A Day of Relaxation

Since it's my birthday I decided to not do anything today. I spent my morning reading emails, then took a long nap at noon. When I got up I walked around outside with my camera and captured a few images of the landscaping and the chickens. Jim said he wanted to do something for my birthday but I insisted that we didn't. Just spending the day the way I want to is a gift. I told him I want to treat birthdays like the native Americans did. They didn't keep birth records and didn't celebrate birthdays. I can't help but think they were happier for it too.

These photos show a raised mound by the driveway that we created last fall. For years, I'd had this mental image of a kidney-shaped mound that hugs the curve of the driveway. The barrel was my mom's, the big boulder came from the pond when it was dug, and Jim and I built the bird house together last fall. I planted a White Birch sapling on the left and my favorite Purple Coneflowers and Liatris for the foundation planting. There is also a clump of ornamental grass near the barrel and the bright blue flowers are Lobelias. I will get to see the coneflowers bloom next summer.

The wheat field north of us was harvested this week and now the chooks are busy eating all the wheat that was left behind. Isn't Silver handsome with his big rose comb, speckled breast and jaunty tail? We saw two Silver-Spangled Hamburg roosters at the fair last night, but they weren't nearly handsome as our boy!



I finally got a decent picture of Rudy, our Buff Orpington rooster. His curved sickle feathers are taking shape and he's got a new growth of gleaming golden hackle feathers coming in. He's going to be a real knockout when he's mature! He's 14 weeks old now and still hasn't crowed. Some breeds mature at a slower pace than others, and the Orpingtons are slower than the rest of the breeds in our flock.

The Australorps have matured the fastest. The pullets are four pounds now, except for the smallest one. Here's a video of Fern enjoying herself in the wheat this afternoon. She has the loveliest leg color, a deep black offset against bright yellow. (That's Rudy's fluffy butt in the background!)

The Australorps are just what I had hoped they would be: big, black birds with bright red combs. They look wonderful foraging out in the yard. They contrast nicely against the bright green grass. I love my colorful flock!