Monthly Archives: February 2005

Hens, Lights, and ears

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Well it’ s rather wet and dreary and chilly again today. Yesterday the hennies gave me a white egg, then three brown eggs, and that was it. Today it was exactly opposite. First a brown egg, then three white eggs, and nothing more so far.

It’s funny to look at the eggs in their prospective cartons side by side. I always store each eggs days in a separate carton, and in the order they were gathered, and I also decide which of a gathered-at-the-same-time came first and second, and so forth, based on the temperature in my hand feeling. So it’s fairly accurate day in and day out, but on slow days, dead on certain. ;)

So that’s two days of just 4 eggs total (unless a seemingly-miracle happens in the next couple of hours.) It was only the day before yesterday that we had a nice amount, and the past week has had high counts. I think I have to go back to February 17th to find a 5-egg day.

So I am hoping this can be pinned on the chilly wet dreary weather, somehow.

Otherwise though, I can understand them. I’m rather drugery-minded on days like this too.

Speaking of that, I saw a commercial, really an “infommercial” on TV last week during the night. I had the TV on and had fallen back to sleep, and awoke hearing talk of light, and seeing better, and such things that’d really catch my ears, and did.

What it was: Ott-lites. A Dr. Ott created a different kind of lightbulb due to working on a Disney project many years ago. Lights that actually let plants grow indoors under their light for good results.

These are lights that are good for seeing better in the darker times, seeing true colors, and well, they should be a cheery presence for these drudgery times. I was able to get one this past weekend. We went to Fry’s and found a task-light for my bedside. They, at Fry’s have other models as well.

The lightbulbs are rated for 10,000 hours of use. That is way more than traditional modern lightbulbs. The light is not like flourecent, though it turn on similarly. It doesn’t have a nasty hum. It doesn’t have any real glare, just lots of wonderful light.

One day I hope to have a few standing lamps, Ott Lites.

I’m glad to have my bedroom light and it will become very useful for me if I can train myself to stay awake and read in the early evening again (as I do in non-winter times). As well, with my “insomia” likeness at times, this light will encourage me to be able to read in the middle of the night. Other book lights have only frustrated me. Lamps frustrate me too. I cannot stand to read from overhead lights, as in a fan fixture. So I’ve fallen into a “watch DVD’s or TV” mode for late night non-sleeping times.

I guess part of it is my eyes, aging. I do wear correction for distance, and do alright with close work naturally, but there is strain in bad light. That’s the aging, the irritation with reading in artificial light. The difference being, Ott Lite doesn’t seem to bother me, but I do need to test it out more. I have several books that I’m in the middle of reading, and haven’t really picked one up in several days … last night I did though, and just couldn’t find my “spot” it had gotten lost, so I have to find that spot again!

Oh too, about correction lenses. I used to wear contacts, and in the last few years I stopped wearing them voluntarily and just wore my glasses instead. In the past year plus I try not to wear my glasses unless I need them too, and I started wearing an older pair of glasses happily at that point. So it’s been beneficial for me to stop wearing contacts. One thing contacts did was give me trouble reading. They corrected far vision too well, so much that close vision suffered.

I’ve read of eye correction methods and am sad that I never heard of them in my younger years. But I do what I can in my older ones without the aide of knowlegable ones around me, to just pretty much do what I can in life to train my eyes a bit better.

One trick I have is if I don’t think I’m seeing well, or just took off my glasses, I shut my eyes for a moment or two, then open them being sure, totally certain, to focus on something very near, like look down at the fabric of my dress on the arm or chest, looking at the texture, so that my eyes naturally sharply focus, then gently look away to further things. It works wonders, keeps blurr-shock away ;) for one, but I do believe I am seeing better than I USED to without glasses.

Glasses overall make me feel ill anyhow. They are unnatural and I’m glad to do away with them in most cases of living. Contacts were helpful, but ended up being less helpful as the years went by. Dr.s like to fine tune contacts and that can get you into stronger and stronger prescriptions easily. I’m out of that ratrace, so gladly too!

As I’ve been typing this Victoria came to me with her second loose-tooth getting looser. I told her to go to her Daddy and ask him to check and see if it was ready. He helped her with her first the other day. She was a bit hesitant, so I brought out thecard we’ve been holding for awhile and told her that if she went down to Daddy and he could get it out, then we’d have her ears pierced this weekend.

