Two Burly Guys

Aren't they two cute lumberjack-guys??? This is December 1st after No-Shave-November. Thank God they shaved again!!

Pinta's Food Balancing Act

http://www.horsetech.com/popular-customs.htm

Liz, Gertie and Esther

Our chickens are hysterical. Ryan is loving them which greatly amuses me! I let them have the run of the yard since it has turned to fall and they spend their day traveling from one bed to another finding goodies. When they see or hear a human, they run to see if there might be any treats for them. If not, they hang-out a bit farther than arm's reach just to see what you're doing.

Wandering the Yard

Liz, the newest member of the bunch ... the tan Buff Orpington, is the friendliest by far. If you happen to stand over her, she will squat when you reach toward her and allow herself to be petted and/or picked up and carried. She loves to talk and she will try anything you offer, including fingers and toes. Earlier in the year when it was warmer and I would go to check the shed in the morning in my flipflops, she would test out the red toes on my feet! It doesn't really hurt, but it is very quick and a big surprise so it makes me jump and squeal .. usually.

This is 'chicken running' which makes Ryan laugh EVERY TIME. Esther is in the lead.

Esther wears a pink ankle bracelet made from a zip tie to differentiate her at a quick glance from Gertie. They are both Black Astralorps and are not quite laying just yet. They are teenagers and act like it! Gertie was not happy when I brought home Liz (she was a trade for the two Speckled Sussex who were escape artists and always trying to get to the gate of their pen before I could ... it was just too much for me, so I made a good trade for a nice, easy-going Buff Orpington). When Liz was finally ready for me to bring home, Gertie and Esther had lived alone for 2 weeks. Gertie was the top of the 'pecking order.' [ Yes, this common phrase comes from chicken behavior.] Even though Liz is two months older she has a very calm, accepting personality so Gertie was having a wonderful time terrorizing her for even living. No matter what Liz did the first two days, Gertie was over the top of her pecking on her. Eat, roost, drink, walk, run away ... everything was a wrong choice. After two days of this behavior, I decided to intervene. At dusk when they went into their coop to roost I went in to check on things and to see whether Gertie was getting over her foul attitude. Liz was huddled completely behind a bale of straw with her head as far away from Gertie as she could get. Gertie was standing behind her pecking every time she moved. I took up Gertie squawking and fussing, tucked her under my arm, and went back into the house. I figured a little time with someone higher in the pecking order than she is --ME -- might be good for her. Rather than submit, she was full of fight. Fluffing out her neck feathers in a display of dominance and moving restlessly under my arm even though she could not escape. She never had the nerve to actually peck me, which was a good choice for her. She might have ended up as dinner if she did not decide I was too big to actually attack. That evening we had some of Ryan's friends over and they were all quite entertained when I decided to stick her in a backpack and hang her from a doorknob for about an hour's time-out. Backpacks are perfect carriers for chickens. As soon as they cannot see anything, they settle right down. They are sturdy, easy to carry, easy to open and close for the putting-in and taking-out process. They have hangers and are therefore convenient to hang on any handy hook or doorknob. Gertie hung from the doorknob as we all ate dinner that night. Afterward I took her back to the shed and allowed her to roost with her flock for the night. While she was somewhat less aggressive the next day, it wasn't quite where I wanted them to be. I want a friendly, laid-back group of three hens. I do not want them looking to get around me, get away from me or escape from the yard or pen. I want them to be happy with the lives they have within our family. I decided maybe if Esther and Liz had a chance to bond by themselves, Gertie would change her attitude and just be one of the gang. I added a metal cage door to the front of the single laying nest in their coop. I put in dishes of food and water and locked Gertie in her new time-out cage through two mornings and about half the following day. Although Esther did not want Liz to be next to her much, Liz blossomed and decided she was happy and comfortable doing things on her own. Esther is a ditz and freaks out anytime she is alone so she followed Liz's lead and investigated anywhere she led. By the time Gertie came back to the group, she was no longer obnoxious and now the three of them are happy together.

The dogs don't bother them, although Pip likes to slowly move them around the yard. Here Sass and Pip are wrestling and you can see the girls could care less. They are busy scavenging.

