You're my hens now!

How cool is this? It's by John Wright, who is one of the artisans in the garden at
the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney. It's called - yes, you guessed it! - 'Chooks'

Speaking of chooks, Sooty is gone. He's attacks got more frequent and there just wasn't any logic to them, though I think he might have felt particularly provoked when I walked out one morning in my long red dressing gown 'cause he went nuts. Which is fine when you are rugged up for winter and his spurs aren't fully grown. It's even sort of funny but I didn't fancy facing that in shorts, in summer. No matter how much I assured him he was 'da man', he saw me as a threat.

While I kept calm and took a gentle approach with him he was just too unpredictable so he's gone back from whence he came: to our local produce store. The good thing about that is they have farmers and breeders from around the district who take them off their hands so he isn't necessarily going to be dinner. And if he does end up as dinner, he'll be a tasty bird and he's certainly had a better life than most roosters. I found it difficult to do (not helped by M. asking me yesterday "Should we go visit Sooty?"... aaggghh!!!) and I will be much stronger with myself the next time a charming young rooster cocks his cute little head at me while I'm picking up feed for the girls. I am of the school that animals that you bring home are for good but this one clearly wasn't working out.

The upside is I have my hens back!! I am enjoying peaceful times out in the yard with them and their silly antics. Of course Pippy has resumed her crowing, which totally bewildered Sooty, as well as her other odd behaviours (such as 'covering' the other hens?!), but she's almost six and, well, we're all used to it (the girls included).

As those strange fellows from A League of Gentleman say "You're my wife hens now!"

Milkwood Permaculture Farm

Rather than not posting for AGES I've decided short and sweet is the new way to go. So, I just saw this link on a friend's FB page and wanted to share it here. It's Milkwood Permaculture Farm (http://milkwood.net) and it is not too far from where I lives. Might go for a look-see when I have time to scratch my arse. (Sorry...beer ambulance required after a day of 'online learning'. )

Anyway, anyone that describes a chook as "a chicken born in Australia" gets the thumbs up from me but surely we aren't the only country to use the word? Here's a pic to make the whole short-post thing a bit more exciting.

Image source

You know, I just never get tired of chooks. I mean, look at her! She's a beauty, and look at those lovely eggs. Chooks are THE BEST.

Hello again, part 2

I was saving the best bit for part two, hello again, but I have been super busy with another project and just haven't had a chance to do this the justice it deserves. And as I have a job application due tomorrow, now seems the perfect time to do it [insert rolly-eye emoticon here]. I am the Queen of Procrastination after all.

Speaking of Queens...my lovely friend Loani, Queen of Tea Cosies, sent me a surprise package recently. It came in a box, packaged inside another box that didn't contain raw chicken, according to her handwriting. Hmm....provocative but also reassuring. So what was inside?

She has photographed it so beautifully on her own blog that I'm going to steal a few of her pictures and show it off here. Apparently I 'baggsed' (sp?) it, mid-stitch. I'm feeling a bit bashful about that now, but only a little bit because the rest of me is just so chuffed to have it.

Behold, my new scarf!

 

One's friend is very talented, very generous, and very funny. One opened the box and found all manner of notes attached to the scarf explaining its evolution. 

One laughed and One cried, then laughed again, then buried One's face in the silky soft beautiful wool while admiring the perfectly formed and deliciously fluffy pom poms on the corners. 

Did you notice there are sheep, tea pots, hearts, and chickens?

One's photos aren't nearly as good as the other One's, who is somewhat of a stylist after publishing so many beautiful books. 

 

As a creative person I love making things for other people. My crochet history started with the appearance of lots of little people in our lives. My Mum had always made baby blankets for her friends' children and I decided to do the same. This led to all sorts of projects, including several crocheted ponchos. I've made two this year, after a bit of break: one for my neice and one for my god-daughter (well, I claim her as my god daughter because I'm god mother to her brother and I love them both to bits). It's impossible not to think about them as you complete each stitch. There is so much love in a handmade gift, because there is a lot of time and a lot of thought that goes into it. Not to mention the wool! So, needless to say I was very overwhelmed by this gift. It came out of the blue and at a time when I was feeling stressed and stretched. It was unexpected and beautiful and I love it. 