She proudly ran away, then soonly ran back holding it, prouder than a peacock. :)

So’s she has a gap in the front on the bottom, two side-by-side missing. She is now telling me how good it feels to have the loose tooth gone, she doesn’t “have to go in and wiggle it” anymore. I remember how that was. ;)

It’s a cool day

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Today it’s been cool and overcast, a bit gusty at times, and then rain started this afternoon. It “feels” chillier than it really is, due to all those conditions. This is normal, as hotter temps have the same thing making it usually “feel hotter”. Drier hot days don’t feel “as hot”, just as some cooler days don’t “feel as cool” due to humidity or sun, or such, it’s a visa versa thing. Weather on the extremes and middles of many connected things similar yet not, similar named result, yet totally different.

I’m just blabbing about this to post something, not important, just that it’s cool and yucky out and I’m trying out some things that posting may help show whether something is working or not. :)

I’m getting chilled by just sitting here, so I’ve got to get up and move around. I see a neighbor behind us has smoke pouring from their chimney. All winter long that wasn’t very normal to see from their house. We on the other hand had a fire going if it was cold for a few days and kept it going as needed. So here I am, I said I’m a bit chilled sitting here. That’s just normal for it being a non-sunny day and the temps in the 40′s and rain outside. Not a fire thing, just a get up thing.

I guess some people didn’t make fires during the colder part of the “winter season” so they feel that today is a good day to have a fireplace fire burning — romaticism and all that.

For me, I could build one, but I’ve done it for warmth for two winters in a row. I love building them, but seeing as it’s not COLD cold in here, why build one? Are they romatic-like? Sure, but maybe a bit more utilitarian for me now than they used to be. Also, the wood is all wet. Who wants to struggle with that, I’ve done that in the really cold-rated days this year, it’s neither warming nor romatic kindling making stuff ;)

Temps here are going to be in the high 30′s tonight, accuweather says. Tomorrow is supposed to be rainy, and dim, similar temps as today, but on the lower side of the mid-30′s tomorrow night. Tuesday we are supposed to see some sun, that will be welcomed with open arms. But that night and the two following will be right at the freezing mark, or thereabouts. Temps then in the daytime being around 53 and 49 as is predicted on two of them … with some sun, it’ll be manageable. So we are now just to the point of being 15-days from the “last normal freeze” date. I’m watching the weather predictions heavily, well, just watching and writing down a few degree infos here and there to compare. The plants are definitely into the Spring Fling, and the birds are getting noticeably interested in it too. We are due for a bit of a late winter, I guess, since it’s been so mild most of the season. So let’s just say, I’m very ready for Spring. Might as well, I’ve had Spring Allergies for a couple of weeks, with it building up to higher than mid-point counts the last week. Let’s just get going so we can get it over with. :) And start planting safely too. :)

Spring! Signs everywhere!

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It’s a lovely day so far. It’s supposed to be up to around 61 degrees F. The sun is shining. Spring is in the air.

I forgot to post this exciting news the other day. Victoria were on the deck the other day sorting through some Thyme I’d cut out of my herb garden (hair cuts for Thyme plants). I heard an odd sound, an odd bird sound, garbly trilly odd. I didn’t have my glasses on so I couldn’t tell if there was something over this or that way making the noise, in trees or something. She pointed to the east. I squinted my eyes, Ah there it is!

A huge V of geese flying due North at a nice clippy pace. The first sign of Spring Migration!

It was a euphoric site and had me on high excitement levels for quite awhile.

In other news, the Weeping Willow tree is looking very dotty green. It’s fronds are long yet, not at all, but she’s a-puttin them out and from a distance you can see those green things coming out. It’s beautiful. I fear she’s too early though. We have a few weeks to go before the probably “last freeze”. In fact, in the next 15-days forcast Accuweather is calling for many nights down to 32, 31, 29. It’s not that which will be a problem, most likely, but it’s the fact that in the last couple of days they did have “ice storm” maybes in the forcast. They’ve gone away from the forcast, but could come back.

