Ten on the Tenth - September

Joining blog friend Joy with posting ten pictures taken on the 10th of the month.  These photos were taken on the 10th of September, although I am posting them a day or two late (started the post on the evening of September 11, then, got distracted watching some of the 25th anniversary of 9/11 specials on TV, and am publishing the post shortly after midnight on September 12!)

We have started letting the chickens out to roam the garden in the evenings; here are Niwatori and Henny Penny (with a glimpse or two of Mochi, one of the garden kitties):

Niwatori (Perched on Daughter's Neck)

She Sees Me!

Look the Other Way!

Henny Penny Notices Mochi

Mochi Says, "I See You!"

Henny Penny

A Welcome Drink of Water

Niwatori Wants Some Water, Too

Or a Bug in the Ground

Yummy Bug!

Thank you, Joy, for hosting the Ten on the 10th Photo Challenge.

On Friday

 

Kale

The kale we planted as a cool weather crop is thriving in the summer heat and we've been harvesting the leaves and eating or freezing them.  We;ve offered them to the chickens, but, they only like them if they are chopped up into small pieces.  They seem uninterested in pecking at them when a whole leaf is offered or a bunch of leaves are tied up in the coop for them to peck at.  They are equally uninterested in watermelon rind!  But, they seem to enjoy moringa leaves.

On Friday, September 4, I had some lab work done in preparation for an upcoming doctor's visit.  On the way back, I put gas to the car.  Gas at the cheapest station in my neighborhood was $5.66 per gallon.  I put $50 worth of gas (which is what I budget for gas for a month) and that amounted to just about 8.8 gallons of gas.  

After I came home, I made French toast for brunch.  I made a few extra pieces and they will be kept in the fridge to be warmed up and eaten over the weekend.

I tried to comment on a few blogs in the afternoon, but, I was unable to post my comments.  I think it is another issue with Blogger.  I didn't receive any new comments on my blog, either.

Cousin V texted me to say that she was planning to have a prayer meeting and lunch at her house in memory of Cousin P who passed away on Monday and inviting me and my daughter to attend.  I accepted the invitation and asked her if she'd like me to bring a dish.  She said she'll let me know.  I also chatted with Cousin P's daughter.  

In the evening, daughter and I spent a pleasant hour or so in the garden, watching over the chickens as they roamed in the garden.  They were still exploring the garden when M arrived to tend to the garden.  

In the evening, I made us some potato chips for a snack.  Two medium potatoes, sliced thinly, deep fried, and sprinkled with salt and chili powder.  We shared them with M and he thought they were some of the best potato chips he's eaten.  

Daughter had a pork chop and salad for dinner; I had half a packet of ramen noodles with thin slices of pork added to it.  Afterwards, for dessert, I baked a chocolate cake as the last box of "brownie" mix I had in the pantry turned out to be a box of fudge chocolate cake!  It is finally cool enough to turn the oven on to bake something in the evenings.  Daughter and I enjoyed a slice of cake, each, with a scoop of ice cream.  It was a nice way to end our Friday.

On Friday, I was grateful for:

- Access to health care and health screening checks
- Medical insurance
- The availability of gas for the car
- M's help with the garden
- A safe drive to the clinic and back

My joyful activity for the day was sitting in the garden watching the chickens.

Plans for Saturday include laundry, house cleaning, and maybe going to the park in the evening with a friend.

How was your Friday?  What are your plans for the weekend?  Are you able to comment on blogs?

August Monthly Photo Challenge: Begins with B

The monthly photo challenge is hosted by Eileen at A Bracelet of Days and the theme for August was "Begins with B". 

I had a lot of fun with this theme and took far too many photos!  I had to cull them quite a bit, but, here are the ones that I selected to post (there might be a theme within a theme, here!)

Starting with the backyard:

Backyard

Which, these day,s means these birds:

Backyard Chickens

"Brown" Hen 
 (Breed is Rhode Island Red)

Barred (Plymouth Rock) Hen

Bare Spot on the Back Slowly Filling In

Beak Wide Open

 

Beak Open Wider

Birds of a Feather?

Bossom Buddies

Besties who Bicker
(especially when they vie for the upper perch)

Balancing Act

Best Perch!

Thank you, Eileen, for hosting the monthly photo challenge.  I really enjoyed participating.

If anyone else is interested in joining the monthly photo challenge, the theme for September is "Measuring/Measurements".  The rules are posted on Eileen's website and are simple: photos must be taken during the month (no archive photos) and a minimum of five (no upper limit).

August Week 4 Review

 

Partial Eclipse of the Moon 8/27/26
(cell phone photo by daughter)

The last week of August was another hot week, with temperatures in the upper 90s and low 100s, often with a "feels like" temperatures about 8 to 10 degrees higher.  As much as I like warm temperatures, on some days, it got a bit too hot for even me!

