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!

Surprises

It's that time of year, often called Springtime, where exciting and new things are happening all the time.  It also is a very busy time of year as once the air outside warms up, that is where all the focus lies.  So I have been a slacker in the fiber department, but as busy as Jeff's bees outdoors.

However, the first nice surprise came from inside the house.  I have an old cactus that is the grandchild or maybe great grandchild of a slip that a neighbor gave me more than 25 years ago.  At that time we were a very young family living in the village.   Our next door neighbor was an older couple, very kind and helpful to a young couple with little ones.  Mrs. Lulek was a colorful woman who smoked cigarettes and was full of old time parenting advice.  Mr. Lulek worked at the local dump where his hobby was to bring home things other people had thrown away, fix them up and then sell them.  He also raced a stock car at a nearby dirt race track, at that time being old enough to be most of the other driver's grandfather.  Mrs. L would come over for coffee almost everyday, dispensing her wisdom, recipes and clouds of smoke equally.  I was very grateful to her as my own mother at that time was living far from us and my mother in law was so good at "not interfering" that many times I needed Helen's good advice.  I still have her recipes and the cactus.  She was a dear woman.  The cactus only blooms occasionally and this year is one of those times.

The flowering cactus

The other surprise came from the chickens.  They are let out of the coop every morning now at daybreak. I go inside to make sure all is well.  Lately the Golden Comet I call Goldie has been laying an egg on the floor before I even get there.  Some times the eggs are very soft shelled and she or one of the others will then eat it.  Very Bad habit!  So I clean it up as soon as I see it.  Then she laid a perfectly nice egg, on the floor.  The next day she finally made it into a nest box and laid a perfect egg.  Today I found this on the floor and surmise it is another one of hers.  I have no idea what is going on with her.  She acts quite healthy and well. Another chicken mystery.

Normal egg and tiny egg

Here is a chicken picture.  How many of you knew that chickens love to sun bathe?  They will find a warm spot on the lawn, or slate or anywhere, and spread out their wings and take in a few rays.  I think it is very amusing.   Chickens always make me smile.  They have been keeping me company as I work in the gardens.  It is a great time of year.  Enjoy!

Rooster coming to see what's up

Rooster succumbs and joins the ladies