Silly Salmon Faverolles!

The newest members of the flock, the Salmon Faverolles, Pacifica and Coho, never want to go to bed.

Everyone else knows what time to go to bed. They start wandering inside about an hour before the sun sets and by the time it is down, everyone is inside.

Everyone but Pacifica and Coho. Silly Girls! They want to be camping outside!

Building the Ark of Guilt

Our little town is taking an incredible beating from rain and wind right now, and we aren't there to help. Farmer Jeff and I have taken a little trip and are learning about the storm in panicked calls home and funny text messages, along with getting online to check the rain fall and road closures.

Farmer Jeff and I knew that there would be a fierce storm but knowing about it, living through it, and hearing about it are all different experiences. Before we left Farmer Jeff did what he could to put a corrugated metal "roof" over as much of the chicken pen as possible in an attempt to keep parts of the pen drier. Keeping it totally dry is impossible. He also put an entire bale of straw down to keep the girls from standing in water, as that is not good for them.

While at lunch today, (not in Healdsburg) we were watching pigeons wandering around our feet, mating, chasing after scraps of food, and couldn't help but think of our girls (and 4 boys) at home. I feel sorry for our new girls, the Salmon Faverolles, as they are fancy show chickens and are not used to the slightly more rural way of life. We did, however, come up with names for them. Taking into account the name of their breed, they are now named Coho and Pacifica.

I don't know how many more times we will be able to have internet access, but I'll give y'all an update as soon as I can. In the meantime, Happy New Year!

Christmas 2007

This holiday season has found us traveling all over the state of CA. I flew to San Diego to be with my whole family (Dec. 16-19), then hopped in the car on Dec. 21 and off we went to Monterey/Carmel for the night. We went to visit with a couple sets of friends, have dinner at Joe Rombi's La Mia Cucina (excellent!), took a whirlwind tour of the Monterey Bay Aquarium (I had to see the otters!) and then drove over to the central valley town of Newman to see Farmer Jeff's papa, wife and sister-in-law. We were there from Dec. 22 until today and then drove back here to have dinner with Jeff's mama, brother and Aunt K. It has been a fun time and we are so happy now to be back with our babies.

There have been some very special highlights. I would have to say that being able to see all of our family members is at the top of the list. Quite wonderful.

I received some lovely, thoughtful and unexpected gifts. From my dear husband, one of the gifts he gave me was a watch with the Virgin of Guadalupe on the face. I have an unexplainable connection to her and am deeply touched by this gift. We received art work, towels, items for the kitchen and they were all with motifs of chickens, farm animals or just really pretty things.

The unexpected gift was from Bridget, the Great Chicken Mother. She knew that I was disappointed the Modesto Poultry Auction was not held yesterday and seeing that she needed to make room for her incoming white Faverolles, she GAVE me TWO of her beautiful Salmon Faverolles hens. It was so great to hear them talking to us as we drove them home today.
(She is pictured here with her favorite Faverolles Rooster). The new girls, not yet named, are safely protected from the elements and the other chickens. I promise to give an update.

Now for a moment of Gratitude: I am grateful for all of the wonderful people in my life. God bless each and every one of you. Everyone in our world can teach us something and allow us to practice unconditional love. May I forever keep my heart, mind and soul open to new people, opportunities and experiences.

Merry Christmas!