Interestingly, Liz is the leader. She doesn't really care if the other two follow, but they always do. She lays an egg every single day, in the nest like a good hen should, about 9:30. If she is already out foraging in the yard, she goes back to the nest to lay. Then she's off exploring and seeing what the world has to offer until almost dark. No matter where they are, they make sure to be back in their coop roosting by dark.

Their artistic coop door :)

Last week I noticed Liz pacing the fence on the east side of the yard and realized Gertie and Esther had flown over the fence into the neighbor's yard. She did not follow them but was not particularly happy that they were out there. After dark, Ally and I went into the coop with flashlight and scissors and trimmed feathers. This does not hurt the bird at all, it is similar to clipping your fingernails. The ends of the feathers don't have any blood flow, but if you cut them too short, there is blood in the center vein of the feather. The idea is to cut 2" or so off the end of the wings and this difference will change their lift capabilities, therefore encouraging them to stop excessive flying. Gertie and Esther are not quite to their mature size, so I'm hoping they stop this behavior once they are out of their teenage stage.

Scorcher

In the summer twilight,
a couple of hours after dinner,
we like to take a walk.
The birds have turned in.
The air has finally cooled,
but the crickets and katydids
are getting so worked up
that the lightning bugs catch fire
a few feet above the lawn,
just where we left them
when we were kids.

Now and then
we pass another couple
from one of the green, old,
more or less identical
streets of our neighborhood
as they move through the atmosphere,
mystical and obscure,
their voices softly registering
the news of the summer.

Good evening,
we say to each other.
Lovely night, isn't it.
What a scorcher, we say
with gratitude and affection
for this shared mystery
of being human
on this dark little planet,
on one of the slender,
gracefully swirling arms
of one of the smaller galaxies.


"Scorcher" by George Bilgere.

Useful Dog Tricks performed by Jesse

This is awesome!

A Book List

The Elegance of the Hedgehog

From Publishers Weekly Starred Review. This audio version of the surprise French bestseller hits the mark as both performance and story. The leisurely pace of the novel, which explores the upstairs-downstairs goings-on of a posh Parisian apartment building, lends itself well to audio, and those who might have been tempted to skip through the novel's more laborious philosophical passages (the author is a professor of philosophy) will savor these ruminations when read aloud. Tony Award–winning actress Barbara Rosenblat positively embodies the concierge, Renée Michel, who deliberately hides her radiant intelligence from the upper-crust residents of 7 rue de Grenelle, and the performance of Cassandra Morris as the precocious girl who recognizes Renée as a kindred spirit is nothing short of a revelation. Morris's voice, inflection and timbre all conspire to make the performance entirely believable. A Europa paperback. (June) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elegance_of_the_Hedgehog I listened to the audio version during the Summer, 2010. some terrific quotes from both the concierge and the young teenager. wonderful accent.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

From Publishers Weekly The letters comprising this small charming novel begin in 1946, when single, 30-something author Juliet Ashton (nom de plume Izzy Bickerstaff) writes to her publisher to say she is tired of covering the sunny side of war and its aftermath. When Guernsey farmer Dawsey Adams finds Juliet's name in a used book and invites articulate—and not-so-articulate—neighbors to write Juliet with their stories, the book's epistolary circle widens, putting Juliet back in the path of war stories. The occasionally contrived letters jump from incident to incident—including the formation of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society while Guernsey was under German occupation—and person to person in a manner that feels disjointed. But Juliet's quips are so clever, the Guernsey inhabitants so enchanting and the small acts of heroism so vivid and moving that one forgives the authors (Shaffer died earlier this year) for not being able to settle on a single person or plot. Juliet finds in the letters not just inspiration for her next work, but also for her life—as will readers. (Aug.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

I listened to the audio version during the Summer, 2010. Loved!!!! this book. A series of letters from different voices so I think the audio version is best. I want Ryan to listen to this book. It is a daily-way-of-life account of occupation life during a war. Fascinating to me.

