Keeping An Eye Out

Kristine took this photo of Morgan this afternoon. Morgan loves to hang out on the stairs because she can keep an eye on everyone and everything. There are mirrors on the wall so she can look toward the back of the house and still see the living room and outside.

It has been raining and the chickens have been locked up in their coop. Morgan went out with me when I filled the feeders and checked on the chickens and she got her paws all muddy. When Morgan comes inside her muddy paw trick is to go up to the loft and clean her feet. It is nice and warm up there and she spends some time letting them dry, and licking her pads clean.

I used to have a sweet doberman who liked to spin when he was excited. I taught him to spin on command when he came in the entry way on the floor mat. I would have him spin right and then left, back and forth, and what was happening was that he was wiping his feet on the mat. Saved me the trouble of messing with his feet and getting a bunch of towels muddy. He had a lot of fun spinning! As a puppy Morgan watched him potty and learned to lift her leg. Pretty funny!

I'm going to go back to watching White Christmas after I post this.

[3 eggs today]

Smiles

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Watch That First Step!

iPhoto is playing tricks on me and hiding photos. I finally found this in the Thumbs. I don't know what Thumbs are other than that they sound small. This will be interesting. Oh! I just published and found out that the photo will not enlarge when I click on it. hmmmm.

The chickens are still getting used to the gate. I'm just happy that it keeps Morgan out of the feed.

I asked Kevin if he knew about a Sports setting on my camera (he has one too,) but he didn't. I have read through the instruction booklet a few times and the closest I can come to a setting that will capture motion is the Auto setting. I didn't take any photos today, but I'll try the Auto setting tomorrow and see how it works.

I watched some lectures by Rusty Schweickart today about Astrobiology, his space mission, astroids and the planets. Pretty neat stuff. I remember getting together with some friends after work to watch Neil Armstrong walk on the moon. That was amazing! It didn't take very long before we took the moon missions for granted and now I hardly ever even think about the space station.

When I lived in Campbell, California before the moon landing I remember the ground shaking (and me too) and was told that the rockets were being tested. At first I had thought it was an earthquake, but the roaring noise was from the rocket. I wish I knew what rocket was fired and where the test happened.

I made more cranberry sauce for Kristine. Well, for me too. I love that stuff and Tom bought about 12 bags of cranberries to freeze. I asked him to buy them because these are the best cranberries. Much better than any I have seen before.

We still have plenty of chicken soup for dinner tomorrow

[3 eggs today]

I think one of them is from yesterday.

It rained on the feed yesterday

and I found out that the chickens

love wet soggy food.

Smiles

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iPod

I wonder what they are saying? "Did you get an iPod for Christmas?" "I told you to stop following me!" "Do you know where the snow is?" "No!" "Go away!" "Wanna find some squirrels?" "No, I won't help you find a squirrel!" "I don't know what you're talking about?" "No, I don't know where everyone went yesterday." "I'm white and you're white; maybe we're related?" "No!"

I don't know, but I did get an iPod from Kristine and I have been having lots of fun listening to music, lectures and playing games. I have way too many Christmas photos and movies to sort through so I know which ones to keep, delete or email.

I forgot to ask if I could post Christmas photos, so there are no Christmas photos. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. I really love seeing everyone, but I feel exhausted afterwards. Of course that could be from the hives. Kristine is battling off a sore throat. She has been exposed to the H1N1 flu at the library and at school. I really, really don't want her to catch it, especially since she won't go get the vaccine. She said the school nurse said she probably didn't need it. I worry because of her asthma.

I'm kind of loopy from taking Benadryl and sleeping all day. I tried to be careful and not eat strange stuff, but I got hives anyway. Phooey! But itching is better than a migraine any day.

[1 egg today]

A brown one from a Brahma.

Smiles

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Merry Christmas!

I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!

I'm posting this in the middle of the night with hopes of adding to it later in the day. The chickens are sleeping and I didn't think they would be happy to pose in the Christmas tree so I cheated and used my little lid pot holders. Ho, Ho, Ho!

[? eggs today]

I'll check for eggs later.

Smiles

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Merry Christmas Eve!

Merry Christmas To All

Thank you to all who comment and read this blog.

I wish you a joyful holiday!

I took this photo on Monday.

I like the old street lamps.

[1 egg today]

It was an Orpington egg!

Smiles

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Christmas Sunset

Yesterday, there was a lot of gold in the sky along with the pink when I ran for the house to get my camera. By the time I got back outside this was all that was left and it continue to darken rapidly. My little camera doesn't capture the intense colors well, but this gives some idea of how lovely the sunset looked through the trees.