This gift from Loani also reaffirmed to me the joy of the blogging community, and my little corner of it. None of you know the extent of your presence in my life and the conversations that go in our house because of you (usually along the lines of "You should see what the Gnomes are growing/making..!" and "Duckie mentioned..." or Chris said..." "Loani posted..." or "Celia's chickens..." and the list goes on). Your stories have become my stories and you inspire me in ways you wouldn't know and don't imagine.

So thank you to my lovely friend Loani and thank you to all of you who take the time to read and comment on my blog and share your own stories on your blogs. I loves yous all (and I haven't even had a gin!) xx

Hello again, part 1

Where has this year gone? I feel like it is on fast-forward and I am scrambling to catch up. It's July for goodness sake! Almost August!! Meanwhile my poor little blog has been languishing in the corner with only the occasional spam comment popping up in my inbox to remind me it's still here. What happened to those halcyon days of 2008 and the mad month that was Blogtoberfest! I really have lost momentum with it so I am surprised but pleased that I still get the occasional (re)visitor (hello to Planet Treasure!!)

So! Where were we? I believe that I was wondering, in your imagined company, whether my little Sooty was a rooster. Well, he is, and he's rather spectacular too:

Gone is the sooky little chick who would fly up onto my lap for a cuddle. He has become quite testy and has had a go at me on several occasions. After doing some reading online I settled on a strategy that seems to be working: stay calm and each time he pecks, pick him up firmly but gently, pat him and play with his comb and wattle, then put him down in a way that allows him to maintain what is left of his dignity in front of his ladies. If he's being particularly bad I hold him upside down and stroke his chest feathers, which he really doesn't like. While this is amusing, I have also had to change the way I interact with the girls and I don't think of him as a pet in the same way that I do the hens. He is never out in the yard when my friend's children are here and I always regard him with care when I'm in his territory. Whether he stays with us is a constant question. I would love to give Gum Nut a go at hatching some chicks and as she is the only one that lays blue eggs it would be easy enough to separate hers from the others. But do we really need anymore chooks? More to the point (going by our track record), do we really need anymore roosters?! I think the answer is probably there if I could admit that this experiment really isn't working.

Our other new arrivals from earlier this year have grown into lovely hens and are giving us an egg each day. I can't get over the size of our Light Sussex - she is easily our biggest chook - and it is funny watching her attempt great feats of daring like her light little Dorking friend Amelia, whose wings have been clipped, such as scaling the garden domes to get to the other side of the chicken-proof fence. Too slow by far!

Busted!

Best in show

Nothing like an ag fair to make a girl happy. After a week of hideous germs, M took me out to the Hawkesbury Show and it certainly cheered me up. Who wouldn't be excited standing in front of a cabinet full of cake? And another of tea cosies?? And best of all - a whole shed full of chooks! Ah the joy of it all. Here's some highlights:

The first time I went to the Easter Show as a kid was with my friend from school and her family. She had cousins who lived on a big property out West near Griffith so they were all pretty familiar with rural life. I grew up in an outer Sydney suburb where the only pig I'd ever encountered was in a book. I can tell you, I got the shock of my life seeing those gigantic animals laying in the pens!

Examining the produce. Mick's favourites were the giant pumpkins and this egg display:

Snorkling eggs and chooky cup cakes. Happy happy.

And another favourite in the bottom corner - Shaun the Sheep!

I love a bit of plate art and clearly this one was a winner. Next door - the timeless tea cosie. But let's face it - the stars of the show (for me anyway!) were always going to be the chooks. I did feel a bit sorry for the poor old things cooped up and being eyeballed all day but some of them were pretty spectacular.

