tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40497580635338372752024-02-20T01:14:00.688-05:00Country CluckersReal country life...weather, recipes, critters, crops, confections, and crafts.Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08644679827821301983noreply@blogger.comBlogger70125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4049758063533837275.post-50192078529287176662013-07-03T22:11:00.001-04:002013-07-03T22:11:10.766-04:00New Beginnings<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">It has been a tough year. Being laid off from my very good job was devastating. Not getting a new job right away was crushing. It wasn't until I was laid off one whole year to the date, that I was interviewing with yet another company, that I seen some hope for employment. This has to count for something, right? They say patience is a virtue and all things happen in God's time, well, I was getting desperate and growing weary of waiting for the right time. One year to the date of my lay off, I was half way across the country, in a state I had never been before, interviewing for a company I had never heard of. I sat there completely out of my comfort zone and tried to align my experience to the requirements of this all new position I was interviewing for. The company was a blue collar factory, I was interviewing for the Quality Manager position. I had no previous titled 'management' experience. I had led teams and I was the president of several organizations when I was in college decades ago. I was up front and honest, I had nothing to loose. I was at the end of my rope. Out of work for 1 whole year, out of unemployment, everything was running out, I was in need of a miracle. I figured it was out of my hands, I did the best I could do and all I could do is wait. My flights were all messed up returning home, and I ended up staying over night in Dulles, VA, on the airline's dime. I finally got home on a saturday, to a huge snow storm. What a finish to a crazy interview. </span></div>
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I waited and waited. Finally the phone rang and it was the golden offer of a real job. With this last company I interviewed with, on the anniversary of the lay off date from my previous job. We negotiated some things and other things were clarified for me and the real fun began. I had 3 weeks to pack up my whole house, and move to New Mexico! This was insane. We packed and packed and got more boxes and packed and packed. We did not get it all. We packed up two 24 foot long moving trucks, loaded my little car on a trailer, packed up the pickup truck and headed west! We gypsied across the country, sleeping in the trucks, eating peanut butter cheese crackers, and M&Ms. We pulled out of the yard and hung the for sale sign as we left. We left late Saturday night. We only slept at the rest stops for a few hours a night and we arrived in New Mexico in the wee hours of the morning on a Tuesday. It was a scary last ditch effort to make it into town. We drove the last 1000 miles in one shot, only stopping for gas. I was driving one of the big trucks by myself. I did not have anyone to talk to in order to stay awake. The last leg was tough. We made our last stop in Santa Rosa, NM. I do not remember driving from Santa Rosa to Albuquerque....not one bit of the drive. Talk about scary! I want to go back to Santa Rosa or ever a little past that to see what all I sleep-drove through. I do remember smelling a skunk but I have no recollection at all of that 200 miles. We arrived safe and sound in one piece at the hotel. We all showered and stretched out in the beds and caught a few hours sleep. </div>
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After about three hours sleep we were all back up and at 'em. We had to unload the moving trucks and get them returned. One thing I did not realize about living in the dessert, is that it does not really rain, instead they have sand storms. We unloaded all the trucks into a rental storage place and there was so much blowing sand you could not see! It was terrible! We managed to get everything squared away and secure. Back to the hotel we went for another shower before we scouted around the small town south of Albuquerque. </div>
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We arrived on a Tuesday, and I started work on Wednesday. I was exhausted and excited all at the same time. Work was going to be a challenge, I knew that from when I was there interviewing. Adjusting to the 2 hour time difference has also been challenging. I find I am up with the chickens and ready for bed by time the evening news comes on. Also our favorite TV shows are on at strange hours out there! So much to adjust too!! The food, oh my, the food is also a serious adjustment. This state throws green and or red chillies on everything - pizza, burgers, you name it they smother it. The bread isle at the store had more kinds of tortillas than actual loaves of bread. I had no idea there were so many different makers of tortillas! All I will share with you all is that my body does not like green or red chillies....enough said....ugh.</div>
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We lived in the hotel for two months. In that time we searched for a place to rent, hoped that our house would sell back home, and tried to adjust to living in this strange land of enchantment. We found a house to rent, and we are now moved in, still settling in, but getting there. Work is still as challenging as ever. I have been there long enough to know the ropes, but now I have to get my arms around it all and make improvements and pick up what was ignored or forgotten about. I like my work, I like my new position as a manager. The folks that report to me are great people, each unique unto themselves, but dedicated to doing the right thing. That is so important in my department. I also have some wonderful co-workers and fellow managers. They have mentored me and continue to teach me things. They let me fly on my own and sometimes I crash, but I deal with it and own it. I look at everything that needs to be done and think - challenge accepted. Now I hope I can get the cooperation to get some needed resources in to make things more efficient and better all around. We shall see.</div>
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We are embarking on a whole new beginning. I have a new job, in a new state, a chance to rebuild and start over. A time to learn new things, and make new friends. My son loves it out here. It is uniquely beautiful, and nothing like I have ever seen before. We have a lot of exploring to do and that means new topics to write about. </div>
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The guy who we are renting our house from said I can have chicken here if I want them. They would have a field day with all the ants and lizards here! I am not sure if I am ready for chickens again. I may wait and see how this positions with this company evolves. How we fit into this state and some other factors. There are a lot of chickens around here and I hear a rooster crowing every morning off in the distance. I loved my chickens and I do feel a void without them, but we have to see how things pan out before we get that settled in out here.</div>
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Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08644679827821301983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4049758063533837275.post-17193691670154230922012-08-21T22:51:00.002-04:002012-08-21T22:53:25.572-04:00I Am Still Here<br />
Wow it has been a while since I have written an entry and for that I apologize. Things got real crazy and, well they still are but I made time to come on here and post. <br />
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Lots has happened since my last November post. We put our son into a cyber school and that took a lot of my time, as it ended up pretty much me coming home from work and having to basically home school him all evening. It was worth it in the end as he went from a C and D student in the local public high school falling through the cracks to an A student in the cyber school. I can not say enough good things about Connections Academy. If you are looking for a school alternative for your child check out <a href="http://connectionsacademy.com/" target="_blank">Connections Academy</a> to see if it is offered in your state/area. <br />
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Other things that have been happening is that I lost my job. I am the income for my small family and now I am scrambling to find a new job. In this economy that is tough to say the least. I have had several interviews but no company has come up with the golden offer as of yet. I keep looking and doing what I can to make ends come as close to meeting as possible. I can also say I have been enjoying the down time. Granted I am sending on average 20 resumes a day out, so I am actively searching for new employment, but I am also home 24/7 now. I can take the time to shoot my bow again and get to cleaning out the basement. I also get to travel to other states as I do the interviews. How many people can say they went to North Carolina or Texas for a few hours one day? I can! My interview days are a whirlwind of activities and flights but they are fun and I get to see new places.<br />
