Party Fowl

So, maybe there really wasn't a party. It was a 5k/10k - The Hot to Trot on Thanksgiving day. Scratch that. Thanksgiving MORNING. Eric, Aaron and I showed up to volunteer for race set up at 5 a.m. donning these festive shirts. (Inspired by a pin on Pinterest)

Thanksgiving Baby - sometimes.

Today is my dad's birthday. It is one of those milestone birthdays - easily divided by 10. This year, his age will be twice my age. And, go figure, my age will be (in a couple of weeks) exactly half of his age.

One of our favorite activities as father and daughter is folding tarps. No, really, it is. Never a dull time.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Palindrome

Today's date, if written in the MM-DD-YY format, is a palindrome.

You know... one of those things, a word usually, that is the same forward as it is backward.

mom
dad
wow
noon
kayak
level
racecar
a man a plan a canal panama

In all honesty, it kind of bothers me that palindrome isn't what it says it is.

Safety First

Since we have fallen back an hour and continued to move further away from the sun, we have started walking/running in the dark.

For myself, I wear a seizure-inducing-flashing red LED light. Charlie gets a head light. Aaron's grilling headlamp works perfectly as a collar. I have thought about applying for a patent for the doggie head light. Who wouldn't buy a head lamp with dog friendly designs and pay triple to keep their furry friend safe?

Same, but different

Pardon the Interruption

This morning I took some food and water up to the coop.  The light was on and the ladies were stirring a little bit. Kathy walked over to the food dispenser and began eating breakfast. Eleanore was in the nesting box. She acted a little broody and made a noise that sounded somewhere between a purr and a chirp. I didn't attempt to collect any eggs.

I don't think I have ever realized how much area a hen can cover. When they are up walking around, or even just hanging out on the roost, I'd estimate they are about the size of a football. Not this morning. Eleanore's head looked so tiny compared to the spread out geometry of the rest of her feathery mass. I guess you have to do what you have to do to keep your eggs safe.

And, just so you know, I can't stand the show Pardon the Interruption.

Light (Hen) House

An early morning at the coop.

Cartons

When life gives you lemons, I've heard, you should make lemonade. I've also heard that without some water and sweetener, that is going to be some nasty lemonade.

When coworkers and relatives give you egg cartons, what do you make then? Cartonade? Yum. A high fiber, recyclable treat for all to enjoy.

I have this sneaking suspicion that these carton gifters might want something in return.

I wonder if this method would work for other goods/services.
Snazzy outfit? - here is a shopping bag and a shoe box.
Tasty lunch?  - here are my reusable grocery bags.
You bake? - here is a muffin tin, pie plate, cookie sheet, and cheesecake pan - No hurry!

I have had a couple of offers to pay for eggs or donate toward the next bag of feed. Someone offered to buy more chickens for me. I am not sure how serious they were.

Kathy, Eleanore and I are more than happy to oblige. Of course, the more people we have on our "list", the longer the wait. Unless, the flock should grow...

Squoze

Squoze.

I have used this word at least twice. It is not officially a word, as it is actually supposed to be "squeezed". Each time I have said "squoze" the conversation has fallen apart into laughter. Not all together a bad thing to fall apart into, but none the less, squoze is not a word.

I'm not sure where it came from, if I have heard it somewhere before, or if some language wires are crossed up in my gray matter. It just came out. "I squoze the other molds to make sure they were cured."  Natural as can be.

In the case of orange juice, I am 100% sure that I would never ask for fresh squoze, but fresh squeezed.

I tried to think of other words that would follow the same pattern that I, apparently, have adopted for squeeze.

Freeze is as close as I can get.

The water will freeze.
The water is freezing.
The water froze.
The water has frozen.    

The problem here is that I would never say squozen, or squozed for that matter. For the record I know that nothing has ever frozed.

Oh, well...

Let there be Light

The deed is done. I skipped my run tonight to take care of some things on the home front.

For the next few months Kathy and Eleanore will be waking up before the sun.

This is what the ladies were up to while I was setting up the lamp and timer.

Right after I took this picture, Kathy (L) reached over with her beak and Peck! right on Eleanore's neck. I guess she was feeling a little territorial over the bare spot.



This is Eleanore. I set the water basin on top of the bricks to avoid having so much hay floating in the water. There are usually a bunch of tasty creepy crawlies hiding out under the basin that scatter when I take it away to re-fill it.



Eleanore again. Upclose and personal in the nesting box. I think she was ready for bed.

Oops October

I only tallied 11 eggs for October. I know there were more than that, probably 4 or 5 times more... Who knows, it could have been a perfect 62 egg month.

I realize you would probably believe me without the photographic evidence, but I wanted to show off the calendar. Aren't those cows the cutest!?

Happy Halloween!

Just in case you are unsure... Russell Brand and Katy Perry.

Aaron looked much more like Russell than I Katy.

But we had fun.

Long Distance Running

After my last 1/2 marathon, which was also my first 1/2 marathon, I took about 4 months off.

About 10 weeks ago my pants decided that it was time for me to start running again.

My next goal race is the Secret City Half Marathon right here in East TN.

Do you know how the race of the marathon got its name? If not, you are in luck. Look what Wikipedia has for us: The traditional story relates that Pheidippides (530 BC–490 BC), an Athenian herald, was sent to Sparta to request help when the Persians landed at Marathon, Greece. He ran 240 km (150 mi) in two days. He then ran the 40 km (25 mi) from the battlefield near Marathon to Athens to announce the Greek victory over Persia in the Battle of Marathon (490 BC) with the word "Νενικήκαμεν" (Nenikékamen, "We have won") and collapsed and died on the spot from exhaustion.

