Gossip queen

Today seemed just like any other. The chickens were going about their business scrubbing the grounds for tasty bug-morsels and enjoying the brief stint of sunshine on their backs.



All was calm in the Chicken Yard.

However, word in the yard was that something was up. Kendra, being the big gossip she is, got wind of a rumor flying around the coop. Although pledged to secrecy, Kendra just cannot keep her beak shut.

Kendra - obviously she's got something on her mind that just can't stay secret for long.

Kendra was bursting with delight when she came across her sisters, Holly and Brigit. She told them first of this juicy gossip she had.

Holly and Brigit listening to Kendra spill the beans.

Word quickly spread to the other girls.

And shortly, all seven girls were in a fluster about the news Kendra leaked.

Mergatroid the Russian Orloff exclaims "It can't be true. My Russian informants would have told be about this first, not some bubble-head Jersey-shore wannabe from Rhode Island."

Holly the Plymouth Rock smirks "Well, if it is true, I am still pretty. I mean, I am the cover-chicken on the Purina Layena pellet food. I am star."

Myrtle (the elder Russian Orloff) boasts to Holly "I would not be so sure about that Holly."


Myrtle continues... "I have no clue what Holly is thinking. I am the most beautiful chicken there ever was and I should be the cover-chicken on those bags of feed. Holly needs to respect her elders."

Kendra blatantly states "Uh, Myrtle old girl. You're missing the point of the conversation. Didn't you hear the hot news? We are getting ROOMMATES!"

Yes, it's true. My flock of 7 is now a flock of 9. I am now the proud chicken-momma of two white Silkies.

I'm thinking of naming them Aunty Entity (Tina Turner's character in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome) and Red Sonja but I haven't totally committed to those names. Silkies are not the brightest breed of chicken out there and I'm having a hard time convincing them to leave the coop/habitat. I plucked them out of their coop today and they free ranged for a bit, eating cracked corn with the other girls.

They will be fun!

Happy Howlidays 2010

Tis the Season for pet themed ornaments and antlers on your dogs!

Well, some of the dogs are more comfortable in antlers than others...

Mattie likes wearing her antlers. She even has the santa-beard to really emphasize her holiday spirit.

Scott is, er, not a fan of wearing antlers (or dog-back packs, or coats or sweaters). This was the best shot of Scott I could get of him.

I tried to put the antlers on Lucky but he is so gamey, he was trying to rip the antlers out of my hands. For a little dog, he is very driven. Here is a tree ornament that looks like him anyway...

Jude would not sit still. The one picture I got of him (antler-less) does not want to load into blogger, so unfortunately, no festive pictures of the giant Border Collie puppy today.

GiGi, our cat, is a dilute calico. For some reason, the tree ornament makers in China love to make ornaments that look exactly like our cat.

Since I haven't yet found a blue-eyed Border Collie ornament - I guess I need two of these now anyway - I use this steer to represent Scott...

And, for Jude (aka Klondike Bar) - he gets to be repped by this fluffy Suffolk from Switzerland.

I found some chicken ornaments this year. Yes, I know this is a rooster. However, I think Russian Orloff chicken ornaments are even rarer than blue-eyed Border Collie ornaments. Myrtle and Mergatroid the Orloffs will just have to get by with this ornament for now.

This season was also the first time I have successfully grown an Amaryllis. I bought the kit at the end of October and planted it in early November. This thing has gone gangbusters in our living room. So much so in fact, that out of the one bulb planted I actually have two stems that popped out. The stem shown here is about 2.5 feet tall. It's pretty amazing. The other stem (you can see it peaking up on the bottom right in this photo) is well on its way to being as tall as its older sibling.

And, this is a picture of the delicious Swedish baked goodies my dear co-worker Sandy makes each year. I especially look forward to the cookies in this pile that look like Snickerdoodles. But, these are no average Snickerdoodles. These happen to be Swedish Ammonia Cookies. Yep, you read that right, ammonia! Sandy orders this special cooking ammonia from an online Swedish bakery. I can describe this cookie as something that looks like a snickerdoodle, but is crumbly, lightly sweet, airy and has a very slight chewiness, sort of like a homemade meringue. Sandy knows I love these cookies and so she filled up my plate with them along with other Swedish goodies she baked.

Chicken Run

Well, the girls have settled in quite nicely. They are yielding about 3 eggs a day now and my three young gals, Holly, Kendra and Bridgit, have not yet started laying. I suspect once they mature, we'll be getting 4-6 eggs a day!

What to do with all those eggs? Well, how about deviled eggs? I actually just made a batch of those to take to a 4th of July party tonight. And, what about quiche? Why yes! These quiche must be the most unhealthy things I've ever made - 8 eggs per quiche, cheese, sour cream, bacon, half-n-half... but hey, there's three cups of spinach in there too so that negates the real bad-for-you things, right?

The Russian Orloffs lay one egg a day right now. Their eggs are light brown. The Sicilian Buttercups lay every 40 hours or so - their eggs are smaller and white. I've given some eggs to my parents and also gave them out as gifts on Father's Day.

None of the birds are easy to photograph. I have a decent automatic camera with a substantial zoom on it; however, the birds move super fast; I have too many shots with their bodies in focus but their heads are a total blur. I did manage to take these today...

Free ranging all day long in our "Triangle Yard."

The Russian Orloffs Myrtle and Mergatroid

Sicilian Buttercup, Flo. They're named "buttercups" because they have a doubled comb and it makes a cup

The Rhode Island Reds, Bridgit and Kendra, are playing peak-aboo. Holly is off somewhere and didn't get into today's photo shoot.