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Shooting our bows has always been a big part of our family life. I have had yard sales and I collect cans along the road to sell the Aluminum. This fund our trips to the various archery shoots that we go to. So far this summer we have been able to go to the <a href="http://www.pinehillsportsman.org/" target="_blank">Pine Hill Sportsman's</a> traditional shoot in Kennerdell, PA, the <a href="http://www.michiganlongbow.org/" target="_blank">Michigan Longbow Association Great Lakes Longbow Invitational</a>, in Hasings, MI, and to the <a href="http://hawkeyebowmen.tripod.com/" target="_blank">Hawkeye Bowmen Traditional Shoot</a>, in Alden, NY. I pick up a lot of cans! The next shoot we are off to is Seneca Tri-State Traditional shoot handy Wheeling, WV. I am not exactly certain of the location but they say it is hand the Cabela's in Wheeling. I need to have yet another yard sale to continue cleaning house and making some extra money.<br />
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On the chicken front I have sad news. I have had to get rid of all my chickens. I did find a good home for some of them but the rest I had to kill. It took me two days to do it and I cried through a box of tissues....but it had to be done. We would not be able to move with them and since I no longer had a market for the eggs ( I sold them regularly to co-workers), the eggs were piling up and they were no longer earning their keep. Chicken feed is not cheap! I did what I had to do. Will I have chickens again? Maybe. I am not so sure with being laid off from a job that I thought I would have a very long time has made me gun shy for getting anything extra in our lives. I think we will hold off and try some other avenues before we go back to chickens. <br />
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Once I get a new job and we get settled, I will be opening up a new business. I will be making custom leather quivers, arm guards, aprons, dreamcatchers, and other things. Eventually we will get into making bows also. At least then we can attend all these shoots as a vendor and write them off. <br />
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I have no pictures for this posting. I hope to have some for what I write about next time. I still have some stories about my birds that I will post with pictures, as they are always entertaining. Until next time - good day to you all.<br />
<br />Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08644679827821301983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4049758063533837275.post-24845564375189024082011-11-20T08:35:00.000-05:002011-11-20T08:35:25.641-05:00Trash to TreasureToday over on the Crafty Corner section of this blog I have a tutorial on how to take some simple second hand store items and turn them into a cute tiered stand. I use mine in my bedroom for all my nail polish. I first seen the tutorial on pintrest and followed the link to the tutorial. It seemed easy enough, so I got the stuff to make my own. <br />
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Step on over to the craft corner to see how you turn this:<br />
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Into this:<br />
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We got about 4" of snow, not too bad considering that it snowed all day long. This is a picture of the first of 3 times I shoveled off the ramp.<br />
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The chickens were not too impressed with it all either. The heavy wet snow clung to the netting and created a snow free haven of mud for the chickies. They were not excited but then again the snow was not reaching them.<br />
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This morning turned out to be a beautiful morning. I set out with my camera to get some shots of the snow. It was warming up a bit and the snow was already starting to melt. It created a cool mist across the yard.<br />
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The sun rise was pale and pretty. <br />
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I like the early mornings when everything is still and most folks are still asleep.<br />
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The netting on the nursery run did not fare well under the weight of the heavy snow. We planned on taking that all down anyway so nature was just giving us a hand.<br />
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The netting over the main run is supported with beams so it was still sound. It created a pretty cool roof over the run. The floor of the run is a mud pit and I have to figure out something to do with all that. The chickens are complaining and asking for the tractor supply company catalog so they can order some goulashes. I told them to calm down it was going to be nice all next week and things should dry up some. I don't think they believe me.<br />
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Some of the chickens still lay their eggs on the floor in the corner of the coop. That means that I have to go into the coop every day to gather those eggs. It is one of biggest fears that I am going to fall flat on my back in all this mud and stink one of these days. I think I seen the hens taking bets one day when I went in there.<br />
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I would like to apologize to my readers, for being missing in action here lately. Things have been crazy here. I don't have hired help to do my house work and everything else, we do everything ourselves. With me working full time outside the home, them coming home to help our son with his cyber school work there is little time for anything else. I do try to keep up with things, and have a few more posts working up in my head, so hopefully as we fall into a better routine, I can get back to blogging more.Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08644679827821301983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4049758063533837275.post-84962590006163021062011-09-25T09:51:00.000-04:002011-09-25T09:51:50.349-04:00That Chicken is not Chicken!As I mentioned I was in a business trip all last week. I got home Friday late afternoon and let the chickens out to free range. We do not let them out when we are not home to keep an eye on them. We were all settling in to our normal routine when we heard the chickens having quite the time outside. I happened to look outside, and that is when I saw a dog in the chicken run! I yell DOG! and run for the mudroom to get my boots on and scramble outside. My son and husband rally the weapons, ready to strike should this dog harm my chickens or me. Outside I start yelling and waving my arms around like a crazy woman trying to distract the dog so the hens can scoot into the pop door and be safe in the coop. It was a tense few minutes but I managed to scare the dog away, unharmed, and all the hens were safe and unhurt. We did not make a big deal of it - we live in the country, dogs slip off their collars/leads....it happens, so we watched toe dog and learned who it belonged to and went back to our lives. Fast forward to yesterday, we had the windows open since it was a nice evening. We were just about to watch a movie when I heard the hens cry for help. Apparently, the cluck line is out of order in the coop so they just yelled for help. I will have to look into that. I look outside and again see that same dog after my chickens. I am very irate at this point. I tell my husband to get the gun and run for my boots and out the back door. When I rounded the corner of the house, there was a child in my yard watching the whole ordeal of this dog and chicken do a dance of death. I distracted the dog and the hen got away. The small boy was able to get the dog and drag it back home. We later stopped at the family's house and my husband talked to the parents to reinforce that they need to keep their dog tied or inside because it now immediately comes to our yard after our chickens. Hopefully that is the end of that situation. No dog or chicken was harmed in these incidents....yet. <br />
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Yesterday I heard the girls having a fit and thought oh no not again. I peeked out the window to see a hen on the roof of the coop! This coop is 8' high at the front and it slopes down to about 6' in the back. There on the top was a Whyndotte happy as you please. She was probably the one that the dog was trying to get so she devised an escape route. You know just in case it comes back. Who said chickens were stupid? ok they are pretty dumb but they learn and can be cleaver. <br />
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This hen hopped up on the feed barrels, then up onto the next box roof. There she looked, paced, and planned. Finally up she went to the roof of the coop! What a goofy chicken. Now if she can remember how to get up there when danger presents itself on the ground again will be the question. <br />
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Since the other seen this chicken who was not chicken to jump up on the roof, they all want up there. I was in the coop filling their food and I heard this "THUMP!" I walked out of the coop to see an Easter Egger on top of the nest box roof. I said, "Get down from there!" she she pouted and replied, "But SHE did it....!" "Nope - get down" and she flew down. Then the Whyndotte was up there again.<br />
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Oh these chickens are something else!Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08644679827821301983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4049758063533837275.post-56726694026396860072011-09-18T07:38:00.000-04:002011-09-18T07:38:51.429-04:00Miniature EggsMy new hens have been laying for a few weeks now and things are progressing nicely. I am now getting 15-20 eggs a day. I seem to be in the miniature egg business now. I am not complaining at all, mind you. I would much rather have my girls lay small tiny eggs and slowly progress to larger normal sized eggs as their bodies can handle it, than have them start laying huge eggs right off the bat and prolapse. My Comets did that - it was not pretty.<br />
