Talking about chickens...

 I know.  Technically, it's late fall... but damn it's windy!  Our low last night was 30.  I knew the weather would get cold eventually... 

Every winter, I put plastic sheeting around my chicken enclosure.  There's already a metal roof.  The plastic cuts down on the wind & keeps snow & ice from accumulating inside the enclosure.  I'm not sure the chickens appreciate it...

The Rhode Island Red chicks are 3 months old now.  When I got the chicks at Tractor Supply, I didn't pay attention to if I was getting all females or "straight run" chicks.  Straight run means there could be male chicks included.  None of the chicks have started crowing yet... so maybe they are all female. I haven't started naming them yet.  I'm waiting to see "who" each of them is.  There's one bossy bird I've started calling "Mad Max".  I guess if it's a female, I'll have to change it to Maxine.

An immature female is called a "pullet"  and an immature male is called a "cockerel".  Rhode Island Red pullets usually start laying at about 4 months of age.  So, maybe I'll get eggs by Christmas...  But, typically, chickens do NOT lay eggs in winter.  You can keep a light on in their enclosure & "force" them to lay.  I prefer NOT to do that.  They'll give me eggs when they are ready.  I'm content with that.

I don't sell my eggs.  And I don't eat my chickens.  Thankfully, Arkansas has a huge chicken industry.  New chicken houses are going up everywhere.  Batesville & Pocahontas both have processing plants.  Our local grocery store, Bill's Cash Saver, carries organic free range chicken & eggs. 

I also have another trio of French Black Copper Maran chickens.  

I know.  This picture has 4 birds in it... the oldest hen, Jet, died last summer.  Now we only have Prince (the rooster), Mahogany & Ebony.  They're all getting older & don't lay anymore.  Prince is not a very energetic rooster either... The 3 of them just hang out in their side of the enclosure... doing their chickeny business.

Jet was a great mamma chicken.  She even raised guinea chicks for me.  She was the grandmother of all the birds I had for the past several years.  But I decided to go back to Rhode Island Red chickens, so I won't be replacing the Marans as they pass on.

Restarting my blog

 My friend, Barbara Stiles, talked to me yesterday via Facebook Messenger video calls... And she asked me to resume my blog.  This was a bit of a surprise.  

I've known Barbara more than 10 years.  She used to live very near me, on one of the local lakes.  But do to health issues & her inability to drive, she moved closer to her daughter in North Little Rock.  She now lives in on of those low-income elderly apartment complexes.  And she does NOT like it.  She's lonely.  She has no outside space to grow plants or walk her dog.  

Getting older.... losing our abilities to do the things we love... missing friends we've lost contact with... these are all issues we have to deal with as we age.  And it's hard!

With this "pandemic", people are feeling more isolated & alone.  People are afraid of spreading this virus to their elderly friends & family members.  And the "lockdowns" are making those feeling even more profound.  People are losing their jobs.  Not everyone is eligible for Unemployment Compensation.  The food banks are being stretched to their limits!

Our recent election has many people upset.  People are feeling like the whole election process has been compromised.  As the Inauguration draws closer, many people are fearful of riots & unrest.  I believe their fears are well founded.

The social unrest of the past year has been astounding!  I can't remember any unrest at this level since the race riot in Philadelphia back in the 1960's.  I was a kid back then, but I remember that the adults in my family were very concerned about them. 

Back to my chat with Barbara... She reminded me of a gathering we had here at our house back in 2015 or so.  We had a fun day & talked about our crafts.  And we ate good food.  And I think that's what most people are missing in these "Pandemic" days.  The connections we felt with other people.

Do yourself a favor.  Call a friend up & chat.  Tell them how much they mean to you.  Remember, the love we feel for one another is what we will take with us when we leave this world.

Spring

I took a equinox sunrise photo on the 21st.  I guess Spring always feel like the "new" year to me.  I was born on March 27th.  So, for me, the new year starts in the Spring.

Spring Equinox sunrise in Williford, AR

My nephew and his wife also greeted their first child right after the equinox. River Rose Davis wasn't supposed to greet the world until May.  But mom Jenny had a serious blood pressure issue.  The docs just couldn't get her blood pressure  under control.  This was stressing the baby.  So, the decision was made to bring River into the world.  She joined the family on 3/22. A real Spring surprise,this one.

River with mom Jenny

February 15th

We're spending these mid-winter days watching YouTube... John really hasn't been feeling well.  His tremors never stop & he has a migraine almost every day.  Not good.

I try to keep him comfortable.  He doesn't eat much at meals.  He would rather eat sweets.  At least he eats something.  He drinks 2 - 3 "breakfast" drinks a day.  They have soy in them, but he seems to tolerate them well.

I had a brief stomach "flu" last week.  Chills, headache & vomited.  Thankfully, it only lasted 2 days.

