Animal Cruelty at it's Finest!

Today in the peak of the heat I went to the grocery store to pick up a few things to make taco's for dinner. I pull into the parking lot and take my place next door to a black VW~windows rolled up tight with a happy little black and white spotted dog locked inside!
HOLY FREAKIN SHIT! Are you kidding me? Who does this and should I call the cops? Well 911 is not really an option, Terryville is a small town a quick call to the dispatcher would have the cops out in a matter of minutes. I think the real question was ...how long has this poor little doggy been locked up? I tried the door handles.... both locked (your damn right i would've taken that dog out no problem). Damn it! I grab out my cell phone and call 411. (Does anyone ever have the number to the police station off hand? NO of course not.) I am connected with the cops and as I am telling the cop that I am calling about a dog locked in a car... a girl carrying a gallon of milk is making her way in my direction...oh wait, I think the owner is coming now, disregard. Sure enough, she is the owner of the car....and the dog. WHAT AN IDIOT SHE IS~I hope she saw me looking at her and wonders why I was sitting in my car half sticking out on the phone! I say nothing to her, relieved to know that she was back and had more than likely pulled in right before me (and yes, i checked my watch as soon as I saw the dog...I sat there approximately 3 minutes)~her poor little spotted doggy was probably not even locked up for 5 minutes... but seriously people! It was easily 80 degrees and clear skies, not a cloud to obscure the suns rays. This pooch could've been baked quickly and torturously.
Fact: The temperature inside a vehicle can rise up to 20 degrees in the first five minutes.
So while Little Miss Gallon of Milk may have locked her doggy up at a sultry 80 degrees even if she ran in and out of the store quickly her poor poochy was potentially baking in at 100 degrees~at that rate he would've been well done in just a couple hours... all for a $4.00 gallon of milk. How sad is that?
Anyway, it just disappoints me that people don't think...or think "its just a minute". Well, its just a life you could be taking away by being so selfish. Make the ten minute trip to your house, drop off Spot and THEN get the milk. Saving the few cents in gas to cut down on the trips is not worth the dogs life.

Which came first...the chicken or the egg?

These my friends, are honest to Nature cage free eggs. No hormones, no antibiotics, no animals were abused in the making of these eggs! Aren't they perty. Before I left work for the day the kids had called me to let me know that we had an egg. They were so excited you would've thought we had a new chick!
"What do we do, where do we put it? AAAAAGH!"... "Put it in the fridge, no wait. Leave it out. Wait, no..grab a bowl. I don't know, i guess leave it on the counter." Ok, phew! that was a tough decision (apparently i was more nervous or excited than the kids) and before i got home the kids must've remembered all the egg cartons we've been collecting since we bought our fuzzy chicks~because egg 1 was placed gently in the carton and waiting for me to view when i arrived home.
They were pretty sure Pepper laid it...and she did use the nest box...which will make John happy. Knowing someone is using something he's made lol, :oP
But then when I got home they kept telling me that Pepper was still in the box and they weren't sure what was going on. I told them not to worry about it. I figured she was fine...but part of me did worry that I was given a broody hen! Wouldn't that just be some crappy luck~always expecting the worse.
Fact: A broody hen is a domestic hen ready to brood. (is it just me or can anyone else out there not stand when the definition lazily uses the word its defining). Basically a broody hen is a hen that is ready to hatch some eggs...Her biological clock is ticking...and she is looking for some babies! She will sit relentlessly on her nest in hopes of hatching eggs. Even if her eggs are not fertile and will never hatch :o(
We all went outside to make sure Pepper was doing ok and what to my wandering eyes should appear but a miniature sleigh...oh no wait, it was not a sleigh...but instead ANOTHER egg. Pepper turned around to check the other box and I quietly retrieves it from the box. She looked back in the box and seemed confused (not really). But can you imagine if you just delivered a baby then turned around and it was gone and you are left thinking "did i really just deliver that or am i nut-so?" LOL.
So we have our first official eggs and I couldn't be happier. Thanks Salt and Pepper~

The Nest Boxes

Here is the outside view of the box, note the green drawer~it makes it so pretty (reduce, reuse, recycle PEOPLE! get inventive).
There is also the picture of the nest boxes together and then one side alone. The ladies seem to approve. I was a little worried when one of the kids told me that Daisy was in the nest box. I can't have them roosting in the boxes, but at the same time...how do you explain to a baby rooster that these are for eggs...not to be used as beds! I dont know that I would be able to get through to him.

Fact: they say you need one nest box for every 4-5 hens you have

Well, you know we have to make sure everyone is happy and has plenty of room here at Hotel Webster. We used an old dresser drawer to set these ladies up comfortably. John got home at about 6pm, stuffed a couple hamburgers in his face and went out to build the box. Under my supervision he worked quickly (lol, that was a joke) and was done within an hour. There are two boxes side by side set outside of the coop for easy egg removal. The top flips up and the nests exposed, you just have to reach in, steal the eggs, and run...run AWAY! I'm kidding about the running part~but there is always the chance that a hen may not want you to take her eggs and try to peck you...afterall these have the potential to become children if left alone. (not really...I think our roosters are not quite old enough to fertilize anything yet, but someday).

So along with Nest Boxes...come eggs!