Harvest time!! One of the girls at work just brought back the first of the autumn season's bountiful candy corn harvest.

Mmmmm... candy corn.  ¶ 4:49 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Woo-hoo! Confined birds! I went home last night hoping to see the chickens confined, and sure enough, they were all ganged up at the gate as soon as they saw the car, complaining loudly about not being able to get out of the pen. Yeah! I let them out for an evening romp while I moved a brushpile so we can extend the size of the pen. It's great that the instinct to go back to the roost at night works so well for keeping them confined. If I time it right int he evening, they can have an hour or so of scratching in the yard (not as much as they'd like, I'm sure) and then march back to the coop to be closed in for the night and the next day. What a great arrangement.  ¶ 8:28 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Hawk attack and coop improvements

Last weekend one of the hens (the Marans, who appears last in this video clip) got out, as she has been in the habit of doing. I left her out because she was laying when I found her, and I didn't want to disturb her. About 30 minutes later, we heard a terrible racket outside and rushed out. Bill got there first - just in time to scare a hawk away from the Marans. The hawk didn't want to leave! When I got outside, I could hear at least two adult hawks calling back and forth to one another. I went around to the other side of our chop building, and heard a hawk nestling complaining loudly. I suppose it was saying "Not Squirrel AGAIN!? But you PROMISED we'd have chicken! We ALWAYS have squirrel!" So the Marans was caught outside by the hawk, and at first we thought she had been seriously injured. We finally realised that she had only lost her tail feathers :-/ Another hen had been outside, and was pretty happy she had been passed over for her buddy. She was happy to go back inside! After the initial shock, I realised ALL four of the other birds were gone. I thought they had run into the henhouse, but when I went in I was horrified to see NO ONE. I looked under things, and finally saw the Phoenix peering back out, frozen in horror. I thought she was dead, but she was fine. Back outside, another hen came running back to the coop - she had either been outside or had broken out instead of hiding inside the house like a sensible bird. But still no Sumatra (the rooster) or Welsummer :-( I figured they had run off and settled in to wait for them to return. To make a long story short, they were both wedged so carefully behind things in the henhouse that I couldn't find them. The Sumatra came out on his own about 30 mins later, but we had to remove a metal sheet that had been against the wall to get the Welsummer out later that afternoon. This is the bird my friend Laura calls the 'chicken chicken' because she was so obviously afraid of all the other birds. A very odd effect of the hawk attack was to make her much more comfortable and self-assured around the other hens - now she seems like a regular member of the flock. This surprised me! The video clip is from that evening after the entire flock was reunited. Unfortunately, the attack did NOT have the effect of making the Marans or the black Arucauna crosses stay inside, so I knew my long-imagined improvements to the pen had to come soon. So Bill and I spent most of the day yesterday working on improvements to the coop fencing. My original 'design' was a bunch of plastic hen-netting stapled to whatever was handy, and tacked to the ground by rusty tent-pegs, with a 'gate' that was just loose netting clothespinned shut (mostly). We are replacing it with a 2x4 framework with nicely stretched netting. We got about 1/3 done yesterday, including the side they were ducking out under and a real gate with a real latch! woo-hooo! Of course we wound up working well into the dark because I had to practically pry Bill away from the "Yard Shark", the chipper that some most excellent friends-of-friend (and fellow poultry fanciers) gave to us, so that he could 'help' (translation: 'do') the gate-work. At least I could help out by holding the flashlight :-/ So yesterday the hens were out ALL day, as the enclosure (such as it was) was totally open while we were working - and we were there to discourage hawks. This morning the hens were ganged up against the gate, complaining loudly - especially the two who have usually been out before I leave for work each morning and again when Bill comes home for lunch and AGAIN when I get home from work. They really liked their 'day of freedom' and didn't like the 2x4 keeping them from slipping under the netting! ;-) Here's hoping they're still complaining when I get home from work!! A complaining hen is a live hen!

