I drove Ann to work yesterday, and then I drove out to Possum Manor West. It was so chilly when we left at 8:30AM that we could not put down the top. By the time we got to the casino, it was nice, and I put that bugger down. I have video of the ride. No farts, sorry.
(By the way, I loved the comments to the last non-blog. Keep ‘em coming!)
This one is on the way from PMW to pick Ann up.
About to enter the casino property:
I got down on my hands and knees in the chicken coop for this one:
She is a beautiful chicken. After I looked at this video I ran out to the coop to check her out. The video makes it look as if she has a bald spot on her back, and I was afraid they were doing damage to her. She is fine. It must have been a shadow.
I promise to fill this space with a blog sometime this weekend. Honest.
Phyllis is adjusting, slowly, but she is adjusting. I cannot get any photos because she is not really out. I will try one in the house, where she is helping the other two hens SIT ON NOTHING!!!
I think Lucille laid her first egg. You usually look for an egg around six months, and she is just under that age. It is the tiniest egg, so I am thinking it is her first. It could have been Phyllis, but hens rarely lay when stressed…and she is stressed.
The egg on the right is a regular egg, the kind you buy in the store. My usual silkie egg is in the middle, and the new tiny egg is on the left.
I spent yesterday making jam and jelly. I have tried many times to make scuppernong jelly, but it never has set. Yesterday I was successful. It has a lighter, more delicate taste than regular grape jelly. I made that too, regular grape jelly. (Pam, tell Patti her batch will be made as soon as I empty a few more large jars.) I also made a batch of raspberry jam, since I had given away all of the batch I made in July.
Note the difference in color and clarity:
The grape, in the center, is clear. The scuppernong on the left is cloudier, and the raspberry is nice and seedy.
I know, I need to get these mailed to all of you. I still have Dianna’s D all wrapped up, but going to the post office is as stressful as a trip to the dentist.
Phyllis is a white silkie chicken, and she is so sweet. I can pet her and pick her up, but the others are really giving her a hard time tonight. I hope this gets better for her. She is a beauty.
I took a few videos of her arrival, but I cannot put them all up. While I was taking one of them, I bent over and did the tiniest of farts. lol Ann says no one would notice, but I remember a hot tub video where eagle eyes found you know what. lol Could be that one of you has eagle ears too.
I have been out to the coop many times since that last video, and each time Phyllis is in a different area of the coop. At first she was cowering under the nesting boxes. Then she was had put herself in between the fencing and a piece of wood. Then she was pecking around next to the house. So, she is getting more comfortable.
It was an interesting experience to not have internet for two days. Our cell phones get internet, but it is much more awkward to deal with things that way. Spoiled. I know. But I did get a movie for you!!!
I am getting a white silkie on Thursday. Her name is Phyllis, and I will not mess with her head and rename her. Can’t wait to meet her. Photos to follow, obviously.
My dogs got a toy in the mail today from Jan. It is a funny thing, a rooster. You stretch it, and it flings across the room, crowing the whole time. Brando was the first to claim it as his. He ran to get it and immediately took it to his bed. He likes to disembowel his toys on his bed.
He tossed it in the air a few times …
And then a bad thing happened. It crowed while it was in his mouth. He took it into the livingroom, spit it out, and began to whine. I had never heard that dog whine for so long. I thought he was hurt or something, but no, he was just afraid of his toy. So there it sits, de-combed but not disemboweled.
I may call the dog whisperer.
This mess is my classroom. Note the screen on the back shelf. It fell out of the window last April. That is where they put it.
So far things are pretty quiet. The jerky kids showed off; the quiet ones smiled. I gave them an information sheet, and I thought I would share some of the more interesting answers. Some are very insightful.
I hate when a teacher…..
…is mean and doesn’t get to know the student.
…thinks their class is more important than others.
…does not treat each student with individuality and respect.
…tells you that you are wrong but doesn’t tell you how to fix your mistake.
…ignores you.
…judges students by the way they look.
…is boring.
…calls on me when I don’t know the answer.
…is not reasonable or helpful.
Then I asked what I should know about them.
Willing to do whatever is asked of me.
