She Grew From A Seed

Seven years ago this tree started growing inside my chicken pen. As the pen evolved and grew, it also grew, at one time it became entangled in the fencing and I had to cut the fence from around it. I never knew what kind of tree it would grow up to be but I knew I didn't want it to die. My husband and I eventually moved the chicken pen so it could grow outside of the pen.

This spring my husband asked me how old this tree is...."seven", I said and as he walked around her he found blossoms! We were so excited, but still had no idea what kind of tree she was. An orange tree? A lemon tree? A tangerine tree? A grapefruit tree????


My husbands brother lives next door and has a grapefruit tree that he grew from seed, it's a beautiful tree and delights us with white grapefruits every year! Since our bees have been visiting her, her fruits have become so sweet you can eat them straight from her branches! But we hoped beyond hope that it wouldn't be a grapefruit tree.....not a white one anyway.

For a couple of years now my husband has been wanting a pink grapefruit tree and when the blossoms turned into fruit (she only had five fruits) we hoped if she was a grapefruit tree that she'd have pink fruit. It was very doubtful that it would be so, so we forgot about it.
About a week ago my husband picked the largest of them, and tonight I cut it open. Can you imagine our delight when we saw that she's a pink grapefruit tree!!!! From a seed!

We each had a half and it was so good! Oh, and the seeds you see on the side....that was all that was in this one and they aren't actually seeds that will produce. I am amazed and can't wait to see how the other ones are. We are even more excited about the amount she'll produce next year! I love happy surprises!

TTFN!

Until Next Time!

Julie

Crossbeak And Three Lazy Boys

I have been so neglectful about posting to my blogs and to my one and only reader.....;) I apologize. ;) I will try to do better.

Back in January of this year, three of my hens went broody. They hatched out
an assortment of sweet baby chicks. A few weeks ago I noticed something odd about one of them that I hadn't noticed the day before. I'm not sure if it came on all of a sudden or if it was a gradual thing because to me all of a sudden it was just there.I have been around chickens off and on all my life and have been keeping them for 30+ years and have never before seen or even heard of "Crossbeak" before. (not in a chicken anyway)
I watched her and she was doing great, she ate and drank just as good and vigorous as her siblings and over the next couple of weeks she became my favorite in the chicken yard.

(please excuse the dirt under my nails ;) I had been planting)
Crossbeak comes on when the chicks are somewhere around 8 weeks or so, and no one is sure of the cause. Some say it's hereditary and others say something happens during the incubation period. I tend to go with the latter, because I have both parents of this little chick and neither have even the slightest cross. During the incubation (which was done under a live hen and not in an incubator) I did move the mother hens and eggs during the last part of incubation. I moved them each to their own secluded box away from the other hens.

I'm not sure of their life span and I'm sad to say that this little one didn't make it.
These are just two of my boys (still living at home anyway) ;)

Tigger and Oreo.......two of four siblings we rescued. They are Polydactyl cats, each have seven (fingers ;) *toes* on their front paws and six on their back paws.
This must be so nice ;)

These three are males (brothers). Their sister is lounging somewhere......not sure where though. They are always within sight distance (where they can see me that is) when I'm outside. They're laying on an old piece of carpet I threw out, to lay in various parts of the yard to kill the grass, so I can plant. ;)

So much to do.....so little time......

Take Care!

TTFN!

Julie ;)