Monday, August 24:  I woke up at 8:00 a.m. and tended to the chickens, wetting down sections of the outer enclosure with water to provide them with damp soil to help them cool down.  Daughter has been placing bottles of frozen water in the coop and enclosure, too, so they could sit close to them to cool off and their water container has bottles of frozen water to cool their drinking water, too.  

I tooked the second tray of pork chops and a chicken curry, a pot of fresh rice, and made a cucumber salad.  Later in the evening, daughter helped me to take the trash bins to the curb and we let the chickens out of the enclosure and they enjoyed walking around the area immediately in front of the enclosure.  They seem to love the gazania plants, which is funny because everything we've read online states that chickens generally don't like the taste of gazanias!  It's not toxic to them, but, apparently they don't like the taste.  Obviously, no one told our chickens that!

Feasting on the Gazania Plants

Tuesday, August 25:  I woke up at 8:00 a.m. to tend to the chickens and then, watered the backyard, a few of the plants, including the pomegranate tree, in the frontyard, and brought in the emptied trash bins.  I also picked a few of the pomegranates as the birds have found and started pecking at the biggest and ripest of them!  I did a load of laundry and spent some time sewing more hexagons to my quilt top.

Wednesday, August 26:  M was here to tend to the garden in the afternoon.  He brought us a jar of pesto and a container of almonds that were seasoned with herbes de Provence that another client had given him, which he didn't want.  Daughter and I were happy to receive them.  M enjoyed a piece of the bread pudding I had made on Saturday.

In the evening, I had the pleasure of getting the hens into the coop for the night.  Usually daughter puts them in for the night, but, she will be leaving for an in-person office meeting in a few weeks and she wanted to reassure herself that I could manage to get them in the coop by myself when she's away.  Also, once the time change takes place this Fall (if it takes place), then, she'll still be working when it gets dark and getting the chickens ready for the night will become my responsibility.  So, I got to get the hens in the smaller, inner coop (which has been made more predator proof with hardware fabric all around).

Thursday, August 27:   On Thursday morning, Henny Penny managed to get out of the enclosure when I went to feed them.  She dashed past me before I could shut the door because she had seen a scarab beetle!  She managed to catch it and I left her to enjoy it while I went into the shed to get the chicken feed.  When I came out of the shed, just a couple of minutes later, Henny Penny was eating some of the gazania leaves and both Fluffy and Mochi were eyeing her!  They both retreated when I got closer and I got Henny Penny back in the enclosure without any problem.  

On Thursday night, my daughter and I watched the partial eclipse of the moon, which reached peak coverage around 9:00 p.m.  Daughter took a picture of it with her cell phone.

Friday, August 28:  Daughter had the day off from work.  It was another very hot day and in the afternoon, she put the a/c on in the bedroom and started cutting out a sari blouse for herself.  She downloaded a free pattern from the internet, printed out the pattern, and cut the blouse pieces using some fabric we had in the fabric stash.  I read, did some paperwork, and ordered some groceries to be delivered on Saturday.

In the evening, M arrived to tend to the garden.  I was seated in one of the garden chairs watching over the hens while daughter went into the house to drink the cup of tea I had made for her, when, Niwatori decided she wanted to perch on me for the first time!  I fully expected her to hop onto my lap, but, no, she flew up onto my head!  I wasn't expecting that!  Those claws are sharp!  I asked M to call daughter and she came and got Niwatori off my head!  Then, she sat down in the other garden chair with Niwatori perched on her shoulder and Henny Penny decided to perch on daughter's head!  These hens are too funny!  

Saturday, August 29:  My groceries were delivered in the morning and I posted about that.  Later, since I still had almost $50 left in my August grocery budget, I ordered coffee from the other grocery store, to be delivered on Sunday.

In the afternoon, we put the a/c on in the bedroom and daughter continued to sew on her sari blouse while I took a long nap!

I wore a straw hat when I went to watch the chickens in the evening, to protect my scalp from sharp claws in case a hen decided to perch on my head, again.  But, this time, Niwatori decided to aim for my shoulder, except the wide brim of my hat confused her and she landed on my upper arm, instead!  She was trying to find a foothold and left a few scratches on my arm before daughter managed to get her off my arm!  I need to wear long sleeved tops if these hens decide to use me as a perch!

Sunday, August 30:  The five packets of coffee beans were delivered in the morning and I wrote all the best by dates on the packages and the canned foods in big numbers and daughter put them up in the pantry cabinet.  I did some paperwork (still need to file) and daughter did a load of laundry.  In the evening, when we went to tend to the chickens, I wore a long sleeved hoodie, but, of course, the chickens didn't want to perch on me now that I was somewhat protected from their sharp claws!  LOL.  

