Blak Beest

Deer GramUdder,
 
A big blak beest kam to our koop.  

Ant Kim sed "Oluv leevit"!  The beest triid to get us. 

Gloria ran so fast that she got a kramp in her drumstik.  We hided in the koop.   Gloria wus SO SKARD!

 
We r  O K.  Mom sed the beest kant visit us eneemor.  Just chikins.
 
Luv, 
Marge

Around My Backyard

Dear Mom,

( The End )

Love,

Bonnie Jo

KnitKickers

Dear Mom,
A new design flew off my needles last spring and I had hopes of it being accepted by Knitty, but it didn't make the cut. Ah well. I can debut them here, instead.

I'd been wanting a little boot topper, but something lacy. Something that could be worn as a dressy accessory and something that would make a dressed down work boot look pretty, too.

I called on Bonnie Jo and my Young Lady to do some modeling for me, and Bonnie Jo gets credit for the clever name.

More details about KnitKickers can be found HERE.

Love,
Kim

Celebrating the Life of a Chicken

Dear Mom,

On March 26 , Golda was buried under the maple tree in the backyard.  She would have been 4 years old in August.  Her death was not a surprise, as her health had been declining for many months.  It is my belief that she had ovarian tumors, but I'll never know for sure. 

As her outlook worsened, I made the decision to allow her to remain in the coop with her sisters rather than move her into a hospital cage.  To my surprise, Marge and Gloria allowed her to keep her positon at the top of the pecking order.

As Golda grew weary and reclusive, her sisters lovingly tended to her.  The day before Golda died, I watched as Marge cleaned off Golda's beak and straightened her feathers.   The following morning, Marge and Gloria remained in the coop with her lifeless body.

Golda was my Blog Star!  She was the first to lay an egg (on Christmas Eve!) and later produced the much-talked-about giant egg. 

She received regular spa treatments, complete with shampoo and blow dry.

She loved tomatoes.  She lurked in the shadows as we harvested, waiting for the chance to grab a cherry tomato!

She was quirky and silly.  She was bossy and strong-willed.

 

She had the biggest and floppiest comb!

She wore a purple sweater.

If anyone ever tells you that chickens are stupid, don’t believe it for a second!  Chickens are inquisitive and interesting little creatures with intelligence and personality.  I have witnessed a social structure, communication, and distinct personalities among my backyard chickens. 

Love,
Bonnie Jo

Gentle Chickens

Dear Mom,

Before I acquired my backyard chickens, I did some research to find a docile breed with a calm and patient personality.  I chose the Orpington. 

From the moment the chicks arrived, they were treated with gentleness.  We softly sang to them and said, "Chick, chick, chick" whenever we approached the brood box.  We spent time with them, walking slowly, talking quietly, and offering treats.  They were never chased or grabbed.  We picked them up, pet them, and released them carefully back onto the soft ground.  The chickens soon learned to recognize our voices and come running when called, always to be rewarded with a handful of corn!

We taught the curious neighbor children how to get acquainted with them.  Of course, there were times when they tried to chase them...but they quickly learned that slow movements, and clumps of grass and fresh worms fed by hand got better results!   



The girls are begging for treats from Little J

The hens have a good life and the children have a rewarding experience.  I have the joy of raising a healthy flock of backyard chickens and making some great memories with these adorable children!

Miss A and Gloria

Love, Bonnie Jo

I Won!

Dear Mom,

I won a blog contest!  Terry Golson was spring cleaning, and she generously decided to have a give-away contest to re-home some items she hasn't used in a while.  The prize was this charming hand-stenciled cotton runner. 

Terry is an animal lover and an author of many cookbooks and an adorable children's book, Tillie Lays an Egg.  I found Terry's Hen Blog one day while viewing the live-streaming webcam of her flock of hens.  Terry loves to speak about her backyard poultry keeping, and she has even appeared on The Martha Stewart Show! 

I have been a follower of Terry's blog for a long time, soaking up her advice and enjoying her pictures, recipes and animal stories.  You can imagine how excited I was to win her blog contest!

The package was sealed with a hen sticker!

Ooooo, lots of other goodies, too....I feel like a kid on Christmas morning!  The package included a note card featuring Agnes and Edwina Hen.

Look at these clever one-of-a-kind magnets made from pages out of vintage books!

And here is the eagerly anticipated table runner!

Time for a photo shoot!

Okay, so I saved some of Meg's eggs and a few her beautiful feathers...and I keep them in a teacup.

This runner will be a great Easter decoration.  Thanks, Terry!

