First Day of Summer

Baby Birds, Big Eggs, & Blood Moons

          Did anyone watch the moon last night?  It was so cool!  We kept checking on the moon throughout the night until it was almost fully covered, then we sat around on the deck and watched the final transformation.  The last little sliver of the glowing moon slipped behind the earth’s shadow and transformed into a ruddy-red orb suspended in the sky.  The eeriest thing was the lack of light.  Even when the moon is at its smallest there is always that comforting glimmer of light in the sky, but not last night.  I didn’t take any pictures; taking moon shots are always difficult and I opted to just enjoy the experience. 

          I did get a picture of the new baby robins though!  I never got a chance to see how many eggs were inside the nest, but it looks like there are at least three baby robins -- it is hard to tell when they are just a jumble of little pink things.  Daddy robin is quite spastic when we walk in the front garden, making tons of noise and trying to lure us away from the nest.  Mama robin, on the other hand, is as cool as a cucumber.

         News among the domestic birds: huge eggs!!!  One of the Anconas has always laid large eggs, but today we found one almost as big as a goose’s egg!  We candled it and could see it has two yokes in inside.  My first thought was “that had to hurt!”  It just goes to show, the size of the bird does not determine the size of their eggs. 

          I won’t be blogging over the next couple of days, since I am going down to Santa Barbara with friends!  I did compete forty days of blogging, but I just learned that Lent this year spans forty-six days.  I don’t ever want to become legalistic about blogging, but I have really enjoyed the challenge of posting every single day.  So, TTFN for now!  Happy Easter everyone!!!     

Baby Robins

Ancona Eggs

Lottie

Dottie

        

            

Egg Injustice

          About a year ago I went through the exciting processes of registering our little egg enterprise with the great state of California. I crossed all my T’s and dotted all my I’s so I could properly and legally sell eggs.  I knew from the beginning I would never make a fortune selling just a few dozen eggs a month; but, if I ever decided to expand my flock or sell in a store all the paperwork would be done.  I have not sold any eggs in months.  The joy of blessing our friends with eggs far outweighs making a few dollars.  So, when a letter from California’s Food and Agriculture arrived yesterday, I casually opened it assuming it was the reminder to send in my eggs-sold fee.  I do not have my paperwork in front of me but it is something like $0.15 per 30 dozen eggs.  Since I have not sold even close to that, I owe nothing.  But that was not what this letter contained. 

          Becoming an egg handler involves filling out the paperwork and sending in a $10.00 one-time registration fee.  Imagine my shock when I opened the letter and read that the (previously non-existent) renewal fee was $50.00 ANNUALLY!  The new egg-handler fee is $75.00!  I gasped!  Then I fumed!  My own answer was simple: No!  I thought of the countless small farmers in our area and around my state who will feel the bite of this fee, this taxation, every single year!  This is wrong!  This is one more way to bleed the small entrepreneur dry!  I will not re-register.  Fairytale Farm will become a shredded piece of paper in the government’s glut of garbage.  I will continue to raise high-quality eggs, I will continue to freely share those eggs with friends, and I will continue to pray that my nation remembers its purpose: to represent the people, not oppress them.

          As of April 1^st, my legal permit as an egg handler will be void.  I wonder how many others will share my fate?  I wonder if those men and women who sit in offices writing rules ever stop and consider the affect of each increased fee?  Do they even care?     
     

Our First Egg (September 2009)

        

Blackberry Battle

          Today, Rachel and I tackled the blackberries.  Our arch enemy:  the Orcs of the weed world, the Daleks of the garden, and the destroyer of clear space.  The battle was tough and we have many more days of fighting ahead of us, but it felt so good to get outside in the sun and breathe the fresh air.  Spring is here!

Happy Hens and Bob

Bingo

Hacking Away

The Days' Spoils

Battle Scars

A Long Week

           I am so thankful for Friday.  Friday means the week is coming to a close, and I am ready to shove this week far back into the recesses of my memory where it can wither away into oblivion.  A hawk killed my beautiful rooster yesterday.  I think I failed to mention that the fancy Golden Polish turned out to be a boy, not super surprising considering his fancy plume and pathetic attempts at crowing.  Unfortunately that fancy headdress impeded Mr. Makutsi’s vision considerably and I warned the family if a predator ever attacked he would be a likely target, sometimes I hate being right.  This is the second hawk attack this week; the first attempt was at dusk and unsuccessful.  Dad and I were working hard to build and ship out an order of mounts, one of the great frustrations of this week since we received a batch of bad parts which need a lot of reworking to be usable, when we got the call. Rachel had chased off the predator by the time we arrived, but the stiff decapitated Mr. Makutsi was a sad reminder of the hawk’s attack. 
          I cannot blame the hawk.  It was only doing what God designed it to do, hunt and eat.  We have seen hawks many times flying overhead with a rodent or snake clasped in its talons, the fact it is hunting such large prey shows how hungry it must be.  Up till now I have not been at all concerned for my large chickens’ safety from birds of prey, but now I know better.  Life is full of challenges, heartache, and loss.  Sometimes it feels so overwhelming I just want to crawl under my covers and sleep a few years away.  But, without sadness would we be able to understand and value happiness?  I always appreciate the rain more after experiencing months of hot sunshine, and again I appreciate the sun after the clouds and rain have paid a lengthy visit.  Last night in accounting, our tiny class of four all groaned that the last week had been challenging or hard in some form.  The teacher responded with the sentiment that so many things bad happening at once means that a lot of good must be on its way.  I hope that is true, because I am tired of sitting on the low end of the see-saw.  I am ready to spend some time on the high side.