The Girls' New Digs

Tina Wynecoop and I have spent the spring working on publishing a book of memoirs written by her husband Judge. We both love chickens and in the course of our enjoyable work days together she mentioned the fact that one of her banty hens loves to set and is happiest when she has eggs to set on or just-hatched chicks to manage. I said I'd been thinking of getting a few chickens.... They are such wonderful recyclers!! They will eat anything and turn it into compost wonderful for every garden and flowerbed. Plus they are so social. I love their quirky little habits. After various thoughts and discussions (including starting the project to close in the back of the shop shed for a small coop), I ordered the minimum order of specialty chicks online and prepared to pick them up June 8th for delivery to Tina's banty. I decided on Black Australorp and Speckled Sussex. I've had Buff Orpington's in the past and I loved them. The Australorp is supposed to be just a black variation of this bird. The Sussex I have never heard of but it has a nice description and reminded me of my favorite hen, Henrietta, in color.

Australorps are the Australian take on the Orpington breed. They are calm and friendly, and excellent layers of light brown eggs. The Australorp's exceptionally soft, shiny black plumage has hints of green and purple in the sunlight. Peaceful and dignified, Australorps are an absolutely delightful bird which we highly recommend to anyone who wants a pet chicken that lays dependably.[www.mypetchicken.com]

The Sussex have everything: they are great layers of tinted or light brown eggs--and they lay right through the coldest weather. They are dual purpose birds, though fat-bodied and not prone to flying when mature, so they are easily fenced. In England, they used to be THE standard table bird, before the modern Cornish Crosses came along. They forage well and are economical eaters that are friendly and easily handled. Their curious nature means they will often follow you around the yard if they think they can beg a treat from you. The "speckled" variety offered here has plumage that gives them some camouflage from predators, too. Many tend to get more speckles after each successive molt, so they just get prettier with age. Seriously, what more could you ask for in a chicken? [www.mypetchicken.com]

The post office requirement is to pick them up personally, they cannot be delivered to one's house in our area, although I believe this rule varies by locale. They were shipped in a small carton, with a wee bit of bedding and one of the hot-hands packets used for warming your hands while skiing. What a cool idea! Here we arrive at Tina's and she and Judge transfer them to their new mom - Yellow Legs.

The banty was happy to have them and did a great job of raising them to the obnoxious teenager stage.

Judge and Tina's coop is beautiful and very spacious!

Meanwhile, back at home I spent LOTS of time working on my chicken shed, which kept evolving. I purchased a 4x5 3/4" stall mat for the floor, but other than that everything is "found" or discarded or re-used. Linda Yeomans donated about 15 pieces of cedar siding, which you can see I used to make a solid front wall toward the road. I love the smell of that stuff! Several of the 2x6 pieces came from our front porch project which is finally winding down after a full year of stagnation and creeping progress. The church down the road at the corner of Rich and Evergreen gave me a green light to pick up a big pile of wood they were planning to haul off for destruction at the waste-to-energy plant. Inside that load were some old cedar fence boards, which became the siding on the south side of the coop with a good coat of grey to match the shop. Their pile had a good 20+ usable 2x4's which became the door, some of the framing, the interior walls in the new yard storage shed, etc. It was terrific! The only drawback is that working with used wood requires a flexibility in one's design ... something that Skip hates. He was great though ... he just watched and kept his comments to a minimum as the project progressed. Today it remains "almost" finished, and I'm still spending my weekends on it, but he has agreed that it is "coming along."

These next pictures are from today:

The end of the run alongside the shop is now a small storage shed for our lawnmowers. It will have a wall and finished front gates, but no roof. The boat stores up there perfect!

Still need to finish the walls and gate to the shed, build a fancy iron and stained glass gate to the coop itself to replace the temporary one I put up for now, haul in some straw to line the inside of the coop itself, plus put on the sunroof section of the coop roof plus add the roofing shingles to both sides along the recycled shower door (their new sunroof). We'll keep you posted as things progress.

Christian's Sleepover Weekend

August 6th Christian came over for his sleepover weekend. He was planning on "guy things" with Skip and Ryan. We had been reviewing his Cub Scout handbook for various projects he could tackle over the weekend and ended up picking out a few different things. Friday night he tripped over the tipi in its storage bag (where it has been for quite awhile) and said if we would put it up he would sleep in it. Skip heard this and it prompted an immediate push to get the thing up. Altogether it was about 2 hours of work for Skip, Ryan and I. They did most of the lifting. I was in charge of reading the how-to book and measuring, neither of which I managed to do to Skip's satisfaction, but !@! we did get it up and we're all happy with it now. It is quite beautiful ... in the rain, at night, in the day ... it is a mystical, magical presence. Christian took lots of photos, but I'm not sure where they went. Here are three he took the following day.

