PSA

Public Service Announcement: Poison Ivy is never dormant.

Leaves of three, Let it be.

So what do you do with a vine of brown? 

Let that be too. 

If you don't - like I didn't, and then have a plumbing project going on in the house and can't shower right away like we did - start scratching.

I know that Poison Ivy is never dormant.

I knew this before my morning routine involved calamine lotion.

But spring was in the air and I just couldn't resist getting some yard work done.

Unfortunately, I ran out of the stuff above. Hopefully the stuff below will be comparable. (I was at Target for a multi-purpose shop and this was as good as I could get.)

I'll let you know how it goes.

 

M

I created this several months ago. November, I think.

It was one of those really busy days at work.

I've been toying with the idea of painting it on our mailbox.

This is the kind of post Aaron loves.

A: "What? You have?"

I haven't actually toyed with the idea out loud.

By the way, I changed positions at work.

I am being utilized again.

It is a good feeling.

Basil

I just decided today (after eating my leftover mozzarella, tomato and basil sandwich from Brixx) that I am going to add basil to the herb garden.  With this addition, we'll have rosemary and... well that is pretty much it. Just the two of them .

I doubt I will start from seeds for this. I'll probably just buy the plant and try to keep it alive. Let's hope it goes better than the Crepe Myrtle I bought last month. (I think it was dead when I bought it. Good thing Home Depot has a return policy for plants. Just bring it back, root ball and all, with the receipt of course.)

Basil photo from foodsubs.com

To Seed or Not to Seed

Last year, when I first brought the chickens home the ground of the pen looked like this:

All right, well maybe it wasn't that nice. It looked more like this:

But now, after 5 months, it looks like this:

with a little of this strewn about:

I started to wonder  how I was going to get grass to grow in there again.

Then Aaron cleared this up for me. He said something along the lines of "Chickens don't really need grass, do they?" Short answer - Nope.

Then I said...

That's Good. One less thing, you know?

(I didn't really say that. Do you know who did?)

Pictures of the ground from here, here, here and here.

Thirsty

"I'm thirsty."

I'm Friday.

Come over Saturday.

We'll have a Sundae.

(My mom used to say this to me in response to what was probably whining.)

Kathy and Eleanore stormed the coop one day last week when they saw me coming with some water. It was one of the days of frozen-ness so they were pretty thirsty. As soon as I opened the door, there they were. They were pecking at my hand before I could even reach the jug of water to the basin. Hopefully ice won't be a problem much longer.

Cutting the Cord

...or cable.

Aaron and I weren't too thrilled with our cable bills as of late. Aaron made a call to see if there was anything we could do to get a cheaper rate. Apparently, there was only one way. "You can cancel your cable."
So cancel we did.

We decided we could go without for a little while, see how it goes, look into other companies and services...
Can you guess what we have missed the most?

None of these. It hasn't been too hard to figure out the weather. Aaron might miss having breakfast with Mike and Mike a little bit, but I prefer waking up without them. I/we get my/our Bones fix through Netflix. As for Daniel Tosh, we are probably better off without him. So what is it that gives us withdrawal symptoms?

Joe Rocketh's Flickr

That dang clock on the cable box. We had no idea how hooked/reliant we had become on the green numbers in the living room. (Maybe everybody's does this now, but I always thought it was great that we never had to reset that clock for Daylight Savings or power failures.) Somehow though, I think we will manage.

Farming in Pajamas

I believe I mentioned in one of my earlier posts that I was trying to be a runner again. I'm getting there, but the process sure is time consuming. I neglected to tend to Kathy and Eleanore at all on Monday. They were already tucked in and sleeping by the time I got to them last night - fresh out of the shower, in my p.j.'s. Eleanore wasn't too happy with me. Usually she lets me pet her when she is groggy. Not this time. Kathy could care less. She was just eager to get some water. If they would quit filling the trough of the water-er with hay the supply would last a little longer... I tried to make it up to them though. Extra cracked corn! Mmmmmn.

Date Night

Waaaaaaay back in 2010 (December maybe?) Aaron and I went out on a different kind of date. We went to give blood in the blood mobile and then out to eat sushi. Because we gave blood we were each rewarded with a t-shirt, free Petro, and a pint of Mayfield ice cream.

We made another date out of the free Petro's and coupons for free Mayfield Pints. I think Petro's is a regional chain. So if you've never heard of it or never been in one, here is a handy poster they have to let you know just what a Petro is.

I chose to have corn chips. I think I always will. 

Oh and in case you were wondering... I got a report card in the mail a few weeks after the donation. Apparently I am really good at giving blood - I got an "A+"

Gone to Carolina

Aaron, Charlie and I went to Tryon this weekend.

Kathy and Eleanore stayed home.

They had to work.

Exceprts

Midmorning

Me: Hello?  (Why do I answer like I don't know who is calling when the caller ID says "Mom"?)
Mom: Hello. Your dog is at my house.
Me: Ok....
Mom: He came alone.
Me: Oh!
Mom: And he must have had fun because he rolled in something smelly. He is laughing right now. He is really happy.
Me: I'm sure he is.

Late Afternoon

Me: Hello? (This time the caller ID says a last name - it could be one of several people)
Unknown Caller: Who is this?
Me: Lauren. Who is this? Is this Zach?
Unknown Caller: Yeaaaaah. Haley told me if I called this number I'd get... Haley! It's Aunt Lauren... She gave me the wrong number.
Me: Well, how are you?
Zach: Good. Haley is counting (something - I didn't really understand what he said here) but she's not supposed to.
Me: Oh. How is...?
Zach: Ok I'm going to use this number now. I love you bye.

