New chicks on the block.

I had just popped out with the sole intention of buying chicken feed for Vinoland's six breakfast-laying ladies, but I somehow came home with four new, three day old chicks.  How did that happen?  Look how adorable they are.  How could've I resisted?  Problem is, I don't know what breeds they are.  I'm hoping the brown one is a Sussex and the black one is an Australorp.  The other two?  No clue.  No matter, as long as they are all indeed female (the most important consideration).
Continuing with the theme of naming my chickens after Henry VIII's warships, meet Little Barbara (Babs), Jennet Prywin (Jennie), Magdeline (Maggie) and Katherine Bark (Katie).
Here's to fresh eggs at New Year.

I'm a mother-clucker.

Speaking of babies, besides being Vinodog 2's dogmum, I recently became the mother of quadruplets - four bouncing baby chickens. Hatched on May 29th, I purchased the chicks at Rivertown Feed & Pet Country Store in Petaluma, Sonoma. (Shockingly, they're not hip Napa-chicks.)  I had a fun time driving over to the other valley.
The chicks are four different breeds; a Golden Sexlink, a Rhode Island Red, a Silver Laced Wyandotte and a Barred Plymouth Rock.  I named them after Henry VIII's warships, (seeing as ships are female, like hens), so I have a Mary Rose (Maro), Primrose (Rosie), Lizard (Lizzie) and Minion (Minnie).  Aren't they adorable?  I love them already.

Napa nest 8.

This is the second set of chicks this spring for one very busy house finch mother.  Right next to my front door, balanced on the top of a pair of outdoor lights, the nest of the Haemorhous mexicanus is looking a little worse for wear.  The four, fluffy chicks, huddled together in the nest, don't seem to care about the droppings accumulating around the edge of their weed, grass and horsehair-lined penthouse, so I suppose I shouldn't let it bother me either.  Both Vinomaker and I have stopped using the front door, as much as we normally would, so as to not unduly disturb the materfamilias in the raising of her brood.  I just love having baby critters around Vinoland.

A trio of chicks.

Just wanted to report that Vinoland's California towhee chicks are doing really well.  All three eggs hatched, the chicks are feathering up nicely and I'm sure that they will fledge this week.  I took this photograph with a long lens, atop a very rickety old chair, whilst mama and papa towhee protested, one Syrah row over, perched beside each other on an irrigation line.  Not wanting to agitate the parent birds too much, I decided that any photo I had already managed to snap of the chicks would have to suffice.  I would feel horrible if the nest was abandoned because I was too nosy.  I carefully climbed down, very carefully, and went about my business in the Pinot grigio vines.  I hope to see these little chaps, or chapesses, eating seed on my deck rail very soon.

Napa nest 5.

Veraison is running rampant in Vinoland.  Well maybe not quite rampant, but it is moving right along in the Pinot grigio and the Syrah vines (and probably the Orange muscat vines also, it's just harder to see in white grapes).  So today, I was going to post a photograph of one, or the other, of the vine varieties changing colour except I discovered something more interesting.
Yesterday, whilst working in the Pinot grigio vines, I suddenly became aware that I might be close to a bird's nest.  How did I come to this conclusion?  A pair of California Towhees (Melozone crissalis) decided I was persona non grata in a particular part of the Pinot grigio block and they created quite a ruckus to dissuade me from working around their nest further.  I did have a quick gander and discovered that their wonderfully constructed nest held four, blue-green speckled eggs.  How wonderful.  I then immediately left them alone.
Today, whilst working in the Cabernet sauvignon vines, the same thing happened: another pair of towhees made it abundantly clear that they were not very happy with me performing some vineyard operations in their neighbourhood.  I couldn't help but to take a peek and to my delight I espied one egg and two pinky-grey, fuzzy chicks.  Momma towhee loudly protested my reappearance with a camera, but I just had to get a photo.  And as I snapped away, one baby promptly fell over onto his back.  So cute.  Love all my Vinoland feathered friends.