Early in the Morning

After a restless night's sleep broken by the sounds of a whining dog (intermittent fireworks = scared pup) and the alarm going off at 3:45 AM, it was out the door and on the road to the Small Animal Swap!  This was the scene, around 7:15 AM: it was a good crowd of shoppers and vendors, lots of people catching up and chatting.  I spent most of my morning standing next to the truck petting bunnies.

I only sold one little doe, to a nice family who is starting a rabbitry in their backyard.  And I had a nice chat with a guy from Altoona, who was selling his meat rabbit kits directly across from me--he may be in the market for a little buck in the fall, and hopefully will give me a call when he is ready.  (I am pretty sure I'll have rabbits available then--you know what they say about rabbits, right? Wink wink)

My wonderful friend, who was game for an early morning road trip, was very nice and held down the fort...err, back of the truck?...and let me go wandering to chat with some pigeon people who were selling extra birds.  A lot were there, but no one really had pairs for sale, until I found these beauties.

Meet Edith and Archie.

Edith is slightly smaller, and more "dark" shaded with a lovely bit of plum-purple on her breast.

The lovely Edith.

Archie, on the other hand, is a little larger and more "bright" shaded--with incredible, rich rusty-red banding on his back.

This is Archie.

According to the gentleman selling them, these two are a pair of red-banded racing homer pigeons.  Because they are new to this particular home, they'll be staying inside their little coop for a few weeks until they recognize it as the Place of Food & Safety.  Otherwise, they'll fly back to their native home-land, never to be seen again in the wilds of Prairie Farm.  I think they'll like it here--they've got a nice little house all to themselves to set up domesticated blissful life in, they are getting fed some posh food (I made my own mix from various dried organic seeds and peas), and there's no competition from a larger flock or avian predators.

They've been silent so far, but very very interested in what is going on around them.  It's too early to tell if Archie will call his Edith "dingbat", or if they'll produce a Gloria...or a Meat Head.  I think I'll start calling their little home "The Bunker Residence"--it seems fitting somehow, don't you think?