birds, blooms, skinks, and dogs chewing gum

Our dog, Flomar, found a piece of freshly discarded gum on the ground today and proceeded to chew it. I watched her chew and chew and chew-- she didn't eat it, just kept chewing it. She may still be chewing it now. I've never seen a dog do that before. Flomar caught a skink today also, and I got it away from her before she killed it. The tail was off, but the little girls made a nest for it in a small bucket and are planning to rehabilitate it.

The black locust trees are blooming and exuding an intoxicating scent. Our little road is lined with them.

Remember those cute little chicks? Here's one with Grandpa's dog. (He's a special dog, as you can see.)

And here are the chicks now, about half grown. We have three reds, two whites, and two barred rocks. We lost a few to a fox, so we have been making improvements to the portable cage.