One Man's Compost is Another Chicken's Nest

This afternoon I let the chickens out as usual when I got home from work. I checked on them before running an errand and found Sweetie chicken scratching in the compost bin. "You got yourself in there, you can get yourself out," I thought and left the house for a few minutes. I came home and sat down at my desk and a few minutes later heard Spooky chicken raising hell (She is the more vocal of the two. The other day she either protested or was trying to sing along when the preteen girls next door were playing Hannah Montana on the boom box in the backyard and dancing. Ah, to be nine again...Thank goodness Mama didn't have a video camera!). I found that the cause of the commotion was that her sister could not get out of the compost bin as chickens are not so bright and often forget how they got somewhere and how to get out. Spooky was raising the alarm. I let Sweetie out of the compost bin and was putting back the door when I saw this:

Come see me at the Shop Local Fair!

Vintage Treat

For being so good at the doctor's office today, I did a quick run around Design Archives this morning as my reward. In addition to all the fabulous vintage clothes they carry, they also have a good supply of vintage patterns, notions, fabric, etc. I picked out these patterns thinking it might be fun to sew some clothes from the old patterns with new fabric. I tried to get patterns that looked relatively easy, so we'll see how it goes. I think my first step will be to carefully unfold the original patterns, make sure they're whole or at least fixable, and then I'll probably trace the original on to paper that I can work from.

Better Late Than Never?

So we're having company this weekend, the house is a mess, I have a pile of soldering to do for an upcoming craft show (come see me at the Shop Local Fair at Eclectic By Nature, State St. in Greensboro! ), and I can't stay out of the garden! These cooler evenings are hard to say no to, especially since they're so rare. I worked on the compost, pulled up a few carrots, and dug the red potatoes. This is our first year growing potatoes and I wasn't sure how they'd come out. Every time I tried to hill the mulch up around them, the chickens would come behind me and scratch it all flat until I finally gave up. So, we only got a few potatoes but I have to say, digging them up is very fun. Adam called it "an easter egg hunt in the dirt". All that and I still didn't get my beautiful pumpkin seedlings planted which is what I went out to do!
And I was afraid I wouldn't be very productive this afternoon when I came home to take a nap. I've been extra tired lately and thought that I might be anemic or something. I was a little disappointed when all my tests came back from the doctor's office showing there was nothing wrong with me. Not that I wanted something to be wrong, but I was hoping I could just take an extra vitamin a day and feel better! Now I'm figuring it's the heat. But I decided to stop fighting it and just take a nap if I feel like it! I think sometimes we just need to listen to our bodies tell us what they need.

A Backyard Mystery

A few evenings ago, Adam and I walked out on the back porch only to be greeted by an eager Rooster that equates the sound of the screen door to food. We noticed as he got closer that his beak was covered in smatterings of dark red. We got worried. What in the world could he have attacked in the back yard? He's always been pretty docile, if not down right lazy. We're used to this sort of thing from the backyard cat and I've accepted that it's her nature, that there's a whole web of life and death in our small urban backyard that I couldn't interfere with. Although I was slightly embarrassed the night we had company for dinner in the backyard and she decided to entertain us by juggling a still squeaking mole (the couple with us had boasted saving several birds from the cat they were looking after while house sitting that summer), I was always glad that she killed the mice outside before the indoor cats killed them inside. But I never thought of the young rooster as a hunter. Adam and I searched the yard for clues, for feathers (they really don't like the robins in the yard) or fur or signs of a struggle. We found nothing. I wandered to the very back of the yard finally and stopped at the blackberries to check on their progress. At the foot of the canes and bird netting was fresh chicken droppings. Mystery solved. We should have known it wouldn't be anything that would put up a fight.
I think the blackberry canes have been the most rewarding fruit we've planted. We may never get more than a few blueberries while we live here and I doubt we'll ever see the apple trees produce but the blackberries have surprised us with how much they have grown in the year since we planted them. And they are loaded!! This bowl full is just the first picking and there's still tons of berries ripening. We can't wait to see what they do their second year. And while Adam has been complaining about the shoots they are now sending up in the middle of the yard, he has forgot all that with every berry he's stolen out of the bowl. I think I'll pick one more time and leave the rest to the birds in the yard, least of which are the chickens.

Collage or Quilt?

Is there a difference? It's not all neatly pieced like a quilt but the pieces are sewn together. This was my first attempt at art quilting. I saw an art quilting magazine at Mama's house and I needed something fun to get inspired. Once I got started I couldn't stop! Mama has since sent me home with a stack of quilting books. She's determined to make a quilter out of me! Of course, I do have a huge stash of fabric for someone who doesn't sew much. Maybe this will be a good way to use some of it. I'm interested in incorporating some other media into the quilts now like paper, ephemera, etc. We'll see where it goes!

What's Bloomin'

Mama brought me this day lily last fall and we've watched the flower buds anxiously wondering what the flowers would look like. The variety is called 'Pink Ruffles' I believe, but I'm happy with the more peachy color it actually has. It's a very large flower and more fragrant than I've ever noticed day lilies to be.
I'm trying to make myself work inside the art room today (it needs cleaned up!) but it's so hard when the weather is so pretty. This is going to be a balancing act this time of year I'm afraid. Our etsy team, NC Triad Etsians is working on getting a craft show (or a few) this fall and I'd like not to wait until the last minute!
A couple of people have asked about "the grandchicks" and I'd like to let y'all know they are doing fine. We've ended up with one rooster that we're going to have to decide what to do with. He's not crowing but he's growing fast (he seems to be the lazy over eater of the three and if anyone's familiar with our cats, you might agree that we somehow do this to animals). I'm waiting for Adam to expand the run and then I think I might get another hen or two. They are SO much fun to have in the yard!