Chicks 2016

 I'm a bit behind on my chick postings this year. 

These photos were taken in March 2016...

  Quite a few eggs in the clutch...

 

Mama sitting on eggs. She's a fierce hen.

March 12: Finally, two cute yellow chicks.  

March 16: Five chicks now. They're so cute!

March 21: Ten chicks...that's a lot of babies to watch out for! What a handful!..

Baby Chicks!

While visiting a friend recently, she took me to her barn...and to the informal 'hospital' she has set up for her chickens. It's a separate room and exercise yard where injured chickens are kept until they are sufficiently recovered to join the main chicken population. 

I noticed this hen was particularly fluffy...I've seen her in the yard and she's usually much smaller.

 
So, I took a closer look and noticed she has some extra feet under her...very tiny little feet...

chicks!

Here are a few more cute little ones...these remind me of penguin chicks.




So cute!

Cute little flowers

Saw these cute little flowers in Kailis' pasture a few years ago. Would love to know what they are called...these flowers are really little. The whorl cluster is tiny...maybe 1/4 inch big. And reminds me of a nautilus sea shell.

 

Kailis...almost 14

Happy Birthday Kailis!!
...the vet didn't think you'd live to be 3 weeks old...in 3 weeks you'll be 14.

The amazing world of the small...bees, fungus & flowers

I have a fantastic new camera.

About a year ago, my trusty snapshot camera stopped working properly.

When I looked through the viewfinder, the picture was purple and really wavy when it focused on a subject.

After 7 years of fantastic service, the sensor had stopped working.
For a digital anything, it was absolutly ancient, but I loved it. I knew it's capabilities.

I was bummed.

My husband found a new camera rather quickly online.
He found a great buy on an Olympus 7030 - it was a close-out model so it was a really great buy.
(My husband is a fantastic shopper - he finds all my toys at the absolute best prices.)

I wasn't sure about this turn of events; I had no experience with Olympus cameras.

I'd been using Canon cameras exclusively since 2000. (Both my DSLR & snapshot cameras were made by Canon and used the same controls. And I was familiar with the controls!)

And my new camera was so tiny and insubstantial - it was a small, thin snapshot camera with online menus instead of the familiar knobs on my other camera.

I really didn't think I'd like the resulting too much.

My new camera did have one thing going for it - it was purple.

I was wrong about my new camera. I love it! And it's even better than my old A70.

It's perfectly sized and fits in my pocket with room to spare. It has a large viewing screen which allows me to frame my shots easily. Gone are the days of looking into the viewfinder with one eye while closing the other. (Wish my DSLR had this feature.)

And I can shoot movies too, just like my old camera. 

The feature I love best on my new camera is the macro lens setting.

I am able to get amazing close-ups of flowers, bugs and just about anything tiny.
The only drawback to this camera is the long recovery time between shots. Otherwise, it's an amazing camera!

I'm taking the most amazing photos of flowers and other small plants now.

Last weekend, I went hiking in the oak forest behind a friends house in Molalla.
It was a hot, dusty day. I welcomed the shade.

Light-striped bee on thistle blossom.

I've been trying to photograph bees ever since I picked up a camera at age 12.
Now I have an amazing tool that allows me to photograph these amazing insects while they go about their business collecting nectar and pollen.

I never knew that bees have fur coats.

This bee seems to be articulated. And she doesn't have dark black stripes on her body either.

Here's a dark-striped bee heading towards the same flower already occupied by a light-striped bee. They eventually decided to share the blossom.

Next stop - Canby Tack Sale

Clackamas County 4H is holding their next tack sale in Canby is March 19, 2011.

And, guess what??
I have a booth in the Ely Arena...so come visit me and buy tack from me.

I'm also bringing my greeting cards line to sell for $2 each...
(Each card includes a matching envelope.)
And, I'll also showcase my unique, handmade journals for $5 each.

Stop by my booth for a chance to win a gift basket of greeting cards and a handmade journal of your choice.

----------------

My friend Virginia will also be there with her handmade, all natural dog soaps...which are wonderful (and safe) to use on any animal...including horses and humans.

Virginia may also bring some extra special dog leashes made by Big Bully Dog Leads. The owner of Big Bully is an autistic young man who donates part of his earnings to autistic charities...and the leashes are made using latigo leather with heavy duty snaps and fittings...heavy duty leashes for any dog who breaks them regularly.

So come by, introduce yourself and have a great time at the Canby Tack Sale at the Clackamas County Fairgrounds on Saturday, March 19...gates open at 8am and close at 1pm...all for the paltry entry price of $1...
Support 4H in Clackamas County and find some really great deals on new and used horse tack!

Note Cards

I did it! I made note cards.
I'm so excited!!


Here's "Pears" - done in graphite.
(That's pencil for those of you unfamiliar with the term.)

Would you believe this is the second drawing I ever did that wasn't a stick figure? (The first was a charcoal drawing of a coffee mug.)


Apparently I do have some drawing ability, but didn't realize it until I took an adult education class a few years ago. (My stick figures were pitiful. Small children laughed...really!)


The class name? "So You Think You Can't Draw".


I knew I couldn't draw, but figured I could learn a few techniques. (Major credit goes to Jill Jeffers Goodell who does a great job teaching drawing at Portland Community College in Portland, Oregon. She's a fantastic artist and she can teach anyone to draw too.)

This is European Larch - pen and watercolor.

And this is a rather primitive sketch: "Flower" and is done in ink and watercolor pencil.
Someday I'll figure out what kind of flower it is and name it properly. For now, it's just kinda cute, don't ya think??

Life is short. Doesn't matter if you live to be 30 or 100. And the closer you get to 100, the more you realize just how much living you have yet to do.

My best friend of 17 years is very ill. Congestive heart failure brought on by diabetes. She's 49.
She has three children; the youngest is 16. She has lived a very full life, but she has so much more to experience in this life.

Dust off those dreams and goals you had as a child. Make a 'bucket list' if you haven't done so already. Live those dreams, for this life happens once. You are only you in this body once. Your next life will come but you will be someone else with new dreams - a new life.

Take care of yourself: mind, soul and body. You are a soul experiencing life in a physical body.

Laugh, love, dance, sing...live life in joy and peace.

Nuture your body with good food, exercise and plenty of sleep. Without a physical body, your soul has no where to live on this beautiful planet. Without your body, you are unable to experience life on planet Earth.

Remind yourself that your mind gets caught up in the day-to-day affairs of being in the physical body. Your brain is a complex and wonderful computer capable of incredible thoughts. Without thought, there would be nothing - no wonderful accomplishments of any kind.

When your thoughts are lofty, you can achieve the stars.

Change your thoughts and you change your world.

Your soul needs nourishment too. Quiet time with yourself - no distractions from the world and your daily commitments. Stroll through the park, walk through the woods, hug a tree. Ask your mind to quiet and just be. This is meditation.
Meditation allows your soul to speak to your mind; it is good for both the body and for your soul.

Life is wonderful and too short no matter how long you live on our beautiful Mother Earth.

I'm off now...
Love, Darlene