Well, I've annoyed my local friends endlessly with tales of my new, improved chickens, so now it's your turn! A couple weeks ago our friend Ben called me from Queen Creek, very excited. Seems a guy was selling off most of his poultry; game birds, turkeys, ducks, geese and of course chickens. He wanted to sell them off, and offered a better deal if he bought 10, so would I be interested in some grown hens? Well, of course I would, I love chickens!!!
So now I have 2 New Hampshires, 1 Americauna, 1 Rhode Island Red, 1 Wyandott and maybe 1 Australorp. The Americauna lays green eggs, I love that. The rest lay brown, or will. Only a couple are laying right now, the others are molting. The hens get along pretty well, but it's funny to watch them. Lucy is my only hen left from my original group, and when I brought the other hens in, she immediately picked a fight with each of them, and let them know who's boss! The Australop is beautiful, she is black and white, very striking. I scatter chicken feed in the pen every morning, and she will chase all the doves and other birds out of the pen when they come in looking for free food. It's so funny to see her cackle and race after them!
I've been working with them, and several will eat out of my hands now. It's tempting to wear gloves, because they will peck pretty hard, but I don't know if they would like the color and feel of it, so I haven't yet. I let them out into the garden in the afternoon, they are the best bug-zappers around!
Ok, it's true, I'm a schmuck for chickens. My kids hate them, and I'm sure it's my fault because I made them feed, water and clean up after chickens all of their childhood. They just can't understand my fascination, and neither can David. I don't know either, I just like fresh eggs and natural bug killers. Plus they chatter and talk to me, which is so cute. The New Hampshire's especially like to chat, they follow me around clucking about the neighbors, very intent, and I'm sure what they're telling me is very important to them. So I cluck back, (hope the neighbors aren't listening), and we visit a little while I feed them and check for eggs. Well, it may not be an exciting life, but I love it!
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Good Times
If you noticed, I changed the picture above. It's me, and my good friend Julie Hutchins, back in the day. OK, I believe it was 1974, judging by that awesome haircut I have. They used to call us Mutt and Jeff, from the old cartoon. I'm 5'2 on a good day, and Julie checks in at 6', she's a California hippie chick and I was a dyed-in-the-wool cowchick, no holds barred. No matter, we just clicked and have stayed friends for many, many years.
Julie and I met when her Dad picked up his family and moved them from Anaheim, CA to little podunk Prescott, AZ. She was shell-shocked when I met her at church one weekend, still wondering what kind of hick town she was forced to endure through high school. We had just turned 16, and after Young Women's one night, a church group, I offered to take her home, but first of course we had to get a soda, cruise main street, etc. All I remember clearly is that someone slammed on their brakes in front of me at a traffic light, and I lit up the night with a blue streak of cussing- AZ style. She looked so shocked, and I was a little embarrassed, but that broke the ice. She realized I wasn't a 'perfect mormon' girl, and we both started talking about our lives. In no time we were hanging out most of the time.
I was in FFA, choir, 4-H, sports, and I was active in church, swearing not withstanding. She was, and is, an artist, and also hung out with the hippies in school, but welcomed me into their group too. Prescott is a pretty clicky town, so the kids around us were confused that a cowchick and a hippy could be such good friends. I don't know about Julz, but I took a lot of heat for our friendship from my cowboy buddies. I was voted FFA Sweetheart at the end of my junior year, Julie had so much fun with that! She loved to tease me about being the 'queen of Cowchicks'. We continued to attend church together, and wander back and forth between our different groups. Her friends accepted me quite easily, but mine were much more reserved towards her, but she didn't care.
Julie's parents kind of adopted me. I was 1/2 hour or more from town, depending on the weather and condition of the dirt road I lived on. On nights that I had play practice, or sports, choir, FFA, etc. I would often stay at Julie's. The picture above was taken at her place, and although that chair isn't there anymore, the house is essentially the same. Barbara and Gene were always so good to me, and Gene always had a joke for me.
There's just something so cool about old friends. They are an amazing gift, especially when they make you laugh, and keep you from taking yourself too seriously. I have a few of these marvelous women in my life, and love them all. Thanks guys, let's keep laughing!
Julie and I met when her Dad picked up his family and moved them from Anaheim, CA to little podunk Prescott, AZ. She was shell-shocked when I met her at church one weekend, still wondering what kind of hick town she was forced to endure through high school. We had just turned 16, and after Young Women's one night, a church group, I offered to take her home, but first of course we had to get a soda, cruise main street, etc. All I remember clearly is that someone slammed on their brakes in front of me at a traffic light, and I lit up the night with a blue streak of cussing- AZ style. She looked so shocked, and I was a little embarrassed, but that broke the ice. She realized I wasn't a 'perfect mormon' girl, and we both started talking about our lives. In no time we were hanging out most of the time.