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Thing do seem to be progress very slowly. The first Easter Eggers layers are still laying tiny eggs. Some have not caught on to the concept of laying their eggs in the nest boxes. I am finding a cluster of 3 to 4 eggs in one corner of the coop every day. I even found an egg under the hedge bush yesterday! I try talking to the girls and telling them in a gentle tone that they need to start laying their eggs in the nest boxes and ask if anyone has any questions. They all nod their head in agreement they they got it and no one ever asks any questions so I think I am getting through to them.....maybe not. <br />
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I had one hen hop up on the helper perch below the egg boxes look around in each nest box nod her head, look up at me and say "Oh! I see. Nope I still don't get it." and hop down. Goofy bird. Most of them are getting it and doing well with laying in the nest boxes.<br />
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I was on another business trip all last week. I had to go to our site in Virginia to so some audits. I got to meet some of my co-workers for the first time. I work with some fantastic people and we have a very busy productive week. I came back home to a full egg fridge! Almost all of these are the miniature eggs. I am still getting a few regular sized eggs from my old hens. Now I have to scramble and fry up several dozen of these to give back to the hens.<br />
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I also have to make cupcakes next week for a school picnic. I have to figure out how many mini eggs equal a regular jumbo egg. I think I will go with 2 to 1 ratio. Since it is still early here and my boys are not up yet I could fix breakfast for them as well. "Here honey, I fried you up a half a dozen eggs for breakfast!" :o) We are used to it here, but it is a funny scenario to suggest to someone who buys our eggs.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/critters/189783a2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/critters/189783a2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Have a great day everyone! Maybe I should approach the egg council to do some recipes/promos for them.....hummm... :o)Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08644679827821301983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4049758063533837275.post-75941576036914143282011-09-09T06:55:00.000-04:002011-09-09T06:55:30.576-04:00Free At LastI have kept the chickens all locked up in the coop and run for a few weeks after we introduced them. I went out to the garden by the coop and all the chickens were out in the run clanking their little tin cups on the bars of their run crying "Atticus!!" I think it is time I let them out.<br />
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I went to the door of the run and they all came running over dropping their cups in the mud. I could see in their eyes they were staring at the green lush carpet of foliage that lay just out of their reach from inside their incarceration. <br />
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I opened the door and all the hens tumbled over themselves and threw themselves down on the green grass right outside the door. I heard sighs of pleasure and freedom. Goofy birds! They just went right outside the door and immediately started pecking and going crazy over all the green stuff to eat. I had to shoo them to get them to move beyond the doorway!<br />
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I really like these birds. They do not wander off like the Comets did. They all stay in our yard and don't wander into the neighbors. They also come running when they see me round the corner of the house on my way out to see them.<br />
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These birds are very chatty also. They like to talk and talk and talk. Sally will talk your ear off if you stay out there long enough with them. yack yack yack! I love them all. I am still dealing with some pecking issues but nothing like I had previously. They are doing much better now. The ones that were pecked really bad are healed and are starting to grow their feathers back.Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08644679827821301983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4049758063533837275.post-11162794437789836172011-08-21T08:06:00.000-04:002011-08-21T08:06:02.954-04:00Macaroni SaladYesterday I made Macaroni Salad. Except I did not use Macaroni, I used 'Nuggets' instead. It turned out really tasty. Sweet pickles add a crunch, and a tangy bite to this really easy to make salad. <br />
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Head on over to the What's Cookin? page to get the full recipe!Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08644679827821301983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4049758063533837275.post-89043567373361268022011-08-20T17:11:00.001-04:002011-08-20T17:42:44.829-04:00Pressure cooked Green Beans, Potatoes, and HamThe other day I picked a bunch of green beans from the garden. I was then rooting around in the freezer and found a bag of leftover ham. I scooted to the store to buy to potatoes and I was on my way to a yummy dinner. <br />
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Scoot yourself on over to the What's Cooking? page to get the scoop on this tasty super easy dish.Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08644679827821301983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4049758063533837275.post-5423649392653950812011-08-14T17:51:00.001-04:002011-08-14T17:52:06.020-04:00Finally Getting AlongWell I think the worst is over with the hen pecking. I still have one of the Wyandottes being a little mean but I think all will survive. They all seem to be getting along better. Some Still hang out with just their own kind.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/critters/0720623b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/critters/0720623b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Others will mingle with the old hens. The reds seem to be generally pretty mellow about the invasion of the new hens. They do get a bit territorial and possessive if I throw a tomato into the run for them. I hav to make sure I toss in several so they all can share.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/critters/02d1efc7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/critters/02d1efc7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>They are starting to develop their personalities as as they do I have started to name them. This is Sally. She is a Wyandotte that has a wonky toe. It does not seem to bother her and she can move it so I am not worried about it being bent sideways. Sally likes to talk and talk and talk. Quite the gossip she is.<br />
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Honey is a sweet Easter Egger that is inquisitive.<br />
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I keep checking inside the coop every few hours for eggs. A few of the new layers have caught on and are laying in the nest boxes while one insists on laying in the corner of the coop under the nest boxes. So far I have 3 Easter Eggers laying. I suspect it will be any day now for the rest of them to start. They Wyandottes and Australorps are as big as the old Reds. Any day now....<br />
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The grass is coming back nicely in the brooder run. We plan on putting in permanent poles and extending the existing run out to include what was the brooder run to give them more room.<br />
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I try to spend time with the hens every day. I spend time inside the run and coop with them so they get used to me and will come up to me. Taming them will make thing easier if I have to doctor them in any way. It also makes for a more fun flock. I have two chickens now that will submit to me. Fuzzy and now one of the Wyandottes submit to me by squatting in front of me and spreading their wings out inviting me to climb on as a rooster would do. I generally just pat their back and pat them in the butt when they do this to me. They seem satisfied with it - or disgusted with me that I have no clue how to hit home with this open invitation! I am going to go with satisfied...yeah thats it..... They shake and fluff out and go about their merry way. <br />
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Silly silly chickens.<br />
