lady) are still doing well. For the most part, we get six eggs per day. Every time I go down to the coop, they come running to the gate hoping for treats. It’s hard to get a picture of all of them because they hardly stand still, so I put some cracked corn on the ground to at least get them all in one spot.
As you may remember, we can only tell three of the chickens apart. Agnes is the white one, Reba is the dark red one, and Cecilia has a broken beak. The other three pretty much look identical. We have names for them (as mentioned above) but I have no clue who is who. Reba also happens to be our most voluptuous chicken.
We let them wander the backyard while Barry worked on some electrical stuff in the chicken coop and they happily munched on grass clippings, worms, and caterpillars. It was getting close to 7 o’clock and some of the chickens decided it was time to go back inside and get up on the roosting poles in preparation for bedtime, even though they still had access to the backyard.
And for fun, here’s a picture of them the day we got them, when they were 4 days old. That was back when they lived in a box in our garage and needed a heat lamp to keep the temperature at 100 degrees. They grow up so fast.
I meant to share this yesterday, but forgot. On Monday I worked in a very small community called Fancy Gap (population 237 at the 2010 census). The welcome sign always makes me smile.
There are two main things I love about this sign. First the hillbilly/mountain people on top of the sign. Second, the “Frank Beamer Country” at the bottom of the sign. Frank Beamer is the head coach of the Hokie football team and he grew up in Carroll County, where Fancy Gap is located. Just like most towns nestled in the Appalachian Mountains, Fancy Gap has some amazing views.
Do you live in a rural, suburban, or urban area?
Tell me something random from your week!
If you’ve ever had pink eye, can you remember the last time?
Turkey Runner 
Pink eye stinks! I was a strep-throat kinda girl, but my sister was very pink-eye prone. I can remember many a morning hearing her yell from her bedroom, “Mommy! My eyes are glued shut!!!”Hope you heal up quickly; and stop playing with the second graders! 🙂
Yes, that eye glued shut thing. Got to relive that on Tuesday morning, but not this morning! 🙂
THey call it the suburbs but Fairfax County has gotten very urban. The more units they allow, the more taxes they collect. I just wish they would put some of the money and planning back into the roads.Most random thing was working on the Jeep, thinking I had a grip on the fuel line I was replacing only to realize it was a black snake. Well you can just imagine his surprise at seeing me!LUD.
It certainly has changed a lot from the Fairfax Co. I knew growing up. Mr. Snake was as surprised to see you as you were to see him! He thought he was camouflaged!
Pink eye is the PITS, but hopefully that medicine will knock it out in no time! Love that Fancy Gap sign. LOVE Frank Beamer. We met him last Christmas in passing at the Inn at Virginia Tech. He was so nice to our girls, and Bean still talks about meeting Coach Beamer.
The medicine has already cleared it up, thank goodness! Beamer is a really nice guy. My roommate and I wandered the athletic department one day in the hopes of bumping into some football players. We ended up in the hallway where all of the coaches offices were and got to talk to Beamer, and he was really nice then, too. But you know who was even nicer? Billy Hite. He talked to us for like 10 minutes and seemed genuinely interested in the conversation!
I have never had pink eye, but I used to get bad allergies that always affected my eyes and it was terrible. Rest up! I may have told you, but I watched some of my friends’ chickens before and they knew as soon as it got dark that they had to go inside. It was fun to watch them. I am so jealous!
Any eye problem is no fun at all. Except for the eye problem for work… you know the one where “eye don’t see myself coming in today.” All credit to my dad on that joke 🙂 I do remember you saying your friends chickens would run inside as soon as it got dark! They are creatures of habit.
I live in a rural area, but not THAT rural! The view is amazing, though. I might forgive a town for not having a Target if I had the mountains to look at. The kids are so funny! It’s amazing how much they’ve grown so quickly. I love how “curvy” Reba is. LOLAnd bummer about the pink eye! I had that once when I was student teaching 2nd graders. NO FUN!!
They do have some amazing views, especially this time of the year when the leaves are changing. I think for them the closest Target is about 1 1/2 hours. For us it’s about 45 minutes 🙂 I don’t go there much.
I can remember waking up with my eye not being able to open because of the “crust.” Yuck! I hope it clears up for you soon!Ellie’s hens, unfortunately, had a run-in with a neighbor’s dog (who she was dog-sitting) and Cheo (her dog). Apparently having two dogs in the yard was enough to let a pack mentality set in. Tofu managed to survive. Thankfully, Ellie was able to find another group of hens to purchase that are about the same age (no more dog-sitting) and they are getting along just fine. Tofu follows Ellie around like Ellie’s her mama, and the others are a little aloof. We live in Flagstaff. I don’t know what to say. It’s isolated from other “towns.” It’s not Phoenix, but it’s not rural! It’s a true college town for sure.
Thank you! I am on the mend :)I am so sorry to hear about Ellie’s hens! I have a friend who recently lost all of her chickens, and her rooster, to a fox. The fox actually undid the latch on the chicken coop and got inside. Tofu sounds sweet 🙂 I think that they do “imprint” on a mama hen. Sounds like Tofu has decided Ellie is her mama.
I had pink eye when I was little, but not lately. I did have a coworker who just had strep, pink eye and the flu all in one week. I feel really bad for her! Those are beautiful views!! Fort Collins is definitely more suburban (DC is obviously a city), but what I like best about FC is that I can drive 15 minutes west and suddenly I’m in rural-land.
Oh man your poor coworker! That sounds like one rough week.It’s always nice when you live somewhere that you don’t have to drive a long time to get to a store, but at the same time you also don’t have to drive a long time to get out in the sticks.
Oh no, bummer about your pink eye! I got it when Joseph was three months old, but somehow didn’t give it to him. Then I got it again about 15 years ago. It’s definitely no fun. Since I’m behind in reading this post, I hope you’re fine by now. We live is suburbia, but as you know, I grew up in a very rural area.