Excitement at Rebel Hen Ranch!

well there certainly has been a lot of happenings and excitement around the rebel hen ranch. now, hang onto your boot straps i am not a confederate. just want to make that clear as it seems like anytime one uses the the word "rebel" in rural settings folks immediately jump to conclusions. we call our little homestead rebel hen ranch because we live on rebel ridge. glad to have that out of the way.....

most of you think of april 15th as tax day. well, it turned out to be birthing day here on the homestead. two of our bantam hens had gone broody but they were always nest hopping and being a bit sporadic about the whole thing. so, i didn't really bother to count the 21 days it usually takes the eggs to start hatching. but in the back of my mind i figured i had at least a week to get prepared for the newcomers. the banty bungalow is not set up for a brood of baby chicks.

but last thursday when i let the bantams out of their hen house i noticed that the two broody hens were sharing the nest with the most eggs. hmm. they looked pretty cozy so i didn't separate them i just stuck the other eggs underneath them. i heard a strange noise but then broody hens always make strange noises.

we were headed to sacramento that day and liam and i were checking on the chickens when i heard a tiny "peep!" i opened the nesting boxes and there was a tiny chick the size of a golf ball. bantams are miniature chickens so the chicks are almost like bumble bees! here is Georgette and Ruby with their first hatchling.

i started panicking(remember i'm the worry wart)- we were leaving for the day and i hadn't set up any kind of brooder for them. the nesting boxes are high above the floor and the food and water are outside-there would be no way for the chicks to get around. we had to think fast! i had an old kennel from blue's puppy hood that i had been trying to sell. so we stuck the kennel into the bungalow -filled it with straw, food and water. then we had to move both broody hens, 2 baby chicks (at this point) and all the eggs into the kennel. hubby, liam and i worked quickly! after lots of flapping and pecking we managed to make the move.

i worried the whole day we were in the city. the next morning we were able to check on the situation. we now had 4 babies. i realized this dog kennel was not going to big enough and they would need to run around. so we brought out the old chicken brooder cage from past babies we have raised. we put it inside the hen yard and and hooked up the dog kennel to it. this seemed to worked. here are two of the chicks learning what to eat from their mamas.

chicken mamas are amazing mothers. here is a video-listen to georgette talking to her babies:



sadly one of the babies died. it appeared that the little one was squashed by one of the mamas. it was rather flat. so then there were 3. there were 6 eggs still unhatched and the mamas didn't appear to be setting on them anymore. i wondered if i should just get rid of them as i had heard they won't hatch if they are not getting mama warmth for all but 20 minutes of the day. i called my friend sue who has much experience in these matters and she said to leave them for a day or two. so glad we did as much to our surprise we had a new 4th baby after waiting a few days. so we decided to let the eggs stick around awhile just in case.

meanwhile....a storm brews. suppose to be a a big one! rain and snow expected thru thursday. today i was feeling horrible. sore throat achy-just plain awful. tried to homeschhool liam but spent most of the day on the couch napping.

around 5pm i realizes holy crap-the babies and their mamas are not in a storm proof arrangement. with not much energy liam and i whipped together quite the "crackshack" out of pallets and tarps.

it's really quite embarrassing as i take pride in my coops!

It had been several days since that last chick was hatched and the mamas really seemed to be ignoring the remaining eggs this time. i was able to reach in kennel when we were building the crackshack and they were not warm. i decided to to take the eggs out to give them more room. liam put them in shed while we finished. later i had forgotten all about the eggs and began doing a storm clean(putting all tools in the shed.)

much to my dismay-i knocked over the container with the remaining eggs. they fell on the shed floor and rolled away! i found 2. they were cracked and one egg was peeping!!!! yes, peeping! i quickly ran it to the mamas and stuck it under georgette getting pecked in the process! i have no idea what will happen i guess i'll find out in the morning. hope they don't shun the baby if it survives.