  ¶ 3:20 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Lyric of the day From SMASHMOUTH's Padrino:

Everyone knows that crime does not pay
It doesn't pay the taxes anyway

This caught my notice while I was listening to the 'pod at my desk (oh, right; new job, like it fine so far). A song about the mob. Hah. Some other lines, that could as well be about the ubermob (government) as any small-time mafia:

I know it's not a wise thing to do
Writing funny songs about the mob
But if it's all the same to you
I don't see it as a gang but a club
Where men sit like gentlemen
Plotting their events about
Things I shouldn't understand comprehend or care
Like...oh, I don't know maybe I shouldn't go there
After all it is a family affair  ¶ 11:50 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Tolkien on Capital Punishment I love these words that Tolkien put in Gandalf's mouth when Frodo wished that Bilbo had killed the miserable creature Gollum, because he 'deserved it'. Gandalf replies:

Deserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement.   ¶ 3:50 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Strange spider dream Nope, not my dream, even though I am mildly obsessed with spiders these days. Bill told me this morning that he dreamed we had a pet tarantula (we don't) and that I wanted to eat it. In fact, I wanted to fry it. What a monster I am!

But honestly, I have been craving blue crabs recently. Maybe he's picking up on my archnophagic musings in his dreams :)  ¶ 1:59 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Orange and yellow This spider was in my friend Bev's garden. Isn't it gorgeous against the orange of the flower petal!?

I am going to have to start making some effort to ID these spiders, I guess. Shouldn't be too hard, as all the ones I have so far are, I think, very common in North Carolina.    ¶ 7:11 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Double-winged butterfly (2) Another of those cool double-winged butterflies. This one was taken in my friend Bev's garden, while sipping nectar (the 'fly, not me!). You can jsut see a bit of Japanese Beetle on the bottom right corner of the pic. The garden was FULL of insects!    ¶ 7:06 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Big Round Bales This is from Tuesday's morning walk with the dogs. I love the way there are several different types of light in the morning. And of course I love hay bales :) I went and buried my nose in one just for the lovely smell. I'm so glad I don't have allergies to pollen!

    ¶ 7:01 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Saturday Saturday I spent with libertarian friends, but not in a very political context. I drove with Phil Jacobson to the memorial service for Harry Browne in Kernersville. Aside from the somewhat strange fact that it was a religious (Moravian) service for an agnostic (and I guess he doesn't care, one way or another), it was very nice. There was a somewhat formal service in a chapel, then a pause for talking/eating, then a more informal series of eulogies. Most were very nice - his daughter read from a letter he wrote her as a child, and I even managed to stay dry-eyed through it! But I did get a lumpy throat when his wife gave this summation of a very emotion-laden yet calm eulogy: "He wasn't the perfect man, but he was perfect for me." And I came close to really weeping when Sharon Harris described him in a wheelchair, greeting his 'fan' (Sharon's elderly mother-in-law) and kissing her on the head in her wheelchair. One person rather botherd me, though, as he compared losing Browne to losing a father, even though he still had both his parents. But how could he know what losing a parent is really like? I don't think it's at all the same to lose a friend and mentor as to lose a parent. I am sure I was hypersensitive, as my mother died at the same time and same age as Browne and naturally I had been thinking of her much of the day, but really it was irritating to hear that.

So. Now I'll explain the tie picture. During the less-formal series of eulogies and milling-about, there were dozens of neckties laid out on tables through the room, along with pictures from Browne's life. At one point, his daughter's husband (who conducted much of the service) mentioned them and said that each person should take one before leaving. It was funny, because at that point everyone was seated, and every pair of eyes swiveled to the tables to look more closely at the ties when he said that. But I thought it was a wonderful idea, and the tie in the picture is one that traveled home with me. Maybe Bill or I will get to wear it at some point.

After the service, I got to spend some brief but hearty 'quality time' with Michael Badnarik, who's running for congress in Texas these days and is still just as friendly and photogenic as I always find him to be.

I drove to the memorial with Phil, and afterward we drove up north to have dinner with Bev. On the drive, Phil mentioned something I found fascinating (and I do apologise, Phil, for nearly sending you and the car into the bridge abuttment). He told me he read an analysis which explained that the phrase "eye for an eye" was originally meant to be not a sort of retributory thing, but as a starting point for restitution negotiations. Phil's way of explaining it was cute; he played out the dialogue something like this:

Judge: OK, Joe, you've been found responsible for putting Bob's eye out. Therefore he now has the right to one of your eyes.

Joe (to Bob): [gulps] Bob, would you take a couple of cattle instead? I could probably even make it five or six cattle.

Bob: [silence]

Joe: I might have to borrow a few, but really... I could probably even make it seven. How does seven cattle strike you?

