April and Springtime

My Rosen Lied Beige, April, is wearing a new spring frock that I listed on etsy.  I love it so much I almost didn't want to list it.  It doesn't show, but there is a lining that makes a little petticoat beneath the top, and it has lace on the edge that matches the lace on her bloomers.  

It feels like spring around here today.  I had the day off to enjoy the bright sunshine, blue sky and 70 degree temperatures.  I cleaned the coop and also cleaned out the chicken runs, which were full of wet straw from a long winter.  The straw was so thick in one of the runs, there was still ICE beneath it!  It's already melted.  My red chickens are one year old today.  Hard to believe they went from this:

To this in just one year.

I had a fence installed around the half of lawn where their coop is.  They needed to be out.  We had issues all winter with Matilda, in particular, picking feathers from the other birds.  I have tried every trick out there to get them to quit, and managed to reduce it quite a lot, but they do best when they're out most of the time and don't think about boredom and picking.  They're still a delight and are funny, quirky animals, each with their own personality.  The Buffs will be 1 year old in about 2 months (May 31).