rainy night in jawja

Gladys Knight would have been inspired last night: yes indeed sometimes it feels like it is raining all over the world. creeks rose, traffic accidents multiplied and lake residents rejoiced. the news in the background seemed to delightfully report each and every mishap on the slick slabs around the city.

as it turned out, i declined to spend 5 days at chickory with V as we had planned. our marriage cannot survive that many days in such small quarters. love requires space; in my case, lots of it. So when the great outdoors are not an option, the charming little cabin becomes dangerous ground.

In Atlanta, the yard turned green over night with the drenching, and those greens seemed all the more brilliant against that gray rainy sky.

Cherry blossom petals swirled around like fake opera snow in the big wind that followed the rain. the petals were sprinkled over everything in the yard. the red buds are blooming and the dogwood buds are burst-ready swollen and a most agreeable color of milky green white.



i took some video of raindrops on a puddle to add to my "water" collection of video. i was quiet and still long enough to watch the pine needles cones and redbud petals move together as if magnetized to form little dams. all i could hear were the chimes from the porch and a mournful chipping sparrow -the one who's song has those three minor key notes at the end of the cycle - and i thought of my little Lisieux; if she had a song it would be like that.

Lisieux is still the smallest and most insecure bird of the four. She seems to gravitate to Ski and use him for shelter. something is wrong with one of her eyes it stays in a narrowed position. even with a magnifying glass i can't see why that would be.

she really doesnt yet understand how to take the water from the gravity feeder. I squeeze it so drops come out and she dashes over to get her water - im trying to avoid putting the other waterer in because when they scratch up their bedding it tends to get in the water tray and suck out all the water leaving the well dry and the bedding wet. so the gravity waterer is much better for them. when i take her up to be petted and photographed she still shivers and stays in a very frozen position.

Easter is the opposite. she (or he) is a very busy active bird. when i come to their pen to say hello Easter always rushes up to be first in line; never shrinking from my hand and seems to look forward to getting out of the pen. it was hard to get a good photo of Easter because he (or she) is always flying to me! This bird is a talker too. I really am charmed by this chick but still dont think ive gotten a beautiful photo of her/him.

I think Avila might be a rooster. if so, i should probably reconsider a proper name more fitting of a little tough guy as this pose indicates. and look at that comb! the most developed of all four chicks. This is a beautiful little chick - i should post a close-up of the lovely feathers. and the furry part of him is still a pretty pale yellow. Avila is strong; its hard to keep him in my grip he fights so to be free. as soon as it is dry and warm im going to give them some supervised outdoor time in the yard, and i know this chick will relish that time.

Ski is so funny. we only thought he was awkward before. Hes way bigger than the other birds. Im trying to figure out how i am going to transport these birds back and forth from city to country.Will i need a carrier for Dovey, Ski and then the other three? gah! Ski is the chick i can always count on to dooky up my clean white background sheet. and then he inspects it "did i do that?" oh yes you did!

I decided not to photoshop out Ski's shite -all three of these are his! (or hers) This bird reminds me so much of something....could it be this?

he fits right in, doesn't he? this truly was the right bird to choose for Moi's virtual pet. They are kindred spirits.

The man who said he was going to wait until May to till up my field for a garden must have changed his mind. When i arrived at chickory last tuesday, the vegetable patch was tilled and so was the wildflower area. Im glad -i was getting antsy about it.


I ordered a nice chicken coop from the UK for the chicks to have in the city, but i made V promise to build a bigger one for chickory. I want to get a garden shed and have V build a little deck around it and have the coop nearby so we have a hangout place out in the field. the garden is on the other side of the property from the cabin because that is where the sun is. I know im going to want to be out there -and where the chicken church coop is now its too dark and the hens wont lay well. so we have much to do. Im picking out plants now - i have a few seed packets: a mixed pack of summer squashes and some multi-colored cherry tomatoes. Also have some multicolored radishes but those are for fall. I m going to buy whatever they have at the country co-op; i figure they most know what they're doing.
while i dreamed and worried about the garden i went into the creek bed to see if i could find any red efts: juvenile salamanders. or are they newts? i forget. either way, I didnt see any. It might be too cold still. Trout had a big day out which was important. its been raining every day since. that's why V calls her "pouty trout". she is very pitiful when it is rainy. it can get quite tedious -the woebegone looks, the sighs and groans, the low tail. The unreliable hysterical drama queen weathermen are promising a sunny day tomorrow. I expect the Dog to return to a more companionable pet if so.

i hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

chicks' progress report

"ski" and "easter"
"lisieux" and "avila"

kokeshi

I had never heard of Kokeshi before i received an Etsy conversation from designcandy's Christina Conway who offered to trade me some blank kokeshi forms for one of my small original paintings. In addition to the trade, she invited me into a Kokeshi show she is curating that will be at the Japanese American National Museum in LA. July 11 - September 2009. SO before i start working on my piece for that show i am making some fun ones for practice, figuring out what paint i want to use, and how much i want to extend past the original form of head and body. V gave me a drill with a little tiny bit to make holes for my Kokeshi bugs' antennae.

Kokeshi are traditional dolls from northern Japan. The classic style is a simple form of body and head with no arms or legs; a simple face and patterned or floral body decoration. I like that the head moves on a dowel, giving the dolls some degree of attitude.


i tried a little squirrel design, knowing it would please my summitteer friends moi, shamu and boxer but i think it really needs ears for it to work. they are painted on the sides but the look seems more like a squirrel coming out of a tight sock or something. and though i painted the tail on the back, i have not resolved if i want to try and shade for dimension or keep it kind of flat and "designey". The forms for the kokeshi show are taller and skinnier than these -i actually find these shorter one's proportions more pleasing.



Clearly i am drawing from my designs that i use on my christmas ornaments, as this "love bug" looks just like them. All my kokeshi bugs have nice wings on the back. you can see more details on them at my Etsy shop.

Here is the first trio of kokeshi. I think the kabuki/geisha one on the left is best.

cherry blossoms and the chicks

because SHAMU nagged: the chicks day 12

i'm not sure, but this chick is a BB Red Old English Game bantam. and, i think these white wing bars might mean i have a roo. i asked on the chicken forum but nobody has answered yet. no name for this fella.

this is my favorite chick, named Easter. I think it will be a silver spangled which is a whiteish bird with black spots. this chick isnt afraid of me and doesnt scream when i pick him/her up. its a very curious chick -very alert. yesterday i took them outside to be in the sun for a while and he was very tuned into all the sounds of other birds.

Ski! the polish crested. he's bigger than anyone else. sometimes i wonder if he didnt get put in the bantam pen by accident. a character.

This is "chip" but name might change -named for his chipmunk like markings. the most fragile and insecure of all the chicks. Like dianne said, needs extra love.

the spring buck

Not that i see bucks, or any deer anymore. Trout patrols the property for living things and then runs them out. A new 6x6 painting at Etsy; a product of wishful thinking.

the chicks: day 6

this little fella is the biggest one. for now, i call him "Ski"

this one is my favorite. he/she reminds of the creatures in richard scarry's busy busy city storybooks. this chick is busy and curious and has important things to do!

this one might be a rooster. very assertive and least interested in getting to know me better! the hardest to catch. a fast little dickens, this one.

i call this one "chip" for now. because her/his markings are almost identical to a chipmunks! this one is very docile (for now)

new children of the corn

I chose 4 new chicks on friday. it was a bittersweet event as i mourned my hen Red. but this is the very meaning of spring. one thing ends and another begins.

I try and pick chicks that will blend in well with the forest floor. I think these will be bb reds: old english game bantams. They had some of those fancy japanese bantams that are white with black tails but i think having a white chicken in such a forested area is like ringing the dinner bell for predators. but then again, Red blended and she got killed.

OEGB's are widely trashed as being fighters and generally fussy little pills. but since i handle my chicks daily they get used to being with people and Trout. This is continuing training for Trout as well.

i did buy one polish crested for moi to have as her virtual pet. and i think i am going to photograph him everyday for a year so i can put together a video of him transforming from chick to adult.

I took a close up of the polish so you can see the top of his head has a little bulge where his head dress will be. What does a grown polish crested look like?