I've finally finished the double knit vest I started last March.  Notice that the vest is reversible. One side of the vest is striped, with grey designs.  The other is grey with multi-colored designs.  This vest was quite a challenge.  I had to restart the work 5 times before I had the stitches cast on in the correct order.  Each row required my complete attention.

Double knit wool vest

John complained several times that my knitting was keeping me from paying attention to him when he spoke to me.  Truthfully, his voice is now so soft that I can not understand him with the TV on.  His speech is slurred. Hard to understand.  Josh has the same issue.  I know this is very frustrating for John. 

I also finished a finger woven sash for our friend Lloyd Lindley.  He was very happy with it.

This wool sash is about 7 feet long.  I'm pleased with the finished product.  It two ends match very well. 

Last Thursday (2/8) we had several ladies over.  Just to chat & knit.  I spun for about an hour.  We had a nice potluck lunch.  Barbara Skiles brought a surprise for me from her sister Betty Relph.  These little corn husk dolls!

Christmas 2017

It's 5:00 AM on Christmas morning.  I woke up at 3:00... I guess when you fall asleep in your chair at 7:00 PM. waking at 3:00 gave me 8 hours sleep.  I'm turning into an early morning elder...

This has been an interesting year.  Thankfully.  No surgeries this year.  No money crunches.  No car issues, house issues, pet emergencies... It's been a good year.

As I get older, I'm finding I "need" less.  And what I do need can't be bought.  Hugs.  Love. Smiles.  True friendship. Honesty & compassion.

We accomplished a lot this year, as I look back at it.  The garden didn't produce as well. But we did get some wonderful produce to eat.  Josh wants to leave the garden unplanted this coming year - work on building up the soil.

I didn't get into the "Christmas knitting" this year.  That was a relief, really. Some years I started focusing on gifts in October & finished in February.  That's a long Christmas.  This year, I made several batches of hats to send off, and now I'm working on a blanket for friend Lloyd.

We don't decorate for Christmas.  We're just not into it. 

I baked fruit cake, gave some away.  Lloyd & his brother brought over a pecan pie last night.  Looking forward to having some.  Josh & I processed some venison & made brats.  YUMMY.

Hobbit House update

The interior is done!  Well, mostly done.  The solar system still needs to be installed....

Anyway, here's a quick video walk through.

Cool nights, Autumn is here.

Once again, I find myself lacking anything to blog about... Summer is gone.  Three months have passed since I wrote anything.

Life here on Big Rock Farm has been rather uneventful.  Summer was warm.  We had a hot spell, then a wet spell, now a warm & dry spell.  We got enough rain that our rain barrel was never empty.  That's a first, I think.

Joshua & John went fishing one day & caught 3 brim to put in our "pond".  We did our part, and raised 2 different breeds of tadpoles.  Ariel always likes playing with them.

Work on the Hobbit House was rather slow.... but the door & window are in.  The entire exterior has been coated with Hydro-Ban (water proofing), I finished the painting with the main colors.  I still have some faux painting to do and some stenciling.  And I need to lay the tile floor.

The "parlor"or main area in the Hobbit House

Walking up to the front door

The door & window.

Mandala on a triangular shawl

 I did a bit of silk painting & dyeing this summer.  I'm happy with the results.

Sun painting silk scarves & shawls

Luna Moth silk shawl

My friends Gena Stout & Dee Blansett & I had a booth at a local craft sale. I sold most of my hand dyed yarns (mostly to Dee).  Here's a picture of our space.

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Health wise, I've been plagued by a chronic sinus infection.  Annoying!  John's still having trouble sleeping.  I think I've joined him in that.  Most mornings I wake between 3 & 5 o'clock.  Today I woke up at 2:00.

Earlier, in May, I hatched out 10 Black Copper Maran chicks.  As they grew up, I discovered we had 8 new roosters. Great!  I advertised them for free on Facebook & Craig's list.  Seven of them were gone within 2 hours.  I kept 1 young rooster & 2 hens.  I named the Prince, Mini & Betty.  Our bantam hens sat on eggs all summer, but didn't hatch out even a single chick.  Our adult Copper Maran rooster is named Elvis (because he "sings" from 3 AM to 10 PM), and his ladies are Ginger (RIR/Copper Maran cross), Mary Ann, & Mahogany.

This year's chicks

I knitted a wrap for my niece Kendra Kittle.  It came out pretty well.  Ariel was working on a project with the same pattern.  I'm not sure it will ever get finished.

Starting Point knit along project

Now I'm crocheting ponchos for my great nieces.

"Virus" poncho for Nevaeh

Poncho for Revan

The Hardy Homesteader's quilting project was completed.  I think it came out well.  We will be giving it away on October 7th.