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Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08644679827821301983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4049758063533837275.post-85990427882661077222011-08-13T14:15:00.000-04:002011-08-13T14:15:58.942-04:00Crazy MushroomsI got home from work the other day and noticed this HUGE mushroom growing wildly by the blackberries. I thought to myself where did this thing come from?? I went on inside the house changed my clothes, plopped my hair up into a pony tail, grabbed a glove and headed back outside.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/growing/4e9873f5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/growing/4e9873f5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>After now having any rain for so long I almost forgot about the insane mushrooms we sometimes have pop up in the summer. We finally have started getting some rain again and like magic these things start springing up from nowhere. I generally catch then when they are relatively small, but they grow quickly.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/growing/f1f54071.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/growing/f1f54071.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I pick them, placing them in a bucket then dump the bucket over the hill where hopefully the spores will not find their way back into my yard. I used to pick mushrooms for a living. Interesting job I will say. It was underground in old limestone mines that were converted into the mushrooms mines. These mushrooms are nothing like the ones I used to pick for a living!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/growing/f0e2dace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/growing/f0e2dace.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I wandered all around the yard and picked these crazy things and a few other run of the mill toadstools and mushrooms. Then I seen it again......the huge looming crazy mushroom. I snuck up on it so as not to scare it away. I plunked down the 5 gallon bucket next to it and had to take a picture - this thing is big. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/growing/99cb4d3f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/growing/99cb4d3f.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Then I picked it and took another picture of it in my hand. All this thing needs is eyes and a mouth and it could be a new species of rodent.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/growing/079b0552.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/growing/079b0552.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I have no idea what kind of wild mushrooms these are, but I know if left alone the tops turn black and open up for the spores to escape. If you hit one with the tractor or lawn mower you can't breath for 15 minutes from the black cloud of spores that explodes from them. That is why I try to keep them picked before they break open or can get hit from the mower or tractor. These things are downright crazy and something out of Alice and Wonderland.Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08644679827821301983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4049758063533837275.post-31051751110405286932011-08-09T20:37:00.001-04:002011-08-09T20:40:15.085-04:00Alls calm on in the chicken coop....nowWell it has been a rough few days. I merged the flocks together and expected some pecking and ordering to be going on. I did not however expect to see what all had happened as was posted in my last post. This has never happened to me before. I watched the flock and seen first hand what was going on. <br />
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The Comets were taking pecking order to a whole new level. I was never too fond of the Comets and this behavior just sealed the deal for me. As much as I do not like killing my chickens I could not stand by and let them kill the new hens. They pecked apart 4 of them and 1 of those actually died as a result of the pecking. They pecked her complete lower back/butt clear through to her bones. At that point I had enough and started rounding up the 4 Comets. One of them seemed ok so I let her live. I took each one out of the coop and killed her using the broomstick method.<br />
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I do not have any pictures of this process, as it is a two hand process and I was alone doing it. It is part of chicken ownership so I will describe it here.<br />
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Once the chicken perp is sentenced to death and caught, lay the perp down on the ground on their belly. Place the broomstick or other thin board (I use a furring strip of lumber) across their neck. Stand on the stick on either side of the perp's head and pull up on their legs. This stretches their neck under the pressure of the stick and kills them. You will feel and sometimes hear 3 pops. You can stop after the 3 pops. If you do not stop you will rip their head clear off and that causes a bloody mess. I quickly grab the perp's wings and hold them close to the body until the flapping and jerking stops. Some folks will just lop their heads off and let them flap or run around. To me that is a terrible thing to do....so inhumane. I try my best to treat the bird with dignity by not decapitating them, and also holding their wings tight until it is all over.<br />
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I seriously do not like killing my birds. I have finally gotten to the point that I no longer cry over it, but I do sulk and brood over it for a while while I dispose of the body and move on. I killed 3 Comets and the rooster that day. I really hoped that taking these bullies out would calm things down.<br />
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I went out the next morning and watched the last Comet, Phyllis, go around to several of the new and a few of the old ones and just peck them all hard in the butt. My patients were shot! I was so infuriated with Phyllis, I stormed into the coop grabbed her and broomsticked her so fast the youngins did not even know what happened! <br />
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I sprayed the hurt one's areas with the purple spray again and checked on the ones I sprayed previously. Again my hand is stained purple. That is ok - at least I know I am taking care of my birds. I am now down to 1 old easter egger, Fuzzy, 3 old Rhode Island Reds, Red, Lucky, and Curious, and 23 new birds - a mix of ester eggers, astrolopes, and lace wyndots. I am sure I did not spell those correctly.<br />
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To end this post on a good note - things do seem calmer in the coop now. Everyone seems to be getting along and the stress is leaving the girls. I am only getting 2 eggs a day now from the 4 old hens that are left. Two of the new girls have started laying now. I am getting a tiny green egg and now a tiny blue egg from the easter eggers. They all kinda look green in this picture but the are different colors. They are so small they knock around in the carton.<br />
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It is just a matter of time before they all start laying. All we can do is take care of them and wait.Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08644679827821301983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4049758063533837275.post-30731507386783501932011-08-03T17:38:00.000-04:002011-08-03T17:38:24.937-04:00Hen PeckedWARNING!! Pictures that follow in this post may be disturbing to some. View at your own discretion. <br />
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With the hens getting moved over into the big coop, there is a certain amount of discourse to be expected in the flock. They all battle for the pecking order and who will be top bird. That is a fact of chicken ownership. And just like dealing with pasty butt when they were peeps, one has to deal with the aftermath of the pecking. I had noticed that one new hen was pretty beat up yesterday, but I did not have anything to put on her wounds. I send my Hubby and Son to the store today to get some spray for them. The boys brought home this stuff:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/critters/bed391cd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/critters/bed391cd.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>It sprays on purple and is an antiseptic so it should help with healing the birds while camouflaging the wounds. Chickens are crazy about anything that resembles raw meat and will go nuts pecking and pecking and pecking at it. I suspect the rooster for inflicting most of the damage.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/critters/c9d9818a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/critters/c9d9818a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>This spray is handy to have on hand. I should have had some way before this time but pecking was really not that big of a problem with my previous 2 flocks. I set out to the coop in my snazzy insulated purple boots.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/critters/3673043b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/critters/3673043b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I took some before pictures of the beat up hens. THESE ARE GRAPHIC. Fair warning.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/critters/3ea8564b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/critters/3ea8564b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/critters/df21e617.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/critters/df21e617.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I took my time and caught each hen one by one and calmed her down. I held her down with one hand and sprayed the raw area with the spray then released her...moving on to the next one. One poor hen had a hole pecked clear through her skin into her back muscle. I sprayed her extra good but it would not surprise me if she did not make it. Hopefully she will.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/critters/268376d6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/critters/268376d6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I sprayed 3 or four hens total and they were pretty cooperative about it all. Now I have a purple hand. I did not realize this would stain my hand just as it did the hens. I thought it would wash off with soap and water......nope. Not even using hand cleaner with pumice.....<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/critters/0870d378.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/critters/0870d378.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Some have a green thumb... I have a purple thumb. Lesson learned....wear gloves when spraying this stuff!!Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08644679827821301983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4049758063533837275.post-15891948560775216502011-07-31T14:21:00.001-04:002011-07-31T14:34:35.768-04:00Moving DayI went about my normal routine that I do every weekend. I am always up by 630am if not earlier, the product of having to get up at 4am every day during the week. I do my thing and head out to the chickens. I give both the old hens and the babies scratch grains and we all chat about what is new and the latest gossip. <br />
