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
* click to see large
grasshoppers clung to the stalks of the okra. they are gorgeous but destructive and it gave me no pleasure to cut them in half with the pruners. the okra were also too big to taste good but there were a handful of tender pods that should be rolled in cornmeal and fried tonight or blanched and frozen for some fall night when i make my grandmothers gumbo.
the watermelons delight me. some are solid green and some are striped. i think the striped ones are "crimson sweet". they have spread far beyond the garden and into the field. they are heavy but still too small to eat.
