Chicken Update

The chickens are all doing well.... The big girls boycotted when the little girls were let out of their cage, free to run through the coop and they stopped laying eggs. That was painful. Of course they couldn't hold out forever, so we're back to a good breakfast! Here are the big ones: Fat & Sassy, just kidding - Petunia y Gabriela.

Aaah, the new arrivals. Goldbug is on the left. Shy is on the right. Hmmm, they look kind of mean here, don't they?

Now Shy is on the left and Goldbug is on the right.

And one more time....

The Scobie-Kombucha Adventure

September chronicles of Kombucha harvesting take 1. I would love to take this time to talk about the benefits and joys of kombucha as a drink, as a practice, harvesting, and more. That will have to happen in a little while after I pull together some research and you will find it on my nutrition blog: http://treenips.blogspot.com For now, I just want to mention the adventures that transpired. Michael and I decided to harvest our scobie today and make more kombucha. It had been quite some time since we'd harvested last and the scobie was so huge it wouldn't fit through the mouth of the jar!!!! This scobie just continued to grow. We tried folding it, bending it, squishing it, and eventually Michael started stabbing it. While I'm well aware that it is a living organism, it had to be done.

It didn't look possible... what were we going to do?

And before I forget to mention it.... we have a few more jars to harvest still:

Continued

We persevered! That's teamwork! This is a giant scobie!!!! Check it out from this angle: So, here's the problem. I always date the kombucha when we put it in the pantry to ferment for approximately four weeks.... See? May 8th. That means we should have harvested around June 8th. Course there was graduation... And family was in town... Then we went on vacation... Then um.... well.... SEPTEMBER???? Seriously. I know. Some people might frown on our excessively long fermentation time... does this means there's more alcohol? I'm not quite sure... Check back to the nutrition blog to find out the important details. This site's just for fun! Ta-Daaaaa!

New Arrivals....

Here they are.... and we love them. Shy and Goldbug....

'Kota & the Clippers

We got our first set of doggie clippers.... please note the before, the after, the pile of evidence.... Well, I had fun anyway!!!! Okay, Michael had fun too.... isn't he handsome?

New Chicks part 2

New Chicks!

I'm excited to report the adoption of two new chicks. Three days old yesterday (June 28, 2008) they are Goldbug and Shy... I don't know if you can tell - Goldbug is yellow with black and white spots on her back, while Shy is brown with deep, sensitive eyes and beautiful markings. Goldbug is a daredevil already - I tried to take a picture of her in my open hand and she nose-dived about 4 1/2 feet... hope her brain is okay - that couldn't have been healthy. Shy is... as her name implies, shy. And the other girls? They won't be meeting face to face without the protection of a cage for a very long time. Too dangerous right now - there is some jealousy happening and these girls deserve a fighting chance!!!!

Easter Eggs!!!

It's noon on Easter day. Shalayne and I are driving home from Monterey and she says, "There will be eggs when you get there. They know it's Easter!" Up till this point, there weren't any eggs. We got home and ran out to check the chickens and there were no eggs but Gabriela was in bed. I was so scared. "What's wrong with her?" Shalayne said, "I don't know. Let's just wait." She stayed in bed and her beak kept opening and closing. I was so nervous. I'd already lost one chick, I couldn't handle another loss. Gabriela stood up and we watched her with wide-eyes and she dropped an egg!!! Right there in front of us!!! We screamed. Tears in our eyes we were just in shock... Gabriela hopped up on the edge and turned to check out what just came out of her. She cocked her head this way and that and then just walked away to tell Petunia her crazy experience. Then Shalayne said we could save the egg forever by blowing out the white and yolk. I didn't know what that meant! So I watched her delicately piercing the fragile shell with a needle and then blowing... And then it blew up. But that's okay.... Michael drank it and said it didn't have an after taste and of course they're omega-3 because I feed them flax seeds.... Oh it's so happy. I am so blessed. It's such a gift. And today, I had TWO eggs waiting for me!!!!! Go, Petunia, you're not a late-bloomer afterall!!!!!

Dakota

When I'm getting ready for a wedding, I'm always testing my equipment.... I got a new camera so that I could have 2 lenses at the ready and in working with flashes and lenses, I decided to work with my favorite model: Dakota He's so patient.... and so handsome! ENJOY!

Repairing sadness and Remembering Blessings...

Here are the girls... (Petunia - L, Gabriela - R) I am so blessed to have them so healthy and happy. I will never forget "Oh"... I miss her every day. However, I am grateful for the health of my beautiful 5-month old chickens. Today was their first day in my backyard. Thanks to Michael's help (isn't he handsome?), we got them out of the coop, locked up the dog and cat, and let them "free range". One day, seriously, I hope to have a whole yard full of chickens. Watching them wander happily made me realize how much land their species is used to... Enjoy!

Goodbye, Oh

Goodbye Oh-hi-oh.... Bye, Oh.

Chicken Update... they're two months old now

Oh and Gabriela checking out their new sunbathing "roof". Oh: not a big fan of the ramp... L-R: Oh, Petunia, and Gabriela

Two Months old... moving outside the bedroom

and into the coop!!!!!! Gabriela - so grown up! Gabriela sleeping -moving is hard work! Proud Mama! And check out one of two ramps I built them today - this one goes to their sunbathing table - I know, they're spoiled. Gabriela - learning to climb. Gabriela...