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I got around to the babies nursery building and I peeked in and what do you know....way in the back of the nursery I spied this:<br />
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<span id="goog_1631761276"></span><span id="goog_1631761277"></span><br />
Well this sparked a whole laundry list of things to do! I had to call the U-Haul company, call the phone, water, and TV companies to have service stopped. So much to do! I had to scramble eggs! So much to do so little time. Not to mention it is hotter than all get out.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/critters/cb4f5fd1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/critters/cb4f5fd1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I finished chatting with the chickens and hand feeding them some grass and then headed inside to start things rolling.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/critters/b739209d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/critters/b739209d.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I cooked up a little more than a dozen eggs. Why you may ask? There is a good reason. I gave the older hens the scrambled eggs to fill their bellies (ok ok their gizzards) with protein. This will discourage pecking when we integrate the babies into the big coop with them. The eggs and protein also seem to make the hens a little more docile and easier going. This will help the introduction go smoother.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/critters/d0ea52ea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/critters/d0ea52ea.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I woke up my hubby, and son and had a good breakfast, while we talked about how to move the babies with as little trauma as possible. We devised and plan and out the door we went. First we had to get all the babies into their nursery. Then we had to keep them there while we closed off their pop door. To do this we just stapled some chicken wire over the pop door opening. Then I picked up all the bricks holding down the big blue tarp and took out all the stuff from inside their nursery.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/critters/740c9679.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/critters/740c9679.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Together the three of us slowly picked up the nursery and we walked it to a new location out of the mud and chicken poo. The babies were not too cooperative so we decided not to try to walk them around to the big coop door as we had planed. Instead we took off the top of the nursery and I started grabbing birds. I would quickly grab a chicken and hand her off to my Son who would carry her over to the coop where Hubby was manning the door. We did this over and over, one by one, chicken by chicken for all 25. It took some time and I only got pooped on once, and bit once. Not too bad considering I was really scaring them. No chickens (or people) were harmed during this process. Although, I was wing slapped in the face a few times. Thankfully I did not loose my glasses!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/critters/91f59f0c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/critters/91f59f0c.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Once we had them all in the main run, I filled their waters while the boys mixed their feed. Just like changing a dog's food you want to mix the old with the new - we had to mix the chick feed with the layer feed. I then slowly corralled all the birds from the run into the coop, and we shut the pop door for about an hour. Since our babies were used to using a pop door they knew how it worked and knew that beyond the pop door was either shelter or a yard depending which way they were going.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/critters/c92f1751.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/critters/c92f1751.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>They were hot and they duked it out a little bit but all in all the hour they were locked in together with the old hens seemed to go well. While they were locked up, we quickly dismantled the nursery and set the pieces behind the coop to wash off in the rain - should we get any- and to get it out of the site of the babies. Out of site out of mind. They will forget they had a different home and will only know their new home as their only home. We left the fencing up for now. It was too hot by this time and I was melting into a gross puddle in my insulated boots.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/critters/b940c864.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/critters/b940c864.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>We also found out that our one mystery chick in indeed a roo. He has been crowing for a few weeks now. He is aggressive when I had feed them grass but he has not tried to attack - yet. He seemed pretty docile when I grabbed him to move him. Maybe he will be a nice roo.....hey a girl can hope!<br />
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Now I have to find some of the golf balls we have laying around to put in the nest boxes. Why golf balls you ask? Well the golf balls with look like eggs to the chickens and it will teach the babies where to lay their eggs - in the nest boxes. It works quite well. This way using golf balls I can keep collecting the eggs several times a day so they don't get trampled but still leave a visual learning aid for the new hens.<br />
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I only have one new hen laying so far but the rest will start soon. This is kinda early for them. We got these peeps April 4, 2011, and today July 31, 2011, 3.5 months later, they are starting to lay. The new eggs will be pretty tiny bit totally whole. Soon they will start laying huge eggs and double and triple yolks while their bodies figure things out and they settle into a laying routine. Now a new issue starts for me - soon I will be getting up to 32 eggs A DAY! I need to order some egg cartons....and make a sign for the road.....and buy a bigger fridge...make more cookies, cakes, and goodies. oh my.Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08644679827821301983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4049758063533837275.post-66705925033715145002011-07-29T11:57:00.000-04:002011-07-29T11:57:14.555-04:00Tutorial: How to make a quick and easy Party Favor<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/Party%20Favors/bda154a6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m493/countrycluckers/Party%20Favors/bda154a6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Head on over to the Craft Corner section of my blog to get the complete direction on how to make this super easy and cost effective party favor! This party favor would work for any occasion - wedding, bridal shower, baby shower, birthday, anniversary party - any gathering that you would want to have a party favor on hand for the guests. Check it out!Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08644679827821301983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4049758063533837275.post-59030870300298643872011-07-25T22:10:00.000-04:002011-07-25T22:10:36.309-04:00Garden in Full SwingWe have been in a serious heat wave dry spell here in these parts. We have been having to water the gardens every night to keep them going. It takes about an hour to water every garden that we have. That is a lot of water. I am afraid to open my water bill when it comes! But the up side to it all is that the gardens are doing well and we are getting 2 squash/zucchini a day....a all new problem!<br />
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The onions are shouldered up and out of the dirt and starting to die off. Soon it will be time to pull them and let them dry before bagging them up in net bags.<br />
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The cabbages have seen better days. I started manually inspecting them and picking the worms off of them. That has seemed to help. I have spray for them but I am not too keen on using it. If the cabbage does not work out the chickens will get a wonderful treat. The LOVE cabbage and a cabbage infested with bugs is even all the better for them.<br />
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Our green beans are not looking too hot. They are supposed to be bush beans but they seem to be falling all over themselves. I doubt we will get enough for a meal let alone can, but the bunny gets them as a treat. Not much goes to waste even the low output veggies.<br />
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We have a total of 6 garden tanks, 2 veggie plots, and the berry patch. The tanks are old fuel oil tanks that have been cut in half and put up on cinder blocks. We use a mixture of mushroom mulch, compost, top soil, peat, and cow manure to fill the tanks. Things generally do really well in them. This year things are really dry so the tanks dry out quicker and it takes its toll on the plants.<br />
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In the ground plots we have yellow and green zucchinis, green peppers, butternut squash, corn, pumpkins, and a variety of tomatoes. They are doing fairly well given the lack of water and sweltering temperatures. I picked 2 grape tomatoes the other day and they were a yummy tease of what is to come! I can't wait until they really get rolling.<br />
