Dodging Bullets

I see five of these beauties in my yard this summer. No roosters, just hens. You don't need a rooster to make eggs, just to make chicks, and roosters are mean. Plymouth Barred roosters are not quite as mean as others, but they're still pretty feisty. We chose the Plymouth Barred hens because they are prolific layers. So, when the eggs start rolling in, I'll let y'all know! Now the reason they won't be here until at least this summer is that all the hatcheries are out of chicks right now! *whew* I guess I dodged a bullet there, because I'm not ready for keeping five little chickens safe from varmints and cats! We need feeding and water pans, heat lamps, and OH MY GOODNESS a chicken coop! None of that is ready.

The garden is mostly planted, except for potatoes. We didn't plant any potatoes. T-man is waiting to fix my mom's tiller, then he'll plant them (he says). We'll see. He was even talking goats and bees, but I informed him that I'm not milking anything and bees need shade, which we don't really have. *whew* I really dodged that bullet, didn't I? If you keep bees, you will get stung -- often! I don't like being stung. And goats need to be wormed and vaccinated and fenced and whatever else. Nope, no time here for goat keeping.

We also have plants to propagate for sale -- jade plants, sanseveria, pencil plants, pothos, swedish ivy, agaves, etc. They should be ready in a couple of weeks if the weather holds. And T-man has started making flower basket hangers with dragonflies on them (Cat, I'll send pictures!). He has been happily cutting and welding out in his fortress of solitude. It makes for a much more relaxed T-man. And he enjoys having his hands in the dirt. Instead of rushing to fix the tiller, he did most of the garden with his bare hands. The lettuce we planted two years ago has come up! That is correct -- two years ago. It did not come up when we planted it. Nope, nope -- it came up this year, and it is GOOD! There's nothing like fresh butter-leaf lettuce for your salad, except maybe the cantaloupes that came up near the firewood one year. They were a total surprise as we had never planted any melons anywhere on the property. We had cantaloupe with every meal for three months! And T-man took them work to give away.

Today is my last day of beading before I start being attached to this computer. I've been working on a Laura McCabe piece. I love the way she puts her kits together. It's given me a lot to consider about my own kits, so there may be some changes soon. And I think my calendar is running a week ahead, because I'm not teaching tonight. I'm teaching NEXT Monday. *whew* There went another bullet! I was not ready to spend the day printing, sorting, packaging as there was very little sleep the past three days. Now I can spread my preparations over a couple of days and chill out a bit.

So, today will be a sort of play day for me. I'm trying to keep it very low stress, since I have the next four weeks to completely freak out! I really wish I could wiggle my nose like Samantha and everything would be done. Oh, that would really be a talent to have, wouldn't it?

I've added some new web site and blog links over there. Oh, and I changed the music for a while. It's kind of jazzy, not too loud -- let me know what you think. Have a great day, and remember:

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. ~Dr. Seuss