This is what happens to naughty hens

Fed up with chasing chickens around the yard we decided to take the plunge and clip their wings. (Apparently chickens "fly the coop" in autumn as they look for new places to set up their own living quarters. Or so the people on the internet claim.) The first step is catching them. Easier said then done:

This is puddlenuts, the fattest and therefore the slowest hen and so the easiest to catch. She is also the noisiest and let us know exactly what she thought of the process.

This is Zippy who allows herself to be caught because she loves to be carried around all the time. If she had her way, she'd leave the chicken life behind and move in with us. We cut the ends off the flight feathers, leaving the "meat" feathers" behind.

I think you can guess what Zippy thinks about all this.

We didn't do the roosters because (a) they are scary big (and Chimples is WAY too fat to get off the ground) and (b) they won't leave the coop if the hens don't leave. (Again, this is coming from all the people on the internet who claims to know more than we do.) I don't really mind if they do take off and find a new place to live, as they are just too damn loud. [Follow up: This morning (a) Mr. Chicken (the other rooster) got out by himself, thereby disproving Internet Person, and then (b) Zippy got out (and Mr. Chicken for a second time) thereby proving either that we need to snip more or that she can just jump high without her wings. Sigh.]

Chunnel II

Some time ago I mentioned that I had moved a back breaking number of granite stones from about the yard into one small area, to serve as a waterfall break. Because our roof is oddly angled and because the gutters are useless (they are about 12" too narrow given the torrential rains we get here) three small areas of our yard get pounded by rain, the topsoil erodes, and then the water washes toward the house and into our basement. Sick unto death of vacuuming up water our of our basement, I decided that landscaping was the answer. I made Chunnel 1 and it was an instant success. I have planted hostas all around it and they are doing well (when they aren't being eaten by ducks). Here is the second problem area of our roof, a point where about 1/3 of all the water landing on our roof runs out of that gutter onto the ground.

And here is the solution.

The small plants are "micro greens" because I didn't have anything else laying around that would sprout quickly and set roots in to keep the soil and rocks in place. (I don't seriously think the rocks are going anywhere, but it is better to have greenery keeping things in place than not.) Next year I will plant irises in the spaces as they can take a lot of abuse. Chunnel III (next to our side door by the driveway) is next.

Eclipse!

 I have fond memories of viewing an eclipse somewhere South of Los Angeles some time in the early 90's, so I was all excited for this one (the only time ever that the eclipse has only been viewable in North America).  Here you can see our back yard bathed in an unearthly light...

 I never got around to buying eclipse glasses, but unlike our President, I'm not stupid enough to look at it directly, so I followed the Washington Post directions and made my own viewing box!

 Here I am using it.

 As you can see, the view is AMAZING!

Sylvester was so confused he collapsed.  Vain attempts were made to resuscitate him.

Grandma at Thomas's Birthday Meal

Thomas is 19!

Thomas pleasantly surprised that anyone bothered to give him presents. (That cake is an ice cream cake, Mocha Mud:As he opened each package he said, "What's that for?"We got Thomas a waffle maker. He asks for waffles every other day. Now he can make them anytime he wants them. (I'm betting that won't be often.)Birthday card for Thomas from Frederick.Here is a set of cupcakes all for Thomas from the Kitchen of Frederick.

Frederick Crafts

Frederick has been very crafty lately. Some lucky bird gets to move into this bright purple house.And Friday he came home from Emily's with a giant two-layer purple cake--and it wasn't even anyone's birthday!

Bass update

Ok, so the pick ups (the things that sense the noise made by the strings) are installed. Next step is connecting the wires from the pick ups to the controls for volume, "tone" (switching from treble to bass and back) and a switch from the pair of pick ups to the back pick up), and of course the connection to the jack on the side of the bass that I plug the power cord into. Here is a schematic that tells me how to hook everything up. THe directions are close to useless ("Take out the old parts. Remember how they were connected. Connect the new parts.") I ordered the pick ups and the controls at the same time, but the controls haven't showed up yet. According to Amazon, they will show up between August 28 and Septemer 25th. This is annoying as I really wanted to get this done before the Fall semester started, because once that starts, I won't have time for farting around with solder--which I dread. Here is the space that will hold the controls: This has been a very educational experience. And like all educational experiences, it has been frustrating, confusing, stressful and rewarding.

Thomas visits Bristol

Sam, Sophy (aunt), Martha, Grandpa and the man himself, all posing in front of the most famous architectural feature of Bristol, which is the suspension bridge (the world's first?) designed by Isembard Kingdom Brunel (fun fact: I went to school with a kid called Jason Kingdom who was his distant relative).  Grandpa exhausted by all the driving, as Bristol is a good trek from Exeter, and he was to drive to Heathrow scant hours later...

Bass update

Here it is so far. I stripped all the plastic coatings and black paint off--there were several alternating layers of kinds of plastic coating so that was a helluva job. After working that hard to get down to the wood, I couldn't bring myself to just paint over it. So I decided to dye the wood. Good luck to anyone who tries to get the blue off--it's soaked in good and deep. Now I have to install brand new electrics (so many choices, it's all a bit overwhelming) and the hardware (that was in good shape, I am reusing the old stuff there--except for the three knobs as it came from the pawn shop without knobs so I bought three new ones).

This hasn't exactly been a fun project, but it has been educational.

Thomas's heroic self-image

I've been badgering Thomas to send photos from his phone that Grandpa has been telling me exist and he had finally relented.  They reveal a disturbing Napoleon complex...

Thomas's heroic Cornish trek

Thomas was dropped off about ten miles away from St. Ives in Cornwall while the wrinklies drove on and sat and waited for him in the comforts of the hotel.  Here he is, recovering from the unfamiliar experience of "being outside".  Apparently shortly thereafter he was off looking for more!  "I could get used to this, what do they call it?  "Sunlight"?"
[Update: he escaped the sunlight inside the Tate (St. Ives is very arty and has tons of museums, which Thomas, young fogey that he is, gravitates towards).  Margaret can be seen in the bottom right of the frame, keeping a respectful distance.  Grandpa grumbled that his job was to circle St. Ives in the car and be on call when either of Margaret or Thomas had their fill of culture.  What, uninterrupted Radio 4 listening at whatever volume level he wanted?  You know he loved it really.]

Thomas's culinary exploits continue

After dragging his Grandpa round various museums, Thomas rewards him with a nice pizza and this salad.  Sadly I fear Thomas will leave his culinary ambitions behind him in Blighty, as we have never seen him do more than add milk to his cereal.  (Granny also reports he made cookies while they were out.  I think he's played a video game about making cookies while WE were out...)

Thomas at Grandpa's (in Exeter)

So, Thomas has taken the train down South to visit Grandpa and Margaret in Exeter, leaving only his laptop plug converter behind.  Grandpa wasted no time in taking him on trips, including this one to Paignton Zoo.  (Long a Zoo Tycoon aficionado, Thomas will tour any zoo within a forty mile radius.)  As is his wont, he races around at top speed, leaving wrinklies gasping in his wake.




Apparently this is a cuban crocodile.  Probably suspects Thomas's shoes of being the same.




Home again, and Thomas cooks his SECOND meal in Devon, this time risotto.  Grandpa is very appreciative!

Flashback to Thomas's arrival

Thomas has since headed down South to sunny Devon, but here are the pictures of him joyously re-uniting with his cousins, aunt and grandparent and step-grandparent.  As you can see, we are not a "huggy" family...  Either that, or these were taken by the police who just arrived on the scene saying "what's going on 'ere, then?"