Happy Easter!

The bulbs in my front yard are finally coming up...

And my plum tree is blooming!  Maybe it'll fruit this year...

 The chickens were happy to see the sun...

Cam posed nicely.

Cam also reminded the banty boys who was boss. The Head Roo calling lesser roos for food like this, especially when he has nothing, as Cam does, here, is a major diss--he's treating them like hens.

Tingle climbed in the kid's lap and gave her a snuggle.

The weather had cleared long enough this afternoon to have our Easter egg hunt, which the kid still enjoys...

 

Though sometimes finding the eggs can be difficult.


Luckily, Dusty is happy to help. She picked up a red one and followed the kid back across the yard...

Being a Cocker Spaniel mix and a soft mouth, she held the one she found very gently and gave it up when asked.

Good girl!

It's Dusty!

We'd promised the kid we'd get a dog when we moved...so here is our new family member--and our daughter's 13th birthday present--Dusty!

We found her on Craigslist, her owners (two ladies both named Jennifer) were moving and needed to rehome her. She is perfectly wonderful in every way--quiet, polite, well-mannered and housebroken. Dusty is a Cocker/Schnauzer mix--a 'Schnocker' according to the Jennifers. They were kind enough to leave her with us for a weekend to see how things went--we weren't sure how Dusty would react to the other animals and the chickens--but after an initial curious inspection, she disregarded them. Heck, she doesn't even go after the quail and other wild birds that walk around near her in the yard.

She knows she isn't allowed on the couch though, which prompted this expression when I took this picture:

The kid and dog are inseperable, Dusty has a special pillow to sleep on at night right next to her bed. The other night, after running around playing with the dog the kid flopped down on the living room carpet, dog in arms and sighed, 'Best birthday ever.'

Thanks, Jennifers! :)