Yesterday I drove down to Hayward and picked up a box full of goodness.
A box full of adorable little Cornish X chicks. All my friends know we call the meat birds "fat babies." Because ... well, because they get fat.
They are so soft, sweet and utterly adorable right now. In a couple weeks they will hit that awkward teenager phase.
This one snuggled up into my hair and fell asleep. He was not happy to be woken up when I removed him.
Look at that little face. So sweet and adorable.
Since this one was feeling chatty I took a quick video.
This morning we could tell we have Cornish X chicks in the house. I was thinking we'd have them in the house for a three weeks before moving them out to the little coop. The time frame will need to move quicker because I'm not sure how long I can live with the smell of their little fluffy butts.
In the meantime, they will be getting lots of snuggling and attention.
In other news, we are supposed to get snow this weekend. Just in time for Easter. I'm hoping this will be the last storm. I'm not sure how we will do an egg hunt with a fresh layer of snow on the ground.
On my way to town this morning. The air had a crisp, fresh and clean scent.
If it was early December, I would have been awed by the drive this morning. So clean and pretty.
But it's late March, and I'm *so* ready for spring.
The last few years I've been expecting late March winter storms. One last hurrah from mother nature.
No cars in the ditch this morning. The temperature was above freezing. By the time I went home the sun was shining and it was 45 degrees F.
I took some time today to visit with my SIL and nephew, who were in from out of town. The visit wasn't nearly long enough.
I was able to grab a photo and video of Miss Kitty and her babies.
Miss Kitty took several breaks from her babies today, and graces us with her presence, and I forgot how quick kittens grow.
More chicks hatched out last night, and this morning. Well, during the day too. When I arrived home after work there was no sound from the one incubator. I opened it up to see what was going on and the chicks all started chirping as soon as they saw me. I closed it back down and found my phone so I could take a short video.
Later in the evening a gentleman from the Brainard/Aitkin area came to get 30 chicks. He told us he has five grandchildren who wanted more chickens. A fox got their first flock. Darn foxes. Now the family has three geese, who will guard the barnyard from foxes, and protect these new guys. He said one of the geese has bonded with the youngest grandchild and it's follows her everywhere and tries to snuggle with her. Aw!
It sounds like the chicks will have a lovely home and plenty of kids to play with them.
Before those chicks went to their new home, we had just over 50 chicks. Wow.
Meat birds were supposed to be delivered to the feed store today. Due to the crappy weather the delivery has been delayed until tomorrow.
I restarted my Copilot cowl again. One row along so far.
The other day I forgot to include "Wolf Hollow" on my list of books, I think. This was a quick read for me. I read it before going to bed. I cried a little at the conclusion. The antagonist is *so* unlikable that I didn't feel one bit sorry for her when bad things happened. But ... something else happens and I felt all sorts of feels for the character. A very good book.
I woke up to a very light coating of snow on the ground. The drive to work was all right and I made it there without seeing anyone in a ditch.
My welcome home committee. They are so sweet.
Shortly after getting home, it starting snowing big fat snowflakes.
It's looking like a winter wonderland again. I'm not too happy, and neither is my son. I haven't suggested to him yet that there could be a snow day tomorrow if the snow keeps up.
The hum is the incubators. Speaking of the incubators ...
When I arrived home my son told me four more chicks hatched out. Since we've been home a whole bunch more babies have hatched out.
We now have more than 30 chicks in the brooder tote.
This little one hatched out after we came home. Look at that look on it's face? I love it!
This one was content to just sit in my husband's hand and chill.
Meanwhile,I fell for this one. They are all cuties.
During my morning and afternoon commute I was listening to a podcast that was discussing "Twelfth Night." I mentioned this play in yesterday's writing. I'm struggling a bit with this play and, as a result, it hasn't been on the top of my book pile. The podcast helped and I'll be restarting Act 1.
This type of blog post is for when I have a lot of little things I want to share, or when I feel the need to catch up.
So, grab your coffee/beverage of your choice. One of these days I'll actually take a photo of myself holding a
cup of coffee for these posts. ... One day. ... But today is not that
day. In the meantime, here is a picture of Tea Wisdom.
If we were having coffee ...I'd
say that for someone who talked pretty big a few months ago about
writing more frequently, I sure haven't followed through on that. ...
February
was an odd month for me. I started out in awe of my new status of being a mom to a teenager. I spent a lot of time reflecting on motherhood, in
general, and how so many moms have motherhood in common, but our paths are all
different. I feel like I'm at a point in my motherhood career that is
not in line with many other moms I know. Many have kids who are getting
ready for college, or they are just starting their elementary school
career, or are younger. Course, as I write this, I can think of at least
three moms I know who have kids my son's age. Maybe it's attitude that
makes me feel I'm sort of alone on this one. My attitude and theirs.
Hard to really explain. Again, its that every path is unique aspect.
So,
yeah. I'm the mom of a teenager now. My son recently told me he
thought that once he turned 13 he would somehow magically change. He
was happy to see that he didn't change and turn into a jerk, or
something. I sort of wonder about some of the older kids at school
then.
Time ebbed and flowed
during February. I felt life was moving so fast at times, then it
slowed to a crawl. Then, it was March. I spent most of February
hibernating so there wasn't a whole lot to talk about anyways. March
seems to be moving at a more steady pace. I am surprised to realize
it's the near end of the month now.
However, March has also been full of ... Babies!
