Spot on Frizzles

~This is one of many little frizzled bantam hens I have. She weighs less than a pound and is at least two years old. Notice the feathers. They are very curly and curl backwards. This little hen is covered from head to tail to feet in shiny blue-black curly feathers. She has several sisters in the bantam pen that resemble her. Isn't she cute?

~Close up of the feathers. "Frizzles are one of our odd breeds, and little is known about their origin." American Poultry Standard of Perfection~

~Close up of the wings and wing tips. " It is not unprofessional to give free legal advice, but advertising that the first visit will be free is a bit like the fox telling the chickens he will not bite them until they cross the threshold of the hen house." Warren E. Burger ~Aren't her tail feathers frilly and flaunting? She is so tiny and soft and curly. She lays eggs too! I still don't understand why more people do not have pet chickens. They are so much less bother than cats and dogs and parrots! Plus, they lay eggs you can eat and they are very funny. Chickens can get very attached to people too and are easily contained should it be necessary. They are cheap to buy and keep, what more could a person want? You can even bathe them regularly to keep them smelling fresh.Hey, some people even dress their chickens in cute little outfits......can't you just picture the rich and famous cruising all the best places with a smart little chicken in their big handbags or sports cars?

~"If you want to save a species, simply decide to eat it. Then it will be managed-like chickens, like turkeys, like deer, like Canadian geese." Ted Nugent ~

Blessings: chickens and all their variety and entertaining ways, chicken eggs

Oh How the Mighty Are Humbled, ( Goth gets fleeced)

~Yoo hoo, Goth! Time to get a hair cut! Even big bad boys need haircuts once in awhile.~

~Hubby and I cornered Goth, and using his horns as handles, walked him to the shed for Dirt to shear him and the rest of the flock that were not sheared in January. And of course, it was cold and rainy today, so there are some pitifully naked sheep huddling together under the heat lamp tonight. In the picture above, Hubby is holding Goth's horn while Dirt starts shearing. ~Dirt is almost done with Goth here, but look at Goth's horns wrapped around Dirt's waist. Dirt made a comment about forgetting his Flak Jacket today...... ~Here is another picture of Goth's horns tucked up against my Hubby. The horns are very pointy and hard and can cause a lot of damage with just a turn of the ram's head. Dirt knows what he is doing though and to my knowledge has not been hurt by any of my Jacob sheep while shearing them.

~Look at all the wool from Goth! He had quite a nice and plentiful fleece, not any more!~

~Anna , Bet and Lanny came along to visit while we skirted the fleeces . Anna is holding one of the lambs while it's momma is being sheared. Aren't they all 3 cute? ( Anna is the most sensibly dressed for the weather.~

~Oh how the mighty is humbled...and naked! And probably cold tonight.~

~" It is well to remember that the entire population of the universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others." Andrew J. Holmes

" Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of My pasture!" declares the Lord. Jeremiah 23:1

It's Breezy's Birthday!

~Breezy is the wife of our youngest son. Breezy is our daughter-in-law, and we consider her a daughter-in-love, because we love her very, very, much!Above is a picture of Breezy on her wedding day( to our son) , with her dog Birney (rt.) and our son's dog Taz . Birney and Taz were in the wedding and a part of the festivities and are still very much part of Breezy's and our son's life. ~Christmas family portraits. Here are our son, Breezy, and Taz. Taz is wearing a bow tie too.My Hubby requested I post this picture because he likes it very much. He also wanted me to make sure I had a picture of Breezy with her blue hair.Breezy sometimes has pink hair, and sometimes it looks purple. The nieces think this is so cool, and they do all say " Aunt breezy is the coolest." ~Breezy is the coolest...she can shoot ( guns), ride (horses), drive big rigs, cook, and keep our son fed! And she also is very hospitable to groups of family, feeding us all well..and our animals, should we bring them along for the visit. All this and look great! Manicured nails, beautiful hair...super woman!Best of all, she is fierce with her love for our son I tell you, fierce! Our son has no better help mate and defender, love and wife than Breezy! We just know God knew right from the start the wife Daniel needed and good thing Daniel recognized it...Happy Birthday Breezy!

~"And the Lord God said, it is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him." Genesis 2:18

~Happy Birthday to our daughter-in-love, and you're a blessing to us all.~

Blossoms In the Snow

~The Primroses are blooming, spring is here.....I think.....~

~As I was preparing dinner late Monday afternoon the sky darkened and this is my view from the kitchen, out onto Cedar Pond~

~Tuesday, there is snow everywhere. The temperatures dropped to below 20 degrees early in the morning and are to be as low, record setting low temperatures, today. Still, I snapped these pictures of flowers blooming amidst the snow. Above are some crocuses that burst through the Ajuga, can you see the brave honeybee that ventured out into bee-killing temperatures to get nectar and pollen?