Apparently someone, probably a man, thought collapsing and NOT dying from exhaustion after running 25 miles sounded like a challenge.

25 miles? If you thought a marathon was 26.2 miles you would be correct - something about the King and Queen and whatever year the Olympics were in their country they decided to reroute the course so they could watch the runners comfortably from their thrones.


With that established, it is clear that a half marathon is 13.1 miles. Something about the phrase "half marathon" bugs me though. It kind of sounds as if, "Oh well, HALF... if it is just half ...". Don't be fooled, it is still a tough race. I feel like it deserves an alternate name. A name like Anoixi.

It has a nice ring to it, right? I have no idea to pronounce it. It is a town halfway between Athens and Marathon.

Anyway, if you're in town and feel like getting up early and breathing some cold, fresh air - come out and support some runners! 

Charlie is ready. Are you?

Charlie went the au naturale route when it went to picking out a costume for Halloween. He is a party animal... (Aaron does not approve. Something along the lines of not being many enough.)

Halloween at our house usually goes something like this:

Kids - Trick or Treat!
Me - Uhhh, we have candy corn
Kids - Candy corn? Man, we ran up that driveway for nothin'.
(I'm cheap, ok)

This year though we are doing things a little differently. Stay tuned!

Time for Change - and blankets!

I have heard that some people hate change. I probably do too, but I like to say that it excites me. Sometimes change is necessary. In my life, it is necessary for small bits of happiness - like replacing ugly knobs with pretty ones, or a new piece of running attire to change my attitude for the better about running. (Speaking of which, it might be time for a new pair of shorts.)

In the case of my blog, it was a little bit of both. I was a little disturbed when I realized the background was light, Andes mint, green. Also, I feel like I have been getting stale. Who wants to read about my chickens anyway? Time for a new pair of "shorts"!

It doesn't really matter how many people read. It would be nice if that number were greater than zero, but mostly I just enjoy writing. Even about my nonsense. Mostly about my nonsense. More accurately, I like the place my brain goes to for awhile when I am on "task" with a blog post. When I am done writing it, and I "come back" from whatever retreat I was just on, I usually feel better. Kind of like running.

And, the weather is changing.
And, the slats were getting old.
And, I like quilts.  (Actually, its more of a love for all blankets in general.)
So, there.

It looks cozier to me.  Hope you like it!

The Cold, (Wet) Truth

At the risk of grossing you out...

The drinking water in the coop sometimes looks like this:

 

Eleanore likes to stand on the edge of the basin while she grabs a drink. 

The problem is what else she stands in throughout the day.

Hay

Dirt

Bugs

Poop

(Sorry, its true)

Did anyone just become a vegetarian?

How long has this background been green? I thought it was a nice yellow-y straw color. Monitors. Hmph.

Colder Weather

I think the cold front that moved in to town last night is here to stay for a while. I might name this cold front Autumn. Or Fall if you prefer.

Not the Myers home -  just in case you were confused.

Either way, it is nearing time to get out the longest-extension-cord-I've-ever-seen-in-my-life (a chicken farming gift from my dad), unreel it from Shed #1 to the Coop, and light up Kathy and Eleanore's lives.

Since it is getting chillier, and the hours of daylight shorter, I will be using an incandescent imposter to keep the eggs a comin'. 

*** I swear I remember writing something about why I needed to put a light in the coop, but I can't seem to find it - if this is a re-run for you, my bad. If not - here is a little explanation: (And of course now I don't remember what my source was, probably the internet. The internet knows everything, and thanks to the Google, now I can too.)***

Anyway, apparently hens need so many hours of light a day to keep the egg production steady. So in the winter months, with less light, it is likely that I won't collect as many eggs.  Also, even though they are birds, I worry about their comfort level.

5 Years

I have been keeping chickens alive in our backyard for 1 year now.

I have been counting off the days until I retire for 5 years. Only 10,950 left. How time flies...

I graduated college in May of 2004. I didn't start my "real" job - you know, the one that kind of pertains to my major - until October 15, 2006. Thank you (I suppose),  Bed, Bath and Beyond.

Bed, Bath and Beyond was the lesser of  the 3 evil "transition jobs".

Sometimes, on the occasional night or weekend or even holiday, I like to walk in there, with our without a purchase in mind, and just feel good about not wearing the navy blue apron, not suspecting everyone of being the MYSTERY SHOPPER!, not worrying about the piles of unfolded towels, not wondering how long I can hide from a manager or customer in the stock room that exists in the center of the store... It just kind of puts things in perspective. I might go tonight and celebrate!

Remember: No matter how bad you think your job is - You could be working retail for linens and kitchen gadgets.

Videos - a 2nd chance

 Well, hopefully this will work better. Thanks for the helpful comment, Wes!

They worked last night! What the heck?!?!?!?

Venting

I could turn this in to a post about chickens. They do, after all, have a vent as part of their anatomy. (That is where the egg comes out.)

Instead I am going to just let it rip:

Why, Blogger, won't you play my videos? I mean, I know they aren't that good, but they are more entertaining than "This video is currently unavailable." 

And, another thing - stop spitting your tobacco around me! Oh wait, that isn't the website. And come to think of it, neither are any of the other grievances - shoot!

I'm not sure this relationship between Blogger and me {although we've made it over a year together) is going to survive much longer.

Don't worry about Kathy and Eleanore, they will still be around doing what they do best. As for me... I might have some other ideas/interests in mind.