Valentine's Day or Easter?

The weather makes me think that it should have been Easter not Valentine's Day.  Trust me... I am NOT complaining.  ;)  So, it honestly didn't seem odd when the kids stopped in last night with a Valentine's purchase from Theisens... Baby chicks! 

 

Farmerboy always loved having chickens.  Believe it or not, his wife does not eat eggs!  She does like to bake though, so they will come in handy for that.  He wanted to get 12, and they compromised on 10.  Great compromise for him since his lovely bride did not really want chickens.  I have to admit... I always loved raising chickens.  Here is a close up of one of the crazier looking ones!

 

 

 

 

Aren't they darling?  It always amazes me when I hold on to them.  For those that question a higher being, look at these tiny little critters.  Only a higher being could create such a wonder.  Absolutely amazing!

 

I hope everyone had a Happy Valentine's Day.  Ours was quiet and that is okay with me.  Tomorrow is our anniversary... twenty-seven years and counting.  :)

A Halloween Chicken??

As you all may have guessed by the title of my blog and the colors of my layout, Fall is my favorite time of year.  During the season, I feel so at peace with the world and my artistic mojo is at an all time high.  (Twenty-two years ago, I was even lucky enough to be blessed with the arrival of Farmerboy in October... double bonus! :)  ) It is no surprise with the impending arrival of September, that the old familiar smell and feel of Fall is making itself known in Northern Illinois.  Of course, it has limited itself to only a few days here and there, but the trees have taken notice and patches of crimson are showing up in town.   Soon, we will be making our annual trek to our favorite apple orchard in Wisconsin.  Yay!!  

So to celebrate the arrival of my favorite season, I had to share a few pictures of one of our chicks that is quickly becoming my favorite hen to marvel over... Believe it or not this is Coal... My jet black little chick that is growing up to be the most handsome bird that I have ever seen.  She was being raised for another farm, but I am not sure that I will be able to let her go.  She is the most amazing shade of black and orange!    Her plumage just hinting at the colors until the last few weeks. 

Here she is without the camera flash.  Her feathers are such a wonderful deep shade of burnt orange with black tips.  *Sigh*

She fits into my life and my blog perfectly!  ;)

 

Pictures of the New Grandchicks! ;)

I should have known that there would be more than one!  Here are the latest picks of the new Grandchicks. ;) 

The first to arrive was this little butterscotch colored fuzz ball.  It always amazes me how they can fall asleep at the drop of a hat, when you pick them up! :)

The next day this little guy was waiting for Farmerboy in the hen coup.  He (or she) reminds me more of  Davey in looks but has a pumpkin colored spot on the left side of his face.  The color of his down makes him look like a little penguin! :)

Introductions were made...   Lil' Butterscotch didn't seem to thrilled with sharing digs, since she (or he) was a whole day older than the mini Penguin! LOL  But later in the night, they settled together fine.  I had to put Davey into another cage, since he is way larger than these two.  Although I must say, he didn't act like they bothered him much.  But... Davey tends to believe that he is descended from ducks and is much to wild with the  water dish for these little peeps! ;) 

After getting home from work yesterday, this tiny little lump named Coal was waiting for me.  She (or he) is half the size of the other two.  It made me a little nervous to place her in with the other chicks, but I am happy to report that all three are getting along famously!

 

I was  informed last night by Farmerboy that one more egg had a little hole started in it yesterday.  So... there might be one more to add to the group tonight.  Even though I enjoy this little distraction to everyday life,  my hopes are that this will be the last addition to our little flock! ;) 

New Addition to the Household

Here is the latest addition to the Pumpkin Hollow household.  His name is Davey.  He is a brave little guy, who is the sole survivor from an attack on our baby chicks.  My son decided to bring Davey into the house, until he gets some size to him.  I have found out that he is quite the escape artist and spent some time chasing him around my son's room yesterday.   It has been awhile since we have had chicks in our home.  Davey is a nice little reminder of how wonderful new life can be... :)  

Farmerboy has just recently purchased some lambs to raise, also.  I will have to get some photos of them to share.  They  have light and dark colored coats.  This will be a new adventure for us.   It will be exciting to have some natural wool to play with!  ;)