Love, Bonnie Jo

Simmering Potpourri

Dear Mom,
Potpourri is one of those words that doesn't look right no matter how I try to spell it. One R? Po-por-eee. Two RR's?  Pot-Poor-rEEE. You cannot pronounce it the way it is spelled or spell it the way it is pronounced. Spell check came in handy on this one.

When I was at the Spin Workshop a couple of weekends ago, a fellow classmate asked if she might borrow my niddy noddy overnight and return it in class the next morning. Of course she could!
When Melissa returned the niddy noddy she gave me some of her home made simmering potpourri as a thank you. I thought, WOW! What a nice and totally unexpected completely unnecessary thing to do!..... I think I want to be her friend.
The potpourri is wonderful. I asked Melissa for the "recipe". She gave me several. The ingredients are all things you probably have in your kitchen and spice cabinet. I have her permission to share the recipes with you.

The combination Melissa gave to me was this:
orange peel (literally- the peel off of an orange.)
broken up cinnamon sticks
a few whole cloves

Put it all in a saucepan with enough water to cover and simmer away. Just be sure to check and refill the water- it evaporates quickly. Use it for as long as you like, until it looks yucky. And then make some more.

Melissa also suggests the following options-

Grapefruit peel with bay leaves

Lime peels with broken cardamom seeds

Lemongrass that has been smashed well and cut up for a citronella scent.

Cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg.

When I saw Melissa at Open Spin the weekend before the workshop, I knew she was somehow familiar to me, but I couldn't place her. When she started talking about her rugs (she is a Hooker!), the light bulb flickered on and I remembered. WAaaay back when I took the rug weaving class Melissa walked in with a few of her hooked rugs. They were impressive, inspiring, unforgettable. Works of art. I hope to see more of her rugs someday.

And this has nothing to do with simmering potpourri, but look at what I found at the Tractor Supply when I went to buy more Orvus wool wash:

Cute CUTE little baby chicks.

And even CUTER baby ducks.

Think of the neighbors, Kim.

And the dogs.

And the POOP.

Pictures will have to do. But ohhhh.

Love,
Kim

Chicken Sweaters and Fingerless Mitts

Dear Mom,
Aren't Bonnie Jo's chickens smart! Not only have they figured out how to log onto the blog, but they also know that Aunt Kim will stop just about everything to knit for a niece. Even if that niece is a chicken.
The Chicken Sweater Pattern I used is this one. After seeing how lovely Gloria, Marge and Golda look in their jumpers, I imagine that there will be more hens asking for sweaters this Christmas.
The sweaters required less than 50g of yarn and these fit Bonnie Jo's robust ladies just right. I don't know how her girls fit into the scheme of Hen Sizing- are they Average? Plus size? All I can say with certainty is that they are not petite, so if knitting for a petite chicken niece, a knitter might want to scale the pattern down a smidge.
Knitting the sweaters was the easy part. The Chicken Photography was not. (But it was fun!) Chickens do not hold still. I took over 200 photos and Bonnie Jo had to do some deep knee bends.



multi-tasking one handed deep knee bending photographer/chicken whisperer



 I am beginning to think that putting a camera in Bonnie Jo's hands turns her into Super Stretchy Limber Woman!
Our patience, gymnastics, low batteries and rapidly filling memory cards were rewarded with some excellent (or should I say eggcellent?) shots.


Chicken sweaters aren't the only thing I've been knitting. I feel like I am late to the appeal of the fingerless mitts, but having made one pair for the Young Lady, I can't seem to stop. I can knit a mitt a night. They don't require much yarn, and they've been good stash busters.
I've made some with self-striping  and variegated yarns and they look good on their own, but the few pairs I've done out of solid colors needed some embellishments. I pulled out my Colorful Stitchery book and some sock yarn leftovers and had some fun.

I made this pair for Bonnie Jo: (she already opened them so I can show them off )



And I finished the first of this pair last night:

I knew the mitts were a hit when the Young Lady approved my making a pair as a birthday gift for her friend. She chose a bright variegated yarn from the stash for that pair. I also want a pair or three for myself. They are cozy for hugging a warm mug of tea, or for right now when my hands are cold as I sit at the computer keyboard. I don't have a pattern for these- it is in my head- but I probably should write down what I've done somewhere. Right now I am just enjoying the satisfaction of finishing projects.

It amy be cold and snowy, but life is good. I've got hot tea in front of me and two sleeping dogs on the floor beside me.

Keep Warm!
Love,
Kim

Favrit Ant

Deer Ant Kim,


U r a good nitter!  and fast!  thank u for nu sno soots.

Look!  We r playing in sno togethr!

U r favrit ant.  We feel speshul.  We wil giv u egggs.

Luv,

Golda, Marge and Gloria

p.s. We lik cow buttens.  pleez eet mor beef.