I counted the chickens (all there) tonight after I hung their feeders outside because we are supposed to have some sunny days. Not warm days; just sunny days. That's good. I think they eat better in the morning when the feeders are outside rather than in the coop. I still haven't convinced the broody Australorp to give up her nest. I'll keep trying.

My neighbor introduced me to the puppy their family got for Christmas. Now I want a puppy. Well, I've been thinking about getting a dog. In fact I was watching Cesar Millan videos when my neighbor called to wish us Merry Christmas. I've been trying to make up my mind about whether I should get a big dog. Or should I get a herding dog like Morgan? My very first dog was an Australian Shepherd and I would seriously consider getting one if I found a breeder around here. I wish the breeder we got Morgan from was still breeding puppies. I'll keep looking around online.

[1 egg today]

Pretty brown egg.

Smiles

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What Is That?

What is that stuff? Kristine called out that the chickens were on the porch trying to eat the snow. When I opened the slider I could hear the tiny snow hitting the porch with a tick, tick, sound. I guess the hens thought I was throwing treats out for them to eat. It is cold out. The chickens went to bed early way before they usually go in the coop; they are no dummies.

I went in the coop and made sure the hens had lots of pellets and I filled up their grain bin. One of these days the chickens are going to surprise me with lots of eggs, but I don't think it is going to happen until it warms up and the days get longer. A few eggs are better than no eggs. The pretty brown eggs Tom bought at the store look fine, taste different and I notice a faint barnyard smell to them after I cook them. Strange. I want my chickens eggs. Sigh.

Morgan wants in too. It would really snow if we had some rain. If some moisture moves in tonight, I may wake up to a lovely white world. I thought it was tiny hail, but I was voted down by the snow experts in the family.

I wanted to find out and looked up snow in wiki here and now know more than I wanted about snow. I guess the snow on the deck is snow pellets. Or not? Maybe it is soft hail? Snow flakes are so beautiful.

I remember the first time I cut out a paper snow flake. It must have been a second or third grade art craft and I was so surprised when I unfolded the paper to find a lovely snow flake. I feel the urge to fold and cut some paper and create a Christmas snow flake for the window. Or ceiling? I found a tutorial here. I forgot how to fold the paper. I like the simple Christmas homemade items. Paper chains anyone. Oh, I loved the smell of that school paste.

I usually read The Telegraph as part of my online news regime, and this morning I ran across this article here that I feel vindicates my mutterings to myself sometimes when thinking through problems or making plans. I usually catch flack for thinking out loud from people who think they are funny. Ha! I hate it when people make fun of others because of habit or for the sake of what they think is humor. I guess I'm just a fragile flower.

[2 eggs today]

My breakfast!

Smiles

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Winter Begins!

Today In History here says that Winter begins today. More info on the Winter Solstice here. The snow is gone, but the rain has shown up again and it is cold. So, I guess that counts as Winter. This rain is actually raining hard enough to make some noise. Hope the noise equals a lot of inches of water in the rain gage.

Kristine and I made it down the mountain today and bought some presents, had a late lunch, bought dinner for Tom. We met a lot of very nice shop keepers. One of the ladies even gave me a neat t-shirt for Christmas. On the way home Kristine stopped so I could take a photo of the town tree. It is tricky driving in fog and I really don't like it at all because of the nutty drivers who speed in the fog. What are they thinking?

The town's dedicated volunteers decorate a tree with lights every year. We were happy to find it lit up even though it was foggy.

On the way down the mountain we passed police cars, an ambulance, and a fire truck parked next to the bridge. Sad to say but we think earlier there was probably a jumper. Hope they talked the person off the bridge. I realize that people who suicide are not thinking rationally, but they don't realize the life long pain and sorrow they leave behind with those who love and know them. Their problems are over, but the legacy they leave behind is truly deadly. We have had a suicide in our extended family and I hope my grandchildren don't grow up to think that is a way to solve their problems.

I debated posting about this, but it is what we saw today and this blog is a record of what is happening around here, so, yes, I'm going to post it. May all people who despair find hope or become hope for others.

[no eggs today]

The chickens were in their coop and pen today

because of the rain.

Smiles

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On The Porch Again

Wow! I just found out that pressing the control key and o causes the post to publish. I'm not all the way awake from a quick nap. I went to type On in the title box and oops! Publish... ready or not.

The chickens all look wonderful They are doing well in the cold weather which surprised me because it seemed that they weren't finished molting when the cold arrived. They all look plumb, well feathered and hungry. Of course they are always interested in food. This time it is lettuce they are cleaning off the porch. That is a stack of wood in a wheel barrow that Tom has parked outside the slider handy for filling the wood stove.