I was in FFA, choir, 4-H, sports, and I was active in church, swearing not withstanding. She was, and is, an artist, and also hung out with the hippies in school, but welcomed me into their group too. Prescott is a pretty clicky town, so the kids around us were confused that a cowchick and a hippy could be such good friends. I don't know about Julz, but I took a lot of heat for our friendship from my cowboy buddies. I was voted FFA Sweetheart at the end of my junior year, Julie had so much fun with that! She loved to tease me about being the 'queen of Cowchicks'. We continued to attend church together, and wander back and forth between our different groups. Her friends accepted me quite easily, but mine were much more reserved towards her, but she didn't care.
Julie's parents kind of adopted me. I was 1/2 hour or more from town, depending on the weather and condition of the dirt road I lived on. On nights that I had play practice, or sports, choir, FFA, etc. I would often stay at Julie's. The picture above was taken at her place, and although that chair isn't there anymore, the house is essentially the same. Barbara and Gene were always so good to me, and Gene always had a joke for me.
There's just something so cool about old friends. They are an amazing gift, especially when they make you laugh, and keep you from taking yourself too seriously. I have a few of these marvelous women in my life, and love them all. Thanks guys, let's keep laughing!
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Fall in Arizona
Well, it's another lovely week! I spent Sunday and Monday recovering from the trip to Phx last Saturday, and Tuesday I went to Prescott to visit Julie. She is working on another amazing mural there; James Dean on a Harley motorcycle. It's at a little deli named Chubs, right on Whiskey Row. If you're in town, check it out! I watched her paint for a bit, we had a great lunch at the Brewery, I took a nap and took the beautiful drive home.
Wednesday was a nice quiet day of rest. That morning Mom called, and I talked her into coming up so I could get her a birthday present. It's true, part of the present is getting her out of Maricopa! Anyhow, she told me she'd be coming up Thursday or Friday, but that evening she suddenly came through the door. She hoped I'd go to St. Johns with her to the courthouse. Well, how could I refuse my Mom? Thursday morning we left and wandered off to St. Johns. Mom is easy to drive with, she brings the motor home complete with beds and a bathroom, so when we get tired, we just stop! We reached St. Johns before the Assessor's office closed, got the maps we wanted, put a For Sale sign on her property and stopped for the night.
The fall colors are beautiful near Payson, although some of them are starting to fade. It was a great day for a little drive. There's a wonderful bakery at the market in Pine, so we stopped for bread and another nap. That's the only way we travel, is with lots of time. Yes I'm on disability, and I can't do nearly as much as I want to on any given day. My Mom understands what my limitations are, and she is happy to work with that. I love hanging out with her, and I'm so glad that we can have these little excursions together. David is glad to have someone go with her on her trips, he worries about her driving alone any more.
Today we went to the Hay Barn and she bought some baby chicks, and then I took her to Old Town Cottonwood. We stopped at Jim and Ellen's store there, and found her two cool metal yard sculptures- a roadrunner and a frog, for her birthday. David had to work all morning, but we spent the rest of the day at the house- pretty warm out there today, in the 90's. At least it wasn't 102, like in Phoenix! All in all a great week.
Wednesday was a nice quiet day of rest. That morning Mom called, and I talked her into coming up so I could get her a birthday present. It's true, part of the present is getting her out of Maricopa! Anyhow, she told me she'd be coming up Thursday or Friday, but that evening she suddenly came through the door. She hoped I'd go to St. Johns with her to the courthouse. Well, how could I refuse my Mom? Thursday morning we left and wandered off to St. Johns. Mom is easy to drive with, she brings the motor home complete with beds and a bathroom, so when we get tired, we just stop! We reached St. Johns before the Assessor's office closed, got the maps we wanted, put a For Sale sign on her property and stopped for the night.
The fall colors are beautiful near Payson, although some of them are starting to fade. It was a great day for a little drive. There's a wonderful bakery at the market in Pine, so we stopped for bread and another nap. That's the only way we travel, is with lots of time. Yes I'm on disability, and I can't do nearly as much as I want to on any given day. My Mom understands what my limitations are, and she is happy to work with that. I love hanging out with her, and I'm so glad that we can have these little excursions together. David is glad to have someone go with her on her trips, he worries about her driving alone any more.
Today we went to the Hay Barn and she bought some baby chicks, and then I took her to Old Town Cottonwood. We stopped at Jim and Ellen's store there, and found her two cool metal yard sculptures- a roadrunner and a frog, for her birthday. David had to work all morning, but we spent the rest of the day at the house- pretty warm out there today, in the 90's. At least it wasn't 102, like in Phoenix! All in all a great week.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Moving day- Again!
Despite our best efforts to leave the moving business, once more we were roped into moving, this time Trisha, to the valley. She was hired for a great job with JP Morgan Chase, but that meant she has to leave Cottonwood and move back to the valley. She found a place right next to Jana, our niece, and her family. It's a nice neighborhood, it should be fun for them.