One Of Those Days!

         It has been a great day!  Last night I read over an e-mail (forwarded by mom from a local e-mail listing of food/farm related topics) from someone needing a rooster with an eye for the ladies.  Apparently their current rooster was not doing the job so they were wondering if anyone had a spare rooster.  The beauty of this is Runty (who is anything but a runt now) was just put on my short list for being a little too hen crazy, between him and Bob they were too hard on my ladies.  To make a long story short, we took Runty to his new home this evening!  It is a beautiful place out in Penn Valley where he can free range with his new harem.  So, my hens will be back to just one adult rooster, Runty ended up with a new home, and I do not have to add anymore chickens to the freezer.  Yep, this has been a great day!  

So long Runty!

   

Chicks for Chicks!

Three of my little Americanas went to a new home today!  I must admit I was a little sad to see them go, but these smiling faces certainly made parting easier.  

Also, I am house-sitting this weekend for several fish, three kitties, and one very large German shepherd.  The days are getting quite hot, so I have a feeling this weekend will involve a lot of this.  

Perfect opportunity to get caught up on my reading, writing, and blogging!     

A Quick Life Update

          Summer has arrived, and with its arrival came a downpour!  Normally I would not mind rain in June, especially considering the rainfall this year has been way down.  But I have sixteen chicks which need to be kept warm and dry.  This past week they have been able to take field trips out into the yard, with supervision of course, so they can stretch their wings and get some fresh air.  Yesterday they were jumping all over each other and seemed quite disappointed they could not go out.  A couple of them discovered they can jump on top of the water dispenser, which is just one step away from discovering they can jump from the top of that out of their bucket entirely.  So we converted the mudroom into a chick condo with plenty of room for them to run around.  They seem very happy with their new setup.

 

          The one nice thing about the weather is it forces you to stick to quieter indoor activities.  Last week was super busy.  I had an order to get out for dad on Monday, massage client on Tuesday; have I ever mentioned I trained as a massage therapist after leaving Point Loma?   I tried building up a clientele, but Nevada County is overflowing with massage therapists so my skill is limited to family and a few friends these days.  The rest of the week was spent cleaning out the garage (UGH!).  The garage is in process of being transformed into a great multi-purpose room.  It will house dad’s new movie theatre setup as well as being a great place to exercise, play games, and host giant parties!  But before any of that can happen the thing has to be cleaned out.  We have made a ton of progress this past week.  The rain did cause some backtracking since all the stuff on the driveway had to be hastily put back in the garage.  But the end is in sight, just a dozen or so more piles of stuff to go through and it will be clean!

          I enjoy being busy, the kind of busy where you feel good and accomplish things without getting worn down by too much hustle and bustle.  DLC has been keeping me really busy the past couple months, so busy in fact that I have not needed to look for an outside job!  I have also dived back into the research and regulations of selling eggs.  Yesterday I sent off my application for an egg handler’s license!  I still need to find out if I need a business license or not, but Fairytale Farm should be up and running very soon!  I love having chickens, but they need to pull their weight around here like everyone else.

          So life is pretty good these days.  I have a wonderful family, an awesome roommate, and a bunch of tiny chicks that provide tons of adorable entertainment.  Yep, this is the good life.   

  

Mail Order Chicks!

         They have arrived!  And it was a big surprise!  I received a text message Sunday at 4am (yeah, last time I sign up for text notification outside my time zone) saying the chicks were on their way.  I did not expect them to arrive so quickly though.  This morning consisted of a lot of running around, finding chick supplies, cleaning out buckets, locating the heat lamp, and dad rushing off to the post office to pick them up.  They are now settled comfortably in a big purple tub with food, water, and heating lamp.  Dad and I need to get started on a new chicken coop for them ASAP, for they will soon outgrow their current accommodations.  There is always some big adventure going on around here, or in this case sixteen little peeping adventures.  

Click Here! Blogger is being silly and won't let me directly imbed the video from YouTube.

Chick Update

Friday

          I awoke this morning hoping to find our broody hen surrounded by seven little fluff balls.  The three chicks hatched yesterday are happy and active; the one still in process when we went to bed last night did not make it.  It appears to have given up trying to push out of its shell, and remained curled up inside, sleeping eternally.  The three remaining eggs will be given more time to hatch since the eggs were gathered from multiple days; hopefully we will have good news to report soon.  This is just another small reminder how life, any life, has to fight to live, and every moment of our life is a special gift.  So happy Friday readers, may you have a wonderful day surrounded by the people you love enjoying the wonderfulness of life.

 

Violet & Mama Hen's chicks (part 2)

Violet & Mama Hen's chicks (part 1)

5 weeks old!!!

Sad Day

Yesterday I came home from a wonderful afternoon/evening out to be told that my pretty Snow White had been carried away by a coyote.  My one concern when I brought home this beautiful bird was she would be an easy target in her white plumage.  Sadly, this fear has become a reality.  Good bye pretty Snow White, we will miss your cheerful chicken personality and your lovely blue eggs.

New Arrivals!

Look at these lovely ladies!  

I was super excited to find these Americana pullets for sale from a local source.  They are around three months old, very friendly, and so beautiful.  Since we decided nearly three years ago to keep chickens, mom has wanted a few green eggs to add a colorful zing to our array of brown eggs.  Now I finally have them!  They have been dubbed “The Princesses,” but the white one has been given her own special name.  If you can’t figure it out by looking at her, you need to watch more Disney classics!  We will have to wait several months before gathering our first green egg, until then they add quite the dainty flair to the flock.