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The corn is kinda goofy. We planted 2 different kinds of corn. 1 kind came up really well and the other stuff did a sporadic growth pattern. We did not expect much out of this garden plot, as we are still trying to fortify the lack of dirt in our yard with litter from the chicken coop.<br />
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We have tied aluminum pie tins in the corners of the garden plots to keep the critters out. It seems to be working pretty good so far.<br />
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Although this one was looking for a way into the garden!<br />
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The chickens are not happy with us. We have not let them out to free range in a while. We have to get the tomatoes fenced in so they do not eat them all. If we were to let them out now they would go straight to the garden and eat everything there! I have read about painting rocks the colors of the veggies and placing them around the garden. That way the chickens will peck at the rocks - get bored with the garden as soon as they figure out there is nothing but painted rocks in it. I have not tried this - I may, we have a rock or 2 laying around.<br />
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The fruit trees are not fairing too well in the hot dry weather either. We had all kinds of fruit in the spring but most of it has dried up. We have some apples.<br />
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Some Peaches:<br />
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And some Pears yet on the trees.<br />
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We water them as well but it does not look like they will amount to anything. Maybe next year.Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08644679827821301983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4049758063533837275.post-34650326545192899122011-06-26T19:28:00.000-04:002011-06-26T19:28:17.961-04:00While I was in Omaha...We have this thing with <a href="http://cabelas.com/">Cabelas Stores</a>. We really like them. Cabelas is a huge sporting goods store that has something for everyone.....shoes, clothes, camping gear, housewares, dog stuff, bullets, guns, bows, on and on. We have 2 that are fairly close to us - within a 3 hour drive, and we visit them at least once a year. We have decided that we want to try to visit all the Cabelas stores we can and get a coffee mug from each place. Each store carries the same style of coffee mug but their location is printed on the inside upper ridge of the mug. So we obviously have one from Hamburg, PA and also Wheeling, WV, the stores closes to us. <br />
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I was told there was one right handy Omaha and I had to check it out. I googled it after work one day while I was out there and sure enough it was a 15 minute drive from where I was. I decided to go for it and away I went. I have to say I have driven on all kinds of roads and crammed interstates, but I have to say this short stretch of I-80 to get from Omaha to La Vista was totally INSANE! I just held on tight to the wheel and dove right in to the crazy traffic and tried to not stay in an exit lane...which there were a lot of. I managed to make it to Cabelas in one piece and without too much difficulty. From the time I parked I started taking pictures.<br />
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Each Cabelas has their own sculpture that is unique to that store. The La Vista store had a small sculpture of 2 deer. Very nice I thought but not as big as I was expecting. I went inside the store and was shocked at how small this store was. The Hamgurg, PA store is one of the largest stores. It was nice and easy to get around.<br />
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</div>Each Cabelas also has the 4 seasons mountain in the middle of the store. On this mountain you can find all kinds of critters and as you walk around it the seasons change as do the animals depicted. Sorry animal rights folks - this is a hunting store and yes the animals all through the store are stuffed real animals that were killed one way or another.<br />
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I made a loop through the store and located the housewares department and picked up the coveted mug. My boys at home will be happy. I continued through the store and finally checked out. Back into my rental car and away I zoomed to jump back into the crazy traffic back into the big city of Omaha. <br />
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I think I was gone a total of about an hour. That is a pretty short time to get to a Cabelas, walk all the way through it, and get back 'home'. I think my grocery store at home is bigger than this place was. I will not complain though - I was there, got picture and a mug to prove it and that is all that counts in our book! <br />
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If I get the chance to get back out to Nebraska again I may have time to get out to another of their Cabelas stores. I think Nebraska has 3 different Cabelas stores. MAybe someday we will have complete set of mugs from each store....someday. :o)Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08644679827821301983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4049758063533837275.post-58684298243768708292011-06-22T21:27:00.000-04:002011-06-22T21:27:46.556-04:00Business trip to Omaha, NEI had to go on a business trip for week. My work sent me to Omaha, Nebraska for a week. I was so apprehensive about going. See, I am not a good lone traveler. Had I been going with someone else I would be fine, but that is not how my day job works. I had to go alone. So I stared at a map for 3 days before I had to leave and made lists of lists of stuff I had to pack, etc. One thing I did pack was the GPS out of my car. I thought I would be smart and take it to help me get around the big unknown city of Omaha. Little did I know, my GPS gets confused very easily! It tried to get me to turn left directly into a stadium wall. It had me going in circles. Turns out it does not work so well when it is laying on the passenger's seat or sitting on my knee. No..... I had to actually hold the stupid thing at the steering wheel for it to work correctly. It finally got me where I needed to go and that is all that mattered.<br />
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I flew from Pennsylvania to Detroit, Michigan, then on to Omaha, Nebraska. I can say it was a pleasant set of flights. My seat partners were very nice and we chatted the time away. When I landed at Detroit I was at the complete opposite end of the airport as my connecting flight. Ugh...I hurried up and hoofed it for miles and miles as I made my way through this really cool tunnel. There is 2 sets of moving walkways and whole thing is has this really cool lighting.<br />
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As I was making my way through the tunnel it suddenly starting playing music and the lights changed colors! I was impressed with the whole thing. I wanted to stay there and watch it more but I had a connection to get to. Yes I am easily amused.<br />
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I kept making my way through the airport and finally found my next gate. I only had about 20 minutes to wait until I was being herded onto my next flight. Off to Omaha I went. The flight was pleasant and soon we were landed and confusion set in trying to figure out where to pick up the luggage. They never did say what carousel we were to go to. Eventually I found my bag and off I went to get my car. More walking and walking and walking. It was a lot hotter in Omaha than it was back in PA that is for sure! I got my car squared away and off I went with my confused GPS. <br />
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In my misdirected drive I managed to pass some really cool statues and hoped to get back down to see them some time during my stay. The only problem was, I had no clue where these statues were in order to find them again!<br />
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I managed to finally get turned in the right direction and eventually found my hotel at 10:00 at night. I was tired and hungry and wanted to get to my room and collapse, however my room key did not work and back down I had to go to get new keys. I could not crash right away as I had to help my son with some last minute homework. It ended up I was still awake at 2am helping him! <br />
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I was up surprising early considering how I did not get much sleep. I was ready to start my work and get going. I found the work building and my point of contact and dove right in! It was a very busy week and I put in a lot more than my required 9 hrs doing my job. That is ok, I love what I do now, and it was to help that site in the long run. My point of contact was very nice and we hit it off very well. It really helped me feel at ease there and really do a my job well.<br />
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It was so very hot on Omaha! While I was there it was something like 105 or more. There was a breeze, and that really helped. I decided after work - on the hottest day - to go wandering around in the city. <br />
