Rocky and The Girls

I must admit, I never imagined I would enjoy chickens as much as I do. Except in books and on TV, I've never seen a chicken and my only encounter with real chickens has been on my plate. After reading multiple accounts of fellow bloggers having chickens, I started having chicken envy. I had the land and the space, I live in the country and in an area with no restrictions on chickens, so why not? Andrew has made it clear that the chickens are strictly my "project", but he does help me out with them and shuts the coop door at night when he is home.

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I have been a chicken owner for a year and a half now, and there's no looking back. I thoroughly enjoy the chickens. I like watching them scratch through the yard, laugh at the way they run and flap their wings, enjoy the egg hunts when there are not as many eggs as there should be in the nest boxes, and this year, I got to see one of my hens raise her own chicks! I dream of having other breeds for a rainbow of chickens, but for now, I'm happy with what I have: Rhode Island Reds, Buff Orpingtons, Speckled Sussex, and New Hampshire Reds (though I have a hard time telling the Reds apart).

The lucky rooster: Rocky. He's man enough to do his job with his women, but nice enough he doesn't peck the humans. He's the one that's been a favorite with me and I intend on keeping him around for a good long time.

It's been so nice to see the Buffs and the Speckled Sussexs out of the coop again. They rarely came out when there were all those roosters, as they got jumped and gang-banged almost as soon as they took a step out of the coop, poor girls. I know animal life is different, but obviously they didn't like it if they cooped themselves up in the coop! They roam freely now, boss around the younger Red hens and come running when I call. Their life has definitely improved now that my freezer is full of chicken!

The good mama and her brood. I recently gave her and her babies freedom out of the pen and watched them closely. I worried Mama might take her babies back to her nest and I had no idea where it was. I needn't have worried. She took her babies on a tour all around the house and then stayed around the pen for most of the day, before retiring back into the cage at dark. Yesterday, I saw all the chicks hanging out in the coop, Mama was nowhere to be seen. I wondered if she tucked them in there and slipped away for a Mama-break? I wondered if I could get them to return to the coop at night and dismantle the pen? I took a chance and placed the cage inside the coop while the babies were in there. Mama came back for her babies later and they roamed the yard, and at night, to my delight, they nested in one of the nest boxes in the coop! I'll wait a couple of days before I dismantle the pen, but I think it's good to go.

The babies, right before their release from the pen. They are one month old now, and just about lost all their fluff, only a little left on their heads. I'm hopeful that they'll survive the winter and when the temps drop, I'll turn on the heat lamp in the coop. Come Spring, I'll cull the young roosters so I don't get a repeat of what happened this summer-- cocky roosters, in more ways than one!
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Since Mama is a Red, and all the roosters were Reds, the babies are all Reds, too. Don't ask me which-- Rhode Island or New Hampshire. The differences between the two reds are small, and I probably would be able to tell better if I had two hens, one of each breed. As it is, all the Red hens look exactly alike and all the roosters looked exactly alike. Since I know for a fact that Rocky is a Rhode Island Red, I assume all the roosters were Rhodes, too. As for the hens, they could all be Rhodes or all New Hampshires. I don't really care either way, they are beautiful chickens and I wanted a different breed from the Buffs and the Sussexs so I could tell the younger hens from the older ones. I'm thinking of leg bands for the babies, so I can tell them apart from the older Red hens.
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If I order more hens next year (doubtful) or in later years, I plan to get a different breed, partly to diversify, also to be able to tell apart the older hens from the younger hens. I've seen some beautiful black hens, the name escapes me at the moment, and I'd like to try the traditional white hens, the kind my mom and dad grew up around.

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Walking in the Woods

We've been spending a lot of time outdoors lately. We're loving the cooler weather that brings us out of the house and doing more activities outside. I managed to get out with just Peter a couple of days ago, while the girls were busy inside doing something else, and the two of us went for a walk on the other side of our property. I'll leave you with some images of our walk.

Happy Fall!

