Chickens On Crack!

Blondie, on crack... look at his mouth closely...

Okay... last week I went to the feed store to get laying pellets for the chickens.  A couple days later,  Moshe opened the bag and we realized that the fellow who carried the bag of feed out to the Jeep accidentally gave me chick mash rather than laying pellets. The bags look identical, except for the name printed at the tops of the bags.

Please,  Sir,  we want MORE...

Having already opened the 25-pound bag, and knowing that we had 21 hungry poultry out in the coops, we made the decision to go ahead and feed them the chick mash until it is used up... Now, I don't know what's in chick mash, but - wow - do chickens ever love it!  Is it the ingredients?  Or, is it because that's what they had as babies, and so it's comfort food? You know,l  Like hot chocolate.  Or applesauce.  Or cookies.  Or ?????

Bottoms up, y'all

The first day, I scattered the mash on the ground the same way I throw corn or pellets.  The chickens were literally jumping on top of each other to get it!  I thought must be unusually hungry, although I didn't know of any reason why they should 've been...

Get outta' my way...

The second day, Moshe suggested that I mix the mash with water like I did when the chickens were babies.  It's been windy, and he had seen some of the mash being swept away in the wind.  So, I mixed it and carried the pail of wet mash out to the coops.  Again, the chickens literally jumped up and down at the smell of the mash!  And, as I put spoonfuls of the "chicken porridge" into the feeders, they were like crazed junkies!  My gosh, now I know the definition of  a "feeding frenzy"!

Having heard from me about our crack addicts, Moshe came with me the third day  to observe their behavior.  Not only did they act the same, but one chicken literally rode piggyback on another trying to be first at the feeder.  And, not wanting to feel left out, our new cat,  Pickles, got into the act.  Imagine, one small cat and a hungry mob of chickens eating  mash out of a bowl.
Such is life at the Ben-David farm...  I', still shaking my head and asking myself, "Exactly WHAT is in that chick food???"



Shalom  Y'all - Twyla

Beach plans

Ducks know the crinkle of  Ritz crackers wrapper!

        We have really worked around the house the past two or three days.  Like I mentioned in my last post - Fall cleaning, rearranging, sorting, revamping.  There is still a bit to do, but it's coming along. Tomorrow, being Shabbat, and Yom Kippur, we will have a day of rest.  I checked the weather forecast and it's supposed to be hot, sunny, and clear - warmer than usual for this time of year with 0% chance of precip.
     So, it will be off to the beach.  Hooray!  For the past couple weeks, when we go to the beach, we wonder if it will be the last time for this year... Then, another glorious weather day crops up, and away we go.  Last year at this time it had already cooled off, so I am very thankful for every summery day - especially when it lands on a Saturday!

         I've already prepared all the food for our cooler and packed the beach bag  - including lots of Ritz crackers and stale bread for the ducks and fishies.  Shabbat supper is simmering on the stove, and I'm about to wind down for the evening.  Shabbat shalom!
                                                                                        Twyla

An Earth-shaking Trip to the Beach

     Yesterday we went to the beach.  It was a beautiful, cloudless day. A bit cooler than the last time we went, we didn't bother to float on our rafts, but greatly enjoyed sitting in our beach chairs with our feet in the water, feeding the fish and the ducks. The fish and ducks know our voices now, and quickly come to greet us... they're not dumb... they know we feed them every time!

   The ducks were up at the edge of the parking lot when we arrived, and Moshe got some photos of them following me down to the beach.  They are shameless little beggars!  They not only recognize our voices, they know the sound of me opening a sleeve of Ritz crackers - their favorite!
     We've noticed that Mama Duck stays further away from her five babies... I guess she is getting ready to release them;  they are bigger than she is!
Summer is so close to being over.  I will miss all our little friends from nature.  I hope they will remember us next year...

     So, anyhow, we were sitting in the water in our beach chairs, when we noticed a bizarre occurence.  Moshe and I both saw it at the same time... the waves on the beach started going backwards.  This continued for about a minute, maybe two... Neither of us had ever seen such a thing before.  Moshe spoke
what I was thinking - earthquake. 
     Well, so far as I know, nobody here in our little mountain town felt the earth move or heard their china rattling... Nevertheless, I looked on an Internet site which traces earthquake activity, and there was an earthquake  on the New Madrid Fault within minutes prior to our experience.  Wow!

 
      What we experienced is called a seiche - an oscillation of a body of water caused by the movement of the ground or underground from an earthquake.
     The photo to the right is of the part of the beach where we saw the backwards waves. Absolutely
fascinating to see such an unusual sight, but, I think it's enough earthquake activity for me!!!

             Shalom Y'all,   Twyla