i managed to find all the other eggs in the shed-rotting eggs in the shed would not be pretty. the eggs seemed to be dead-cold, cracked and no peeping.

not knowing what to do with them i threw them into the burn pile hubby had going. i didn't want rotten eggs around. wait!- was that a peep i heard? liam said it wasn't but i'm not so sure---

in my haste to get my last post up i forgot some "green" to share with you. i finished my "wandering the moor shawl." a delightful great pattern from ravelry!

it is a delight. i ill make it again in the larger size!

i finished the green batt from rowen as seen in last post. i love it! it's so soft and shimmery-from the bamboo that is in it.

i have much fiber to show you but this post is too long so i leave you with a small skein of yarn. i found 2 balls of single ply handspun that i had left over from previous projects and i decided to ply them together. very happy with this spring color way.

it's all about the "green"

okay, i realize this post is a bit late but life around these parts does prevent regular timely posts. spring is so definitely here with it's snow one day, sunshine the next sprinkled in with bits of rain here and there and i just love it. as it is the time of year for all things green. in a few months everything will be golden brown. i cherish the green. green is my favorite color-especially of the swampy pond scum variety. so here is my belated welcome back "spring" post. the yard is full of clovers!

normally we celebrate spring equinox at our house but this year hubby and i were in oakland(see past post.) so we actually celebrated it on easter this year. eggs generously donated by our "gurls" were decorated.the lucky rabbit of spring hid eggs in the woods.

my dear little neighbor raena(age 10) knows i love the color green and aprons. she got me this apron for xmas-what a treat-i am so lucky! yes, i know you all are experiencing "apron envy" at this very moment. i've been sporting this apron all spring!

every spring i make point to spin green yarn. check out this delicious yummy yarn i'm spinning from a batt made by my friend rowan.

i'm actually in the process of plying it so you will see it completed very soon!!!!

here are some of liam's insulators in his collection. he did a "spring" arrangement for me-sweet eh?

it's all about the "green!"

just "do" it!

holy showers batman-it' s april!!! how did that happen? i completely missed blogging about st. patrick's day and the first day of spring. i always do a blarney type equinox post. it's all about the green!!! where was i? what was i doing? on the first day of spring......yes, i remember now.

the family started out the morning gathering with community members to do some spring cleaning in our local historic cemetery. there's liam and hubby hard at work next to our CVFD fire chief alan(on right.)

we were only able to stay till noon as hubby and i were city bound! Hubby has a friend/business associate that was having a going away party in Oakland to attend. now as you know i am a hermit and prefer the solitude of our hill top hut. but- i am a person of extremes. i tend to like opposite ends of the specrum. i can do "frontier" yet i can do "city" as well. it's the in-between realm i have a hard time with.

this said-there's one thing i usually don't "do" when i'm doing "city" and that is drive. i hate city driving, it's crazy and it's scary and i never know where i'm going and i hate getting lost and hubby and i usually start arguing. in my past, when i did live in the city i didn't "do" cars-i did public transportation or rode my bike. so i never became experienced at it. in fact whenever i do hit the city-it's always a given that others drive- i scare people with my city driving. they always offer to drive.... out of shear fear plus they hate seeing me stress out-not a pretty site.
this trip.....i drove.

we arrived in oakland(me sweaty, white knuckled and very tightly wound) around 4:45pm(got stuck in marysville by a fricken parade-a fricken parade!!!!!)-just enough time to stop by the hotel and head out to the party. we were staying in jack london square, oakland. i took many deep breaths and studied my directions-again. made it to the party no problem. after the party i felt pretty calm and collected as i knew exactly where i was going. but then someone needed a ride home. gulp! Gads! holy crap! sure i replied. double gulp! beginning to sweat as i realized i was about to go out of the bounderies of my heavily studied and much needed directions. i made the passenger rachel promise to give me easy directions to get me back to our hotel room. i didn't want to rely on hubby's directions-we won't get into that right now-that's a whole post in itself. anyway- i did it!!! even though i can't see well at night-i was able to get us back to jack london square without crying or getting into a fight.( okay-i'm sensitive!!!) hooray!!!! call me sexist, but i understand directions given by a woman way better than given by a man. nothing personal babe.