Me: Love you too. Bye.
Zach: Beep Beep Beep.     Beep.   Beep.
Me: Hey, Zach! You have to
Zach: Beep          Beep.
 I hung up.

Enero's Numeros

2 

Hens

0 

Traumatic Events

4 

Cracked and Frozen

4 

1 Egg Days

1 

3 Egg Day

58 

Eggs for the month

The Missing Link(s)

A few of these posts have links in them. I tried to make that more apparent today with the color changes. If you didn't notice a link before and maybe something just didn't make sense to you... have another try. Hopefully they are out of hiding now... And if you missed this, sit back and enjoy.

They Grow Up so Fast

Yesterday when I was editing messing around with this picture of Eleanore, I realized she hardly had any comb*. She was just a wee little bird.

 

*comb -  fleshy growth atop the head of a chicken

How do you know it's really Eleanore? For a while Eleanore didn't have tail feathers due to that little thing called pecking order. Kathy has always had nice full plumage. (This is where naming your animals after people you know gets complicated.)  

So you're saying that Kathy's name used to be... Well, yes. But since the loss of Midnight Snack (I know that sounds cruel, but this is how I am coping.) Kathy and Eleanore have really bonded. 

Look at them now. Full combs, beautiful feathers. My little hens are growing up.

Animal Love

On my walk up to the coop this morning I noticed Kathy and Eleanore were hanging out on a perch in their yard. They started talking a little bit as I got closer and when I opened the access door they were on their way in to the coop to see me and wish me a good morning. That is what I like to think anyway. Maybe they are smart enough to figure out that I bring them food and water or maybe they just enjoy my company.

This scenario is probably along the same lines of how loved and adored I feel by my dog when he sets his drooling face in my lap at the same time I am eating something that entices him.

If I knew that I could buy a car and get a hug from a grateful polar bear as seen here... I'd be cruising around town in my new Nissan LEAF.

Coupins!

When I was little, one of my favorite things to do was help my mom clip coupons. She told me that I would sit and cut with one hand until it got tired, switch the scissors to the other hand (non-dominance!) and keep on going. All the while my tongue sticking out part way to aid my concentration.

When my sister was in town last weekend we went to a presentation about how to Coupon. Yep, another noun has made itself a verb.  (How is it really pronounced anyway? Is it Q-pon or Coo-pon? I say Coo, but I used to say Q.)

Melissa is really into this. She is very good at it. I didn't think I would be too interested, but I would see what it was about. Jenny from Southern Savers was the spokeswoman. She was full of money saving facts and anecdotes. It was almost as if I went to see a comedian and learned how to use coupons as a bonus.

Jenny was very convincing, although she didn't have to be. First of all, anything to make grocery shopping more bearable, like a challenge - I'm in. Secondly, I am easily persuaded. (Not always a good thing, but I am on week 2 of my 6 week trial and I think I am doing pretty well.)

Achoo

Have you ever heard a chicken sneeze?

Eleanore was so thirsty the other night that she got her head right in the stream of water as I was refilling... thus up the sinuses causing her to sneeze. I never thought about birds sneezing before that happened. It's pretty easy to recognize though.

Kathy usually perches on the edge of the basin and just waits. Sometimes I have to nudge her off so I can rinse out the "chicken soup".

Here is some sideways footage to enjoy. Just the ladies in their almost natural habitat. If anyone can tell me how to rotate a video - please do. (Sorry about flipping directions on you... something about not having a dominant hand... I'll save that for another day.)

*** I was going to add another video but this one took so long to download last night and I just realized this post hasn't posted yet so there is only one sideways video for now. The other one is rotated clockwise 180 degrees though, so maybe its better this way.

The Frozen Egg

 

 

Compliments of Aaron and his fancy, new phone.

A close-up of the grime.
This looks cleaner than I felt.

Makin' Bacon

Did I mention that we have a pig?

Not this pig:



Aaron loves this commercial. I cannot figure out why.

I came across our pig doing some Christmas shopping. Brought it home and told Aaron how cute it was but I would probably return it since we didn't really need it. But he said, "If it makes you happy, keep it."

So I did.

Are you ready to meet her?

Whoever said "Money can't buy happiness", never laid their eyes on this pig.

A Girl can Dream

Friday night I had a dream that someone was trying to give me a jersey cow.

Jersey cows are my absolute favorite.

Amazing picture from Macboozle's Flikr

 For some reason I kept turning it down.

Even as her heavy bovine head was in my lap while traveling down the road in my Mazda 3, I said "No".

(It's a pretty small car - I don't know how she got in there. Don't worry, I wasn't driving.)

I blame Billy Crystal for my love of Jersey Cows. 

"Norman... Hello..."

This is not a Jersey cow. This cow hails from Switzerland.

When else would I get to use this photo though?

Trip to Switzerland made possible by Rahel <3

An apology

Did you get it?  Earth, Wind and Fire/ Earth, Wind and Tired. I wasn't sure. I just asked my sister. She got it. But I was really tired yesterday, wasn't really running on all cylinders or whatever that phrase is. So, my apologies.

Speaking of my sister... She is here. This weekend is my birthday present from her. A husband-less, child-less visit. Is that too selfish?

Melis helped me collect the egg tonight. Yep, that is right. Egg. Somebody is slacking. Though if you saw the state of the coop, all fingers and wings should point to me. This is where I list my excuses:

• It is cold 
• It is dark
• Ummm. Ummm... 

I need to go work on more excuses. Sorry Kathy. Sorry Eleanore.
Everybody have a nice weekend.

P.S.  I put a cracked egg in the freezer. I might just put it outside. I want to peel it and see what I get. I'll keep ya posted!