I also got some cute pics - well I think they're cute - of my three dogs. Mattie is actually due for a hair cut, hence why her bangs are in a ponytail.

Mattie, my working beardie. She had a great herding session with Diane yesterday!

Scott isn't a big photo-fan. He looks pretty serious here. He worked hard at the farm yesterday and is taking it easy today.

Lucky, the Maltese-Shih Tzu. He's such a cutie-pie! He didn't do anything yesterday.

Birds of a Feather

Over the weekend, Jerill and I completed the build of our chicken habitat. I had purchased a coop from the Snoqualmie Feed store last month and have been working in between dry-spells getting everything set up for seven chickens. I've been wanting chickens for about year now, and I finally got them for my birthday which happened May 31.

Here is the build...

Jerill did most of the work. He is a molecular biologist but I think he may have been a great structural engineer too!

This is inside the habitat, where the ramp goes up into the coop/nesting box

The nesting boxes inside the coop

I brought home four adult hens first, from Diane's farm. Diane is growing her flock with other varieties of fowl and she was ready to part with four of her lovely ladies. The other three hens came from my neighbor's house. He had gotten three chicks for free at the Issaquah Grange and didn't real need more chickens, so he was willing to part with them.

As we finalized the habitat, Diane's four girls waited patiently in their carrier.

Lucky has assumed the role of livestock guardian dog

And, they're in!

I intend to provide the hens with different fruits, veggies and berries. Here, they're feating on blueberries and lettuce!

I have named all four hens already. The four older ladies have old-lady type names, while the young things from next door have names taken from the TV show The Girls Next Door.

Myrtle - she is a Russian Orloff

Mergatroid - she is also a Russian Orloff

Fannie - she is a Sicilian Buttercup

Flo - she is also a Sicilian Buttercup

Holly - I'm not sure what breed she is, but likely is a Plymouth Rock

Here are Kendra and Bridgit - they are Rhode Island Reds

Flo and Myrtle are definitely the head chickens of the flock. Flo has put the three Girls Next Door in their places already, demonstrating what "pecking order" really means. The three young hens will probably start laying eggs in about a month - they're still pretty young. From the four older ladies, in 24 hours, they've given me 2 eggs already!

During the day, we intend to let the hens free-range in our 3000 square foot fenced-in garden. They should find plenty of bugs and slugs to feast on (I hope!). I'll use Scott at night, if needed, to wrangle them up and put them away.

Chickens and Sheep and Goat, oh my!

Last Thursday Jerill and I went to the Evergreen State Fair. It's in Monroe, WA and although it is not as grand as the Puyallup Fair, it meets our needs - it has animals, bratwurst dogs and elephant ears.

Next Spring, after the fence around the back-acre is complete, I have been promised chickens. Although I will be building a chicken coop myself, to my specifications, I am planning on getting chickens more for show and cuteness than for eggs, although the eggs are a bonus. Not that I intend to actually do chicken-showing or use their fancy feather for tying fishing flies, I just like having them around and I think Scott will enjoy it. Scott will actually have to enjoy them as it's very unlikely we'll get ducks since they require so much more work (but, I'm easily convinced too so we'll see how the chickens go and then consider ducks later on). At the fair, they had plenty of fancy chickens on display. We photographed our favorite breeds.

Ameraucanas Blue Wheaten

Black Cochin. Beautiful bird here actually won the Best English Breed ribbon

Cochins Mottled

Leghorn Single Comb White. Okay, if I am allowed to get a rooster, it will be a traditional, Kellogg's Corn Flakes rooster like this one. I LOVE him.

Pymouth Rocks Barred Cockerel

My ultmate favorite, the Silkies Beard White. They also come in tan and black and B&W too I think.

Sussex Speckled

Wyandottes Golden Laced. These also come as a Silver Laced variety, in grey.

We fell in love with this friendly Angora Goat. Such a cutie pie. Jerill was smitten by its persistence to be petted on the nose (and that crazy head of hair it has!)

Okay, various people have told me to not get a bunny because the predators will eat it eventually and I'll be sad. HOWEVER: if I were getting a bunny, it would be an English Angora Rabbit like this. I mean, seriously, those ears and that face?!? It's like a bunny-version of mattie. Grey, fuzzy wuzzy that I just want to squeeze and dote on.


If you think skiing or golf are expensive hobbies, have you ever thought how much dough must go into horse and buggy showing? Sheesh! Gorgeous horses and tack though.

After the fair, Jerill and I stopped by Diane's farm in Carnation. I had left Scotty in her barn while were at the fair. We had a herding-date with Scott and Roo that evening. Diane is preparing Roo for the Nationals coming up in a few weeks and I was trying to work on Scotty's outwork more. So, what we do is stand at opposite ends of a huge pasture field - about 600 yards apart, and then send our dogs and watch them lift the sheep from each other . We have walkie-talkies and can tell each other what is going on with our respective pooches. This particular session went extremely well for both our dogs.

To prepare for these sessions, we have to sort out 5 sheep to use, from a flock of 20 or so sheep. The sheep know why we're there so they are more than eager to run away. This is when a dog comes in handy!

Open the gate slowly. Call dog to 'walk up' so that sheep start to move through the gate.

Here they come! Close the gate! Close the gate! Scottie "LIE DOWN!"

Darn; got more than 5. You can see Scott coming through the gate. He then was asked to bring those 7 sheep back to me so I could push the ram and ewe #1 (Callie the Sheep) back through since we don't want to work those two.