good job scooping her up! and this necessitates that i tell the story of my sister's pet chicken: as backstory, you must understand that my dad is a biologist who does field work every summer at a field station high in the Rocky Mountains -- my parents actually met there -- and we spent all of my childhood summers there. the lab is at about 9,500 feet in elevation, just on the western side of the Continental Divide -- it's actually an old silver mining town from the 1880s that went bust after 4 years of existence, and is incredibly remote. when i was a kid, there was no telephone, no radio/tv reception, many of the cabins used as housing for researchers and students didn't have any indoor plumbing, etc. very wild place. here's a photo to give you the idea: so back in the summer of 1976 (i think, maybe '75?), my mom & sister had been out on a hike with some of our neighbors, and driving back, past a place called Emerald Lake (at about 11,000 feet, on a jeep road), they came across a chicken. she was an RIR, walking along the road in the middle of absolutely nowhere, from a chicken's perspective. they managed to catch her in a paper Safeway bag, and brought her back to the lab, and she became my sister's pet chicken -- and quite a fabulous one! she learned to come when you called her name, would eat wasps, chase cows -- and most fascinating to us (who knew nothing about chickens), she appeared to be a jewish chicken, as she laid an egg every day of the week except saturday, without fail, all summer long. we couldn't bring her back to the Bay Area with us at the end of the summer, so we left her with the lab's caretakers -- who kept her through most of the winter, i think, letting her live inside their cabin once it started snowing (this valley is often snowed in from October to May) -- and they reported that she often caught mice for them. I think she was eventually given to a friend who lived in the nearest town. so hang on to that chicken! she could be a special one!
it was actually an odd childhood, in that all our friends back in the suburbs (i grew up in palo alto) went to camp, which was somewhat similar to what we were doing (actually far less "roughing it," i suspect), but it was only for a couple of weeks, and they all learned the same songs and games that we didn't know -- and they spent the rest of their summers swimming at the nearby pool and going to AYSO soccer practice, none of which we had any experience of -- so we felt like perpetual outsiders in a way.
but i greatly appreciate it now -- especially having spent whole summers with complete freedom yet nothing programed, we HAD to rely on our own creativity and imaginations to keep ourselves busy & entertained. lots of reading books, going on hikes, fishing, playing in the willows, etc.
in case anyone is interested, some of my parents' photos (scanned by me) are posted on-line here (in the pictures where there are two little girls, i am the smaller one -- and there's a photo with lots of snow in the background, and me holding a lump of snow -- that's where they found the chicken, although not that year): http://www.flickr.com/photos/lawatt/sets/72157604470385518/
happy to share -- and you might be happy to know that the isbar girls are getting along wonderfully with their new gang, and i've named one of them Molly in your honor, if you don't mind!
I use a hose to mist my girls. That's only good if I'm home to do it. So far, they are doing fine with little panting despite the heat. I am concerned about the times when I am not around to monitor and mist. I want a misting system however am slightly overwhelmed by all the choices. I checked out the link you shared and DH gave his stamp of approval. Order placed. I'm sure many other options will also work, but this set up looks like a good match and is every so much better than spending more time mulling over the options. On behalf of the girls, thanks for helping make the choice easy. What cinched it for me was your photo of chicken in mist bliss!
good morning! it's about 7 or so degrees cooler here than the same time yesterday (and that was 2° cooler than the day before), so hopefully that bodes well for everyone! although the official forecast hasn't changed... hmmm.
happy to share -- and you might be happy to know that the isbar girls are getting along wonderfully with their new gang, and i've named one of them Molly in your honor, if you don't mind!
good morning! it's about 7 or so degrees cooler here than the same time yesterday (and that was 2° cooler than the day before), so hopefully that bodes well for everyone! although the official forecast hasn't changed... hmmm.
I MUCH prefer your prediction over the official forecast. Last night it felt a bit cooler to me, but I wrote if off to my body acclimating. Thanks for starting our day with a bit of hope for a cooler day. Even if it does not happen here inland today, you go enjoy your trend.
so back in the summer of 1976 (i think, maybe '75?), my mom & sister had been out on a hike with some of our neighbors, and driving back, past a place called Emerald Lake (at about 11,000 feet, on a jeep road), they came across a chicken. she was an RIR, walking along the road in the middle of absolutely nowhere, from a chicken's perspective. they managed to catch her in a paper Safeway bag, and brought her back to the lab, and she became my sister's pet chicken -- and quite a fabulous one! she learned to come when you called her name, would eat wasps, chase cows -- and most fascinating to us (who knew nothing about chickens), she appeared to be a jewish chicken, as she laid an egg every day of the week except saturday, without fail, all summer long. we couldn't bring her back to the Bay Area with us at the end of the summer, so we left her with the lab's caretakers -- who kept her through most of the winter, i think, letting her live inside their cabin once it started snowing (this valley is often snowed in from October to May) -- and they reported that she often caught mice for them. I think she was eventually given to a friend who lived in the nearest town. so hang on to that chicken! she could be a special one!