we woke early sunday morning-even with those blackout curtains shut tight, no kids, no dogs and no chickens to let out, we still find it impossible to sleep in. so we decided to go wander the square. look-it's jack london's cabin...sort of.a farmer's market was happening. gorgeous veggies!

eggs were selling for $6 a dozen!!!! holy carp! i sell my organic eggs for only $3/doz. wow! we ate a delicious homemade pizza fire baked in a small portable clay oven with veggies from the local growers while looking out over the water.we also noticed all the well behaved normal type city dogs hanging peacefully with their owners.

after checking out of oakland i had cleverly written up directions from our hotel to none other than "a verb for keeping warm." i hadn't driven this far and come so close, after all berkeley is right next to oakland-to drive by without stopping. the shop is open on weekends!!! we got there in one piece-with only one minor set back-hubby didn't like my directions. well, we did get a little lost-i panicked, freaked out a bit, got pissy at hubby but then he did get us back on the right track and we found it. thank goodness i had my weleda deodorant applied liberally that morning.

the shop is tiny but cute as hell!!

for those of you that don't know- all of their yarn and spinning fiber is naturally dyed. the colors are fabulous and the fiber is ultra soft! i couldn't resist.

the top spinning fiber is BFL in the colorway "alice." the yarn is a blend of merino, cashmere and a bit of nylon for strength in the colorway "le cirque." i plan on making the "calais shawl" with the yarn. i guess i'm still having a pink jag!

there's one thing i don't like whether i'm in the city or small town. and that is....colossal grocery stores. down the street from "a verb for keeping warm" is the berkeley bowl. Now, ive never been to the berkely bowl-hubby has. i thought we could stop by and do some grocery shopping since we were so close. my god...i was shocked and amazed at the hangar like appearance of this natural food store. we wandered around for what seemed like hours and all i came out with was an ice tea and a tub of tahini. sensory overload, too many choices and downright overwhelming. so much for my extreme theory.

i calmed myself down by wandering around the warehouse district. we found an old foundry that looked to still be in use. liam would have loved it.this was sitting outside-isn't this foundry cool-i could live here. if i had to. there were a few old bricks laying around. i took one Liam. shhhhhhhhhh! yes, he collects those too. sorry no photo-i know you are dying to see some brick photos-maybe another time.

one thing i miss about "city" are the telephone/power poles. they always bring me back, make me feel warm and fuzzy-a bit of nostalgia i guess.

well, it was time to hit the road back home. we had a wonderful weekend get away-alone! berekely was a breeze to navigate(we were right by the freeway-hee hee). i gained confidence in my city driving abilities and yes, i can still "do" city but it sure is nice to get back to our hill, where the UPS man won't venture down our driveway but hangs things at the top of our driveway in trees.

weekend well done!

My son Liam is a collector. He collects many things. He’s good at it-some may say obsessed with it. I look at my childhood. I was a collector as well. My collections were different. I collected rocks, shells, those tiny porcelain animals you could get at the local hallmark shop, stuffed animals, beer cans(much to my mother’s dismay) postcards, stamps and Hotwheels. it’s no wonder my boy is a collector as well. He has much more sophisticated taste than I ever did at his age; as he collects antiques. Especially glass insulators and old bottles. Which is why we headed to chico last Saturday for an insulator and bottle show.

these shows are so much fun and the folks are always so nice. Liam gets good deals cause he's a kid. and of course i can't resist a few treasures myself. an old rainier beer crate, a few insulators, old canning jars, and the cutest little oil can- thinking of using it for my spinning wheel oil.

it was a good show and liam was happy with his haul. the flea market next door had some great deals as well!