I hope the deck makes it another winter without me falling through one of the saggy weak spots. I have tried to patch up some of the weak areas, but in some places the support boards have cracked. Maybe we should just tear it out and build some stairs to the front door and sliders? I don't think Santa is going to bring us a new porch. I would love to have one with a porch swing, a clothesline and enclosed area to use all year. Dream on...

This is Pastey the Light Brahma with her pretty new feathers. She sure looks better than she did in October here when she looked like she was half plucked. I love fluffy chickens!

Tomorrow the plan is for Kristine to take us off the mountain to go Christmas shopping. I'll charge the camera and take it along in hopes of getting some great Christmas photos.

[no eggs today]

Smiles

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Treading The Boards

Today I got the broody Australorp to go go outside! I had to pick her up three times and carry her out the door, but she is finally hanging out with her two sisters. I opened up the nest boxes so they are not dark and cozy. I hope she will give up the egg hatching plan. John here warned me to be careful of broody hens getting sick in the winter cold. It was good that he did because I usually just pretty much ignore them except for complaining and worrying about them.

Do these girls want to go on stage? No. I think they just like the boards because they have soaked up some warmth from the sun. But, I got to thinking about the trained chickens I have seen performing at county fairs and went to take a quick look on YouTube to see what I could find and came up with this. Chickens aren't so dumb!

I have trained dogs and once even got a third place in obedience with one of my Dobies at a benched Doberman show at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. The dog's scores were only a half point apart with the winner getting a perfect score. Yes. I'm blowing my horn. This blog is supposed to be a record of stuff that happened. I haven't used a clicker or whistle to train except to use them to get a dog to come for a treat. I save the clicker and whistle for times when the dog won't come and I'm desperate.

I wonder if I could clicker train the broody hen to give up sitting in a nest? I guess I could distract her for awhile with treats, but I don't think I have enough of an inclination to pursue chicken training. Training chickens to lay an egg when they hear a click? Now that would be worth the effort. I wonder?

I only got a little bit of path raking done.

Morgan wouldn't hold still for a photo.

The window I replaced yesterday was the top right window. It may have cracked because of the freezes and the wind rattling the windows around or maybe a chicken flew up and bumped the glass when they were all penned up in the coop. I was reading about farmers who use three sided chicken coops even in snowy weather. They did say they had winter hardy chickens. I guess the hens become acclimated to the situation where they are living. I like this set up here especially the idea of composting the wood shavings and chicken poo in place.

[no eggs today]

Smiles

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Sunny Again

Today the chickens were so happy to be free they flew out of the coop squawking and flapping. They headed off under the trees and were gone for about a half hour. Then I noticed they had come back to some open areas and were scratching in the leaves. This is a Buff Brahma who has scratched up a patch of dirt she likes. Shortly after I took this photo, three hens came over to help her eat up what she had found. Some of the other hens were sun bathing in protected spots. I had planned to stay outside with Morgan, rake, watch the hens and make sure the fox would stay away.

But, when I went in the coop, I noticed that one of the windows was broken. The glass hadn't fallen out, but it was cracked and loose. I have already posted about replacing a broken window here and here, so I refrained from taking more pictures. I forgot how long it took and it took longer this time to install the new window because I had to move one of the windows because the new window didn't fit and replace all the hardware without my power screwdriver.

By the time I finished it was getting late and I didn't have much time to clean up the coop. I cleaned out the nest boxes, raked the old straw out in the pen and cleaned up under the roosts. Then I got the hammer and repaired the little piece of deck fence I appropriated for the coop to keep Morgan away from the chicken feed.

I finished those tasks just about the time the chickens were trying to get back in the coop. For now I'm using the barrel to hold the fence up against the doorway. I'll have to figure out some kind of hook arrangement to attach the fence. Morgan is curious, but I don't think she can get in between the wooden stakes and she is not a jumper, so I think this will keep her out of the coop.

I made that little piece of fence to partition off a part of deck at the Glenwood house to keep the Dobies from running down the back stairs. I had hooks on the ends so I could move it easily when I wanted to open up the space. I can't believe I hauled it all the way up here. Well, I'm glad I found a use for it.

[1 egg today]

Several hens came in the coop when I was fixing the window. I still don't know which hen is laying eggs. I think it might be one of the Light Brahmas. Tom picked up chicken feed today.

I watched this sweet little Irish folk tale film last night and wished it had lasted longer. I had never heard of it until I read about it on a blog I ran across. Find all kinds of neat stuff on the net.

Smiles

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Stumped

I didn't take any photos today and was stumped for something to post. Then I thought about the photos I had taken awhile back of my favorite stumps here on the property. I was going to make a stump post but the photos got lost in iPhoto. Ah, but I found them and decided to post these two pics. The top photo is of the stump by the front gate. Some years it has more moss growing on it and some years I have planted myrtle in it or other flowers.

