Millie and Maude

Well it's that time of year and we are adding two to our flock. They are both black Australorps. This breed originated in Australia developed from Black Orpingtons imported from England; and the emphasis of the breeding program was on egg production without sacrificing too much in size. ntroduced into this country in the 1920's, they have become useful and popular and are certainly one of the best layers of light brown eggs of all the heavy breeds. They are exceptionally calm, quiet and friendly birds which make them great for suburban flocks.  Black Australorps have glossy black plumage which has a greenish-purple sheen and their larger than average bright red combs make an unusually handsome sight. They are big heavy birds.  Pullets ( female chicks) mature early and could produce eggs as early as 5 and 6 months of age. They are quiet, gentle, and stand confinement well. Baby chicks are black with a good deal of white in the underparts and small white patches around the head and wings.

Our only concern is these chicks come " straight run" which means your can't tell male and female apart so have prayed over our little chicks and hope they are both going to grow up to be lovely hens.

Here is what they will look like...provided they are both females!

Happy New Year 2011

Well, It's been a while and OMG....here it is already 2011 and the last post was from late Spring 2010...the shame of it!  Life has been wonderfully out of control since last June. Summer and Fall were awesome.  My brother came for the summer and we did some much needed camping and fishing with some friends. After that, David and l had a couple additional camping trips before the end of summer with our new-used, canoe.  By the time summer was over the garden was already out of control and we were preparing for visits from out of town family. We harvested what was salvageable in the garden and let everything pretty much go to seed. I am actually looking forward to those results, by the way.  By the time Fall arrived mom was here for 6 weeks along with a nice visit from my aunt and uncle. By the time mom left my new sewing machine had arrived and I was preparing Eva's bags for the winter craft sale. Then it was the Christmas holiday hustle and bustle....and now Happy New Year? 

Where did the year go! I feel like such a wimp.

But alas! Part of what makes this time of year so fabulous are the seed catalogs that come in the mail like little present chalk full of inspiration, ideas and the hope of Spring!  So, my next project is to take inventory of my seeds and make a Spring gardening and planting plan .... which will unfortunately include a new sewer line hook up and decommissioning of our septic tank...humph.

Here's to daydreams of freshly tilled soil, new life and warm compost.

...oh and HAPPY NEW YEAR!