the weather was incredible-after days of rain the sun came out and it was perfect! we decided to do some exploring on the way home. we'd heard that this was the perfect time for wild flowers and vernal pools at table mountain near oroville. WOW! what an incredible hike. what makes california so amazing is all the different terrain and geographic landscapes. we live in the foothills amongst the pines, cedars, manzanita, oak and madrone. what a beautiful change for us.

the tree above was taken from the parking lot. my pictures don't do this magical place justice. the sky was blazing blue and the grass was so green it hurt. i felt like we were transported to ireland. this is ranching land as well. the wild flowers were just starting to bloom. being on the top of this mesa like mountain the flowers have adapted and grow very low to the ground -like carpet.side stepping cow pies and soggy vernal pools the land would change suddenly. dips and crevices produced many surprises.

cutting across a field we came upon this gorgeous site.


we were actually in search of phantom falls but only found hollow falls. phantom is hard to find-and falls 165 feet. it doesn't flow in late spring-fall. we are determined to go back soon and find the phantom!!! there was tons of my new pink color as well as yellow, white and purple.

what a great day!

the weekend continued and sunday i stopped by my friend sue's and she was having her spinning flock sheared.

she has angora goats as well. i took lot's of pictures of carl the shearer but they didn't turn out-all a blur. here's sue skirting a fleece.

yum! i just love it when the weekend goes well.

i'm working on it.......really

i don't really let my new year's resolutions be known-as it often just sets me up for failure. my list is usually miles long as well-nothing you all want to witness anyway. but one resolution i will share with you. this year i plan on getting a handle on my addiction. my addiction of starting new fiber projects before finishing old ones. it's WAY out of control. what a bummer to never have the "fruits" to show for your labors-they remain unfinished in bags, boxes or baskets. i get bored quickly and get too excited with new ideas and inspirations that i can't control the impulse to start something new. there's nothing like the fresh exhilaration of casting on for a new project. it's a drug-what a high! those of you with serious startitis know this feeling. it's dangerous.

this year i plan on going thru my UFO's (UnFinished Objects) and evaluate. Seriously decide whether to frog it or actually finish it. finish up the projects and then-attack my "to do" list with a vengeance. i have sooo many groovy things i want to make. i also plan on spinning everyday-even if it's only for a brief moment. i need to destash my spinning fiber before it takes over the house!

okay-that said...

i have finished 5 projects so far this year. this a BIG deal for me. especially if you could see how many projects i have started. i won't even share that number with you-it's too embarrassing. here's a few pics of completion: i finished my everyday vest knit from Rowan Chunky Colourscape. A holiday gift from my dear friend anne.

and it fits!!! i love this simple norwegian pattern-knit in the round, no seams except the shoulders. not particularly fond of the pink stripe right across my middle though-ha!!!

my friend rowan turned me on to a great free pattern called "malabrigo hand thingies"-super quick knit-on size 7 needles (yes! instant gratification). i made it from some of my handspun merino. MMMMMMMM! been into this raspberry color lately-what is up with that??? hence the need to change the color on my blog.

a new favorite pattern! i strongly urge you to knit this pattern.

last sunday we had another dye day at willow springs to work on our dye books. we accomplished a lot and we even had a spur of the moment BFL dye fest. i really like the way mine turned out but i would love it more if i hadn't diluted the dye so much. you were right rowan!!!maybe to prevent some muddiness when plying i will dye a solid to match and ply with that. a soxchik technique. plus i will get more yardage. maybe if i choose a gold it will look less eastery.
new word, new word!!!

spring is sooooo close! this was taken at the end of february.

ta ta for now-gotta go spin!

fiber and turkeys and gnomes......oh my!!!!!

last thursday rhodi and i embarked on our annual pilgrimage to Stitches West in santa clara. for those of you unaware nonfiber folks, Stitches is a ginormous knitting/fiber convention. in anticipation of this event all year i throw my change into a canning jar to help off set the cost.