My stepmother will contact you a lot this semester.
I am NOT A MORNING PERSON!
Nothing.
My favorite thing to do is eat and bass fish.
I have asthma, and I guess I have a bad anger problem. I have to see a
therapist at random sometimes.
I am straight, but I am a very big gay rights activist.
I can study for a test for ten minutes and pass…unless it is more than
twenty questions.
I am a wild person.
I am a state champ.
I like tater tots.
I will have some problems with work.
I am really shy and have stage fright.
I am either hyper or sleepy.
I like to draw.
I have acid reflux.
I space out a lot.
Nope, no chicken. Instead I listened to my instincts. I really wanted that white Silkie, but it was not in the stars for today.
The story: I drove 70 miles west to the people who had the Silkies. It was quite rural, and I wondered if it was going to be a farm. There were two brand new developments, and theirs was the second. Huge house, great lawn and manicured shrubs. I could hear chickens in the back. There was a neighbor kid on the front porch knocking at the door; no one was home. So I thought.
I went to my car and called the people, but they did not answer. I did notice, however, that someone was peeking out of an upstairs window, through the blinds. I thought, “Enough,” and I got into my car. At that time a boy of about twelve came out onto the porch. I told him I was there for the chicken. He was trying to get someone on the inside of the house to come out, using that “come here” gesture. He went back in. When he came back out he told me that the chicks were at another place and we would have to go there. I said that I could hear the chickens in the backyard, but he said those were the Rhode Island Reds, not the Silkies. I asked him how far it was, and he said about five miles, and I would have to follow them. At this point I am a bit pissed, wondering why they would not have brought the chick there, knowing I was coming. I was also getting a bit uneasy. At this point, I have still not seen an adult.
I see a while mini van back out of the drive way, and I followed. I finally caught a glimpse of an adult…well, at least I saw an adult arm. I followed them down the main road for a while; then they turned down a rather deserted back road. There were a few farms here and there and quite a few abandoned house. Things were just not making sense. I followed them for a few miles, getting more and more uneasy. At one point they went over a crest of a hill, and I turned around in the driveway of a deserted house. I drove home feeling good for listening to my instincts. I might have gotten a white chicken today, but I might have gotten more than I wanted too. Interestingly, they never called me.
Oh well. Sorry, no pictures today. I will take some of my kids tomorrow; maybe I will dress them up in little outfits. We shall see.
By the way, this is what she would have looked like. Well she might have looked like this if she did not live in a coop with chickens. lol
I am adding this YouTube video, because it is a white bird and it made me smile big time.
It was a great day. We did not end up where we were headed, but it was a great day anyway.
On the way to getting lost….
Bridal Veil Falls. They said it was the most photographed falls in the area. Heck, that is why everyone was there.
We did not swim here because there were just too many people. Mainly screaming children. Why do children scream?
This was the underside of a big rock.
I just loved this place.
First…pssst Pam…Are you on vacation? You OK? Not like you to not answer email.
My friend Sal is here from New Jersey. He usually cooks, but this year I am just letting him vacation. We have been constantly running, because he cannot sit still. Today we are going to the gym and then I do not know what. Tomorrow we are going to my school, and then running around. Tuesday we are going swimming at a water fall. Wednesday he flies home but another friend from Michigan and her partner are coming to spend the afternoon and have an early dinner. (When Ann works, most everything is early since she has to be in bed by eight.) Thursday I will be in black, veil over my head, tears falling from my eyes. School. I go back to school.
We always laugh about this commercial, and I am assuming that it was released nationwide. The voice behind the pothole is from Asheville. Makes us laugh every time.
I am sure I will have photos from the waterfall/swimming hole. I should take a video of the dogs eating corn on the cob. They love it! When I figure how many ears I need to get for dinner, I have to figure in one for each of them.
OHHHHHHHH I got a Nook. It is the Barnes and Nobles version of the Kindle, but offered me more in the way of downloading books in different files.
Anyone…like Becky the finder of information…what it means that the acorns are falling already. It is really early, but they are falling so furiously that it sounds as if people are walking on the roof. Honestly.
Have a great day all. Zanesville identify yourself and say hi.
