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Monday, October 22, 2012

Monday Musings.

Isn't it interesting how one misspelled word - or one missing punctuation mark - can change the entire meaning of something?  As in:  Let's eat Grandma. vs. Let's eat, Grandma.  Or:  Benny's Best fried doe vs. Benny's Best fried dough.  Hmmm.  Maybe Benny MEANT doe on the last one.  There were a lot of pickup trucks with rifle racks in the parking lot.  I wasn't in the mood to hang around and ask, as I was trying to take an 'artful' shot off Hog Back Mountain while keeping one eye on the Lincoln.

One of the joys of cooler weather, is that the stand of pines that is in the front of the house bursts into full pine-y-ness.  They give off the most wonderful, pungent pine scent.  It's so wonderful that almost everyone that walks down the road will stop and sniff the air.  I like to go stand in the middle of it and just inhale.  I wish that I could replicate that exact scent in a candle, or in perfume.  But the only pine scented candles I can find are sort of syrupy piney something.  And what gives with most vanilla candles?  That ain't no vanilla, baby.  That is chem-nilla.  I wonder if I rubbed myself all over with the pine needles I could pass it off as perfume....

Cats are totally perverse.  I will sit at the computer with Kramer clamoring to be held.  He drapes across my left shoulder, purring loudly and, after a few minutes of a warm, purring body in close proximity, my eyes start to close, I relax and breath deeply.  Then he digs his talons into my shoulder and launches.  And I fall for it every. single. time.

I really enjoy watching the poultry scene from my bedroom window - I can watch them without their being aware of me.  Because, if they catch sight of me, they all lift their fluffy bloomers and come running.  Not all of my chickens have names.  I only name the ones with distinct personalities.  Good thing, too, as sometimes remembering my own name is a challenge.
There is Marie-Claire, a Cuckoo Maran who was rescued from her life in a large plastic tub in someones living room.  She lays an egg every once in a great while, is around 5 y/o, and is my best surrogate mother.  Because of her upbringing, she has a funny kind of skipping, pigeon-toed gait.

And there is Kees "Big Daddy" Roo, my Barnevelder rooster.  We are presently just referring to him as "Daddy" since he lost his major tail feathers to molting.  He pulls his best Elvis routine on the girls who, more often than not, give him the cold shoulder.  This does not dampen his ardor, but he is respectful and not too hard on the girls.

Then there is Rosie's Girl, an Austerlorp with large, lustrous dark eyes.  She is also an oldster by hen standards.  And let's not forget $40 Freddie (aka Freddie the Bearded Lady), who has recovered quite nicely from her bumblefoot with just a trace of a limp.  And Big Sally and Big Betty, the new girls.  When they come running, the ground shakes!  And there is dear E-Claire, surrogate daughter of Marie-Claire, daughter of the old roo, Junior.  And Violet, the Blue Andalusian, who lived through her narrow escape from Bernie.

Now I also get to enjoy watching the posse of Pearlies, a constantly moving speckled clump of burbling prehistoric wonders.  LOUD prehistoric wonders.  So far, only one of the posse has made himself stand out.  Lonesome George.

Who needs television?



20 comments:

Sue said...

Sounds wonderful. I had chickens years ago-best darn entertainment on earth. I guess we're making the plunge again next summer. Bye-bye DirecTV!
:)

Sylvie said...

My feline friend did the "knock everything off the end table" routine at 4:45 AM this morning getting the reaction he wanted from his mistress....my getting up!

Kelly said...

Watching chickens is better than anything on tv ☺

Carolyn said...

So, do you have a recipe for Benny's Best Fried DOE? Cause I could really use some venison recipes right now!!!

And yes, Chicken TV is quite amusing. And doesn't cost $85 a month either!

Kitty Moore said...

Sadly, the only thing I can see out of my window is a concrete jungle..

Susan said...

Sue - Hooray! That's great news!! Sounds like you may be sticking around...

Susan said...

Sylvie - I guess your 'decoy' wasn't there :-) Notice how it works every time?

Susan said...

Kelly - Absolutely. I haven't watched TV for over 10 years and I doubt there's anything as entertaining as chicken drama.

Susan said...

CR - Crap! I should have gotten his business card for you! You could just fry it right alongside Rhiannon's french fries...Yeah. Not QUITE $85 a month - as long as they are actually laying eggs. Which they are not.

Michelle said...

NO one needs television - at least no one who has animals of any kind!

Susan said...

Kitty - Have you considered painting the shades? :/

Susan said...

Michelle - Truer words were never spoken. Or written. :)

Jane @ Hard Work Homestead said...

About the misspelled words, I fear that we may soon have a society where we spell phonetically or just make up the spelling. I pop into homestead forums where most of the participants homeschool. I can not believe how awful the grammar is...and they homeschool!! That is the future. They go to a 'sell' to buy things..not a sale. They have a 'gelting' and 'mayers' in the barn. I am seeing this everywhere and you can tell it is not just a typo since they repeat it. It is very scary out there.

Susan said...

Jane - I am afraid you might be right. I was reading an article online where they were reporting a puppy rescue. The rescuers reached this puppy by "repelling" down a cliff. Oy.

Candy C. said...

I'm with you and Jane on the misspelling thingy, our local paper is notorious for doing that.
Chicken TV really is the best and a lot less stressful than watching the evening news!
By the way, I really like your new picture! :)

Susan said...

Candy - I avoid the news as much as possible! Thank you - I figured I had outgrown the 'lamb' image. You all know me too well by now!!!

DFW said...

Susan,

I agree about the spelling, punctuation & grammar as well (their, there & they're are my pet peeves).

I want chickens so bad!

Susan said...

DFW - My pet peeve is "Me and X went to..." Me went to? Drives me crazy and my coworker uses (or mis-uses) it constantly! You SHOULD have chickens!

Mama Pea said...

What is the problem? Is correct grammar not being taught in school any longer? Or are kids just not listening? You learn the basic rules and use them all your life, right? No, I guess not.

When our daughter was around one year old, we didn't have TV (and the goats and chickens were too far out in the back field for her to walk there by herself so she didn't have them for entertainment when she was bored) but I would put her in the laundry basket in front of the dryer (which had a glass front window) and she would watch the laundry go round and round for a long time. (Maybe that's what's wrong with her. Hmmmmm.)

Susan said...

Mama Pea - That sounds mesmerizing....I remember doing my laundry at the laundromat for years, watching the same show! I don't know what the problem is. Laziness? Lack of focus? No one cares?