Gone Fishin'

It seems my To Do list grows by leaps and bounds everyday. I'm trying to establish some sort of order and routine, and hope to be back in bloggityville by Monday. Till then, I hope everyone has a lovely weekend.....maybe you can even find the time to go fishin' with your best buddy:)

~Rhonda

Something to Crow About

Miss BJ over at Sweet Nothings, stopped by yesterday to invite me to participate in Beverly's Rooster Parade. She said that I might have a real rooster photo that I could share.

Well..... it just so happens that I do:)

This is Henry the 2nd. He looks identical to Henry the 1st who, unfortunately for him, met an untimely demise because he was such a mean spirited animal and all the other chickens lived in terror of him. So, in the end, he was only good for one thing....Chicken Stew.

Henry the 2nd is not nearly as "fowl" tempered as the 1st and so he lives a rather pampered life, tending his harem and crowing at dawn, noon, evening and any other time the mood strikes him.

He does, on a regular occasion, like to demonstrate his "Ruler of the Roost" authority by challenging any and all who come near. You would think that he would learn that each flogging attempt is met with a swift rap across the head with a very large wooden dowel, but bless him, he is just not that bright and very often he winds up with a sore noggin.

I have heard some people talk about friendly, docile roosters, but I have never met one and honestly I think they are just an urban myth, or maybe that should be a "rural" myth:)

Although he can be quite a stinker, he also deserves a measure of respect. At the first hint of danger, he sounds the warning, rounds up the hens and goes into defensive mode. If he finds a tasty morsel, he does not eat it himself. Instead, he makes a low clucking type sound that brings the hens running to him and he will let one of them have it. He takes his role of protector and provider very seriously, and for that, he has earned my admiration. I have to remind myself of this on the very rare occasions when he catches me off guard and succeeds in spurring my leg. At that moment, I start thinking Chicken Stew sounds mighty good;)

Thanks, BJ for asking my to share in the parade. I hope everyone enjoyed meeting Henry.

Before I go, I have one more thing to crow about~

Today is my Sweet Hubby's birthday. If you would like to wish him a happy day, you can hop over to his new blog, Velocraig, and tell him so.

OK, guess I better get going...I've got a cake to bake and a cook-out to get ready....mushroom Swiss burgers anyone?

~Rhonda

Time to Take Off That Winter Coat!

Before
During

After

Last Sunday, we went to see the local Semi-Annual Shearing of the Sheep. It was cold and wet and windy. One of those early Spring days that reminds you that winter is not in the too distant past. In my opinion, it was a absolutely terrible day to have to part with a perfectly good wool coat:) But the sheep didn't mind. I was amazed at how docile they were. They laid perfectly still and let the shearer do his work. When he was finished, he would step back and this was the sheep's signal to get up and go hopping and jumping all the way to the pasture. It seemed they were very pleased with their new hair cuts.
The Shearer removed the pelts of some 40 odd sheep in two days, which convinced me that while I would love, love, love to raise sheep for there wool, there is NO power on earth that could convince me to be a Sheep Shearer!!! Talk about your back breaking labor....notice how the shearer is bent over the sheep in the second photo...he stayed like that the whole time we were there, now imagine doing that for two solid days!!! Not to mention that if I stand with my head down like that for more than a couple of minutes, I start to see spots before my eyes from all of the blood rushing to my head. Geesh! I don't know how he did it.
After the wool pelt was removed, it was placed on a platform where a nice lady picked out all of the bits of debris. The upside of this job is that it is like a conditioning treatment for your hands, all of the lanolin in the wool works to soften and smooth your fingers as you go. Now this job, I could do:) I almost volunteered, but then I caught sight of a lady spinning yarn out of Angora rabbits' hair and I had to go and get the lowdown on this process. Sorry I did not get a picture of her, I was too busy talking and dreaming of my own little bunny farm where I could raise cute little furry darlings and collect there fur to spin~don't worry Honey, it is just a dream....for now anyway;)
My son fell in love with the sheep hearding dog. It was a beauty with multi colored eyes and very gentle. He would just pet it and talk to it. Lately, he has been asking for a puppy....maybe soon?
So, I hope everyone is having a nice week. I'll be by for a cuppa later.
~Rhonda