Monday, August 31:  Earlier in the week, my cousin P's daughter had texted me to inform me that P's health had declined quite a bit and she was in hospice care in Florida, where they had both moved to almost 5 years ago.  Midweek, both my daughter and I recorded messages which P's daughter played back to P.  Although P could no longer talk, she could hear and her daughter said that P blinked her eyes when she heard our messages.  On Monday morning, P's daughter called me with the sad news that P had passed away earlier in the morning.  Even though I had been expecting the news, it was still sad to hear.  Rest in peace, Cousin.

I had a dental appointment in the afternoon and daughter took the afternoon off from work to accompany me. Two temporary crowns were fitted, one on either side of my mouth (upper left and lower right).  The procedure took almost two hours and I have a follow-up appointment in September to have the permanent crowns fitted and work done on another tooth!  

Cousin V had called while I was at the dentist's office, so I called her back after I came home and we chatted for a long time.  V's father, P's mother, and my mother were siblings.  But, V and cousin P were doubly related; V's father and P's mother were siblings and V's mother and P's father were also siblings.  So they were very close throughout their lives.  

I rested a bit in the evening and then, sat in the garden watching over the chickens while daughter cleaned the coop; then we both watched over the chickens as they explored more of the garden and made sure they kept a safe distance from the garden cats!  

August Decluttering:  Recent decluttering included brochures and magazines, a couple of items of clothing, storage containers and jars, and dried up pens.  I went over my minimum goal of decluttering at least 31 items, but, fell far short of the bigger goal of decluttering 100 items.  But, I am pleased with what I did declutter.

Well, August did bring some changes with it, once again.  Some were good, some were sad, some were intentional, some were unintended.  But, I am grateful for all the many blessings I've experienced this month.

How was your August?

August Week 3 Review

Chickens Exploring Outside their Coop

This week has been rather warm with the highs being in the upper 90s (F) and the "feels like" temperatures being in the triple digits.  Our summer has truly started!

Monday, August 17:  I woke up early and fed the chickens, etc., and watered the back garden before it got too hot.  I would have liked to have done a little weeding, too, but, my back was still complaining from some of the bending and pruning I did the previous week and I didn't want to trigger another sciatica flareup, so I resisted the temptation to weed.  Instead, I went back inside and did a load of laundry, including my bed sheets.  Later, I remade the bed using the same sheets to avoid having to fold and put them away!  LOL.   

In the evening, I drove my daughter to her friend's apartment to pick up some chocolate chip pistachio cookie dough balls her friend had made and give her four of our chickens' eggs in return (her friend loves eggs).  After we came home, daughter helped me put the trash/yardwaste/recycling bins by the curb for pick up in the morning.

Tuesday, August 18:  I woke up before the alarm went off at 8:00 a.m. (having gone to bed around 4:00 a.m.) and tended to the chickens.  Then, I went back to bed and slept a bit more.  After I woke up for the second time, I brought the emptied trash bins in, previewed the upcoming grocery ads, watched some videos and cut out more green hexagons for my quilt border.  In the evening, daughter baked the cookie dough that her friend had given her and we had cookies to celebrate the fact that it has been four weeks since our chickens arrived!  In those four weeks, we've bonded with them and they've taken to perching on my daughter's shoulders and/or her head!  

Wednesday, August 19:  Again, I went to bed at 4:00 a.m., woke up at 8:00 a.m. to tend to the chickens, debated if I wanted to stay up or go back to bed, decided I needed more sleep, and slept for another couple of hours.  M arrived to tend to the garden and he brought us an onion he had grown in his garden.  We have tried growing onions in my garden without much success in previous years and didn't try to grow them this year.  We gave him some cookies that daughter had baked with the dough her friend made.  

Later, I ordered groceries to be delivered on Thursday and went to the pharmacy to pick up some of my medication refills that were ready.  I received another $4 off coupon and redeemed it for a 1lb. bag of honey roasted peanuts that was on sale for $3.99. 

The library had notified me that a book I had placed on hold had arrived, so, I drove to the library to pick up the book that was on hold and to return the book I had borrowed, earlier.  

On the way from the pharmacy to the library, I stopped at a grocery store that had advertised pork chops on sale for $1.99/lb., but, I was not able to find them.  I asked the guy at the meat counter and he showed me the beef tri-tip roast that was also on sale, but, he didn't understand me when I said, "Pork chops" and I wasn't quite sure if "chuletas" was the correct word in Spanish (it is and now I know).

Thursday, August 20:  Another hot day.  I woke up at 7:00 a.m. to tend to the chickens and stayed up because I was having the groceries delivered between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. and I wanted to be awake if they texted me to notify me of substitutions, etc.  The groceries were delivered just before 9:00 a.m.; I received everything I had ordered.