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I drove into the city and found a 24 hour parking garage. I took my ticket and parked, and left - leaving my parking ticket in my car. I set out on foot to explore the city and find those statues again and meander around the 'Old Market' area. I walked and walked and walked, and walked some more! Good thing I changed into my sneakers! I found what I was looking for finally. <br />
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The first thing I found was pioneer courage. This is a set of sculptures depicting a wagon train going west. Some are smiles and happy.<br />
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Others were facing challenges, such as dealing with ornery animals.<br />
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Or dealing with a stuck wagon in the mud.<br />
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</div>As the story goes the wagon train spooks a heard of buffalo and they charge through the city.<br />
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I followed the buffalo up the street and took some really cool pictures.<br />
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The detail is amazing.<br />
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The buffalo then in turn spook a flock of geese on a pond.<br />
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</div>The 'pond' has fountains under the wings of the geese to make it look like they are disturbing the water as they take off.<br />
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I then made my way back down to where I started and seen a cool building. I made my way down to it and also found the Baseball stadium. This is the home of the college world series.<br />
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The other building was after was called the Quest. This was some sort of entertainment arena where they have concerts and whatnot.<br />
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I found the really cool statues and a really big clock!<br />
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I did not realize that was a clock until I stared at it for a while. Yep I was wondering around a city at 7:30 at night.<br />
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At this point I decided I was really hot and needed to make my way back up to the 'old Market' area and find something for dinner. <br />
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I found my way to the old market area and was amused *again* to see carriage rides in the city.<br />
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The brick streets reminded me of my husband's home town. At this point I was melting and found a place to eat. I returned to the parking garage where I parked my car and I could not figure out how to get in to it! I finally read the sign and started to panic when I read that you were to take your parking ticket with you in order to scan into the main lobby to get to your car. If you did not take your ticket with you - you need to call some transit authority - but they did not give you a number to call! I was a complete mess at this point. <br />
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I had no way to get to my car....no number to call anyone....and it was going on 930 at night. I was just about ready to curl up into the fetal position and cry myself into a coma when I seen a lady heading to the door. Praise the Lord!! I was saved! I groveled to her to let me piggy back into the garage with her. Thankfully she let me. I was paying my parking bill and along came 2 other people who did the same thing I did and they were locked out. I let them in so they did not panic.<br />
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I got back to my hotel room and wrung out my clothes from sweat, showered and passed out. What a day! The next day I was equally as adventurous but on foot this time. Seems Omaha has all kinds of random sculptures all over the place.<br />
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</div>I walked around a place called Askerben Village. It has a serious Harry Potter sound to it but definitely was nicer than that prison in the movie :o) There was even a movie theater. It would have been funnier if a Harry Potter movie was showing....oh well.<br />
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This was in front of the Blue Cross Blue Shield building. Can you see the swimmers in it?<br />
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These were random sculptures around the college of St. Mary. <br />
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</div>I have to say I don't think I have seen some many college/universities in one place as Omaha has.Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08644679827821301983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4049758063533837275.post-49610481249588952452011-06-12T13:14:00.000-04:002011-06-12T13:14:01.946-04:00Planting ChickensWhen it is really hot out when we let the chickens free rage they like to run straight for the back of the house. There they seek refuge from the heat under the back porch. The back porch is more like a covered deck. It is something like 12 x 40. There is lots of cool dirt and shade to cool off under. The chickens like to dust in the dirt and shale under the deck. They look like I planted chickens in the ground! <br />
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Yep I am now growing chickens. They are so silly. They dig a hole and lay in it and kick dirt up under their feathers and then they roll around in the loose dirt. This does several things for the birds. One it cools them off. Second it rids them of any excess oils their skin/feather accumulate, and third it rids them of any bugs they may have. My chickens do not have bugs. I can pet and get close enough to inspect them often enough to know. This is something I look out for. You do not want your flock to get bugs....not good.<br />
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They enjoy wallowing in the dirt nests and I like to take pictures of them wallowing. :o) They will even kick each other out of a wallow and take it over. I guess some dirt is better than others...? <br />
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Hopefully my next post will be a fun one. I had to go to Omaha, Nebraska on a business trip for a week. I did manage to work my butt off and also have some 'me' time. I took tons of pictures and had a really good time. Stay tuned!Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08644679827821301983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4049758063533837275.post-19516471457135757122011-06-04T06:15:00.006-04:002011-06-04T06:15:00.945-04:00Chickens almost burn down the houseSo about 2 weeks ago my dear hubby was shutting all the windows to go to town. We always shut the windows of the house when we leave sine we have been getting pop up thunderstorms. As soon as he gets all the windows shut he smells smoke. He really did not think anything of it since we live out in the middle of nowhere with no restrictions so folks burn stuff - a lot. However the smoke was coming from inside the house. He quickly went down to the basement to find the brooder litter on fire and smoking everything up. <br />
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Seems the peeps managed to knock down one of their lights and being a 75 watt bulb it was hot enough to catch the pine shavings on fire. He quickly extinguished the fire and made sure the peeps were ok. He called me at work to tell me what happened and I rushed home. Since he took care of the fire he went on into town for whatever he was needing. <br />
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When I go home I started getting things ready to move the peeps to the nursery outside by the coop. We have a large black watering tub that I stuffed down the bilco steps and squeezed through the doorway. At that time our son just arrived home from school and he helped me wrangle the chickens and put them into the tub and then squeeze them back up the bilco and out to the nursery. <br />
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From there I put each peep into the nursery and talked sweetly to them. They were not buying it. Some even tried to point out the perp that knocked down the light in exchange for being put back in the basement. Nope - they all were paying for the ill behavior of one, not to mention they really needed out of my house!!! <br />
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The peeps did not know what to think of the grass under their feet. They were scared and confused. We left them alone to huddle together in their new digs, and lean on one another for comfort. The old chickens were quite the nosey nellies. The kept pacing back and forth along their common cage wall trying to get a glimps of the new neighbors. <br />
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They would cluck and purr at the baby peeps to welcome them and try to encourage them to come out of the nursery. They were probably wanting to get a peck at the baby's small toes! Older chickens are like that. They think that peep toes are worms and peck at them. That is why we have the peeps segregated from the older ones until they get bigger.<br />
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In due time the peeps have adjusted and are doing well in the nursery. They seem to ignore the older chickens but since they can see and call to each other they will get used to one another. <br />
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As ever day goes bay the peeps are more and more confident. They even started out door classes in the morning. They have flight practice every morning. They are too quick for me to get a picture, but they do both the running take off and the helicopter straight up and down maneuvers. I thought I heard one yelling WOOO-HOOO this morning as she was taking her turn.<br />