I found a mate for our Big Fluff (second row, 4); a couple of 'lawn ornaments' (top row, 4; second row, 2; bottom row, 1 & 2); a couple that looked like they were having a bad hair day (Frizzles? Second row, 1 and 3; third row, 4) and some fine looking fellas and lovely little hens.

The last aisle was ducks. Poor ducks - they were mostly running out of water and a bit frantic. The winning drake was busy eating his certificate, culminating in him tearing it off the cage door. Not sure whether he should actually be eating his certificate, I snatched it out of his beak and put it on top of his cage. There was only a few hours to go and I think he'd just had enough! This little duck oposite wasn't quite so fraught!

All in all, a good day! On the home front, I went ahead and clipped Amelia's wings (thanks for your comments!). She still manages to get around but seems less inclined to her impressive yard-length flights. I did both wings because I wasn't sure and I kept reading conflicting advice. Oh well, next time! Happy chickening for now.

Up is the new down

What do these two beauties have in common?

Amelia Earhart

Our Dorking hen

Why yes! You're right - they are both renowned fliers!

Seems our new Dorking hen is something of a flier. If she's not scaling the fence, she's on a roof and her favourite pass time now is flying up onto the Dome and then over onto our side of the Chicken Proof Fence. Considering her prodigious skill I have named her Amelia after the famous aviator, Amelia Earhart. Here she is, up top, while the others merely gaze at her in wonderment. 

Of course, had we done our homework we would have known that Dorkings are impressive fliers and might have thought twice about getting her. She also has five toes and is descendant from Roman hens brought to Britain so I guess we got a bit carried away by her heritage. So now I find myself considering doing this:

Image source

But can I bring myself to do it? We like to free-range the girls but now I hardly let them out because I'm worried she'll end up next door and she won't be able to get back...what to do?

In other news, Sooty is turning into a fine young rooster (as we suspected). This photo was taken in March and he has grown quite a bit since then. He's 16 weeks and still not crowing but it has to be soon. Depending on how it goes we'll decide if we can keep him.

Spoke too soon!

Storm warning from the awesome Eric Berry:

Good Afternoon Everyone,
A band of thunderstorms are moving towards the Mountains this afternoon. There is some electrical activity and cells of intense, torrential rain. Please be aware of lightning and thunder if using electrical devices and take care if driving in sudden downpours. For further information, visit www.bom.gov.au

PS I really want to call one of the chickens Eric Berry. It's just such a good name.

Then the rain stopped

Well, looks like the Big Wet has left us and the dear little bearded ladies have also departed for life in the city. They have laid a blue egg every day for their new owners, who are super chuffed with their odd brood who ended up going by the names Midget, Manky (aka Grey Beard), and Mo. Might need an access visit soon just to see them settled in their new digs and with all their feathers grown back.

Speaking of new digs, I've been commenting back in my last post with the talented Kara of Fantastic Fabrics and Kara Smith Handmade Handbags who has recently returned to the mountains. She's looking for chickens and I was wondering if anyone local might have suggestions other than the produce stores? Kara's left her number in the comments there if you hear of anything. Lisa, I know you got some lovely silver-laced Wyandotte's from a breeder around Penrith once - maybe through Nicole? - they'd be just the trick. Nice birds, cold hardy, and placid. I was also thinking that the Hawesbury District Agricultural Show might be a good place to look - there is usually a poultry auction and it's a fun day out.

And speaking of fun days out, I recently enjoyed a morning walking through the rainforest of the Jamison Valley for Sculpture at Scenic World. My talented friend Kayo Yokoyama had some glass pieces in the exhibition. I have to say it's not an easy environment for artists to work with - it was hard not to keep getting distracted by how beautiful this valley is!

It's easy to forget just how spectacular our local environment is.
I feel very lucky to live here.

Kayo's Miner's Houses

A carpet of ceramic flowers

Some woven stones

A chandelier in the canopy

Some bronze wombats (for my sister-in-law, Varena)