Next saturday i am going up to Dalton Georgia to the Carpet City Poultry Show. and i will be calling into the "Chicken Whisperer" radio show which is syndicated nationally. I will be giving a "field report" on the show including an interview with the organizers and the winners of the 4-H division. Of course i plan to take lots and lots of pictures. This will be my first radio blog and if i can post the podcast of it later, i will. *ya'll are just dying to hear me on the radio, arent you? ;-)*

In the evenings i worked on making the cabin more like home and less like a vacation spot. which meant i needed a few pieces of furniture. I was at Wal-Mart earlier in the day picking up something else and cruised by the "furniture". looking at the little desks and storage units made of compressed wood chips and covered with cheap laminate i was completely put off. Instead i went to the junk shop and antique mart and found a lovely but simple primitive table, a cute farm hutch and this little chair all for the money that could have been spent on that junk at Wal-Mart. Fact is, the dealers at the junk shop were hurting and i was able to bargain down the price of this sweet chair to 40 dollars. it even has a needlepoint seat cushion. It is quite charming.


The cabin at night is like living inside a glowing pumpkin. it's vibe is the sweetness and goodness of "home" where a big saturday night is laying in bed with a good dog looking at seed catalogs. I miss V, but im excited for when he comes up because he is going to get a big surprise with all ive done to the cabin! i rearranged the bedroom and worked on the art area. V did give me a DTV receiver but i never really watched TV cause i wanted to hear all the creatures instead: woodpeckers, titmice, little chipping sparrows, crows in the field, the little peeps from my new "peeps".

Dovey had a good saturday. I took her out to the field with me while i staked out the garden plot. The man who is going to plow up the plot came over and Dovey was very sociable with him. He said the soil was in great shape and that he wouldnt plow but till it instead. he said after he finished it would be very easy to work the soil with hand tools. He also gave me a ton of great advice, i can't remember it all. but i do know that i know nothing and will soak up the locals wisdom as best i can. we are also going to do a big plot of wildflowers up by the drive way so the first things you see when you come over is flowers.


some friends from Atlanta are looking for a place to retire to and wanted to see Chickory. i dont have a street address, so i direct people here with landmarks. i also paint the gate like a flag to identify my place. I repaint it every year. by fall it will have a good rusty fade to it that looks really cool. They found me and we talked about what they were looking for. like many folks right now, they've had it with the bailouts and these trillion dollar spending sprees. they are not going to perpetuate the consumer culture by "buying things to get the economy going" and seek to live more simply.

i know it must be hard to be the only hen in the family. Dovey has been hanging out with Trout most the time. and Trout has been really good about it.

even though it was 68 degrees yesterday there is very little blooming right now. Here are the snow drops i put in about 3 years ago. Theyre doing great, but the lily of the valley i planted have disappeared.

aren't these lovely? they are so fresh and green, but not fragrant. last year they bloomed through snow - just like their name "snowdrops" promises.

i found some snowy white crocus in bloom too. no sign of the violets yet.

i hiked up the little mountain across the street and the view was lovely as always. that is a good walk because i can feel my butt burning. yay!

when we got back from our walk Trout and i cooled off in the creek where it is always misty with moisture and the sound of the waterfall thunders.



the woods are so beautiful even before it greens up with spring leaves and tender shoots of plants on the forest floor.

no afternoon is complete without some tree climbing for Trout.

i hope everybody is having a good week-end. i want to thank you all for the comforting words last week regarding the loss of Red. That really meant a lot to me. xo

Good-Bye Red

When i got her she was three days old. she was solid black and as she grew, the black moved further down her back as her neck got redder and redder. finally, the black was only the tail feathers. so we called her "Red". she was the sweeter one; i.e. the one NOT called "mean dovey cooledge". She would nestle up against me and put her head under my chin. she was the better layer; giving her last egg this past saturday.

She was killed today by a smallish falcon. When we found her she was still warm and the falcon had just torn her heart out. It flew off as we approached. her eyes were covered by that thin purpley veil of an eyelid and her mouth was open and filled with dirt. i picked her up and looked at her for the longest time. feathers were all around. i wouldnt let V take her and bury her. i told him to leave her so the falcon could come back and eat her. and return it did. i watched as he ripped her apart. i couldnt not look. it was the only way i could get all right with the loss of my pet, to see the falcon have his meal.

we just went out with a flash light. i was hoping to see her one more time; or what was left.
but the falcon had taken her away.

Good-bye to my sweet red bird. She would have been 5 years old later this month.