So I was mixing some spices for tacos…

Did you know that cayenne powder makes your nose feel all tingly and tickle-y if you accidentally sniff it up?  And it makes you sneeze too.

Anyway, have a nice evening and Happy Holidays!

Why??

Why, when there are six nest boxes to choose from, do things like this happen?

Getting a little crowded in here.

(This photo was not staged or edited at all.)

A Month in Pictures

Honeybun and the chicks out for a stroll on April 25th.

Growin’ like a weed.

I have no idea what kind of flowers these are but they’re lovely anyway.

Our new comfrey plant in bloom.

Pretty sure these two are roosters.

Broody Progress Update

We are on day 13 of incubation!  Their scales and claws appear today.  Their heartbeat appeared on day 2 and on day 5 their gender was determined.

I am so ready for these little peepers to hatch!  I’ve been taking Honeybun on walks every day so can stretch, peck, eat, drink, bathe, poo, and in general cram all normal chicken behaviors into a 15 minute slot. 

Tomorrow the chicks will begin positioning for pipping (first break) the shell. 

Hatch day is the 19th!

Black Tea Chickens

My chickens have unique names.  Cheeseball, Ducky, Flopsy, Klutzy, etc.  I kind of named them willy-nilly without rhyme or reason.  Except for the Black Australorps.  Since they’re all black, I thought it would be cute to name them after black teas.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, I introduce you to the Black Tea Australorps:  *drumroll*

Oolong

Darjeeling

Pekoe

Pekoe was kind of hard to get a good photo of because she’s too haughty for paparazzi.  Oolong and the camera get along fine.

Darjeeling and the camera?  A picture is worth 1,000 words:

Darjeeling likes the camera. Mostly.

Now I just have figure out what teas to name the other two Black Australorps after.

This post was linked to the Homestead Barn Hop!

Put On Your Boogie Shoes

On  Thursday I went out to clean the coop windows (How do they get so dirty?!?).  Well, I am so popular that most of the chickens came into the coop with me and hosted a pine shavings party.  The dust was flying!

Here's the one that started it all.

A dozen chickens digging in pine shaving while three or four try to dust-bathe in a 5×8′ (?) area causes hilarity which  the camera cannot adequately capture.  But I tried anyway.

Isn't Gregory handsome?

Now that the windows are clean they want to kick up the dust to make them dirty again!

Bathing Beauties

This post was linked to the Homestead Barn Hop!

They Didn’t Have the “Green Thing” Back In Her Day

My Mom showed me this true story from a friend’s friend.  I really enjoyed it and thought you all might too.

—

In the line at the store, the cashier told the older woman that plastic bags weren’t good for the environment. The woman apologized to her and explained, “We didn’t have the green thing back in my day.”

That’s right, they didn’t have the green thing in her day. Back then, they returned their milk bottles, Coke bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, using the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.

But they didn’t have the green thing back in her day.

In her day, they walked up stairs, because they didn’t have an escalator in every store and office building. They walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time they had to go two blocks.

But she’s right. They didn’t have the green thing in her day.

Back then, they washed the baby’s diapers because they didn’t have the throw-away kind. They dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts; wind and solar power really did dry the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. Cobblers repaired their shoes, so they lasted decades.

But that old lady is right, they didn’t have the green thing back in her day.

Back then, they had one TV, or radio, in the house, not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a pizza dish, not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen, they blended and stirred by hand because they didn’t have electric machines to do everything for you. When they packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, they used wadded up newspaper to cushion it, not styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, they didn’t fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. They used a push mower that ran on human power. They exercised by working so they didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.

But she’s right, they didn’t have the green thing back then.

They drank from a fountain when they were thirsty, instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time they had a drink of water. They refilled pens with ink, instead of buying a new pen, and they replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.

But they didn’t have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar and kids rode their bikes to school or rode the school bus, instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. They had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And they didn’t need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But they didn’t have the green thing back then!

(Thanks, Tom Dooley!)

This post was linked to the Homestead Barn Hop!

Cinema Thursday #4: Preparing A Turkey

Here is a fun video about an alternative way to prepare your turkey!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Chickens & Fences & Hawks, Oh My!

Yesterday the chickens met a hawk for the first time.  It swooped down across the chicken yard and sent them all running into the coop!  They stayed in there for about 30 minutes.  One of my poor barred rocks (not sure which) tried to run for cover into the trees.  She would have made it if the electric fence hadn’t blocked her path.  As it was, she ran into the live fence and tried very hard to scramble through it, her tail bobbing with each effort.  (This story is really so much funnier when my Mom tells it.)  She did make it safely into the coop though.

Also, a few days ago, I went outside to check on the birds and was standing outside the fence.  Well a barred rock (Sabrina, I think.) decided she would try to perch on the top wire of the fence.  At least I know the fence works.    So she jumped atop it, and her feet told her that was a bad idea.  Much flapping ensued and she jumped to the ground rather gracefully for an electrified chicken.

That was my week.  How about yours?

Such shocking stories!

This post was linked to the Homestead Barn Hop!

Chickens Again!

You remember the pullet in my post about the chicks?  Well, that pullet has grown substantially.  From this:

A happy, sleepy, 15-day-old pullet.

To this:

This picture was taken on Oct. 3. He's even bigger now!

And if you can’t already tell, it is not a pullet.  That’s right folks, the hatchery gave us an extra  rooster!  (At least it’s a breed I wanted.)  Chunky is my sweet boy.

I’ll try to get some new pictures of him.  They turned 3 months old on the 27th.  They sound so grown up, clucking instead of peeping.

Group shot! (Chunky is by the waterer.)

 

This post was linked to the Homestead Barn Hop!