A Birthday Meeting

That is  my Daughter Lynn on the left and daughter Andee on the right...

and that's me taking their picture on Wednesday the 27th, Lynn's birthday.

Andee called me earlier in the week and said, mom, let's get Lynn to meet us, maybe in Raleigh, and we will do something for her birthday.

Well, how about meeting in Wake Forest at Cici's Pizza, I asked, thinking of myself and my chance to eat all the pizza I want. 

Had I known early on that I was marrying a man who didn't like pizza, well that might have changed things. (don't tell Poppy I said that) :)

So we did meet in Wake Forest and darn it, I meant to get a picture of the three of us and all those plates of pizza. 

and of all things, there was a Dollar Tree store just around the corner. 

What is it with these girls and trying on Dollar Tree sun glasses, and didn't we do this same thing the last time we met in Wake Forest? I think so. 

Anyhow, it was fun and it has been ages since I've laughed so much.

  
The day passed way too fast. I didn't want to leave them and come home, but I did. 

Guess I had better get a move on. It's warm and sunny and beautiful outside today, and before I can get out there in is, I've got to go to Walmart.  :(

Thank you for stopping by. 

Love,
Henny

A little post with a big "thank you"

Thank goodness for daffodils that bloom while we are waiting for spring weather...

and thank goodness for blogging friends! 

Thank you so much for the comments on my chicken post. That was a pleasant surprise. So glad I didn't lose you all over that bunch of chickens.  Even came through it all with two new followers, Alison and Faith. Thank you!

The late afternoon sun shines through the little sewing room window...

it was just so bright and warm, I could not resist taking a picture...

and most days there is a kitty cat napping there. I do see signs of one having been there. 

and speaking of the sun...

it made the delicate blooms on this Ash tree look like ice. 

Guess I had better end this. It's about bedtime. We have to get up at 4:00 tomorrow morning. Poppy works at Food Lion. 

Love,
Henny

Keeping Chickens

Dear friends,

Thank you for your comments on my last post. You're just the best friends ever.  My intent was to reply to each comment, and then keep up, for goodness sake!...but I have failed again. I've been off in la la land and wondering if this new perm has affected my brain. I simply have not been able to post anything.  

However, Deb asked if I would talk a little about raising chickens...the pros and cons. Thank you Deb.

I'm simply terrible at doing something like this and won't be much help, but will tell you... 

We've had chickens around here for a long time. In fact, a little chicken house was the first thing Poppy and I built out here on our teeny tiny farm. I was so excited the day Poppy came home from work with three hens. These are Red Sex Links, he said. Good layers.

We've had many different breeds here since those days, and our favorites have been the Giant Brahmas, Speckled Sussex, Dominique and Plymouth Rock, the Buff Orpington, and these Araucana...

It's fun gathering the blue green eggs along with the regular eggs.  Araucana hens are sweet natured hens. 

Oh, and country fresh eggs are so much better than store bought eggs. That's a real plus!

This spring I hope to get few of the larger breed chicks to raise. Our flock has changed in the last few years and here's why.

You know how "Henny Penny Lane" seems to attract unwanted animals...well one day back in 2007 that little dark red game hen (in the above picture) showed up in our driveway, starving. We fed her, named her Jewel, and she stayed. Not only did she stay, she hatched dozens and dozens of baby chicks through the years, each chick carrying that "game" blood line. 

Little Jewel is no longer with us. She wandered too far one day, with her chicks, and a fox caught her. We have loved and cared for all these hens but want no more of that "game" blood line. Those game hens lay smaller eggs, like to fight, are ill natured, and good at flying over fences.

and here's a couple of pros... 

the joy and sweetness of baby chicks in the spring.

but there are times I've wished we didn't have chickens at all...

You see, I get attached to every animal that sets foot on this property, so there are sad times too. I've buried many a chicken here, and also cared for many sick or wounded chickens that, had I been a real old time farmer, would have put them down. But not me. For several years I cared for a one-legged rooster and that got to be "work".  

Keeping a chicken waterer clean can be a job. Algae makes the waterer look dirty. Seems like I am always cleaning them.  A little natural cider vinegar added to the water helps keep the algae away, and is also good for the hens. 

Keeping anything clean, in or around a chicken coop, is a job.  Chickens are messy! 

Then there's all that feed to buy and deal with. I keep buckets of feed in the pantry which keeps it dry, and also makes it easy to get together every morning. To me, this is fun. :)

Shiver...then there's rat snakes which had rather have eggs than rats. I vividly remember the day this picture was taken. I had walked in the chicken house to gather the eggs and met this fellow, then turned to leave, looked up and saw this one...

Two snakes! in the chicken house at the same time!

Our little chicken house has a dirt floor, (not a good thing), so I keep a thick layer of wheat straw or cheap hay covering the floor in the winter, then clean it out in summer months. Dust, cobwebs, and dirty roosts inside the house are pretty disgusting too.