He and Ryan spent the night out there and had a great time. Apparently they went to bed about 3am after Ryan's buddy, Ben, came over and then left. They also stayed out there Saturday night, but ended up transferring to the shop floor half-way through the evening of comraderie with two other friends because someone saw a HUGE spider headed for Ryan's hair. All four boys moved their blankets to the shop floor and slept out there instead. Saturday Ryan, Skip and Christian worked on his cub-mobile, which would have gone better if they had gotten decent sleep I think. In any event, the work progressed amid various loud, passionate communications and by the end of Saturday it needed a seat cushion and paint, plus steering cord. Sunday morning I got Christian out working on it and he did the painting while I made a seat cushion of black-and-white checkered (think nascar) contact paper and foam on my sewing machine. Merri showed up and we added the steering rope and Skip took him for a spin.

Ryan & Pinta

Karin came over with Colin and Kyle on Saturday to visit. We had a great day visiting, the usual computer gaming, and we went to the barn to visit Pinta. Ryan announced he intended to ride and wanted to ride "fast." He has been on her one other time last summer bareback when he rode in a circle at a slow walk. I believe he has ridden a horse one other time as a small child. She is game for it though, she has come a long way in her communication skills and loves new activities. When we got there she was nickering and ready to come out and see what we had in mind. After blowing her off with the blower, which I'm storing at the barn these days because it makes such quick work of a VERY clean horse, we saddled her up with the custom saddle pad I finished last week. It has a genuine black sheepskin lining and quilted top with straps that the girth runs through to keep the whole thing in the proper place. Works great! We started with sidepass along the fence without a rider, and then did some limbering circles to make sure she didn't feel like kicking up or crow hopping before we went into the round pen for Ryan's debut.

Initially the plan was to do the same thing I do with Ally. I'm working Pinta on the same games we do solo all of the time, only she has a rider up there. Figure 8 around the barrel and the mounting block, circles where she is responsible to maintain gate and direction, stopping and coming when called. She was happy to do all of then. Then I ran out of treats, so I left the two of them in the enclosure and went back to the barn for more plus brought out the big ball. I was thinking if they had some goal in mind it would go better so the objective was for Ryan to direct her to push the ball around the rail of the arena. I stood at the half-way mark to provide incentive treats when they reached me. It was slow but effective. I made Ryan keep his feet in the stirrups under pressure and held away from her sides because she is so sensitive to requests from leg cues and he has yet to even be able to maintain an upright posture ... lol. Instead he clucked to her and used the lead rope to ask her head to move left, right or backwards until she was positioned correctly behind the ball. It was the beginnings of their communication.

We were all happy with this process thus far. Then we decided to try a little faster pace. I put the long rope back on and asked her for circles at a trot. He bounced pretty good, so she was a bit wide-eyed, but settled down and did a decent job of giving him an idea of the trot (== speed). He announced he was ready for "running" so I asked for a canter. I have to admit that I have not worked on transitions anywhere nearly enough for a quick transition from walk to canter. Instead she responds as most beginning horses do with a fast, choppy trot for three or four lengths until she breaks into the canter. This was the case and Ryan was doing OK until about the first stride into the canter. At that point he lost his inside stirrup, which then meant he was weighting his outside stirrup like crazy and with the jarring motion and him pounding into just the one stirrup, the saddle slipped to the outside until Ryan was virtually riding side-ways around the outside of the circle. She was wild-eyed but not bucking and not fussing, just not slowing down either. Her idea of a solution to everything is to put on more speed ... lol. Ryan said afterward he calculated his options and decided to bail after he was completely sideways. He hit the ground and rolled once landing flat on his back, but thankfully managed to miss the rails of the roundpen. Pinta stopped right away and was blowing but stood patiently as I loosed the saddle and breastcollar to right everything which was very tightly positioned halfway down her right side. All in all it was wonderful. Ryan has experienced his first offing, which is something every aspiring rider must accomplish in order to call themselves a horseman. He wasn't hurt, he wasn't even angry. In fact I'd say he remained excited and interested even after pulling himself up off the ground.