believe it or not there "was" $112 in that canning jar. a bit more than last years savings. i am very fortunate that not only do i share a birthday with the fabulous man in black "johnny cash" but STITCHES falls on my birthday every year. so my birthday is always blessed with tons of fiber and fun with friends!

we meet up and stay with our good buddy soxchik. believe it or not she puts up with us! rhodi and i don't get off the hill much and we can get a bit "over excited" you might say. the fiber market began with photo fun( soxchik and rhodi) -yes, those are a pair of Addi knitting needles!
at Stitches many of the booths have daily drawings for free merchandise. well, what a great surprise for me on my birthday when i won the drawing from one of my favorite booths!!! "A Verb for Keeping Warm" has the most exquisite luxury yarn and roving dyed with natural dyes. Kristine and Adrienne are always a delight! and you are sure to have a WonderMike sighting at their booth. there was much gushing, hugging and screaming when we walked by their booth and they told me i had won the drawing! here's the skein of superwash merino i won in the mermaid colorway.

delicious isn't it?! there are other favorite vendors that i must visit. Judy's Novelty Wool, Miss Babs, Lisa Souza, and Sweet Grass wool. to name a few. Judy is a wonderful woman who raises her own sheep and belongs to the "fiber outlaws" guild in utah. she is aways there with a bright smile, a story and good corny joke or two. rhodie and i bought a rambouillet fleece from her. the sheep's name is shadow and i am excited to send off her fleece to get it processed. sorry no picture-she's up at rhodie's. i reserved a merino fleece for next year-her name is darlin' and the sample was divine! this year i was determined to learn locker rug hooking from Judy. so i bought her kit. i love it!! i'm hooked! hahahaha!(i know i'm such a dork!) here's my almost finished little sample. now i can make groovy rugs!

here's my fiber score-i tried to think outside the box and not come home with pounds of swamp green rovings! OMG! yes, that is a PINK roving in the back-i fell in love with it! super soft merino by butternut woolens -one of my new favorites.

my yarn score was an accomplishment this year as i bought mainly for specific projects. the huge white blob is alpaca that i plan on dyeing for shawl. there are 2 bags of yarn not pictured that i got for sweater projects-i will show those on another post. the prices were too good to pass up!

another new booth i really liked was Snicklefritz Yarns. it was too cool! yes i am partial to gnomes, but she had some amazing rare breed fibers and her gnome travels around the world and the colorways are inspired by his travels. Janelle let me take a picture of him even though there is no photography allowed.

the above colorway is called gnome in the sierras. she has an awesome fiber club i'm thinking of joining. oh and janelle's day job-she's teaches college level organic chemistry. i'm in awe as that is SO not up my alley. just ask my high school chemistry teacher.

the best part of stitches besides all the fiber is the laughter. it's a time to get away from it all and hang with fiber folks and just laugh and laugh and laugh. so good for my soul!!! we brought party favors to hand out. luci was the lucky recipient of some shrek or shall i say fiona ears. yes, barbara sue-i still have your vintage tatoo plastic bracelet. i have light blue or black left!

there is a lot of learning going on as well at stitches. i learned a few more ways to spin from a batt and how to make the most beautiful felted vessels/vases. i came back much inspired and ready to get off me arse and start creating!

on our way home we just had to stop off at a yarn store. ha! yes, we are that nuts! actually i was looking for a certain back issue of the spin off magazine which i failed to find. and also some jo sharp silk road-i only need one skein. i thought i'd find it at the "webs" booth but they sadly informed me that she no longer does north american distribution. total bummer as that is one of my favorite yarns!!! we also stopped next door to "beverly's" so we could get more rug backing for our first full size locker hooked rugs!! what a surprise to be in the city and to be greeted by a flirting wild tom turkey!!!


life is good. i'm home-back on the frontier. i just found out that where i live is not considered "rural" but "frontier." this makes me happy.

when life gets you down........