Hens and Hats

Hello my friends!  How are things going along for you?  We're cruising along.  I am happy to report that ONE of our hens.. and I know which one.. has started laying eggs again after a... SIX MONTH VACATION!  Gracie is an Ameracauna which lays aqua eggs.  I named her Gracie because she has a lot of grey feathers.  I wonder when the other slackers will get busy?  I am so happy to have home grown eggs again.  Do you remember this wooden egg holder?  I saw Lady Mary use one on Downton Abbey after saving the pigs - did you see that episode?  I got right on eBay or Etsy and found this.  So, now I can cook like Lady Mary.  :-)

I figure that the one with the darker blue top was her first one in 6 months so there was lots of blue saved up in her egg maker.  What do you think? :-)

I went out in the farmyard to get a photo of the girls.. but only 2 of them would come out to see me.  The big black hen is the Cuckoo Maran named Hershey - as she lays milk chocolate colored eggs.  Both of these two look gorgeous and very feathered out.. 

Gracie and her grey tail.

The roses are leafing out!

I'm fascinated with the colors in these tulip leaves!

I got my 2nd gold colored cotton wash cloth done.  

I'm going to try this as a face cloth.. I've always used them as kitchen wash cloths.  

I got a third hat done for Taci's charity project - hats for new babies in Brazil for underprivileged expectant mothers.  Taci's mother puts together bags for the new mothers with hats, sweaters, booties and other necessities.  Isn't that nice?

I am halfway done on a 4th hat using my organic cotton.  

I really like how the little variegated one turned out, I used the shell pattern after I got the crown increase part done in double crochet.  I think Betsy or Gracie gave me that cotton.  

I snapped a photo of our moss covered garage barn.. yes, Oregon is green. :-)

More Snowdrops are showing white buds.

Behind the garage was another round of wood from some of the trees we had felled as they had died.  The entire end of this is covered with those Turkey Tail mushrooms!

I sauntered down our driveway and snapped this image of the pastures and forest across the road from our place.  A hazy day.  Soon they will be planting fields of flowers there.

Our Black Bamboo stand needs trimmed up - many of the branches have bent over.  We'll have to work on that.

I am in love with the black canes of this plant.  I used the branches as stakes in other plants, which is neat.  I wonder what else I could use these for.  Any ideas?

A snap of the bamboo and our barn.  I have 5 varieties of bamboo on the farm and each one is a clumping bamboo and not a running bamboo - each has stayed very nicely in one spot.  They do get big and bushy, but they do not run and take over.

Well, Dayle and I are going on a jaunt together - we're both in the mood for a healthy salad and we have a favorite restaurant that makes a killer shrimp salad.  I might remember to snap a photo.  ((hugs)), Teresa :-)