Roundabout Here

I've admired this barn for years but the lack of any sort of shoulder has prevented me from being able to pull over and record this fine setting for posterity. That was until Good Friday. The Artist and I were headed into town to break our male twin imposed fast of meat for Lenten by searching out a good fish and chip restaurant.

 It was a beautiful day in these parts so I grabbed my camera, 'just in case' and as we passed here I sighed how I longed to get a good shot of this barn but how I could never pull over. The Artist turned around, dropped me off and I snapped away while he zipped back and forth along the road. Luckily the nearest cross road was recently upgraded with a roundabout which made turning around easy peasy. Roundabouts have become quite fashionable in these parts as various municipalities have begun to install them everywhere and I daresay that I love them. They calm traffic, eliminate dangerous left hand turns, prevent unnecessary idling which in turn reduces oil consumption and reduces emissions and they are much more pleasing to the eye than a set of traffic lights any day. Their only drawback is that many people don't understand how to use them. The trick is to yield to those who are already on, once they've passed you, hop on!

Tell me dear readers, are roundabouts popping up in your neck of the woods?

~Be well friends~

Flowers for Leontien

And a Rooster for good measure.

{{HUGS}}




{this moment} - Hatched!

It's Friday and that means I'm joining Soulemama and others and with a single photo to capture a

moment from the past week that I want to savour and remember. What's your moment?

~Happy Friday Friends!~

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Also joining: Farmgirl Friday; Give Me Your Best Shot; Photostory Friday;
Fabulous Friday; Farm Photo Friday; Photo Friday

This or That Thursday: The N-O-T-L eDition

N-O-T-L?

Unless you're from Southwestern Ontario, you likely have no idea

what N-O-T-L stands for but fear not, for after today, you will know

its meaning and should you ever need to pretend, in a pinch, that you're

from these woods, you'll have an arsenal of lingo in your back pocket.

Niagara On The Lake

There's your arsenal. Lesson finished. I could be popping a mini quiz at any moment so study up.

N-O-T-L, next door to 'Da Fallz' is the non-touristy part of the Niagara area; well it used to be but it could be more touristy than the big cliff next door but unless you're in downtown N-O-T-L, you might not even realize you're in a tourist trap because it's so pretty! There are vineyards among vineyards, growing grapes for some of the finest wines in the world. Its unique geographic location lends this trendy spot to be a little slice of heaven in my own backyard.

The Artist and I were there on the weekend as we shopped for the small orchard we're creating here at the old farmhouse. The sights were beautiful, I think you'd agree. Among all its splendour, one can find nurseries, fruit orchards, greenhouses and barns. 

Sigh....

Which might just be the best of all because, really, we all love a good barn, don't we?

~Be well friends~

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Spring Blossoms

Here's to the beauty and joy of a spring blossom, and finding some whenever and wherever you may.  And here's to Mother Nature letting us enjoy a few of them this season  while she doles out frost and heavy rain and snow yet again. Or better yet, here's to Mother Nature keeping snow away from your neck of the woods!

~Be well friends~

joining: Texture Tuesday, Sweet Shot Tuesday, Tones on Tuesday; Inspired Tuesday and Tuesdays Around the World

Peep Show

I arrived home from work Friday evening with the old farmhouse to myself. I'd heard no news on the incubator front from the Artist all day so I assumed no news was just that, no news. Eli greeted me as  I headed out to the coop. "Any offspring of yours in the world yet, Eli?" I asked as he followed me, hoping for a treat.

I was only half kidding and was pleasantly surprised to find this little one! One little chick alone in a sea of eggs. I could barely stand to watch this poor little soul watching me with those big eyes, without a mother, and whom had tucked himself away in the far corner of the incubator and I couldn't remove him without the risk of spoiling the other eggs. 

A short while later, the male twin and I arrived just in time to watch this little one breaking free. This was one of the most heartbreaking events to ever watch. He tried to push and struggled to lift his derriere out of that shell but he just couldn't do it. He quickly developed a routine of trying to pry himself loose and alternately resting, each cycle a few minutes long. We teetered between cheers and worry. Without any  prior experience, we weren't certain what was normal and what wasn't. I was more skeptical of his survival while the male twin  was certain he would be just fine.

Hard at rest.

I now understand all the literature I've read about not helping a chicken out of his shell because without it, who wouldn't be tempted to help a little soul like that? This little guy would fall asleep with his head flopped to the side like this or with it forward as he slept on his belly and can I tell you, with his wet fur he seriously looked like a little old man with a long comb over. He really did! Later that evening, we found him finally free and tucked away in the  back corner with the first arrival and we all breathed a sigh of relief. We also discovered this.

And then there were three.

There was no activity throughout the day on Saturday,and it looked like our submission of twenty eggs wasn't going to provide us with a very big yield but then we noticed this in the afternoon. We checked regularly through the entire evening but our view never changed. By Sunday morning though, it had completely hatched along with a fifth and number six was on his or her way to eggshell freedom.

So while not the result we were hoping for, we are still quite

pleased to have six new Chantecler hatchlings at the Rural Roost.

They snuggled together and slept, a lot but when it came time to remove them from the incubator, they didn't seem to mind. The male twin is pretty sure they all imprinted on him and has decided he is their mother. A wonderful experience for the twins, they would never have experienced this in the city.

We've decided to set up a brooder in a sunroom in the house. We can keep a closer eye on them here, and with a second broody hen about to deliver, we have limited accommodations in the coop at the moment. And truth be told, we're looking forward to being chick mamas for the next few weeks.