Baraboo Women's Center Underground Railroad Quilt & Seminar ~ Badger Gas & Steam Engine Show

There were so many things to do at Baraboo, but one of the highlight's for me was visiting the Women's Center.  They had guest speakers for those of us that wanted to learn a little Wisconsin women's history, wool spinners, candle makers, quilters, and a vintage apron show.  Plus, there were quilts and antiques on display.  I could have spent much more time there.  It truly is a remarkable event that is arranged for the spectators.  Oh... and they also have a quilt raffle that visitors can participate in! :)

Below is a picture of the front of the Women's Center.  Isn't it wonderful?  The vintage John Deere tractor was owned by the family of the guest speaker  and her sister who made the "Underground Railroad" Quilt.  They are very proud to show its newly restored condition.  It was beautiful!

I did not get the full name of the speaker.  If memory serves me correct, her first name was Jan.  My arrival to the Center brought me in half way through her lecture.  She was discussing the Civil War and the Underground Railroad as it pertained to the women of Wisconsin.  She also discussed the idea of quilts being used to direct the slaves in their travels.  It is not her belief that they had secret codes in the quilts, but she did believe that quilts hanging outside could have tipped slaves off to safe houses and that their stories were told in the block patterns.  Very interesting lecture!

Here is the quilt that the guest speaker's sister made for the event.  Isn't it wonderful?  *sigh*  I had the pleasure of discussing the quilt with her.  They purchased some fabric prints inspired by the Civil War Era.  I am not sure whose fabric line they used, but Barbara Brackman has a line inspired from that era that I have been dreaming about. The pattern came from Eleanor Burns' "Underground Railroad / Quilt in a day" book.  Yep, I am ordering a copy! ;)  The last block is the meaning behind each block pattern in the quilt.  They printed it off from the book onto fabric and incorporated it into the design.

There was a mini quilt and another larger one that were  inspired by the Underground Railroad patterns.

Here is a list of the names of blocks that are linked to the Underground Railroad.

I will wrap this post up with one of many splendid quilts that were on display!   It is entitled "Chickens".   The pattern and quilting created by Karren Watson of the Wisconsin Dells.  Love the colors and the cool hens!  You know me and my chickens. ;)  There were some beautiful works of fabric art to view, and it was a pleasurable way to spend part of the afternoon.   Special thanks to all the wonderful women who made this part of the event possible.  *applause*  :0) 



A Surrogate Chicken??

Do you remember the post on vintage nesting boxes, where I showed our hen sitting in a determined fashion on a clutch of eggs?   Well, she was sitting on three eggs at the time.  It was the perfect number, since we do NOT want to add too many possible hens to the flock.  I feel bad saying that she was a bad sitter, because she sat faithfully on those eggs throughout the incubating period.  But alas... no chicks. :(  Our rooster, who is a very handsome bird, is adamant on ending his families lineage with himself.  He is the sweetest guy, and we would love to see him reproduce, but he has made his decision.  My heart went out to the poor determined hen.  So after candling her eggs, my son took matters into his own hands.  Our other breed of chickens were laying eggs, too.  Their eggs were white as opposed to this girl's brown.  So what would happen if he was to slip a few of those eggs under the expecting mother?  Would she do a marathon sit to hatch out these?  I am happy to say that remarkable bird sat through some pretty hot weather to bring this wonderful little threesome to life.   Aren't they cute?!  :)   

Vintage Nesting Boxes ~ A New Home for the Girls!

My son swapped his barn board planter for two sections of vintage nesting boxes.  The picture below is the single section that he has already mounted... And as you can see, the girls are already making use of it.  The second unit is a double decker nesting box that was painted at one time and will need to be repainted before putting it into use.

 

Egg hunts are not just for Easter anymore!   

Does this little girl look serene sitting there?  It is hard to tell by the photo, but she is raising her back feathers at the camera.  If I had audio, you would be hearing an awful sound that originates from the depths of her soul.  My son is pretty sure that there are two eggs under her, and she is determined to hatch them out.  Like Beatrix Potter's "Jemima Puddleduck", this charmer has never been much of a sitter, but time will tell...