This stump is not too far away from the gate and it has a small cedar growing out of the middle. I think they call these stumps "mothers" or at least they do in the redwood forests when redwood seedlings grow up out of another tree. I have lots of photos of other stumps, but I figure a person can only look at so many stumps unless they are a stump aficionado. Don't think there are too many of those.

I fell in love with trees, stumps and nature walks when we lived in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I used to take the girls to Henry Cowell State Park here in Felton (photos.) We would visit the nature center, walk the trails, identify trees and plants, and visit Roaring Camp next door and feed the ducks and geese. Sometimes we would make a day of it and take a picnic. I always tried to remember to take a flashlight so we could take it inside the hollow Captain Fremont Redwood tree here (story is he camped in it) so we could see the shelves they made in the side of the tree. Every year the opening is getting smaller, so eventually the opening to the burned out center will be closed and the tree will look whole.

I do miss the redwood trees in the area and on our property (neat photos here.) There is just something so special about a huge redwood tree. It is not just the size, but the fact that it has been alive for thousands of years through so much history. When I was standing inside or next to one of those trees it made the history of the area come alive for me. I am grateful for the people who fought to save the redwoods for all of us to enjoy.

Felton here is a neat little town and reminds me a lot of the old gold towns up here where I now live. On our jaunts we used to stop in Felton at a book store and then at a little cafe in an old hotel that made the best berry pies I ever had. I used to visit Felton with a friend's family when I was in high school and never thought I would be taking my children there to enjoy the same sights.

I knew some people in Felton, who had dobermans, so I could tell dobie stories too, but not now.

[1 egg today]

Smiles

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Day For Night

I took this photo on the way to open the gate for Kristine this morning and remembered reading about how sometimes the movies shoot night scenes in the daytime. It is 8:30 in the morning! And the gate light is still lit! No wonder the chickens aren't laying any eggs if they can't tell when it's day or night. I think I will use the confusion as an excuse for why I feel sleepy. It is still raining.

Everything looks like it is covered with a layer of potato chips with just a touch of powdered sugar. We are supposed to have partly sunny days for awhile. Supposed to. I sure hope so, because I would like to get out and start moving those leaves around while they are still wet. I want to get raking soon because it is amazing how fast the sun can dry the leaves out which makes them harder to move en masse.

Kristine's last day of class for a while and final today. I'm glad she will have some free time. Maybe I can get her to blog? Post some photos? She said she will take me down the mountain to do some Christmas shopping. That will work. (I'll take my camera) At least I can spend some time window shopping and taking in the Christmas atmosphere. I think I really, really need to stop in at the quilt store. I could spend all my wreath money right there.

I miss reading Suzanne's blog and feel bad for her having to deal with a malware warning. I searched up some info here and sure hope I never have a hacker dump some code in my baby blog. All this malware stuff makes my head spin. I think if it happened to my blog I would just abandon it after a while if I couldn't find the problem. And since I don't know very much at all about finding bad code I'm pretty sure the whole thing would be a wash. Hackers and Spammers are such slime.

[no eggs today]

Hard to believe but one of the Australorps has gone broody.

Smiles

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Chickens In A Box

Cute hens! This Light Brahma and Wyandotte are cozy and happy in a nest box. I always wonder how and why the chickens figure out where they are going to sleep at night. They don't seem to sleep in the same places except for the hens who are broody. The broody girls do pick a spot and hold on to it until they give up on the whole egg hatching business.

The Light Brahma could be Pastey, but I know she is not Screamer because if that was Screamer she would have her beak open making a lot of noise. I call all the Wyandottes, Dot or Dotty, because I can't tell them apart unless they are standing close together and not moving. That doesn't happen.

The nest looks pretty clean. I keep a pair of gloves in the chicken coop to wear when I check the nest boxes for eggs. I like wearing the gloves because, after I remove the eggs, I pick up chicken poo and toss it out of the nest onto the dirt area where I can rake it up and put it under the roosts. I rake dirt, straw, poo, etc., under the roost with the understanding that this is supposed to provide some warmth for the coop during the cold winter months. Composting? I clean it all out in the Spring, but for sure it is a lot easier doing it this way than hauling stuff around.

My brother named these three trees, John, Sharon, and Callie, after us kids. The trees are growing alongside the driveway waiting for a hello from passersby. I must admit that I go past them most of the time without noticing or remembering that they are special. But they are special and having them there is heartwarming.

I haven't done any or even thought about Christmas gift buying. At least I want to fill the Christmas socks with little presents, candy and fun stuff. Need to get something for Morgan's sock too.

[1 egg today]

Smiles

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