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Recent Finds

I don't live in an area with a lot of thrift stores, which for someone like me, could be a good thing. In our first apartment, we lived in an area with thrift stores nearly every mile or so. We'd spend our days off scouring the shops looking for whatever struck our fancies. Here, yard sales rule! While we haven't been hitting them heavily this year, the few we have gone to, we've done well. Here's a few of my favorite finds:



I picked up this Fire King dish in the Summerfield pattern for free. Yes, free. They had fishing lures in it for 25 cents apiece and I just wanted the dish. When asked how much for the dish, she let me have it. Ooooo-kay! I'm not gonna argue! Sadly, a couple of days later, the dish got knocked off the shelf and a chunk of the handle chipped off, but it's still usable. I won't be able to turn around and sell it, but I'll probably use it for holding craft supplies or something.

A recent sale had loads of boy clothes in Peter's size and I had fun rummaging through clearly-marked bins for warmer winter clothes. Usually, clothes are piled up and you have to check each tag for sizes, and I dread going through those-- I have limited time and if Peter is with me, he's usually running off or struggling in my arms to get down. This sale had them neatly folded and sorted and I really appreciate that. I scored a bunch of tops, bottoms, long sleeve pajama sets, and some shoes for Peter. When I got home, I found that two of the pajama pants had bad elastic waists. The rubber rotted and no longer had any stretch. An easy fix and I had elastic on hand, so a quick sit-down at the sewing machine and they're good as new again!

I have a thing for vampires. No idea why, just always have. Not that I want to be a vampire or get bitten by one, but I guess it's just the mystery of the unknown. I devoured Ann Rice's Vampire series when I was a teen, then I dove right into the Twilight books (but I don't care for the movies), and right before we canceled our satellite, I watched an episode of True Blood on HBO and was just a teeny bit disappointed I wouldn't be able to see what happened next. I always meant to check out the books, but never remembered the author's name or the original title of the series. Lo and behold-- the entire Sookie Stackhouse series for 70 cents! That's 10 cents per book! And I don't have to wait to read the next one either! I've already read 3 and they are so enjoyable, something I can really sink my teeth into! (har har) I'll have to see if I can find the True Blood series on dvd.. hmm.


I saw something similar to these in a magazine ad: skeleton salad servers at one of those pricey home goods stores for $20 a set. They were so cool! Andrew and I love Halloween and we're getting ready to start pulling out the decorations and get into the spooky spirit. The only thing I didn't like was the price tag, so I knew I'd never go to the store (which is far away) or even bothered to check online for one of those. Then we went to Target the other day and found these at half the price. Pretty similar to the ones I saw in the ad, though I don't have the magazine anymore and I'm too lazy to check online. I don't need them, but they're so cool and our salad tongs did break over the summer, so technically, we do need them. But really, I was just excited to spot them! They were the very last pair left, except for some cheap-o plastic ones, but I wanted the metal ones; they're sure to last longer. I'm looking forward to the next time I make salad for dinner so I can use them!

Any good finds for you lately?

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Still No Pictures

My new camera arrived. I waited alllllll day for the UPS guy to deliver it after I checked the tracking number and figured out it would be delivered on Tuesday. Every time Maisie barked, I ran to the window, hoping to see the familiar brown van pulling into the driveway and I was disappointed every time. Dang it! After 4 pm, I gave up, knowing it was too late for the UPS to be making any deliveries in my area.

Wouldn't you know, the lazy bum put it in the mailbox?!? The mailbox?!?!? When Andrew came home around 6, he had it in his hands along with the rest of the mail. If one can be happy and pissed at the same time, that was me.

The downside to ordering online is you cannot see the actual product; hold it in your hands and decide if it's the right one for you. Looking at the online info doesn't exactly help form the image in your head and a picture just doesn't do it justice. The camera is tiny! Good grief! I'm afraid I'll crush it! I've taken a couple pictures with it and it's nice and the pictures seem alright, though I've yet to download any. It's just so... small! For the first time ever, I put the wrist strap on it just to give it more substance. I'll put it in my pocket and it'll disappear in there! The diaper bag will eat it up! It'll slip into the cracks and I'll never see it again! People will think I'm a spy except for the fact that it's ruby red! I think in the future, I'll buy cameras in person so I know exactly what I'm getting.