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Once we got them all settled into their new home I went down and cleaned up the mess. I shoveled all the litter out of the brooder. My son actually took it all the litter down and dumped it on the compost pile. We folded up the burnt/melted tarp and found that the light landed on the only plastic piece in the whole basement....the drain. Sure enough the light burned the litter, melted/burned the tarp, and burned/melted the basement floor drain. I poured baking soda on the melted mess to absorb the burnt smell until we can get it replaced. We have decided that if we continue to add to our flock we will not put the little ones in the basement again. We say that every year and we still end up doing it!Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08644679827821301983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4049758063533837275.post-88744782035386502312011-06-03T09:09:00.000-04:002011-06-03T09:09:42.379-04:00Building the nurseryThe peeps have been in the basement way too long now. I am going broke buying air fresheners! They need out! At has been storming every day around these parts so it has been difficult to get time to build the nursery for the peeps. We finally found a small break in the weather and ran with it. We let the big chickens run loose so they don't freak out over the construction going on beside their coop and run.<br />
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First we had to mow the grass where the nursery and run will go. We could have left at as they will eat and trample it down to mud, but we did not want to loose them in the high grass.<br />
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Then we had to get down the nursery walls from where we store them up in the rafters of the barn.<br />
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Zip tie the wall together.<br />
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Add braces for the 'roof'.<br />
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Add scrap pieces of plywood for the roof, and the front with a hole cut in it for a pop door.<br />
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Cover the whole thing in a tarp and secure it with bricks.<br />
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Cut holes in tarp for the pop door and the sun roof/entry point. <br />
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Get the young strapping son to pound in the T Posts for their run.<br />
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String the wire around the run.<br />
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Add the netting and get me stuck inside the run. I had to be quite the contortionist to get out once we had all the wire and netting on! Good thing I am flexible!<br />
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Line the run with bricks and it is ready to go. It is a little shorter than the permanent run but that is ok. The peeps will only be staying in the nursery for a few months then they well be integrated into the big coop with the older hens.<br />
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About that time the storms were rolling through so we could not put the peeps in. That would have to wait for another day. The older chickens were right there to help us and lend they building expertise 2 cents.<br />
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We quickly cleaned up, put all the tools away and wrangled the chickens back into the their run. We will have to check the weather to try to get a break from these storms to get the peeps moved.Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08644679827821301983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4049758063533837275.post-60085523835158769052011-05-15T07:26:00.000-04:002011-05-15T07:26:59.063-04:00Meatloaf!I will admit it - I love meatloaf....the singer and the food! :o) Mr. Meat can come over and make meatloaf any time....*sigh*....oh sorry I digress.... Back to the food. Meatloaf is such a teased food. Commercials make fun of it, kids cringe at the sound of it, but we in the Clucker's household love it, at least our recipe. Dear Husband (DH) and I have several versions of meatloaf that we all like. We have an italian style that is saucy and cheesy - sure to harden your arteries before you get to dessert, and the regular non-saucy version. We have been tweaking meatloaf recipes over the years and DH seen a Mr. Food segment one morning on the TV news, but did not write it down or remember exactly what it was. He remembered the jist of it so off we went to the store to get the main ingredients. It took us a couple of tries but we have created a recipe that is wonderfully tender, moist, and oh so tasty.<br />
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So head on over to the What's Cooking page for the full recipe and give it a try. It is yummy hot or cold.Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08644679827821301983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4049758063533837275.post-76824707295107399092011-05-14T06:17:00.001-04:002011-05-14T06:18:06.100-04:00Yummy Healthy Summer Squash and EggsI love summer yellow squash. We usually plant a few plants and end up with more squash that one could ever use! Since it is still way too early to be planting the garden in this neck of the woods, we bought some straight neck yellow squash at the store. The sat around as we got too busy to cook them up that night or the next night, or the next. So not wanting them to go bad I finally cooked them up and we all gobbled them down. I had to make sure I packed my lunch before we all started eating so I would be sure to have some of this yummy dish for my next day's meal. <br />
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It is super simple, super easy, and wonderfully tasty. It is a good source of vitamins and protein when it is completed with the eggs. Head on over to the What's Cookin page for the full recipe!Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08644679827821301983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4049758063533837275.post-15912900720449284672011-05-11T20:02:00.000-04:002011-05-13T16:37:00.580-04:00Peeps are getting Big!I had to clean out the brooder the other day. I just could not stand the smell any more. Having baby chickens in the basement is not the best set up. Thankfully it is only for 2 months then we will move them out to the nursery outside until they are laying age. Then they will be integrated into the coop with the rest of the chickens.<br />
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Cleaning out chicken litter from the basement is kinda tough. I have to first open up the full brooder and shoo all of the peeps to the back new half, then block it back up while I clean out the front half. To clean out the front half I have to use a flat head shovel and scoop up all the litter and put it into a big much bucket. Then I have to carry the full muck bucket up the bilco steps and all the way down to the compost pile....again and again. It took me about 4 or 5 trips back and forth to get all the litter cleaned out.<br />
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While I had the time I throughly cleaned the watering can while dear husband put down fresh pine shavings. We added another set of blocks under the food and water to raise them up. This will keep things cleaner for them.<br />
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We also added an 8 foot long perch for them. It is a little high for them right now, but soon enough they will be all over it.<br />
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The peeps are growing like weeds! The Easter Eggers are starting to get their fuzzy cheeks. <br />
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The White Lace Wyandotts are getting white heads and starting to lace out.<br />
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The Black Astrolopes are shiny and black.<br />
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I think I have figured out that the two mystery chicks are actually Red Laced Wyandotts. They are pretty that is for sure.<br />
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The yellow/white peeps that I thought were the mystery peeps are turning out to be Easter Eggers. They have the fuzzy cheeks like the rest of them. It will be interesting to see what color eggs they will lay. My last Easter Eggers both laid green eggs but one would lay an army olive drab egg while the other would lay a bright light green egg. I hope these Easter Eggers have a range of colors and hoe to have a blue layer.<br />
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I think all the peeps are looking great. Some will argue that they are ugly and look like little dinosaurs. They are almost all feathered out and are getting more inquisitive every day. They are starting not to run from me, and are actually starting to take an interest in me as I feed and water them every day.<br />
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</div>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08644679827821301983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4049758063533837275.post-38152863840798856292011-05-09T17:31:00.000-04:002011-05-09T17:31:07.769-04:00Sloppy JoesHere is another quick and easy week night recipe for busy people. This sloppy joe recipe was put together by my Dear Husband and me one evening when we got tired of the the canned sloppy joe sauce.<br />
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Head on over to the What's Cookin page for the recipe!Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08644679827821301983noreply@blogger.com0