Kelly's Country Squawk

Happy New Year to Everyone! Believe it or not, this new year has ALREADY brought about an interesting problem for The Squawk...a new predator. I shouldn't be as shocked when something new or unusual happens inside my chicken coop. I've had chickens for six years now...you would think I would be able to handle uncertain things about my coop including the good, the bad, and the ugly. But three days before Christmas, just after I posted my Christmas blog full of love and ho

Earlier this week, I blogged about a chicken chore I've been putting off for a long time...not trimming my Christmas tree, but trimming the three inch spur off my rooster named Maui. Since I held myself accountable for this task by posting about it, I put Maui at the top of my Christmas priority list this week. My chickens HATE being held. Some of my fellow chicken bloggers have pet chickens in their homes wearing diapers or have chickens riding on their shoulders around th

The brutal winter cold came early this year! Normally I'm prepared for "North Pole" type weather around January or February, but this week has been quite frigid. With windchill, we've been having below zero temps in southeastern Michigan which has made my daily chicken chores take a bit longer. Chickens actually are quite winter hardy, like so many other types of outside animals. Instead of keeping warm from the outside in, like humans, livestock keeps warm from the inside

Last night's Detroit Writing Room Awards Ceremony was so much fun and inspiring! I loved being surrounded by at least 50 other writers and photographers who are passionate about creating meaningful stories and beautiful artwork. The awards ceremony took place at the Detroit Public Theatre in downtown Detroit, and boy did I feel like I was breaking curfew by going to the big city on a school night! My husband and I hardly ever get to have a date night which made the evening

In about 20 minutes, my husband (the crazy driver) will be taking me to my first writing award ceremony! I'm a bit excited and very nervous! In July, I submited one of my unpublished children's stories, called The Noise , to the Detroit Writing Room to apply for their Annual Writer's Award. In September I was notified that I won either 1st, 2nd, 3rd place or honorable mention in the Children's Book category. The Noise is a very silly story about a little dog whose snores

Eight book readings in six days...so much fun! Last week was a fun week for me as an author! I was able to read Pastor Jay and Painter of the Sky to eight different student classes and at my library. Thank you to the wonderful students and teachers at Livingston Christian School and the supportive staff at Salem-South Lyon Library for the opportunity to share my stories! After participating in several book readings this year, I've discovered that my books are best suited

My favorite part about being a published author and blogger is being able to talk to my readers...especially my young readers. Yesterday, I was able to visit my kindergarten students from last year who have now graduated onto first grade this year. I read my new book, Pastor Jay , to the kids and handed out the stuffed animals that are characters in the book. Whenever a stuffed animal appeared in the story, the kids would lift them in the air when we read that specific par

This week's post is a bit late. My feathered friends were not very enthusiastic about an idea I wanted to try. We can call this an epic "Pinterest Fail" or a chicken version of the show Nailed It . Why Chickens Love Pumpkins A favorite treat for chickens this time of year is pumpkins. Pumpkins are very healthy for them. They help boost their immune systems, preparing them for the cold winter months. For the past couple of years, I’ve seen several YouTube videos of other chick

Apple Cider made from apples with our rotten apple trees. So, so good! We like using recycled bottles for our homemade apple cider. This past week was another "rotten apple tree" week. However, I believe many people across America felt like those rotten, ugly apple trees I wrote about in last week's post, Apple Picking on the Chicken Farm . There are no words that can truly ease the pain of tragedy or make sense of it. I've seen countless words on social media discussing the

My absolute favorite part of last week was launching my new book called Pastor Jay! I loved all the Facebook messages, texts, and emails...

After nine months of writing, critiquing, collaborating, and having tons of fun, my new Christian Children's Book called Pastor Jay is...

The Chicken Limo!!! When I was growing up in Indiana in the 80s, occasionally my brother and I would spot one of these chicken limos...

After a fun camping weekend with my family, I returned home to find the finalized files for my new book, Pastor Jay , from my wonderful book designer. Below is a picture of the 3D book mock-up. Once I submit her files to Amazon's publishing company, KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing), it takes about two weeks for Amazon to approve it and add Pastor Jay to their website for purchase. So, watch out for Pastor Jay in September! I'll keep you updated. Available on Amazon in Septemb

Once a month I have to buy 250 pounds of chicken feed at the Tractor Supply to feed my 70 chickens. Since I have three "strong" kiddos...

A Dozen Eggs with two Fancy Vegas Eggs A big part of my love language is giving gifts. I love to make people smile, and I absolutely...

After traveling to the gorgeous Smoky Mountains with my family last week, I realized that the summer heat in Michigan is nothing compared to the heat of the South. However, it has been quite hot! The only thing thriving in this sauna are the ten monster-sized zucchinis we found growing in our garden after being gone for five days. Thankfully, my neighbor's little boys thought our overgrown zucchinis looked like bazookas, so they had quite a fun afternoon playing with them. Ki

How about a break from chicken drama? I've got some book news to share about one of the best children's Christian books... It's been...

Seconds after giving birth to my firstborn son For those of us who have fallen in love with a partner, feelings often develop over time....

Maui, the Demi-God of the wind and sea...we named him from Moana, the Disney Movie Last night it was cool enough outside for me to sleep...

My ferocious indoor mousers, Jasper and Bessie, who wouldn't know what to do with a "real" mouse. The one on the right is terrifying,...