You get the point... as a 'fallback' negotiating point, it puts the person who has been wronged in a pretty strong position. That's certainly a much nicer interpretation than thinking people are so stupidly bloodthirsty as to require literal retribution - which can really help no one.

Dinner was - of course! - wonderful, and I got to visit 'my room' at Chez Bev's :-) It turns out that after not visiting in several months, I was back there just a few days later on Tuesday to get a chipper that friends of Bev's (thanks, DJ and Mel!!) were kind enough to give me. So now I have a 'special name' in Rochingham County: "chicken Susan" - which distinguishes me from non-chicken-rearing people named Susan in the area :)  ¶ 11:41 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Tripods I have been wanting a tripod for some time, and this first picture shows why I needed one. In low-light situations, I can't keep the camera steady enough to take a decent long-exposure shot, so I either get a fuzzy pic or use the flash. I often don't want to use the flash (such as when I'm shooting a spider or a 'shroom in the woods, or a dog in the house), so I've been frustrated for some time. Well, I mentioned this to two friends within the past week, and one suggested a great small flexible-armed tripod available at REI which can be easily carried in a pocket or camera bag and attached to odd surfaces like tree limbs. The other friend said "I've got a tripod I'm not using; you're welcome to borrow it!"

So now I have two tripods - and it's great. The more traditional tall telescoping-legs one will be perfect for shooting people and scenery, while the flexi-armed one will be great to use for shooting odd things like mold and spiders.

So these two pictures were taken within seconds of each other - it's a bowl of beautiful peppers I got for pickling from the farmer's market. The first pic was taken by holding the camera 'steady' by hand, and the second with the tripod steadying the camera for the long exposure. I know this is all pretty elementary stuff, but this is really the first time I've been interested enough in photography to play around making mistakes and learning stuff on my own, so it's all newish to me. Aren't those pepper gorgeous?    ¶ 11:51 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  double wings While trying to get a decent spider picture (I failed miserably), I saw this lovely double-winged butterfly ona sunny trail in the woods of NCSU's Centennial Campus.    ¶ 10:59 AM 2 Comments Links to this post

  Collithing eye woes Pete's right eye (on left in picture, naturally) suddenly appeared 'droppy' late last week and sunken in. After trying our first veterinary/medical approach "wait and see" - we went to the vet Monday. The vet said it was unclear what caused it, but that topical steroids would almost certainly solve the problem (the white liquid in the bottom of the eye is the steroid solution. She showed me how the eye was 'mushy' (ewww - I could feel it) because either the aqueous humor was not being produced in sufficient quantity or was draining too fast.

Pete and Kete seem to be very bothered by itchies these days - they always are as summer slides into autumn. I suspect in Pete's case it's because too much of last year's coat is still around, and in Kate's case allergies to somethign that is blooming now. Ed is either never itchy (he has a great coat) or else he is possibly too lazy to bother scratching :)    ¶ 10:48 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Harvest The egg haul from a few evenings ago. A perfect trio!    ¶ 1:07 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Spider food I don't really have anything against moths, except that they plague me somethign terrible when I'm reading late at night under a lamp. But this one last night almost made up for much of the irritation it provoked.

The picture is lamentably fuzzy, but the color is spectacular. Looks almost ... tasty!    ¶ 1:04 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Teener skink A juvenile five-lined skink obligingly posed for me on the porch this afternoon. The top pic is with natural light, while the bottom one used a flash.
    ¶ 12:55 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Arachnophile Arachnophile

My new photoblog about spiders. I hope to post a spider a day; or at least every few days. If you have a spider pic you'd like posted, email it me and I will be happy to put it there.  ¶ 10:54 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  chickenscratch

Yet another hen vid. This one doesn't have any crowing (though the male is there), but does have the Welsummer (she's the one with the redish-gold head and neck). Also you can see the two black half-tail crosses, the Cuckoo Marans, and the Phoenix. The sound in the background is the generator.

  ¶ 10:52 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  My hands are burning! I had some giant eggplants and mild peppers from the farmer's market and ton of our garden tomatoes to use up, so I made an ikra or caviar loosely (very loosely) based on this recipe, using one of the eggplants. It tasted OK but seemed to be lacking -zest-. But not to worry! I had gotten a few habaneros to experiment with (I know little about cooking with peppers and thought they might be good for adding heat the pickled peppers-and-eggs we like), so I microwaved one of the habs, then thought I should try a half of it in the blender to see what it would taste like. Well, gosh, they're such teensy pretty little peppers (a beautiful orange color), I figured I might as well throw in the whole thing. WRONG. HOT. HOT. I hastily nuked up and blended in the other giant eggplant to try to dilute out the heat, but it's still pretty hot - though tasty! But now one of my hands is burning from the pepper - it's even under one thumbnail. This is my first expeience with habaneros; at least I haven't (yet) gotten the pepper in my eyes!

