I got home a little late today.  I was trying to get caught up at school so I can get out the door reasonably early tomorrow afternoon and still have everything ready for Monday.  So, I went out straight to my chores.  We had a major down pour while I was at school just 3 miles away, so I didn't want to go out in it to get home, but it hadn't rained yet here at the farm when I got home. 

    I went to feed the chickens and check on my turkeys.  We put them on the ground in a big pen last night.  They were just getting too big for the little chicky pen.  They were all walking around squawking...still not sure of their new surroundings.  Then I went on to feed everyone their favorite treat of seeds in their scratch feed.  I went over to toss the pea fowl some seeds when I noticed babae didn't come up with his mom... So I went in to inspect and look for him.  He was on the other side of a lily plant laying on his side. The life was gone, but it must have been recently. He wasn't even stiff yet. I kept hoping he'd show some sign of life again, but he was gone.  He seemed healthy, tummy was full, not too skinny.  I noticed him hanging his head a little yesterday, but the air was cooler and I thought he was just hunching down in the wind. 

      My little pea fowl is gone.  I'll have to wait another year and hope for a better hatch.  I enjoyed seeing him roost with his mom, right under her wing, standing on her foot.  He was right by her side always.  I just seem to have no luck with my little peafowl.  I hate to pump them full of meds all the time.  I try to keep them wormed.  They have a nice big pen with a great habitat. They are in a pen away from the chickens, that has not had chickens in it. They have shelter.  I spoil them with special foods.  I'll keep trying.  But it 's just frustrating....and I always get a little sad when I loose one.   Not as tough a farmer girl as I need to be I guess.

     Well I finished up the chores, fed the goats, Hammie, the cats...and the garden chickens.  The scuppernong vine is still producing sweet golden treats, so I indulged and picked a few and ate them while I watered the chickens.  An egg had busted and ants were all in the nest.  I got them all over me and ended up with a couple of bites...ouch!  I ended up dropping the feed scoop I had collected the eggs in...and the eggs...scrambled...and then the rain started falling.  I walked in the rain to the house eating scuppernogs all the way...

     I sat down at the kitchen table, and then I thought about my turkeys in the new pen. I remembered when I was growing up and we had turkeys they didn't know how to get out of the rain. So, I went back to check on my little turkeys.  They sometimes need a little help finding the shelter in a new pen to get out of the rain.  Sure enough... they were at the opposite end of the pen chirping...in the rain.  I began scooping them up and taking them to the shelter...at least I got a little exercise as I made several trips to get all ten of them gathered up.

    Then I noticed the hens we had transferred to the pens weren't roosting under the roost, but were out in the open rain.  So I went and gathered them up and tucked them under the roost...well all but one and she ran up to the old hen house. 

    I am so thankful Richie had had time to make me three new gates in the pens.   Last night when we put the turkeys in he had had to climb over the fence.  I teasingly said, well I guess you'll have to climb over everyday until we get the gates made...and well...the gates were made today.  Thanks my love! I would have been really wet trying to climb over the fence!  That would have been a site!