Happenings and Non Happenings

The happening that happened was that Jeff finally got recognition for his role in capturing the Bank Robbers.  This is the short story--last fall our little town and the town next to it were hit by a pair of thieves making bold demands for cash, and then getting away quickly.  My husband, aka Jeff the Barber, happened to see the woman and the car she got into, noted the make and plate number, which led to the capturing of said robbers.  And subsequent arrests.  Tuesday he was awarded by the State Troopers for his part in all this.

A close up of the award

It was a very nice ceremony, starting out with all the trooper promotions, then going on to the awards. There were the ones for rescuing people from burning buildings and children from culverts and lots of them for the work done during and after Hurricane Irene, which Jeff said were much more deserving of recognition.  Jeff's brother Rob was able to come.  

Rob on left, Jeff on right

I was very proud, although Jeff had to be coerced into going as he always maintains that he was just being nosey!  

The non-happening was that Mama Hen did not get any chicks to mother.  After the 22nd day I got her off the nest.  She had been sitting on a broken egg that was beginning to smell, and I was not surprised to find that the rest of the eggs were intact with no sound of peeping.  I put her in the cage that she would have occupied with  her chicks, and kept her there while I gave the nest boxes and coop a thorough cleaning.  But when I let her out she ran right back to her box and jumped in.  Poor Mama!  I wished I knew someone with chicks to give her one.  I took her off the nest, put her back in the cage where she had to spend the next two days, as she would run back to her nest at every opportunity.  But finally last night she stayed on the roost, and this morning came out by herself, so I think that the broodiness has dissipated.  We eventually broke all the eggs and found that none of them had developed.  So they were all duds.  It will be nice to have the flock back to normal as the other hens didn't seem to lay as much with her in the nest box all that time.

Normalcy

Now the next thing that needs to happen is to finish my shawl and get the loom warped with the next project.  Besides gardening.  And cleaning.  And spending time with the Grandgirls.....

Too Busy to Blog

Baptisia australis

Well, really, I have been awfully busy and blogging just hasn't been happening.  I have been working on many fiber projects as it has been a bit rainy here.  But before the rains came I ran around and snapped a few photos of things in bloom.

Roses and clematis

The shawl I have been weaving from an old sweater that I unraveled has finally made it to the shop.

Old sweater, reborn

Mama Hen also has been busy.  She started to go broody May 24 and I was Not Happy as the timing is all wrong.  So I took her egg out from under her, took her off the nest, and figured we were done.  Oh no.  After I spent all day Friday and Saturday removing her multiple times without her showing any sign of staying off, I capitulated.  On Sunday I put an egg from one of the other ladies underneath her,  counting the 21 days to hatching as being the Sunday I get home from a visit to my brother in Pennsylvania ( the same trip I tried to take in March with sad results).  Now here is the funny part.  My husband thought that she should have more than one egg to set on, so he went up to our neighbor's farm to see if he had any eggs laid that day to buy for Mama.  It turned out that three of his hens were broody.  He sells his eggs, and since a broody hen doesn't lay, that is the last thing he wants.  So Jeff returned with seven eggs, still warm from the hens.  We slipped them under Mama, and she has been happily setting on them ever since.  Whether any of them are fertile remains to be seen, as the neighbor's rooster to hen ratio is very high.  But our egg is fertile, so we should get one chick at least.

Fierce Mama Hen

The other fiber thing that I have been working on is a shawl that I am knitting.   The yarn is a lovely soft alpaca blended with some merino/silk roving that I had.  I am designing it in a triangular shape with all over open work.  That and the bats for the library fill my evenings and car rides.  But now I have another idea percolating that concerns some black alpaca and the loom, so stay tuned!