It's edible (and actually pretty tasty) with flatbread, and might go well over rice or rice-and-beans. I'm curious to find out what Bill thinks of it. I have so much of it now that I do hope he likes it! It might mix well with yogurt or labneh. But isn't it a beautiful color!?    ¶ 7:12 PM 3 Comments Links to this post

  Tom Paine on lying to onself I've always considered self-delusion to be the most dangerous mental state possible. How can you profitably (or even safely) interact with the world when you are deliberately choosing to see things as they are not? So it was nice to come across this bit from Paine.

The Age Of Reason: "[I]t is necessary to the happiness of man, that he be mentally faithful to himself. Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving; it consists in professing to believe what he does not believe.

"It is impossible to calculate the moral mischief, if I may so express it, that mental lying has produced in society. When a man has so far corrupted and prostituted the chastity of his mind, as to subscribe his professional belief to things he does not believe, he has prepared himself for the commission of every other crime."  ¶ 2:45 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  William Lloyd Garrison I'm reading a biography of the abolitionist Lloyd Garrison which spends some time delving into the issues the abolitionist movement faced when trying to change a political fact of life - government support for slavery. Work within the system? Stand outside and be the gadfly/conscience of the people? The libertarian movement faces these same issues, and I hope to find some insight, or at least comfort that this problem has been faced before and has been overcome.

Anyway, I went looking for some of Garrison's writings and found this short editorial bit, which seems appropriate to my search. Replace 'slaveholding', 'slavery', etc. with 'taxation' to give it a more modern libertarian feel.

Abolition at the Ballot Box (1839-06-28): by William Lloyd Garrison:

Once more, I beg not to be misapprehended. I have always expected, I still expect, to see abolition at the ballot-box, renovating the political action of the country—dispelling the sorcery influences of party—breaking asunder the fetters of political servitude—stirring up the torpid consciences of voters—substituting anti-slavery for pro-slavery representatives in every legislative assembly—modifying and rescinding all laws solely by a change in the moral vision of the people—not by attempting to prove that it is the duty of every abolitionist to be a voter, but that it is the duty of every voter to be an abolitionist. By converting electors to the doctrine that slavery ought to be immediately abolished, a rectified political action is the natural consequence; for where this doctrine is received into the soul, the soul-carrier may be trusted any where, that he will not betray the cause of bleeding humanity. As to the height and depth, the length and breadth of CHRISTIANITY, it is not the province of abolition to decide; but only to settle one point—to wit, that slaveholding is a crime under all circumstances, leaving those who believe in the doctrine to carry out their principles, with all fidelity, in whatever sphere they may be called upon to act, but not authoritatively determining whether they are bound to be members of the church, or voters at the polls. It has never been a difficult matter to induce men to go to the ballot-box; but the grand difficulty ever has been, and still is, to persuade them to carry a good conscience thither, and act as free moral agents, not as tools of party.  ¶ 3:14 AM 3 Comments Links to this post

  Pickling eggs and peppers Since we're getting generally three eggs a day, we are looking for good ways to deal with eggs - we hadn't bought eggs in months before we got the hens, so three eggs a day is three eggs a day more than we're used to eating.

Bill tried some pickled eggs a few months ago when we stopped at a gas station in Silk Hope, and wanted to pickle some of ours. We used our hot peppers from the garden, and onion, and some spices with white vinegar. Heated it up to boiling to blend the flavors, then put it in a jar and into the 'fridge (not canning these for preserving value, as we mean to eat them quickly). We were going to wait at least a week before trying them, but of course couldn't resist 'just one' the next day. It was great!

We've done a batch or two since, and Bill will often use the egg-flavored pickled peppers and onions with flatbread and fresh tomatoes for a lunch meal. I understand now why people value pickled food so much - we probably don't even need to refrigerate stuff for the length of time that we're keeping it, but of course we do have that luxury so we use it. And cold food is certainly a bonus in this heat!    ¶ 4:07 PM 0 Comments Links to this post