Geese And Gulls By The Frozen Ohio River

I couldn't resist a few pictures from my recent visit to our frozen Ohio River. These geese and gulls are permanent residents who decided to haul out on the shore. Of course, friendly locals were feeding them. So the birds were pretty happy with their circumstances.

Ice And Barges On The Ohio River

I was driving back to my house this morning after running some errands and found this barge making its way up the Ohio River. With temps overnight at -8 degrees, the river has frozen over in large parts. Releasing water from the dams and continual barge traffic is keeping the river open. But, you can see it's slow going as these barges have to break through ice. Although my view was cold, the beauty of nature and winter was quite a treat!

Bird Feeder Fun - Visitors During the Snow

The weather has been awful here this week, so no pictures of my chickens to share today. They've been staying warm and dry as we've had tons of snow and temperatures in the double-digit negatives. But, along with the nasty weather comes beauty as my feeders have been full of colorful jewels. So enjoy these charming characters!

A blue jay awaits a turn at the feeder. 

This blue jay's a little curious.

A red-bellied woodpecker in the surrounding trees.

This eastern towhee is getting a treat!

Big Red; A Free Range Chicken

Raising free range backyard chickens can be frustrating as they tend to wander everywhere, but Big Red, our friendly New Hampshire hen, provided some humor as she was spotted out my basement window digging through the herb garden for any goodies she could find. She especially likes to sit by my husband's office window, it's not far from this spot, and see if he'll give her some treats. Something tells me that's where she's headed next!

Pam's Backyard Chickens Mentioned In Modern Farmer

A special thanks to author, Jason Price, for the mention in your piece for Modern Farmer, Raising Backyard Chickens For Dummies. It's funny how much research you end up putting into raising a flock of backyard chickens. I often find myself referring to chicken facts in normal, everyday conversation. That's when you know you're hooked!

Good luck with your human and chicken flock. It's all worth it when you get those yummy eggs and see those great smiles!

Fridays With Backyard Chickens At The Bird Feeder

Brown Leghorns are the best flyers in my flock and they take advantage of that! They love to hang out on my deck happily eating the black oil sunflower seed set out for the wild birds. You'll notice from the pictures, this Leghorn knew she was caught and quickly flew to the ground. So that's where all my bird seed has been going!

2014 - A Year In Pictures

A look back at 2014 in pictures; a year filled with tons of chicken fun, the loss of Hoppy our Partridge Cochin, the rise of Hank the rooster to flock leader and much more!

Here's to a wonderful 2015!