Later, I debated if I should go back to the other grocery store to look for the pork chops.  Instead, I checked their website and found that they had a delivery option and that the paid membership I had to a different store was also valid at this store, too, since both were owned by the same parent company!  Woo hoo!  I was very excited about that and put in an order for additional groceries to be delivered on Friday.

Friday, August 21:  My groceries were delivered before 9:00 a.m., again and I have already posted about it and the substitution of the English cucumbers instead of the regular cucumbers that were on sale.  

M was here in the evening to tend to the garden and we let the chickens out of their enclosure to explore the garden for the first time!  The chickens were very interested in the big outdoors (although they just explored the area immediately in front of the enclosure) and Mochi, one of the garden kitties, was very interested in the chickens!  LOL.  I was in charge of making sure Mochi didn't get too close to the chickens and that the chickens didn't hide under the plumbago bush (it would be almost impossible for us to get them out from under it) while daughter got the inner coop ready for the night, putting food and water in there for them and refilling the bigger water dish in readiness for the morning, etc.  M joined in the fun to watch "chicken TV" and both Henny Penny and Niwatori decided that he made a good perch:

Niwatori and Henny Penny Make Friends with M

M loved it and thought we should get more chickens!  LOL.  We sent him home with four eggs, compliments of Niwatori and Henny Penny.  

Saturday, August 22:  Once again, I stayed up after I got up to tend to the chickens.  I cooked a curry with the beef chuck roast I had delivered on Thursday, cleaned out one of the fridge drawers, made freshly squeezed orange juice with the six oranges that were still there that I had received from my friend's tree back in June, and made a bread pudding from all the bread ends/heels/crusts I had left from several store bought loaves of sandwich bread.  Since I had the oven on to bake the bread pudding, my daughter and I retreated into my bedroom and switched on the room air conditioner for just the second time this summer!  While we were in the cool bedroom, I started reading my library book and daughter started to cut out and sew herself a sari blouse, setting up the sewing machine in the bedroom.  

The only problem with being in the air conditioned bedroom is we don't want to leave the coolness of the room!  And when we do come out of the room for whatever reason, the rest of the house feels even hotter!  We enjoyed a piece of the still warm from the oven bread pudding and a cup of tea while we were still in the bedroom and stayed in the room until around 7:00 p.m.  Then, it was cool enough to open the doors and windows to get the cooling evening air into the house and it was time to tend to the chickens.  We let them out to explore the yard a bit more and again, Mochi crept quite close to watch what was going on!  I don't know if Mochi wants to make friends with the chickens or is thinking they are dinner on legs!  LOL.  

Neighbor S called in the evening and wanted to bring over the container in which we gave her and her mother some eggs when they brought us Chinese food a few weeks ago.  She brought us an eggplant and a big red pepper as well.  I offered her a piece of bread pudding, but, she declined saying she had lots of desserts in her house and she's gaining weight!  

Sunday, August 23:  I went to bed at 2:30 a.m., so it wasn't quite as bad as 4:00 a.m., but, I went back to bed after I got up at 8:00 a.m. to tend to the chickens.  I had the beginnings of a headache when I woke up later, but, a cup of tea, some of the orange juice I had made earlier, and brunch took care of the headache.  I am also trying to drink enough water as I tend to get dehydrated fairly easily.  

It's almost 5:00 p.m. as I write this and 95F outside ("feels like" 101F per the weather app) and it's 90F inside the house in the family room.  I didn't put the A/C on today and I am feeling comfortable enough, especially since I didn't turn the oven on to bake anything.  I want to cook a chicken curry, later tonight; otherwise, I have nothing planned for the rest of the day.  

The week ahead promises to be another hot week with triple degree temperatures.  I don't have any appointments scheduled, so I am planning to have a relaxed week.

How was your week?   What are your plans for next week?

Niwatori and Henny Penny

Mid-Week on Wednesday

 

Clouds and Contrails

It was a lovely warm summer day on Wednesday.  We went up to 95F.  I woke up at 8:00 a.m. and tended to the chickens, letting them out of their inner coop into the the bigger enclosure and giving them their food crumbles.  They have been with us for just over four weeks (it was four weeks on Tuesday).  One of the garden cats, little Mochi, has taken to following me to the shed where I keep the chicken feed and waiting for me to go back to the house where I give the garden cats their morning kibble.

More Clouds and Contrails

M was here in the early afternoon to tend to the garden.  He uprooted the dead avocado tree, watered the garden, and gifted us with an onion he had grown in his garden.  

Even More Clouds and Contrails

Later in the afternoon, I put in an order for groceries to be delivered on Thursday morning.  The loaf of sandwich bread I ordered was in low supply, I was notified.  I did authorize a substitute for the bread; I hope I receive some bread.

