The Front Porch Swing

[heartsizedfarm]

Little Diane and I didn't get to our jam making....but I don't care. Every second spent with the kids was either fun, or enlightening, or heart-to-heart. I can make my jam anytime - I can't get this time back ever. They leave today. We were up pretty late last night playing cards and planning weddings (September 27, it looks like, in the Sertoma Butterfly House in Sioux Falls) so right now they're still flaked out. Their flight doesn't leave Billings until 5, so we're having a nice, relaxing brunch before we leave the house. God gives us people to touch us, to help us over rough spots, and to learn from. I am so grateful that He gave our family these two remarkable young people. I looked at her last night and I was thinking, "This can't be the same confused, rebellious little girl who was listed on the National Runaway Hotline in 2011." How blessed we are! I took this picture of Dustin and Diane on Wednesday at the Love Knot Tree and cropped it to use in the newspaper for their announcement. I took it up on top of the Big Horns at a spot I found a few years ago. It's been cut out of this shot, but this is the tree: Isn't that the prettiest thing?

Love that tree. And what a fabulous place for a wedding -- a butterfly conservatory!

 

[heartsizedfarm]

Lazy gardener, I've been thinking on it a while, and I think there are a lot of different interpretations. I dont think its necessarily meant as an anti- religion statement, and i certainly didnt mean it that way. It may mean we need to be in touch with our innate animal nature in order to be more grounded and live more simply and authentically, as animals do.

At any rate, our children may have different views and values than us, but it will eventually be their world, and it will change as it has changed every generation. So far, I think the world has changed for the better because the young are free to explore and experiment and be curious. Most come back to traditional ideas and familiar values, but with their own interesting beautiful new twists.

 

[lazy gardener]

I hope my opinion hasn't caused you offense.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Remember when it was me and I was counting down the days?  Even put them out before the coop was done, and it SNOWED!  

And they liked it!

Guess who just came in from his morning run with Pappa?

Good thing I hadn't had breakfast when he plopped himself down there. It would have come out my nose.

 

[heartsizedfarm]

I hope my opinion hasn't caused you offense.

Not at all! I didn't respond right away, sorry, because I was fussing with a rain barrel that was overflowing because the blasted spigot at the bottom was plugged with leaves!

 

[bruceha2000]

Hey, guys....wanted to show you Mom's casket that we have turned into extra seating in the living room....we are having just too much fun with this thing, as folks seem to be very scared of a few pine boards formed into a box shape. My uncle actually backed away from it like it was going to jump up and rub some death on him.

Well Bee, I have to say that you have a really nice looking pine blanket chest there. I suppose you could use it for a casket when your mother dies. However, given your description a few weeks ago of how active she is, I suspect that won't be for some time.

GOOD GRIEF!!!! I've been gone not quite a week, and am over 100 PAGES behind! WOAH!

Guess what I did this morning!!!!!!

You turned a pretty little girl into strawberry jam!!!?????

Yes TRUE Araucanas

Quote:

I asked the question of TW since I thought it might be pertinent to someone who knows true Araucana with respect to what one looks for and when to determine gender.

To tell if they are rumpless just see if they have the little "tail part" at the end of their back (called a parson's nose).

My Araucanas are all rumpless, clean faced birds that lay blue eggs. But every breeder I have contacted has acted like they don't want anything to do with selling me eggs or chicks because I have bred different colored Araucanas on purpose........

I got my original birds from people on BYC.

Unfortunate since the only way to get new SOP colors is to breed them and when consistent, apply to the APA.

Do yours have ear tufts Enola?

Interesting, I looked at Wikipedia (yeah, I know) and the article said that everywhere except in NA, Araucana chickens have no wattles at all. They also have tails, muffs and beards. All three are disqualifications in Canada and USA. Sounds like the only similarities are the ear tufts and blue eggs.
Are there other chicken breeds that are nearly NOT AT ALL identical in some parts of the world? Bizarre.

Bruce

 

[Tomtommom]

I put my chicks out at 3 weeks old now. Gotta love having a heat plate! I use the top of a litterbox that fits right over the heat plate, so they can go in to warm up... Amazingly they spend very little time under it.

I can't put up more than 5 weeks with chicks in the house

3 is even better.

 

[RachaelS]

Bee (or anyone else), I would like to pick your brain on electric netting fence. What do you keep it charged with? How well does it work? Thinking of getting one but they look complicated, which I doubt they are, so I must be over thinking it.

 

[Tomtommom]

Araucanas are a troublesome breed.

"The tufts gene is lethal when present on both chromosomes (homozygous), and the chicks die in-shell and don't hatch. This means that a flock will always be a mixture of tufted and clean-faced birds. There is wide variability in the size and shape of tufts. Unfortunately, many birds may have uneven, small, or only one-sided tufts. But a bird with large showy tufts makes an unforgettable impression!"

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGA/Arau/ACARumplTufted.html

It would make sense that they do not want to breed chickens that die in the shell... That's like those froo froo dogs they breed that can't breathe right or the ones that can only give birth via C-section or the ones that can't even mate and have to be artificially inseminated.

 

[Triple Willow]

Yes, bless their little hearts!     Southern for "why, aren't they just dumber than dirt?", said in a sweet southern twang.  

Exactly! LOL