If you were expecting a savory fall poultry recipe from reading this post title, you’ll be disappointed! You can’t eat these chickens because they’re pets. And you can’t eat this sage, because it’s ornamental. (Okay, the flowers of the stunning salvia elegans—pineapple sage—are edible.)
As I was giving the chickens fresh water this morning they were kicking up such a fuss about the fact that they didn’t get their afternoon walkabout yesterday that I opened the gate so they could have extra time wandering the yard and gardens. Fall is one of their favorite times of year, I think, because there is such adventure searching for bugs under every fallen leaf. I am also less prone to shoo them away from areas of the garden that I don’t want them scratching in since the garden is largely devastated by fall already. What harm is a little bit of chicken foraging going to do?
The chickens did seem to tire of their bug hunting adventures early though because I caught them congregating near one of the bird baths for a mid-day snooze. As you can see though, T. Boone Chickens is still guarding his girls.
He’ll have some help with the guard duty soon though. As it turns out, my instincts on the gender of Edith’s baby were correct. Baby is a rooster and is now learning to crow. He is now called Ricky since he is clearly not a Lucy.
I wonder if the reason God makes baby animals so adorably cute is to ensure that we will love and care for them?
Think of a baby kitten’s wide-eyed stare, puppies tumbling over each other in enthusiastic play, baby koala bears holding on to their mums, baby kids flopping their big ears around. Heck, even babies that grow up to be killers are lovable when they’re little—baby bear cubs, coyotes, foxes.
Not snakes though. A small size does not improve a snake’s lovability factor.
Baby chicks, I think, rank among the most adorable of the adorable baby animals. Adorablest? I know because I have six new baby chicks as of this morning—two buff laced Polish, two standard white crested blue and two Easter egg standard. (At least, that’s what I ordered.)
This adorable Easter egg standard's name is Meredith. Not only will Meredith go nicely with Myrtle, Maude, Madelein and Marilyn, but it is also Ben's girlfriend's name. Live long and prosper, Meredith!
This little cutie is one of the Easter egg standards and will grow up to lay blue/green eggs.
If everyone survives to adulthood, we will then have 12 hens and a big old rooster named T. Boone Chickens. That will double the number of hens T. Boone must service.
My husband keeps shaking his head and asking, “What are we going to do with a dozen eggs a day?”
Frankly, I don’t give a damn. I just like my chickens. The eggs dishes are a bonus—quiche, pound cake, omelets, souffle, frittatas, egg salad, deviled eggs, creme brulee, chocolate ice cream, cookie dough ice cream, chocolate chip cherry ice cream…
Harry and I spent the better part of the weekend painting the master bedroom. We traded off between rolling and detail work and we both made our fair share of messes. For a while Sophie perched on top of a chaise to supervise our work. Sarah was distraught. She does not like change.
Today we get back to normal. I will have to do something about my manicure. Speckled fingernails in Benjamin Moore Light Pewter is not really a good look.
Here’s wishing you a happy, calm and productive week.
If you’re in the neighborhood and just happen to have your paintbrush and paint clothes with you, stop on by. Harry and I are taking the day off from work to start painting the master bedroom. We figure it’ll take until Sunday. Harry does most of the rolling—no small chore with high ceilings—and I do all the tedious detail work. You, of course, can pitch in wherever you like.
We’re painting it a dove grey. So if you see some grey in my hair in the next few days, it’s paint. Got it? The grey is paint.
Happy Groundhog Day! What are you doing to celebrate?
We’ll have a special dinner of NOT groundhog. Dinner will be a special pasta (TBD) and some yummy homemade yeast rolls. Then we’ll pull out the photo album of past Groundhog Days and reminisce. We will toast Puxatawny Phil by opening the first bottle of my homemade apfelwein, which I hope is sparkly by now. If it’s any good, you’ll hear more about it.
Working from a home office is not always what it’s cracked up to be. I have a lousy IT department (me). Interruptions range from barking dogs to crowing roosters. I hear my business phone ring during non-business hours.
But there is a lot good about a 15 step commute. Such as today. It’s cloudy and a bit drizzly, but the temps will climb into the mid 60s for the second day in a row. I will turn off the heat, throw open the windows and give the house—and office—a good airing. Ahhh!