But to me, the pros outweigh the cons. Makes me laugh to hear the chickens squawking and running toward the gate when they see me. Have you ever seen a chicken run? It's a funny sight. Have you ever heard a hen sing? Hope we always have chickens here on Henny Penny lane.

Oh, and just think of all the string you can save off those feed bags. :) 

I know, crazy, isn't it. But, I have saved every string off every bag of feed since day one. This is not a new picture. The ball of string is bigger now. I'll be back with a new picture.

Gosh, am I really going to publish this? Might as well. Deb, hope you aren't sorry you asked. 

Thank you friends!

Love,
Henny

 

Sewing and such

Don't you hate having several unfinished projects that you don't like and wish you had never started??

Pieces like that old poison green apron folded there on the white box, and that bonnet cut from black and white fabric, and that's not all, there's more inside the box,

so I'm throwing it all out and cutting some pretty pieces to work on.

Anyhow while getting rid of the ugly things, I noticed that American Girl doll (found at Goodwill) dressed in that green outfit I made...

I never did like that outfit. Green is just not my color, and the dress looks too puffy and big.

Neither is blue my color, but blue calico, now that's different...

To me, she looks much much sweeter, and wait til you see the 'new born' size sweater that was on the infant table at Goodwill...

So adorable. Looks like it was made for her. 

I am seriously thinking about making doll clothes to sell when Shelby and I do a craft show. That would be fun, and give me something different to work on.


Been thinking about that bird feeder/bird house?? on my last post as to what it really is??

Poppy says, "trust me, it is a bird feeder. The holes are way too big and there is a hole on each side".  So, should we go with what Poppy says? :) 

and here it is hanging on the front porch...

That is a funny little nuthatch hanging on. Like the chickadee, the nuthatch is a cute bird to watch, the way they scoot up and down trees. Sometimes coming down head first.

Looks like the well house needs to be leveled. As I've said before, our place reminds me of the old nursery rhyme...

There was a crooked man, he went a crooked mile,

He found a crooked sixpence against a crooked stile,

He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse,

And they all lived together in a little crooked house.

Sounds like our place, doesn't it??

We had a few, a very few, snow flurries this morning. But the rain has now pushed it's way back in and will be here until Sunday. 

Did I mention making doll clothes to sell? Here's my start on that big idea...

I cut out two pairs of overall...so excited! Couldn't wait to see one finished. Well, on the left is the finished pair...with two backs sewn together, hemmed and everything! The piece on top is the front of the overalls with the bib that was supposed to go with one of those back pieces. Darn it! Wouldn't you think I would have noticed having two back pieces pinned together!  Guess it will take my sewing time tonight to get this mess straightened out. 

Thank you for listening. :)

Love,
Henny

We built a bridge!

Hey friends,

It sure is damp and gloomy here, again today. All gray and misting rain, making it feel much colder than it actually is. The heavy rain is just west of us, heading this way!

Mama used to say, "however your Monday starts off, that's how your week will be". Wonder if that holds true for the first day of the month.

Know what's funny?? I started this post on Friday the 1st, and those words still apply...waiting on the heavy rains.

But YAY!! It is March 1st 3rd and spring can't be far away.

This flowering quince started blooming in December and has not stopped. How cheerful is that! :)

A little story from yesterday. Boy, if only I had a "before" picture...

I don't have one, but can tell you the story is about that little foot bridge you can see way up there in the distance between me and the shop...

It was early morning, around 8:00. I was in the bunny lot, my last stop with the feed bucket before going back to the house, when I heard yelling, a man's voice, yelling!

Poppy and Eli, just minutes earlier, had walked past me and gone out of sight around the back of the house. There it was again, a man yelling, but what was he saying! "Dan", I yelled back, "was that you?"  No answer.  

I am deaf in one ear making it hard for me to tell what direction a sound is coming from.

Anyhow I hurried out of the bunny lot and came around the back side of the house to find Poppy crawling out of the ditch, (our wet weather creek), that runs along the back yard.

"I fell", he said. When he stepped onto that old thirty year old foot bridge, his foot went through the rotten wood, catching his leg which made his body twist around and fall into the deep wet leaves in the ditch. I was surprised the fall didn't break his leg, but Poppy is fine, thank goodness.  He has strong bones. I hate to think what would have happened had it been me who fell through...with osteoporosis. 

So yesterday we built a new bridge. I had the fun job of tearing the old bridge down while Poppy went to Rustic Building Supply for two 4" x 4" posts...

using what was left of that stack of boards Todd and Andee gave us. 

Every day, Eli, Weetie, Poppy, and I walked across that old bridge, and every day I would say to Poppy, "sure hope this bridge holds up". "This bridge is not going to fall", he would always say. Yeah right! Now we know!

So, here is our sturdy new bridge...

Oh, and that bird feeder...do you like it? I simply fell in love with it and had to have it. It was only $6.00

and looks so pretty hanging under the eave of the house on the front porch. The little birds love it too. It's also pretty here with Randy's painting which is still displayed on this antique chair in the living room. I love it!

Gosh, I've talked your ears off. Sorry about that. I'll save the rest for next time. 

Love,
Henny