My uncle came down on Thursday and we butchered the last 3 roosters! He lopped the heads off for me and I was happy to let him do it. It does get easier and this time, I hardly paused when it came time to pluck feathers and cut into the bird to gut and pull out the innards. The big old mean one got his last hurrah even after he was dead-- his spur stuck me in the hand when I picked him up by the feet to pluck feathers. I'll get the last word when I eat him: "yum!"

It sure is quiet around here without the chorus of roosters crowing! For the first time in ages, some of the older hens were out in the yard, taking dust baths and drinking from the outdoor water pan. It was nice to see the yellow Buffs out of the coop and I'm sure all 4 of them will soon take over the yard. The kids are out playing more freely now, too, instead of hiding behind me or wielding sticks in terror of pecking roosters. The one rooster left is too busy keeping track of his women to pay any attention to the kids. 1 rooster, 11 hens, and 9 chicks-- much better.

We should be getting our first frost soon. We had two nights with temps as low as 32. I've harvested most of the peppers and plucked all the red tomatoes. I haven't dug up any potatoes yet, plan to do that soon. We've had some nice days lately, so I may still get some more tomatoes, but I won't be canning them. I have enough canned tomatoes for the winter and we will eat what is left.

Andrew is working this weekend at another local town festival and I just might take the kids and check it out after he gives me a report on how it looks out there. I took the kids to the apple harvest festival he worked at last week and the kids were very good-- we parked about a mile away from the event and it was nerve-wracking to walk alone with 4 kids, making sure they stayed off the road and on the shoulder. Peter likes to take off the minute you put him down, so I was almost constantly carrying him and my shoulder paid for it the next day. It was a huge event, almost like a big flea market with a band playing, different foods, and exhibits, and not a single apple in sight! I wanted to go back the next day, but it was too much for the kids and they were such good sports to do all that walking and then have to walk the last mile back to the van. I was amazed at how packed it was, since it was the kind of town where if you blink, you miss it. There's nothing there, just homes, a school and a fire station, but boy, people really came out for this event!

I have several posts planned for next week with pictures! I miss posting with pictures. Have a great weekend! :o)

Going Back

When one lives in a certain area for some time then moves away, I think it's expected that one will miss the area that they lived in. Maybe even harbor some regrets for moving away. I felt like that after we moved here. I love where I live, but there were some times I thought maybe it wasn't the right decision and if we had stayed, we wouldn't be in the situation we're in.

For a long time, we made nearly weekly treks back to the old place, either to shop in familiar grounds or visit friends or eat at our favorite place. As time went on, the visits lessened, but when we did go, it all felt so much like "home".

Fast forward 5 years to present time: We went back yesterday. It's been a few months since our last visit and I think, I am officially over it. The town has changed much since we moved away, grown and expanded, more stores, old shops replaced with new shops, old haunts gone completely. It just didn't feel the same anymore. Now it feels like we are tourists in a strange town. I actually saw people I used to know and it felt awkward and uncomfortable standing there, trying to make conversation with someone you really have nothing to say to.

We didn't go back and see the old house. I went there last time and it's all different now. It has lost it's glow for us. The kindly old guy that lived in the 200-year old house is dead and his brother sold off the land in parcels; the beer-loving plumber that lived in the house in front of us crashed the company truck one too many times and ended up foreclosing on the house, landing his family and himself in an apartment in town; the brother of the plumber that lived in the house between his and ours is still there, quiet as ever. And the people that bought our house? Well, they have interesting ways of keeping house and we cannot fathom their ways, so we'd rather not look. It's their house now, and I remind myself that we out-grew that house and moving here was the best thing we could have done.