I drove the truck down, so I could haul David, Nic and Norm home after loading and unloading Trish's house. It all there, it took two truckloads~ But now she can start the daunting task of unpacking, figuring out where to set everyhing, what to do with the give-away- pile. All told, they had a 12 hour day, my part was just driving the truck down that would bring all of us home. I took it easy as much as possible, and Nic wanted to drive home, so that was good. We gotter done! Most of us could barely get out of bed this morning, so we're all a little sore, but good deeds rarely go unpunished, eh?? The weather was lovely, not too hot, so things were nice for a working Saturday.
I drove the truck down, so I could haul David, Nic and Norm home after loading and unloading Trish's house. It all there, it took two truckloads~ But now she can start the daunting task of unpacking, figuring out where to set everyhing, what to do with the give-away- pile. All told, they had a 12 hour day, my part was just driving the truck down that would bring all of us home. I took it easy as much as possible, and Nic wanted to drive home, so that was good. We gotter done! Most of us could barely get out of bed this morning, so we're all a little sore, but good deeds rarely go unpunished, eh?? The weather was lovely, not too hot, so things were nice for a working Saturday.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Cool crisp fall
This week is so much better! I can move, yesterday and today, so life is good. The weather has cooled off so nicely, it's been in the mid 80's, so lovely. Yesterday Gina helped me plant some things- we put in broccoli, cauliflower, collards and romaine lettuce plants, well Gina did the hard stuff. We also put in onion and garlic sets. Hopefully I can find someone to help me plant some spinach and beet seeds next week.
Fall always reminds me of roundup on the ranch. I remember getting up early, like 4:00 am, on the weekends, having a big breakfast and then driving to the section we were working that day. Mountainous, rough, brushy and not for the faint of heart. We had one horse- Rowdy, that started out the day by bucking off whoever rode him. It was always interesting to watch, but I decided early not to be 'the one'. The day was long enough without bouncing around on the rocks first thing in the morning. It didn't matter who rode him, they couldn't stay on. Once he had that out of his system though, he was the best ranch horse we had, outside of Dad's. He could work all day long, and still be prancing. My horses tended to be better mannered, if not as tough.
We each had a draw up the mountain to work- I took one, Debbie another, the parents would move to the tops of the mountains and work their way down. I'd ride to the top of the draw and start pushing cows down the mountain, first one side and then the other. It took hours, and often the cattle would crawl into a stand of scrub oak and not come out. Then we had to wade into the middle of it to push them out. I have more scars on my hands from pushing through oak brush! I never could hang on to a pair of gloves, so they took a beating.
After we had a small herd of from our area, we'd meet up in the creek at the bottom and push cows down to the gates and wait for Mom and Dad. Sometimes we'd be there for a long time, and we'd have to keep the cattle from wandering off, but otherwise we'd talk, nap, eat or wish we had our lunch. Once we all met up, we still had to push them on down to a large holding pasture before we could call it a day and go home. It was crisp, sometimes downright cold in the mornings, but the days usually warmed up. The trees were turning color, even the oak brush could be beautiful. The pines smelled so good, the breeze would waft it around us. Sometimes Debbie and I would build a little fire to keep warm. After a long day, we would fall asleep in the truck on the way home. There is something amazing about the day to day life on a ranch, and even though it was hard work, tough and gritty, there is a lot of nostalgia for those days.
Fall always reminds me of roundup on the ranch. I remember getting up early, like 4:00 am, on the weekends, having a big breakfast and then driving to the section we were working that day. Mountainous, rough, brushy and not for the faint of heart. We had one horse- Rowdy, that started out the day by bucking off whoever rode him. It was always interesting to watch, but I decided early not to be 'the one'. The day was long enough without bouncing around on the rocks first thing in the morning. It didn't matter who rode him, they couldn't stay on. Once he had that out of his system though, he was the best ranch horse we had, outside of Dad's. He could work all day long, and still be prancing. My horses tended to be better mannered, if not as tough.
We each had a draw up the mountain to work- I took one, Debbie another, the parents would move to the tops of the mountains and work their way down. I'd ride to the top of the draw and start pushing cows down the mountain, first one side and then the other. It took hours, and often the cattle would crawl into a stand of scrub oak and not come out. Then we had to wade into the middle of it to push them out. I have more scars on my hands from pushing through oak brush! I never could hang on to a pair of gloves, so they took a beating.
After we had a small herd of from our area, we'd meet up in the creek at the bottom and push cows down to the gates and wait for Mom and Dad. Sometimes we'd be there for a long time, and we'd have to keep the cattle from wandering off, but otherwise we'd talk, nap, eat or wish we had our lunch. Once we all met up, we still had to push them on down to a large holding pasture before we could call it a day and go home. It was crisp, sometimes downright cold in the mornings, but the days usually warmed up. The trees were turning color, even the oak brush could be beautiful. The pines smelled so good, the breeze would waft it around us. Sometimes Debbie and I would build a little fire to keep warm. After a long day, we would fall asleep in the truck on the way home. There is something amazing about the day to day life on a ranch, and even though it was hard work, tough and gritty, there is a lot of nostalgia for those days.
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