Picasso Purple and Poultry

Summer bypassed spring and arrived with a thud on Saturday.  By Sunday, it was 92* in the shade.  I am soooo glad the climate is not changing.  On Saturday, I did some quick chores in the morning and then gussied up and met my sister at the Clark Museum in Williamstown, MA.  We had decided to get a family membership because a) it's a wonderful museum; b) we are determined to insert culture into our lives; c) the membership prices were on sale...


The museum, which always was a delight, has undergone a multi-million-dollar renovation.  It is beautiful.

One of three levels of reflecting pools with
an amazing view

Shore-to-shore lily pads on a pond

One of the new buildings with great
cloudscapes

The grounds have been kept unmowed, except for a small mowed border (see above) which leave the rest in tall grasses, wildflowers and native plants.  There are so many birds, too!  The museum campus is quite large and there are a variety of trails for hiking, strolling and, in the winter, snowshoeing.  Connie and I will be taking advantage of the trails, as well.


The Picasso exhibit was great, as was another small exhibit that featured an artist I like very much who doesn't seem to be well-known:  Lawrence Alma Tadem.  We had a light lunch and then sat by the largest reflecting pool and admired the view, caught up on the latest adventures of The Parents and Auntie, discussed this and that, and generally had a great time.  Driving back home (a very scenic drive over mountains), I realized that it was the most at-peace I had felt in weeks, maybe months.  I love my sisters.


I seem to have a preponderance of purple going on in the flower beds.  I will admit to being an extremely unfocused gardener.  My planting 'scheme' consists of getting plants from friends and family and them plopping them into an empty (as in weed-less) spot, with no real care as to size or color.  It's come back to bite me.  I'm working on moving my daylilies out of the flower bed before they completely take it over - I'm going to replant them on the outside of the chicken fence.  Chickens, it seems, find them delish.

L-R Nettles, Japanese irises (from my mother),
some other pretty purple flower and the dreaded
daylilies.  Notice the grapevine invasion in
back.

I did try to add some bits of color around the place, as I find it's almost as important to plant for your soul as it is for your stomach.  This is the happy bit I see when I go out to feed the girls in the morning.

And then.  There is the Godzilla Vine.

It's hard to believe that this behemoth started as one small, inoffensive-looking little hops vine.  I am afraid that, if I fell asleep on the deck chair, I would wake up wrapped in its boa constrictor grasp...

Gray Ranger

The Gray Rangers are an entirely different breed than the Frankenchickens.  I expected them to be more active - of course, compared to the Cornish X, any action is more active - but they are pretty static.  One precocious character is crowing already - they are 8 weeks old - and while they are fairly good-sized, they are not as fast-growing.  They do not, blessedly, teem around your ankles when  you appear - a trait of the CX that gave me the willies.  This year I am keeping careful track of what it's costing me to raise them.  So far, feeding them costs $14/week.  That does not include the cost of the chicks, the replacement battery for the charger and any other costs - like the added electrical usage while brooding them.  The results will decide whether I keep this up or not.  It's a pain in the beehind, frankly, and it might turn out to be less costly to buy a free-range organic bird from a local source.  I figure they have about two more weeks - because that is all I can stand. 


I leave you with a picture of the Alabama Tater Hound (aka The Yam) on his favorite perch near the fan.  I have tried to leave the fleece pad off, since it is so hot, but they find it and drag it back.