We only went back to shop at the kid's consignment store. I never did manage to go through the kids' clothes to consign over there, but I knew I'd want to shop there. The kids needed shoes for the cooler months and we found 3 pairs for each girl, 2 for Peter. Even the store felt weird and we didn't even stay to chat with Boss Lady.

Our favorite place to eat is in trouble. There used to be a thrift shop by them that recently closed. Because people no longer go to the thrift shop, they've lost the walk-in business. We went in to eat at prime lunch hour and the cook was not even cooking. We had the whole place to ourselves. I feel bad for them. I'm glad we were there yesterday, but I fear that it may be the last time we will ever eat there. I hope they overcome this big bump in the road.

Coming home yesterday truly felt like we were coming home. There was no more looking back at the old place, wishing we could have brought parts of it with us. The ties we still had are severed and I'm okay with it. Home is here, with my husband and my children. I'm happy.
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Posting Without Pictures

My camera is on the fritz. Might have taken one too many drops and finally called it quits on me. I've borrowed Andrew's camera a few times, which is really nice, but he gets this funny look on his face when I use it, especially when I don't put it back in its' case and leave it out on the desk or somewhere where it isn't supposed to be. (sorry, honey) So I've been keeping an eye out for a new camera, spotted a good deal and ordered one last week. Should get here any day now, maybe today, I hope. I'll have to get a new memory card, too, since mine has over 1000 pictures and takes forever to download to the computer. I don't delete the pictures anymore after my computer crashed and I lost all of Peter's baby pictures. Anyway, posts are boring without pictures, so pretend there are [pictures] inserted here and there.



Andrew has been doing well at work. He's been getting a little more than part-time hours lately, and his job is to get cards from people that are interested in hearing more about the product. If his card generates a sale, he gets a commission from that card. He's been working at different events outside of the mall: apple festivals, senior wisdom conventions, county fairs, etc. The more cards he can get, the more chances he has of earning a commission; the more hours he works, the more chances he has to get a card. Working outside events always increases his chances for cards and he enjoys getting out of the mall and discovering new locations that we have not been to before. He works at Burlington Apple Festival today and if it isn't too muddy, he'll call and let us know, the kids and I will go and check it out later on. [insert picture of smiling husband here]



My uncle and I butchered 2 roosters on Wednesday morning. We planned on doing 4, but my knives and hatchet were not very sharp and the 2 we did, did not have quick deaths. My uncle and I felt terrible about it, and decided to let the other 2 roosters go. He'll come back another day and with sharper tools to do the job better so they do not suffer. On the brighter side of things, I have 2 chickens in the freezer and 2 less roosters sexually accosting the hens. 4 roosters are still too many, and 3 more need to go. [insert picture of chickens in freezer here]



Once the chicken is dead, I have no problem with pulling off the feathers, gutting and cutting up into pieces. It's the actual lopping-off of the head that I struggle with. If I could, I'd hire someone to lop off the heads for me, and I'd do the rest, but that's not realistic. I admit, though, it didn't take me as long to get over this butchering as it did the first time I did it solo. I was numb the first time and useless most of the day. This time around, I was still able to do everything else that needed to be done and only when I went to bed, did the image of the days' events come back to give me a little tossing and turning. [insert picture of lopped off chicken head here] (bet you're glad my camera doesn't work now)



The chicks are doing more than surviving, they are thriving. Losing their baby fluff and getting their teen feathers. They are now 2-1/2 weeks old and already, some of the chicks are starting to duel like the older roosters. So I know I have at least 2 baby roosters. I hope more females than males. At least I won't feel the need to order any more chicks in the Spring. [insert cute picture of chicks sitting on Mama's back here]



My uncle said that the two baby chicks that were killed by the older roosters were likely males. He says that they were killed to eliminate future competition. Much like the Head Lion would kill another Lion's cubs so that only his own bloodline remains. I find that interesting and wonder if there is any truth to that? The dead chicks have already been buried and I don't know if their bodies were developed enough to reveal what their sex was, but even if I could tell, I wouldn't dig up their bodies now. Could the older roosters really differentiate between the sexes of day-old chicks?? I wonder... [insert picture of chicks here]