~Bright yellow Primroses. These Primroses bloom and reproduce every year.~

~And my Hubby's Hellebores, blooming in the snow. They are so hardy and such faithful bloomers. Food for the bees and flowers for the soul in the last days of winter and early days of spring when the weather is unpredictable and deadly to so many other plants that bloom.~

~"Courage is not the towering oak that sees storms come and go; it is the fragile blossom that opens in the snow." Alice M. Swain ~

Start With A Lamb...

~This ( above ) is where my yarn begins. The birth of a lamb.~

~My homespun yarn. A work of love. Though it hardly seems like work, because I love it.~

~Here are the natural, not-dyed colors of my sheep. The brown is from my Romney / Jacob cross sheep, Delilah. The rest of the grays are the wool of my Jacob sheep.~

~The turquoise wool is also the wool of my Jacob sheep, dyed in a kettle on my stove. I never tire of the seeming magic of my wool, that I can start with a wee lamb, take the wool from it when it is grown, spin it into yarn, dye it and weave it into fabric and create..? Whatever my imagination and heart dream up! The creativity we are all given can be expressed in so many ways...baking, decorating, singing, writing........

CREATE : "To produce as a new construction out of existing materials; make a new form of preexisting substances..."Funk & Wagnalls New Standard Dictionary

She Chose Me

~This is Beatrix. She was one of 11 puppies born to our dog Sienna.She is the granddaughter to our beloved Saxon, and great-granddaughter to our dog, Thor.The last litter of AKC registered Labrador Retriever puppies I intended to raise. After more than 15 years of raising Labrador puppies it was time to quit and enjoy the 5 dogs we had. I already had a full sister to Beatrix, Willow, from Siennas' first litter.I did not, repeat, DID NOT want another puppy to raise. Sometimes though, I am outsmarted by my critters.Outsmarted with love. ~My puppies were born in the kitchen and kept in a children's swimming pool on the floor near my kitchen sink. This allowed me to keep an eye on them all the time and attend to their momma's needs as well. In every litter of puppies, even if all 11 of them are rust-gold yellow and look alike, they very soon distinguish themselves as individuals with their own unique personalities. Well in this litter there was one little female pup who as soon as her eyes opened, would just sit herself up and watch me. Her brothers and sisters would be playing and snuffling the pool, but she would just sit there as close to me as possible and watch me. ~The puppies were always moved outside into enclosed shelters with heat lamps if needed when they were about 3 weeks old. Every time I would be outside attending to the puppies, there was the little female following me, and carefully observing me, just me.When the puppies were put up for sale, they sold quickly. But every time a family would come out to choose their pup, this particular little female would be clinging to the shade and corners of the puppy house. What was going on? She had never before exhibited shy or timid behavior. But the families that came and went were sure she was one of those timid dogs all the books said to avoid. As soon as the families left with another puppy, there she would be,out of the puppy house, happy and content to just gaze at me. ~Finally, there was just her left. I had spent a lot of money on ads and as the last ad ran out, and the last calls for puppies ceased....there was just her. We had to take her on our Thanksgiving trip to our son's home over the mountains ( we couldn't leave a puppy in the kennel alone) and she traveled with her 2 years older sister Willow. We discovered this little puppy was a perfect traveling dog. She got along well with our son and his wife's 5 dogs and she got along well with children and she house broke herself.It dawned on me she was, and is a smart dog. I think she planned this all out and knew what she was doing. I ended up keeping her, but did not settle on a name for her for awhile because maybe I should sell her...we don't need 6 dogs. But she is now 4 years old. You can see we still have her. ( or she still has us) ~She lives for me. I don't know why. Her whole being seems dedicated to being by my side. She does not jump up on me, or pester me with her tongue and pushing against me. She simply follows and watches me. When I sit down or stand still, she sits and gazes at me. When all the other dogs are vying for my attention by leaping around me, pushing each other out of my way, she sits...and gazes.When I call to her for petting, she is at my side, head in my lap, and her sigh tells me that to her, this is more than enough reward for her. When I have had to chastise her for misbehavior ( rare for her ) she doesn't flee, she lowers her head and leans close as she thinks proper, and watches me for approval again.She will ignore food if she thinks I might give her attention instead. How can I have ever thought I did not need or want another dog, especially when she chose me in the first place? "I don't like people who don't like dogs-I just don't , declares Brooke Astor, the doyenne of New York society.....A negative view of anything does not come naturally to this warm hearted nonagenarian...but do not cross her on the subject of dogs. " I simply cannot live without them," she says." from LIVING WITH DOGS by Laurence Sheehan I have no problem with people who care not for dogs, or cats, or animals, but I personally do not want to live without them either and am so blessed to be able to have so many sharing my life.

The Treasure of a Good Foundation

"Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, ( retirement plans, savings, home equity, stocks), but on God who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed." 2 Timothy 6:17-19

~My question, what has God richly supplied for you to enjoy, and just what is it He has given to you to take hold of, that is " life indeed" ? just asking...........................