In the early evening, I went to the pharmacy to pick up some medication refills that were ready.  I had another $4 off coupon and bought a bag of honey roasted peanuts that were on sale for $3.99 with my coupon.  

Just Clouds

fterwards, I went to the library to return a book and to borrow a book that I had placed a hold on and which had arrived.  On the way to the library, I stopped at a discount grocery store that had advertised pork chops for $1.99/lb. but, they were out of it!  I asked the person at the meat service counter and he led me to where the beef steaks were kept.  But, I didn't want beef steaks as I had already ordered a beef roast from the other grocery store.  I hadn't taken the weekly grocery flyer with me, so I couldn't point out what I was looking for.  I didn't look around or buy anything else from that particular store.  I might go back, later in the week, with the grocery ad to see if they had any pork chops.

More Clouds

I really liked the way the clouds looked with and without the contrails.  

On Wednesday, I was grateful for:

- The chickens laying eggs
- M's help with the garden
- The availability of medications and insurance
- Daughter doing the hard work of keeping the chicken coop clean and maintained
- Library services

Wednesday's joyful activities included watching the chickens while daughter put them in the coop for the night.  They have started climbing up on daughter's shoulders and Henny Penny even climbed up on her head, the day before!  

Plans for Thursday include receiving the groceries and maybe going to the discount grocery store to see if they have the pork chops on sale.

How was your Wednesday?  What are your plans for Thursday?

August Week 1 Review

 

Mirabilis/Four O'Clocks

Already, the first week of August is behind us!  The days are flying by, aren't they?

I thought I'd do a quick review of the first week of August, just so I can look back and remember what took place (if anything).

Saturday, August 1st: Marked the one year anniversary of my daughter coming home to live with me.  I made milkrice in the morning as I usually do on the first of the month.  Daughter's friend V came over to spend some time visiting and crafting with daughter and daughter ordered pizza for lunch.  Later, neighbor S and her mother brought us Chinese food for dinner, which we enjoyed over a couple of days.

Sunday, August 2nd: We had a relaxed day at home.  Daughter had her usual weekly phone call with her friend J who lives in Hawaii and I spent some time sewing on my hexagon quilt.  I started that quilt many years ago and have been sewing on it, off and on, over the last several years.  I am determined to finish it this summer!

Monday, August 3rd: I took the car in for a required smog test to a local smog test center.  I've gone there twice before and when I mentioned it to the guy running the place, he waived the $5 fee he usually charges to file the test results electronically with the DMV!  Now, that's what I call good customer service for a repeat customer!

Afterwards, I drove to the gas station and put $50 worth of gas to the car.  Gas at this particular station had come down in price from $5.96 to $5.46 per gallon and I was able to put 9.1 gallons for my $50.

The kitchen is my "room of the month" in August, so, after I came home, I swept the kitchen and wiped down the counters.

In the evening, daughter took the trash bins to the curb for pick up on Tuesday morning.

Tuesday, August 4th: I brought the emptied trash bins in and went to the pharmacy to pick up my medication refills that were ready.  While there, I redeemed a $4 off coupon and a 25% off coupon to buy a box of granola bars for $0.52 cents.  After I came home, I cooked some red lentils (dhal) and sauted some moringa leaves that I had picked from the garden:

Moringa Leaves

In the evening, I accompanied my daughter when she went to her gymnastics session.  I stayed in the car and read while I waited for her.

After we came home, I paid the car registration fee online.  

Tuesday marked two weeks since Niwatori and Henny Penny arrived.  I get up early now, often at 7:00 a.m., occasionally at 8:00 a.m., to let them out of the inner coop into the bigger enclosure and give them breakfast.  Daughter cleans the coop and enclosure around noon, gives them fresh water (with a frozen bottle of water in their water container to keep the water cool during our hot summer afternoons), and collects any eggs they might have laid (they are doing their best to keep us supplied with fresh eggs).  Daughter also tends to them in the evening when they are put back in the inner coop.  I usually go with her when she does that and sit and watch "chicken TV".  Niwatori has taken a liking to perching on daughter's shoulder when she goes to tend to them in the evenings.

Wednesday, August 5th:  Gardener friend M was here and he found some grub worms in one of the pots of rose bushes; we fed them to the chickens who enjoyed them, much to M's amusement.  By the way, we found out that the chickens didn't like their first taste of moringa seeds, but, they like snow peas, although not as much as they love blueberries!  

Thursday, August 6th:  I had a fairly productive day.  I dusted the living room, continued with my kitchen cleaning (scrubbed and bleached the dish drainer and the sink and, later, scrubbed under the burners on one side of the stove).  I also made a batch of yogurt and a flan to use up some milk that needed to be used up before it went off.   I picked some kale, Asian pears, chives, and tomatoes from the garden.  I picked even the tiniest tomatoes as the tomato plants are not doing well in this heat.  I used the kale and the chives in a stir-fry with the last smoked sausage I had in the freezer.