In the greater Atlanta area there are many trees starting to bloom. Cherry trees, or something like them, not the kind we have (ours bloom into March or so –Y. Cherries) and a few others. Maybe they aren’t cherry trees, but they look like the K. kind (I can’t recall the names to spell them out, so figure out the Y and K please yourselves ;) )

Today I saw a Bluebird looking at the nest box. I need to relocate that box. Last year it was nothing but bad stuff for them there. As well, today there were E. Starlings on the fence by the bird box. They were bothering the Bluebirds, of course. Going out I just have to clap and yell a second or two and the Starlings fly away, but the Bluebirds stay. :) I can’t watch them every moment of the day though :(

So I need to get a pole to mount the box on in another place in the yard. Frank, mark that down. :) You are the pole buyer. ;)

I would also like a new big bird feeder … mine fell over in a storm last year and started to crumble, not worth the fixing. So I have no nice feeder. I also would like a few more Hummer Feeders, through different things all but one is broke now. Just my nice one is around for now. It’s delicate, blown glass shaped like a long tubular flower. It’s a piece of art really. It’s not a “filler-er-up” many times in a month type. I like the feeders that have many stations on them. So this artsy one is not for that, it’s a one-at-a-timer.

We were in Bass Pro Outlet last night, they have some nice single Hummer Feeders … made out of all kinds of glass bottles and copper and such twisted around them to hold them up, very pretty decorations on them, big old decorative Hummer Feeders all in themselves! But single feeders — pricey too. $19 and up. :(

I’m doing some work on my “herb garden” here and there. I really want to get it in good shape, get more plants in it, and a nice brick border, or a short picket fence around it. It’s a battle keeping the creeping weedy grasses out of it. So the Mantis needs to come out of the garage and do some work for me. Edging first, then cultivation between “rows” to loosen the dirt, get rid of little springy weeds, then I get get in there and do the hefty stuff easier, tidying up and hopefully getting a mulch to put on the dirt, and as I said before, more plants. I have Bee Balm and 3 kinds of Thyme, and Chives that are perennials that are doing alright. I also have two other plants in there that are not “herbs” but are nice butterfly attracters. Purple Cone Flower, and a Giant — I forget it’s name. Both die back to the ground in the winter. The herbs don’t die back, the Thyme keeps plugging away winter long, and the chives scale back but don’t go away, same with the Bee Balm.

I may only have 2 types of Thyme now. I recall that one of the 3 is “Wooly Thyme” and may be under some weeds in the corner, or vanished … or may come back in some small way that I can work with. I also have English Thyme and German Thyme. My English is more leggy and loose –mild smell; the German is more bushy and thick–more smell to it too.

The Peonies out front have continued to put up their first shoots out of the ground. They should be super duper huge this year, and I need to put out supports for them for sure. Frank, take note– I need stakes and garden string! :)

Egg Counts moved to own page

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Yesterday I began a new page with the egg counts. See it here .

It’s a work in progress. The first page is a list of all pages with counts, and I have them named by month, so all egg counts are on monthly grouped pages, with the format, currently, similar to how I put the egg counts in this weblog as posts, in the dotted border box … but all formatting will be changed sooner than later probably, as I put in more data and see how better to arrange it.

So as it goes, I only have one page listed right now, this current month, and only the past week or so of counts. Once I get more formatting decided then I’ll add more data.

Thanks to WP 1.5 for this functionality using “Pages” :)

The current months link will also be on the side bar. Find the basic egg report link on the headers right navigation menu too.

Eggs for Feb 23 2005

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Today we have, at this point: 4:57 PM, 8 eggs. Today we got a green egg, yesterday we did not. We got our biggest count yesterday of the year without the contribution of Hawklady. So today she has laid, an additional Leghorn has laid, as well as 5 others as we had yesterday (whether or not these are the same 5 from yesterday, since there are 8 Leghorns, 5 laid yesterday, 6 laid today, do the probability possibilities yourself ;) ). Alas the brownies are the slackers today. Only 2 eggs so far. Yesterday we had 5 brown eggs by this point. As one could see by the numbers, add up todays eggs, and add in the possible other brown layers that we KNOW have laid, I’d have a full dozen today IF they had laid. So we had a white egg late yesterday, will we have one around 5:30PM, or will she hold it over for tomorrow morning? Or is she not going to be an every day layer. Time will tell! :)

(See the egg report link on the side bar near the top for the current egg report month, or choose the link at the top of the page for a list of the reports available.)