This little one I had to play midwife with. She got herself a little fan club among my Facebook friends. She's off to her new home, however.
Our first batch of babies hatched out a couple weeks ago. Our second batch is currently hatching out. The next group will hatch out in less than a week. They are all so adorable and sweet. Except for when the older chicks run on and over their siblings who just hatched out and are recovering.
We also took a day trip over to the Porkies in Upper Michigan. We went to the ski area and spent half the day there. It was a gorgeous day.
Not too many people on the hill. SO nice.
The bunny hill, where I spent most of my time. If you look past the trees you can see Lake Superior.
While we were having lunch. The ski area is big enough that you didn't see crowds of people waiting to go on the chair lift.
With the weather *finally* turning away from the darkness that is winter, I've been taking walks in the evenings again. I've felt a recharge ever since the sun returned and the temps have moved above zero degrees.
If we were having coffee ...I'd
mention how my creative muse seems to have gone on vacation. I have
lost my mojo on all things creative. This is part of why I haven't
written. If you are a crafty person and suddenly lose that desire, it
SUCKS. Even working on a vanilla sock wasn't
happening. I tried working on a few simpler things and they did nothing
to get the creative juices flowing.
So then I thought what I needed was something more complicated, to learn something new and engage my brain.
I cast on a cowl and learned a the herringbone crochet stitch.
Pattern: Herringbone Infinity Shawl
Started: 2/22/18
Finished: 3/6/18
Hook: H 5.00 mm
Yarn: Mandala yarn "Warlock " colorway
Color: Teal, burgundy, violet, tan, brown, green, and gold.
I was so happy when I wrapped this beauty up. Then I laid it down and realized I made it into a mobius type cowl. Doh! I still love it.
Okay, so maybe that didn't work out like I thought it would. It's all right. I enjoyed working with the yarn and this was a really quick crochet project.
Prior to the cowl I decided to makesomequick granny square dishcloths that were in Valentine colors. I had plenty of yarn leftover from the Valentine-themed dishcloths I made back in January.
I've been using these dishcloths as candle place mats. They are so bright and cheerful that I can't bear to use them to wash dishes just yet.
I really liked this yarn in the skein, but couldn't think of a pattern that would work with it, so I made another granny square dishcloth.
I finished the vanilla socks I had been working on. They are still sitting on the blockers. ... I haven't worn them yet.
Notes: If I make the pattern again I would use a larger needle size.
Currently on the needles is another vanilla sock. I haven't made much progress on it.
Vanilla sock
Started: 3/15/22
Finished:
Needle size: US size 1, 2.25 mm
Yarn: Knit Picks Felici "Tea Party"
Colors: Pale blue, pale purple, pink and pale pink.
Good spring colors. Just in time for Easter.
Two projects I would like to cast on are the Copilot Cowl, and the Lakeshore Scarf.
Yarn for the Copilot. I picked up another skein of Lion Brand Mandala yarn, in the "Genie" colorway.
For the Lakeshore Scarf, I have a skein of Knit Picks Stroll yarn in the "Great Lakes" hand painted yarn. I purchased this yarn with this pattern in mind. I've had the pattern for a *really* long time. I'm excited to cast it on and work on it. It's the type of pattern that might be just what I need to kick start my knitting mojo.
If we were having coffee ... I'd tell you what I have been reading.
Still slowly working on Twelfth Night by Shakespeare. Not really enjoying it, so it's going slowly.
I went through a spurt of reading young adult books.
The Blackthorn Key - I recommend. If you are looking for a book for a young boy/tween, this is a good one. It's the first in a series.
Boxes for Katje - Good story, nice pictures. Suitable for all ages.
Homeless Bird - Quick story. This one got to me a little bit. A story of a young bride in India, who is widowed shortly after being married, and abandoned by her mother-in-law in a city. Main character does have a happily ever after.
Listening for Lions - Another good story that got to me. I really enjoyed reading this one. I sort of wish there was a sequel. I'd love to have an update on the main character's life after she went back to Africa.
When You Reach Me - Go and get this story, right now. It was *so* good.
A Simple Murder - This was an audio book. I admit I initially requested it because the main character is a weaver. The story is well written.
The Sign of the Beaver - I read this one in one evening. I recommend it. In fact, I took pictures of passages I enjoyed, and shared them on Facebook. In no particular order ...
Every Heart a Doorway - This one is a bit tricky to sum up. It was good writing. But .... it felt like a quick gloss over, and not a whole lot of depth. It's also hard to really pin down the genre. Mostly fantasy, maybe. I honestly don't know if I'd recommend the story.
Currently I'm reading the Guardians of Ga'hoole series with my son. It's slow going.
This line made me chuckle. I now quote the book series to my son and he says "Please don't," which really means, "I love when you quote the series, please keep doing so."
Well, that's my big update. ... Currently I'm in chicken mama mode. A few other things going on are a purchase of a chicken plucker. This is a *big* step for us. We really enjoy having home grown chicken, but as anyone who has done this knows, it's a TON of work processing when it is time to harvest.
And ... we just put in order in for a cabinet incubator. Now we can hatch out *all* the babies!
Oh, and another fun thing happened.
Baby kitties!
My mother-in-law was sort of adopted by this cat. It's a bit complicated, so I won't get into it. However, back in January, Miss Kitty apparently went into heat and met a gentleman friend.
The result is six adorable kitties. They will need to find homes, when the time comes. In the meantime, we are enjoying her adorableness.