Thursday's Garden Harvest

The chickens are not too interested in kale leaves.  But, we hung a small bunch of them in their coop for them to peck at if they feel like it.  

Thursday was my late neighbor T's birthday and I texted her daughter K and chatted with her a bit.

I also ordered some groceries to be delivered on Friday.

Friday, August 7th:  The groceries were delivered in the morning by 9:00 a.m.  I received everything I ordered, except for some pork chops as the store was out of them.  I put everything away and started a load of laundry.

I had a blood test on Friday, in preparation for an upcoming medical appointment.  In the afternoon, I took a long nap as I was feeling tired and woke up feeling groggy!  Later, I folded and put away my share of the laundry.  Daughter has asked me not to fold her laundry because she has her own way of folding them and when I fold them for her, she has to unfold and refold!  LOL.

I also picked more moringa pods:

Friday's Harvest - Moringa Pods

Saturday, August 8:  After I tended to the chickens in the morning, I peeled, cut, and boiled the prepared moringa pods with a little turmeric.  After they had cooled a bit, I packaged them and froze them.  Later, when I want to have some moringa, I will add the other ingredients such as onions, curry leaves, and milk to make moringa curry.

I took another nap in the afternoon, but, this time, I put the a/c on in my room at daughter's insistence, in addition to the fans!  It was pure luxury!  

I finished sewing the last hexagon onto my quilt top.  I now need to figure out a border for it.  But, that will be a separate blog post.

It's Sunday, just past noon, now.  I woke up at 8:00 a.m. and tended to the chickens, opened the doors and windows to air out the house and get some cooler morning air into the house.  It is currently 91F (but feels like 100F according to the weather report and there is a heat advisory in effect).  The high today is supposed to be 93F (a bit cooler than Saturday's high of 98F); the doors and windows will be closed as soon as I finish this post, before the really hot afternoon air comes in.  I want to make a chicken curry before it gets too hot, too.  

Plans for the rest of the day include accompanying my daughter when she goes to her gymnastics session in the evening.

August Decluttering - Week 1:  In the first week of August, I decluttered 8 mini foil pie pans, 5 expired OTC medications (things like Tylenol which I always keep on hand and I am thankful that I didn't need to use the entire bottle before it expired), 6 glass bottles and 6 plastic containers that I had been reusing to store items in the kitchen (I am not counting things like empty peanut butter jars and food containers  that I regularly recycle once the contents are used; just the ones I've been reusing to store items in the fridge or cabinets), and 1 mixing spoon, for a total of 26 items.  I am very pleased with that weekly total.

In the first week of August, I was grateful for:

- My daughter being home again
-  Backyard chickens laying eggs
- Being able to order and have groceries delivered
- Garden produce to supplement the groceries
- Water for the garden
- The car passed the smog test
- The availability of gas
- The room air conditioner and electricity to run it

I hope you are having a lovely Sunday. 

One Year, Already!

Niwatori Perched on Daughter's Back

It's been one year since my daughter moved back home!  That year has flown by!  I am very thankful she's home with me (especially with my health issues popping up every so often) and she says she's happy to be home.  We've readjusted to living together without any problems, making a few accommodations to keep the house fairly quiet during her work hours since she works from home for the most part.  I do the majority of the cooking and she has been taking on more of the house cleaning, especially the vacuuming after my most recent sciatica flare up (although she dislikes housework).  She's taken over some of the yard work, too, and taking out the trash cans, etc.  I still do most of the driving and she has taken over the online bill paying, since she has assumed responsibility for the utilities.  In a way, we've assumed the sort of relationship my mother and I had (my mother did most of the cooking and I did most of the housework, for example). 

We share the chicken care duties, too.  I wake up early to let them out of the coop into their enclosure and give them breakfast.  Daughter cleans the coop, make sure they have food and cool water (during this summer heat we are having, she puts a bottle of frozen water in their water container to keep the water cool), collects any eggs, and puts them back in the coop for the night.  The hens have laid 16 eggs to date!  We've eaten five of them, given away eight of them (four to M who has helped us so much with getting the coop and enclosure ready and four to neighbor S who brought us dinner tonight!)

Today, being the 1st of August, I made milkrice for breakfast.  Later in the morning, daughter's friend V came over to spend some time with her.  They chatted, played a video game, and did some cross stitching together.  Daughter ordered pizza for lunch and, when V was leaving, gave her the gifts to give her daughters (the fishing game to her older daughter and a board book for her younger daughter).  

Later in the afternoon, we did a load of laundry.  