I'm turning into a lush. I made plum liquor last year and it's so yummy! Tastes especially good when you mix it with cranberry juice. It can hold it's own, though, if you drank it straight up. I don't have much left, maybe half a quart, and I'll be sad to drink the last drop. I didn't make a whole lot to begin with, only a little more than a pint made with gin and less than a quart with vodka. I wish I had made some more this year. The orchard I bought the plums from last year never advertised plums this year, so I wonder if their crop didn't do well with the lack of rain here. Most definitely will make some more next year and I'll try making blackberry liquor, too![insert picture of empty glass here and picture of me zonked on the couch with a smile on my face]

Woke up shivering this morning. Time to switch out the summer blankets to the warmer winter blankets. The days have been hovering in the 60s lately and nights dropping to the low 50s. Good sleeping weather, but I don't like waking up cold. Peter and Sylvia joined me in the bed this morning and their cold feet was a jolt to the senses! I'm up! Time to get busy and work the wood pile! [insert picture of pitiful wood pile here]

Bye! [insert picture of me waving]
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Go,Go,Go

7 days in a row, we went out somewhere and I am tired. Sunday, I wanted to head into the big town and pick up a few things that were on sale and since Andrew was working and Mom wanted to come, too, that meant all the kids needed to come with us. Gretchen was dragging her feet and taking forever to get her clothes on and when I tried to help her, she burst into tears and said she was tired of going bye-bye and wanted to stay home. I told her that today would be the last time we go out and we'd stay home for the rest of the week and she wouldn't need to go anywhere. She finally picked up the pace on putting her clothes on and we got out the door and on our way. I did have to run out this morning to return Library movies and a quick stop at the food store, but other than that, I have absolutely no plans to go anywhere this week!

Mama Hen and her babies are doing so good! It really helped having some hot days last week and I didn't need to use the heat lamp at all. The babies are getting big and I'm glad I was able to get them into a pen to protect them from pecking roosters. Andrew and I were talking about making a permanent pen next to the coop for future chicks, and also as a holding area for chickens that need to be butchered. With the rain, I've had to come up with a make-shift roof made from tarp that's not exactly the best thing, but it works. Something more permanent would be nice.

Speaking of roosters, my uncle is coming down on Wednesday to help me butcher the 5 that need to go. Finally! I hope after the roosters are gone, the ladies will come out of the coop and forage in the woods and around the yard again. I miss seeing the yellow Buffs and the Black and White Speckled ones around. They got tired of being sexually accosted by the roosters all the time, and they took to staying inside the coop. I'll have just the one rooster that does his job at keeping the ladies in line, but also smart enough not to peck me and the kids.

We have finally got some much needed rain! It's been raining just about 24 hours now; a nice, light rain and you can just hear the ground, trees and grass gulping it all down. Supposed to keep up into Tuesday and I must say, I love when it rains. It gets all grey and misty-looking, the air smells clean and fresh, the grass is all shiny and bright... Rainy days are the best!

I totally failed the Kids Clothes Week Challenge. I was supposed to devote an hour every day to do something related to making clothes for the kids. Well, as I said above, we went out the whole week, and when we go out, it usually throws the whole schedule out of whack and then you spend the rest of the day, after returning home, playing catch-up. By the time the kids go to bed, I have something else that needs to be done that I didn't do earlier so the kids clothes went on the back burner. I still plan to make jammies for the kids and I want to recycle some clothing into clothes for the kids, I'll just do it on my own time.

All the go, go, going has really worn us down, to the point where we haven't been our best today. There's been a little bit too much snapping at each other and patience has been thin. It doesn't help when the kids aggravate things by not listening when you tell them to do something or make a huge mess in the bathroom with water all over the counter and the floor. Can't shoo them outdoors because of the rain, so it's been kind of a rough day for all of us. Hopefully, after a good night's sleep, we'll all feel better tomorrow.

Good Night!
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