Our Neighborhood!!!

Sunday I was out gardening in the flowerbeds outside of our fence and had occasion to introduce myself to a new young guy who is renting the garage across the street from us. Seems like a nice guy ... said the "kid" who purchased the property (which has been vacant for almost a year) is attending school in Walla Walla but expects to be finishing up and moving into the house within this next month. He has no need of the garage/shop so he had placed an ad on Craigslist and this kid made the connection and viola! we are neighbors.

I've seen them over in the shop a few times over the past week. Several times with a really nice Belgian Shepherd ... who minds his own business and stays where he belongs without leash or fence ... meaning a dog who is truly part of their family. I was impressed especially when they left the dog and went away for a couple of hours and then returned. He got up and walked around a bit but mostly stayed right in front of the garage, even when our girls were out in the yard talking to him :)

After this casual, friendly encounter it was quite a surprise to walk into the kitchen yesterday morning about 11:30 and open the blinds for the first time of the day. I had been working steady at my computer and getting all kinds of things accomplished, but obviously in my own little world mentally.

Check out the pic I took through the kitchen window ... count the cop cars ... 7 !!! ... and there were uniforms everywhere, one walking around with bolt cutters doing ??? ... I was on my way out to an appointment, and it makes me uncomfortable to watch someone else's misery ... but it was definitely something. Ryan said they were all still here and very busy when he got home about 3pm. They were hauling a stripped down car body out of the shop.



Of course I looked on the local news channels but either I'm incapable of searching correctly or no one was interested enough to report it.

A Goal for Shi

Pay attention parents ... this is communication here ...

Strive for Joy

Winsome: Sweetly or innocently charming, engaging
Derived from the Middle English word wynsum: to strive for joy

I want to focus on the practice of wynsum

New Constitutional Amendment Proposal

This short article was sent via email today from someone I have not heard from in at least 10 years. No explanation, just the note. I found it interesting. I have no idea if it is true a) that congressmen are "exempt from sexual harassment" ... this seems more like someone trying to make the email inflammatory, or b) whether they intend to have special health care vs. being included with the common masses ... but regardless of those facts, I kind of like the proposed amendment and cannot think of any reason it isn't fair and reasonable. "National security" maybe???
	For too long we have been too complacent about the workings of Congress. Many citizens had no idea that members of Congress could retire with the same pay after only one term, that they didn't pay into Social Security, that they specifically exempted themselves from many of the laws they have passed (such as being exempt from any fear of prosecution for sexual harassment) while ordinary citizens must live under those laws. The latest is to exempt themselves from the Healthcare Reform that is being considered...in all of its forms. Somehow, that doesn't seem logical. We do not have an elite that is above the law. I truly don't care if they are Democrat, Republican, Independent or whatever. The self-serving must stop. This is a good way to do that. It is an idea whose time has come. Have each person contact a minimum of Twenty people on their Address list, in turn ask each of those to do likewise... In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one proposal that really should be passed around. Proposed 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution: "Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States."

Love Thy Neighbor as Thy Self

When people see, for the first time, how everyone else on the planet is just another version of themselves - the same spark of God except for the pressures and desires unique to each life - some laugh, some cry, and some laugh until they cry.

May you live your life so that when this day dawns for you, you're among those who laugh and laugh and laugh.

This quote from my daily messages from The Universe (www.tut.com)

Ally and Pinta

We enjoyed Pinta's company a few times over the Christmas break and look forward to being able to ride in this mild January weather. We're inside the big barn, which has no improved footing, which results in shelter from the wind and precipitation, but makes us eat dust and all pictures are full of it ... not a bad trade really.

In these first two pictures, Pinta is showing off her amazing flexibility. Her favorite activity is bending back to accept treats from her rider. Ally is learning to lean down and steady herself enough to give the treat herself. They're both having a great time.




Here we are working on backing up. Our current practice is to do a few in-hand communication when we first get into the barn, and then Ally gets in the saddle and learns to just be a passenger and feel Pinta below her, while Pinta and I continue to work on whatever our current objectives are. Backing in a straight line is an ongoing objective-in-progress.




Here's one of Merri and Ally :)