In the early evening, neighbor S called to ask if we'd like to have some Chinese food she had bought (apparently, she had some company over to lunch).  I said I'd love to have some and she and her mother brought over a feast:

Chinese Food Plus Fruit and Dessert

Daughter and I gifted them with four of the eggs our chickens had laid and they were so happy.

By the way, remember the blanket I crocheted with all the yarn neighbor S's mother had given me?

Crocheted Blanket

A couple of weekends ago, I had taken it over to neighbor S's house and given it to her mother who was very pleased to receive it.  

Later in the evening, daughter and I put the chickens in for the night (she did all the work while I sat in a garden chair and watched "live chicken TV")  LOL.  Niwatori seems to think that daughter makes a good perch and yesterday, she climbed onto daughter's shoulder!

Today, I am grateful for:

- Daughter being home with me
- All the blessings of this last year that she's been home
- Daughter being able to spend some time with her friend
- Neighbor S bringing us dinner
- Chickens providing us with eggs and entertainment

Plans for tomorrow include:

- Watering the house plants
- Cleaning the kitchen
- Decluttering 

How was your Saturday?  What are your plans for Sunday?

On Sunday

 

They wanted to roost on the door to the inner coop!

On Sunday morning, I got up at 8:00 a.m. and let the chickens out of the inner coop and gave them more food.  They both let me pet them a little bit before I went back inside.  

The morning was relatively cool and after I had a cup of tea and said my morning prayers, I decided to sweep and mop the kitchen floor and, later, I cooked a chicken curry (we won't tell Niwatori and Henny Penny about that!) for dinner.  I also folded and put away a load of laundry.

My daughter checked on the chickens and cleaned out the coop a little after noon and she found one brown egg!  She said she took a few blueberries out to them and held out the berries in her gloved hand and they came up to her and pecked the berries from her hand!  She said that while she was there, Niwatori went into the hen house and we assumed she went to the nest box at the back of the hen house.  Sure enough, when daugher went to check on them later in the afternoon, there was another egg in the nest box!  That makes a total of seven eggs since we got them on Tuesday! 

In the evening, I went with daughter when she went to her gymnastics session (the first time she's gone this month) and stayed in the car and read my book while I waited for her.  

After we came home, daughter put the chickens into the inner coop while I cooked a pot of rice.  We had rice with chicken curry, green beans, and peach chutney for dinner and ice cream for dessert.

On Sunday, I am grateful for:
- Two more eggs from our chickens
- What I was able to accomplish
- Washing machines and dishwashers
- A safe drive to the gymnastics center and back (we passed a multi-car accident on our way back)
- Fans to keep us cool

Sunday's joyful activities included collecting more eggs!

Plans for Monday include:

- Returning my library books
- Picking up my medications
- Maybe a visit from friend R 
- Taking the trash and recycling out to the bins (daughter will wheel out the bins to the curb)
- Watering the indoor plants (daughter will water the garden)
- Making my meal plan options
- Scheduling a car service for an oil change, etc.

How was your Sunday?  What are your plans for Monday?

Got Eggs?

 

Two on Friday

On Friday morning, I woke up at 6:30 a.m., well before my alarm went off!  Long time blog readers know that I tend to stay up till the wee hours of the morning and sleep in, but, apparently, having chickens is making me want to wake up early!  Anyway, I went out and let the chickens out of the coop into the bigger enclosure.  I checked the coop, but didn't see any eggs.  But, that was fine; we had read that chickens will not always lay an egg a day, sometimes, they might lay every other day.  

However, daughter and I went out to check on them and give them fresh water and food around 10:00 a.m. when daughter had a break, and we found Henny Penny sitting in the nest box!  We were surprised because, earlier, neither hen wanted to go inside the enclosed part of the coop itself and quickly left it even when daughter put them inside.  They seemed to prefer the open area under the coop and the small run area, which is where I found the very first egg on Wednesday.  But, apparently, Henny Penny had found the nest box and was sitting there while Niwatori was walking around making some cackling noises.  

Daughter went to clean the coop during her lunch break and when she came back, she called to me to come and see what she found.  Not one, but TWO eggs in the nest box!  We had read that chickens will usually lay only one egg per day, but not two eggs at a time.  So, we are wondering if Niwatori had also laid an egg in the nest box either before or after Henny Penny did!

We were so excited to find two eggs!  We offered one to gardener friend M who was here in the evening to tend to the garden and to help daughter with some further coop reinforcements, but, he thanked us and declined the offer because he had just purchased a dozen eggs earlier that day.  He did say that he will accept an egg later on.

Once again, I took a picture of the two eggs with a store bought egg (size large) for comparison:

Friday's Eggs in Comparison with Store Bought Egg

Our okra plants didn't do well at all, this year (it got too hot after we planted them) and only two tiny okra pods formed on them.  We gave the okra pods to the chickens (after checking if they were okay for the chickens to eat) and they loved them!