Another Rural Revival at its best!

~Be well friends!~

*****Update*****

Late breaking news has revealed a seventh chick sleeping in the incubator this cold Monday morning. Word has it he/she thinks they're the first one to hatch and is patiently waiting for the others while we say, better late than never!

joining:

{this moment} - A chicken and his favourite perch....the BBQ?

It's Friday and that means I'm joining Soulemama and others and with a single photo to capture a

moment from the past week that I want to savour and remember. What's your moment?

~Happy Friday Friends!~

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Also joining: Farmgirl Friday; Give Me Your Best Shot; Photostory Friday;
Fabulous Friday; Farm Photo Friday; Photo Friday

This or That Thursday: eDition 24

I'm reading about the various scents one can gather for their home based on flora grown in the garden. 

Apparently violets have a scent. Apparently my olfactory cells aren't quite up to par.

But they're still pretty. Violets for Vi. Who else would they be for?

Laurie is spending a few hours each day out in the chicken pen with mama while the rest of the flock looks on, wondering why they can't go in.  It's a good way for them to slowly get used to each other, just so long as I remember to close the pen gate first.
Otherwise, things could turn ugly fast. Just saying.

The first tulip of the season. She's almost done and her unfortunate colouring

 led her to blend in with the daffodils who in the end, plain stole her thunder.

Contrary to popular opinion this is not Miss Ember's grumpy face. This is the face of a 

cat who spends hours aloft in the neighbour's trees, comes home to crash and then gets 

woken up by yours truly. We call it the dozy cat face.

So despite scene stealing daffodils, open gates, and dozy faced cats, 

life is still pretty good around here. 

~Be well friends!~

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Lockdown

The countdown is on. Yesterday was day 18 and after days of constant turning and monitoring, the eggs were turned on end,

big end up, and the incubator was sealed. Now we wait and watch the fate of 20 eggs.

Over the last two weeks the twins have asked how many of the eggs will hatch,

will two eggs hatch at exactly the same time, and how will they get out?

Gee, why don't they just ask me the winning lottery numbers?

Well, except for that last question. That one just garnered the look.

~Be well friends~


joining: Wordless Wednesday; Wordful Wednesday; Wordless/Wordful Wednesday; Wordless Wednesday but with words; Wordless Wednesday @ Naptime Momtog; Wordless Wednesday @ Nola Mommy; Wordless(ish) Wednesday; http://dagmarbleasdale.com/; http://kentweakley.com/blog/; Wordless with Jenni; http://organic-mama.ca/

Talk Around Here

edited using Kim Klasesns 'Gratitude' texture

Daily correspondence between the Artist and I have taken a huge turn over the last few years.

Where once we were only driven by a concern on what to have for dinner,

witness yesterday's gibberish to see how far we've come.

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Him: I got.....Heat lamp, waterer, feeder, and ibuprofen at walmart. Chick grit and leg bands too.

Me: I asked for advice on my blog today. Someone suggested I try taking the current broody hen, replace the eggs currently under her with the chicks that hatch, during the night.

Him: Can u do that?

Me: A red light in the coop rather than a white light will stop pecking if hens are at each other all the time, and it supposedly works when different ages are involved as well.  I didn't know that about the different ages but I do know a lady who had some henpecking happening in her coop and it stopped as soon as she changed the light.

Him: Good thing I bought red. :)

Me: No, not the heat lamp, the actual light in the coop at the ceiling.
Him: Ohhhhhhhh

Later in the day...

Him: Lawnmower came! It has 4 wheel turning!

Me: Is that a good thing?

Him: Yeah, that's so I can turn real close to a tree. It wasn't supposed to have it. It's an expensive option.

Me: Ohhhhhhhh

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Yep, we've come a long way.

~Happy Tuesday Friends~

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joining: Texture Tuesday, Sweet Shot Tuesday and Tuesdays Around the World

Growing Up

Our first chick is getting bigger by the hour. I swear every time I head out to

the Rural Roost, he or she is taller and has less down and more feathers.

 

Over the last few weeks I've realized I should have put more thought into coop lighting,

while designing the Rural Roost. This is the first decent shot in two weeks I've been able
 to make without using the flash. You don't want to know how low...inside the coop...
I had  to go to take this photo either. Really, you don't.

Laurie is now big enough to fly or jump out of the brooder and follow Mama

around the coop and out into the run. It's pretty weird to see this little one scratching

 and pecking outside already even if it is under close observation. Eli and the other

girls weren't impressed about being shut out of the run, but since they still had 

 2.5 acres and a large pond for their amusement, they didn't get much sympathy

from me. Besides they were busy most of the time pretending to be of the canine species.

Meanwhile, back inside the coop, we have another broody hen. Chanteclers

are not supposed to be known for their broodiness so two out of four in the last

month  makes some good broody genes coming from our hens. Of course, she

waited to  become broody just a few days after borrowing an incubator and setting

it up with  twenty eggs which are due to hatch this weekend.

I think things are about to get a whole lot busier around here.

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And once again,  I'm holding my hat out to all my chicken raising friends for a bit of advice.

We have one brooder with a mama and her baby in the coop. Baby will be 3.5 weeks

when the next mama 'delivers'. Will baby be old enough to be with the big chickens

to make room in the brooder for the new mama? We were hoping to put the hatchlings

from the incubator in the coop brooder, but we may have to raise them inside with us,

unless one of the two mama hens would be likely to 'adopt' them?

~Be well friends!~