I Went to Lake Tahoe!

I decided to go to an Art Quilt retreat at Lake Tahoe. It was the first week of November, so for weeks ahead of time, I was nervous about the drive up–would it snow??? Sure enough, snow was predicted for the day I drove up 😦 I went and got chains for my car, and then nervously checked the CA road reports every day. And then the weather changed. No snow, and it was a beautiful drive up there!

I love Lake Tahoe. I’ve told you before how we spent many summer vacations in Tahoe when I was a kid. Now it seems I go more often in the fall, although I usually go earlier than this. The lake changed every day. The first day it was clear and smooth.

The next day there were clouds obscuring the mountains, and the lake was a little choppier. To me, that makes it look almost like the ocean. I like it better when I can see the far shore.

The next day it was even choppier (and colder!)

I noticed on the drive up the huge boulders that line the river that runs along the highway. These big rocks are everywhere. I really like them.

And then, before you know it, it was time to come home. And even though I observed that the pine trees in Tahoe were prettier than our pine trees at home, I was so very happy to be coming home. I love where I live. This is one of the things I love. Just the simplicity of the live oaks turning bright yellow and shining through the pines and the scrub oaks.

Back in the garden, some of the Japanese maples were turning colors:

And here’s something that JUST. SHOULD. NOT. BE. Two of my foxgloves were blooming! Does this mean they won’t bloom in the spring???

Here’s where we planted two Aspens at the back of the yard. I will be so excited when they get a little bigger. They are so beautiful in the fall–there are thousands of them growing further up the hill on the way to Lake Tahoe.

Did I show you this already? We rescued some logs from a recently chopped down pine (phone company had to remove some dead pines.) And MLG made this little area to display my bonsai trees!

Some nice color from this maple bonsai.

And that’s the report for now. I hope all of you have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!!

Chicken Report

My chickens are growing up! They’re doing grownup things like crowing every morning, and laying eggs. I look forward to finding eggs every day, and I usually check several times a day, trying not to disturb the hens too much. Today I actually stood there and watched one hen lay her egg!!

Here’s my egg washing system. You can see they are still laying a variety of sizes. The big ones are double yolkers.

And my new pink egg cartons! I have asked people to save their egg cartons for me, but I was worried that I would not have enough cartons so I checked around the internet and found one place that sold cartons at a discount. I have a LOT of pink egg cartons 🙂

Today I worked in the garden a bit. I pulled up all the mint (haha, I’m pretty sure it’ll make an appearance in the spring…) The chickens love to pick over fresh greens.

 

The two big boys. So far they are behaving themselves for the most part–not fighting with each other, not being aggressive towards me, and not bothering the hens TOO much. As long as they behave themselves they are welcome at my farm. They have names: Buddy #1 and Buddy #2.

The little king. He stays away from the big boys and he doesn’t bother the hens at all. Probably because he can’t see… Somebody pecks his topknot at night, so now he gets anti-pick medicine on his head.

And Here’s Baby!!!! She is so smart. She might be low in the pecking order, but she just knows how to stay out of everybody’s way, and she gets her fair share of all the treats too.

Baby’s big sister. She is probably the largest hen, and really she is probably the most outstanding.

This is a New Hampshire Red. All of the red hens are pretty friendly, and very curious. They always come very close to me, and usually let me pet them.

Chicken in a Bowl 🙂

One more shot of Buddy #2. He is really a gorgeous rooster–a Speckled Sussex. You can see his female counterpart in the corner there. Oh, see that woodwork along the ground in the back? The chickens were digging their way UNDER my woodshed. I was worried that the cement foundation would collapse, so MLG rigged that up to deter them.

Buff Orpington. They are very quiet. I love their soft color.

Every afternoon I spread a bunch of “scratch” for them. Its like a chicken treat. They look forward to it every day, and always follow me along the fence line to see if this time I will be giving it to them.

An action shot of Baby–that’s how she does it. Identifies what she wants and finds the most strategic place to get it 🙂

And that’s the chicken report for now. I wish you all lived closer. I have a lot of eggs to share with people. I had eggs for dinner tonight. They taste good, but I am not a good egg cooker, and they don’t look very appetizing, so no pictures.