Today (Saturday), I woke up at 8:00 a.m. when my alarm went off, but, daughter had woken up earlier and had let the chicken out of the coop, given them fresh water and food, etc., so, I went back to sleep for another couple of hours.  Then, she went at noon to clean the coop and guess what?

Saturday's Eggs!

She found two more eggs in the nest box!  One was brown and the other was a pale tan and slightly smaller.  We read that some variation in egg shell coloration was normal.  Both eggs were well formed with firm shells.  

Gardener M texted to ask if there were any more eggs and I was able to tell him that, yes, we had two more!  He's just as excited about our chickens as we are!

The chickens arrived on Tuesday afternoon and we have had a total of five eggs already!  How wonderful is that?  I am assuming that it is a sign that they are happy in their new home?  

I think there will be scrambled eggs for breakfast, tomorrow!!  

I am grateful for:
- The hens are laying 

- The fresh eggs we are collecting
- M's help with the garden and the chicken coop 

- Daughter doing all the work of cleaning the coop, etc.
-The joy of backyard chickens

Niwatori and Henny Penny

Eggsperiments

 

Newly Laid Brown Egg and Store Bought White Egg

Yesterday, daughter decided to compare and contrast the egg our new chickens laid (brown one) and one of the store bought eggs (white one).  These are the pictures she took.

Brown Egg on the Viewer's Left 

We expected the new chicken egg to have a more orange colored yolk, but, we didn't see any noticeable difference.  Maybe, once they start being out in the garden and eating more plants and insects, in addition to their pellets, we might see a change in the color.  Also, apparently, feeding them pieces of dried red chili flakes will also turn their yolks a deeper orange color!  

Scrambled - Brown Egg on the Left

Next, daughter scrambled them, each egg separately, to see if there was a noticeable difference in taste.  We both tasted them and to be quite honest, neither of us could taste a difference!  

The store bought eggs are "cage free", but, that does not mean that they are "free range" according to the definitions used in the U.S., with cage free chickens being kept mostly indoors in large barns and free range chickens being allowed outdoor access.  Niwatori and Henny Penny are kept in a fairly large enclosure (which would technically be a cage, I suppose?) but, it is outdoors and eventually, they will have access to the garden as well, over the next few days.

There were no eggs laid this morning when I let them out of the coop into the bigger enclosure or at noon when daughter checked on them during her lunch break and gave them more food, fresh water, and cleaned the enclosure.

She checked on them again in the afternoon and gave them more food and cold water (we are freezing bottles of water and putting them in their water containers to chill the water).  She also poured some water over one area of the ground in the enclosure to create a damp spot in which they could be to cool off a bit.  It's 96F today and the poor chickens need all the help they can get to keep cool!  Even though they are supposed to be heat tolerant, they were raised in northern California where it doesn't get quite as hot as it does down here! Also, if they are less than a year old, they would not have experienced summer time temperatures.

We checked on them again, after daughter got off work, with both of us going to see how they were doing.  Henny Penny had dug out a nice bowl shaped depression in the corner where the ground had been wetted down and was relaxing there while Niwatori was in the area under the coop. 

We offered them a couple of kale leaves, yesterday, but, they seemed quite uninterested in them.  Today, we gave them a few freshly picked blueberries and, at first, they didn't know what to do with them, but, then, they learned to pick them up and eat them.  I had daughter bring two of the garden chairs to the area by the coop and we sat and watched them as they scratched at the ground and pecked around.  

We went inside after that, and I made a cucumber salad to have for dinner along with rice, salmon, and green beans.  I also ordered some groceries to be delivered tomorrow.

Daughter put the chickens into the coop for the night at sunset.  We had checked on them last night, around midnight, and saw that they had settled down for the night, on top of their feeder and water container, in the open area of their coop.  We have to figure out a good roosting place for them, but, today, we placed an old metal ladder with just two rungs inside the coop.  It just fitted inside and still allowed the lid to be closed. Ideally, it should be a wooden ladder, but, hopefully, they'll use it for tonight.

Today, I am grateful for:

- The chickens made it through the night!
- That first egg
- Daughter doing all the hard work of tending to them and keeping the coop and enclosure clean
- Easy access to water which helps with cleaning the food and water dishes, etc.
- The joy of having backyard chickens!

Better brace yourself to a few more daily chicken reports over the next few days until we figure out what we are doing!  LOL.  I am thinking we are doing this at the correct time as there seems to be another egg recall due to salmonella contamination according to today's news broadcast!  The recall includes eggs sold at the grocery store from which I get my eggs!  I need to check if the last batch of eggs I bought are among the recalled ones!