Hiding In Plain Sight

There was a highly classified meeting held this week.

Born out of desperation, the chicken ladies decided to:

take the bull by the horns.....

wait a minute - too much metaphor mixing -

to take matters in to their own hands

wait a minute - they have no hands-

to take control of their biological destiny

Yes! Perfect! Has a strong chick sounding appropriateness.


So where were we? Ah yes, highly secret planning meeting to come up with a plan to keep that horrible egg stealing woman from robbing the nest. This woman was clever, she built a nice comfortable house and made soft hay filled nests. The rest of her diabolical plan became clear over time.

She actually thought she was entitled to take the eggs that would be laid so trustingly. With the passing of winter and the first whispers of spring - the meeting was held. At this grand poultry summit it was decided to hide the eggs from the crazed egg stealer.

Turkey Lurker, the most highly evolved of the hens, mentioned the concept of hiding in plain sight. Her daring plan was approved and implemented immediately.

Enter the "truck"

The plan for this old truck was to strip the frame to make a small trailer out of it.

notice the proximity to the chicken coop?

It is now the repository of the hens valiant efforts to produce young

Nestled amongst oil cans and old candy wrappers are the secret stash of eggs.
Brilliant, no?

Meanwhile "crazed egg stealer lady" spends her days pulling her hair out in frustration and wondering..

was it the new feed she bought last week? Why are there no eggs in the coop? Are the chickens sick? Should she Google this and try to find out?

Do not waste your sympathy on her though.

This is what she gets for trying to fool Mother Nature.....

Gatlinburg & Points Beyond

Its been wonderful to leave freezy cold rainy Florida for even colder, frozen points north of us!


The rationale is: if you're going to be cold anyway it should at least be pretty.
And fun.

And exotic.

Mornings waking up slowly in a hot tub while you look at the mountains

Afternoons on a ski lift!

An actual sighting of Pippi Longstocking

It takes a secure man to wear a small pink silk backpack, no?

Too soon it was back to sunny Florida which had turned green in one weeks time. Or so it seemed.

Goodbye cozy little house in the big woods.

goodbye snow drifts

and winter.

Hello Spring!

Hello to cows grazing belly deep in green fields of oats.

Its good to have the memories.

ON VACATION

 

Teeth, Part Deux

We have more teeth flying out of mouths around here on the farm than at any amateur boxing ring!

The Littlest Princess celebrated with chocolate


Robot boy stands for clear gender differences.

He likes all things with motors and steel and action. Chocolate pales in comparison.

Losing baby teeth is a tremendous right of passage when you are so young that your life isn't even measured in double digits yet.

When asked how he would like to celebrate his "gappiness" he said

"I want to drive the truck like my big sister does"

Usually, he is happy enough doing this



while I say hold on! and go about one mile an hour with my foot on the brake while HE laughs and says
GO FASTER!

But losing your two front teeth can change your life.

Qualify you for more mature privileges.



Its all part of what makes growing old great!

Forsooth! The Tooth!

Its hard to be seven years old and see your pals lose their teeth while yours are stayin firmly put!

So when your turn finally comes and you get to have a nice gappy smile it is a day to celebrate



and between bites of chocolate ice cream...

show the world your new snaggle smile!

Wednesday's Round Up

What is it about the number 1 lately? Today is 1-11-11.

What today is not:

The first of the week. It is in fact the middle of the week.

So we have this plethora of ones showing up right in the middle of the week.

cool

Other cool midweek things:

The rooster, Roo, has been crowing anxiously this morning at the window. On closer inspection, the sunlight has turned the glass into a mirror. Would it do any good to tell him that it is himself he is seeing?

Probably not.

In it, Roo sees his competition.
His worst nightmare, his adversary, his foe.
He is careful to keep the chair between him and the enemy.
He only stops crowing to look around nervously and wonder where the hens are.
They are of course, enjoying pecking and searching for bugs.
They have no time for rooster shenanigans.
Lets hope the suns upward course ends the reflective factor soon, poor Roo is starting to sound hoarse...

Meet Viceroy:

Viceroy isn't afraid of his own reflection unlike Roo. This may be due to the fact that there are no windows in Viceroys world but has to be due at least in part, to the fact that as herd bull, Viceroy reigns supreme in his world. His sovereignty isn't questioned, least of all by himself.

Viceroy meets Minnie!

Check out Minnie's body language. She would back up mid air if she could, doesn't she look like she's having fun?

Minnie is a monarch in her own right but the reigning title has to go to Emme perched atop her hay bale throne.

But the true star of the day is Dilly (my daughter in law) for dropping by with these.

Arent Wednesdays wonderful?

1/1/11 {playing with numbers}

"One is the loneliest number," wrote songwriter Harry Nilsson.

Quirky combos of numbers fascinate us. Just last month we had 12/11/10


What will you be doing when the clock strikes 11 on the 11th day of January 2011?

This year also brings us Sept. 10, 2011 (9-10-11)


And don’t forget, 314 days from now it will be November 11, 2011 (11-11-11)

I guess Veterans will consider that a Veterans Day extravaganza

Of course, this is all trivial compared to the doomsday predictions for 2012. If the planet is still rotating in the heavens after Dec. 12, 2012, the Mayans have predicted a cataclysmic event will occur Dec. 21, 2012. That will be on a Friday, which should make it more convenient for those who are planning end-of-the-world parties yet have to be on time for work the next Monday.


If nothing else, we could savor the date for the simple fact that apart from 11/11/11 in November and 12/12/12 in December next year, the next such date will be a decade later, on 2/2/22.

Jus sayin
(and playing with numbers)

Dining Etiquette 101

Sometimes its good to have a gentle reminder of what constitutes a fine dining experience. With so much food being eaten on the run or in front of electronic devices of various sorts there is a danger that time honored traditions can slip by the wayside.

Never may that happen!

Lets begin with a couple of "don'ts".

Or maybe more than a couple.....

One definite don't would be to ask your dinner companions if all the gnoshing makes your butt look big.

Nobody wants to think about your butt while they eat. That is just basic 101 Lady, so if you are really a "Lady" ...just don't...

That is best Lady. Good for you!

Moving along with our list of do nots

(not to be confused with donuts - that is another list entirely)

This would probably be a good point to mention that good dining manners would include not having food on your face OR hanging out of your mouth...

OR your nose for that matter!

and as for reclining at the dinner table...

unless you live in ancient Rome or are one of the 12 apostles,

That is considered highly inappropriate also.

Ahem! Do you here me? Someone needs to "steer" you steers in the right direction that's for sure....

Sometimes guests both invited and unexpected will show up for dinner. It is considered poor form to look down ones nose at such guests.

Its a much better course to show a keen interest, make good eye contact and listen carefully

For the fact of the matter is...

no matter what culture, race, gender or species divides us, the act of coming together in peace to share something as simple as a meal,

is what unites us.