The Eyes Have It

Bubs has some beautiful blue eyes.    I'm a sucker for blue eyes.

These are mine. They are brown.

Tag, you're it!

Fried (ay) chicken business

This is a photo of our latest rooster.  We always order females, but it must be challenging to figure out what they are on day one, since it takes us weeks to figure it out.  His name is Foghorn.  He is a Leghorn, of course.  So far I really like him.  He is funny and curious.  It remains to be seen if his behavior will get him in so much trouble that he has to be, um, eliminated.  Hopefully the younger flock of hens will be all hens, then he can go be their head honcho.

As the kids and I watch our flocks grow I am tickled by how many common expressions are founded in the life of a chicken flock.  Last Friday I was inspired to take a few pictures while outside, drinking tea and reading some blogs.  Let's examine all of this, shall we?

Buddy, the old Golden, loves it when we go visit the chickens!

The kids frequently comment how the larger flock often segregates themselves into breed groups.  If we have several of one breed, they tend to forage together or roost together.  If we have only one of a particular breed, it tends to be a loner.  Thus, birds of a feather, flock together.

Um, I have since pulled a lot of the weeds.  

Anything, I mean anything, that is slightly out of the norm sends the chickens running for cover.  They run fast, with their wings sort of drooped downward.  You can almost hear them silently screaming, "Aghhhhhhh!".  Thus, "You are such a chicken."

These ladies are battling for the favorite nesting box.  There are more boxes, but no, only the penthouse will do.

Chickens bathe by dusting themselves.

The classic corporate organization chart, you know, the hierarchy... they call it the pecking order because the bosses can pick on the members of the flock that have less clout; and in a flock of chickens that is exactly the case.  It is easy to see who are the bosses and who are the underlings.

Hmm.  My neighbor seems to have missed a grapefruit... and I'm so thirsty.
I think this is my lemon, don't you?

When we have a second rooster in the flock he is always banished to some corner to roost all day long.  Try as he might, everyone knows he is meaningless.  Not only does the boss rooster keep him in check, but the hens follow suit, pecking him back into his proper place in the corner.  He, like a whipped husband, is henpecked.  

Similarly, bullies pick on their victims.  If you think playgrounds get cruel, you should watch a flock of chickens!

See?  I told you there were more nesting boxes!

Roosters, the ones that are in charge, not the ones that are henpecked, have attitude.  They are cocky.  They also bluff a lot, for example they will pretend they are going to mount a hen to make her submit, then just walk away all cocky-like.  Thus, cock-'n-bull behavior.

"Roosterman"

Young hens, a.k.a. pullets, begin laying eggs their first year.  They lay the best in year two, then gradually stop laying eggs, becoming useless to an egg farmer.  Since the chicks are usually hatched in the spring... the old hens are "no spring chickens".

This is "Tweed".  Her head is bald because Roosterman really, really likes her.

On a farm the laws of nature are always in play.  For example, if you don't get your crops planted at the right time, the natural consequence is that you won't get a harvest in fall.  With a flock, at dusk, like clockwork, the chickens find their favorite roosting spot for the night.  You can set your watch by this behavior.  When someone is predicted to suffer the expected consequence of an action, the expression is, "when the chickens come home to roost."

Daisy, our Cavalier girl, works so hard.  She needs a nap.

These growing babies also need a nap after they get to run loose all morning.

One lesson I have not learned yet is the egg carrying one.  I don't carry my eggs in a basket anyway, so whatever.  I can see the point, though.  From the disappointment of dropping an egg while collecting, I can see why you might not want to put all of your eggs in one basket.

Speedy, or oldest leghorn hen, faithfully lays a large, white egg just about every day.

There's one chicken idiom I can't agree with.  I suppose that it isn't as expensive as some other animal feed, but chicken feed is still expensive.  There's no way that I would break even if I tried to sell my eggs, even at the prices they charge for free-range, fertile eggs.  They simply eat too much of that expensive feed.  Therefore, a respectable amount of money can definitely be referred to as "chicken feed", in my opinion.

This Lantana grows like weeds. Hard to believe it is the desert.

Since I grew up in the Midwest, I suppose that some of these common expressions are not so common for everyone.  For more information on these idioms (cause I know you are simply amazed by this little ditty) look here.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Let's help Nora win the finals!!

Vote for Nora in the finals!!!

Fellow blogger Bubs has a lovely daughter in a spooky model contest. She's in the finals now, so let's do it again, people!

Select Nora O'Sullivan, provide a confirmation email, confirm your vote, and let's help her win this thing!

The Break-up Report

Thing 2 is still home from school and based on Monday's x-ray, shown above, the arm is still broken.  Ugh, poor kid.  She still has quite a bit of pain.  I had hoped we would see some bone filling in the gap, but I'm just impatient, I guess.

She has been switched to a brace, replacing the plaster splint they put on in the ER after manipulating it.  It seems like there should be something under the elbow, but what do I know?  She says it feels "floppy", similar to when it was first broken.  (Cringe)  

We're supposed to be able to remove this brace for bathing, but the thought of taking it off makes us both feel a little sick.  Maybe in a few days.

Oh, don't worry that the brace is on the left arm.  The doctor says this is normal.