Mostly about my backyard chickens. (Boring, I know), but there are a lot of us out here. Mine are only kept as pampered pets. I could eat a neighbor's chicken, but not MINE. There may be a comment on current events only if I get riled up enough. And there will always be a cartoon or a joke to cheer us. I promise to try my very best to respond to comments. Now I have to figure out how this blogger thingy works....
These
were from some trees he had cut down during the summer. It will have to
be split and seasoned for another year. We have rows and rows of the
good stuff to last us for a long, long time.
It rained all day yesterday and the chickens did not want to come out of pen. The little darlins' don't like to get their feet wet!
When I go out to check on them, they will stop right at the pen gate to see if I have any treats for them. If I do, they will grab it and run back for cover.
Sometimes I'll go out and tease them, though........ even if it IS raining..........
How many of us has lost our keys? I think we have all done that at least once!
Now I have a "key keeper" hanging on the wall in our pantry. It's a box that has hooks in the inside. Little plastic I.D. rings are attached to each duplicate key.
We also have a house key hidden outside, too. It's under a rock wrapped in plastic placed away from the house.
Now the only thing I have to remember is which darn rock it's under......
Nothing interesting going on in the coop. It's been cold so all have been pretty quiet.
Except for Ethel. She is molting and is very, very cranky. More so than usual. She paces back and forth along the run fence.
And whines. She even bit Lucy today. Poor Charlie tried to get friendly. She bit him, too.
When I put them in for the night, she chased everyone off the roosting bar. When they were on the floor, she jumped down and went into a nesting box.
Let's go all out for the end of the year - Steam Geared Engines!
GEARS!!!!
Info from: Steamlocomotive.com
Willamette
Willamette locomotives were essentially the same as Shay locomotives
with a number of improvements. They were built by the Willamette Iron
and Steel Works of Portland, OR after the original Shay patent expired.
The improvements that the Willamettes had included:
Superheaters (Shays usually did not have superheaters)
Welded boilers (Shays used bolts)
Walschaerts valve gear (Shays normally used Stephenson valve gear)
Cylinders all facing the same direction (rear cylinders on Shays faced the rear) Compare: WillametteWillametteShay
All cylinders were positioned forward of the cab (the last cylinder on Shays protruded into the cab) Compare: WillametteWillametteShay
Valve chests turned outward
Truck springs inclined toward the bolster
Improved efficiency
Some of the later Shays included some of these improvements. Only 33
Willamettes were built. Of those 33, 6 still survive today.
Willamette Shay Logging Locomotive built by Portland Iron Works in 1927.
One of six left in the world, on display at the Railroad Park Resort,
Dunsmuir, California. The Willamette locomotive was a geared locomotive
of the Shay locomotive type, built by the Willamette Iron and Steel Works
of Portland, Oregon. Key patents on the Shay locomotive had expired,
and it was now possible for other manufacturers to produce Shay
"clones". The Willamette locomotive was very similar to a Shay, but had
many differences, as the company that made them intended on making an
"improved Shay", even though the "Pacific Coast Shay", later made by
Lima, took up many of the features on the Willamette. The differences
were: All Willamettes were equipped with superheaters, while Shays
usually were not. The boiler parts were welded together, instead of
being bolted together. The Willamette locomotive used Walschaerts valve
gear, while the Shay mainly used Stephenson valve gear. The rear
cylinder on the Willamette was facing the same direction as the rest of
the cylinders, while the two front cylinders on a Shay faced forward,
with the rear cylinder facing backwards. The back cylinder on a
Willamette was moved forward of the cab, while in a Shay, the back
cylinder was almost protruding into the cab. The valve chests were
turned outward. The truck springs were inclined towards the bolster. In a
test done between a Shay and a Wilamette, the Shay pulled 27 empty
cars, while the Willamette pulled 29 empty cars, as well as using 40%
less fuel. All but one Willamette burned oil, despite their working for
logging companies, where wood would be abundant. Oil burners produced
few sparks, however, and were less likely to ignite a forest than coal-
or wood-fired locomotives. The only coal-fired Willamette worked for
Anaconda Copper. Six Willamettes survive; none are in working order
although several are undergoing restoration. (Wikipedia)
If you saw my post for Wednesday, you probably noticed the two additions to Coopville:
Laverne
Shirley
I've had them for about a year and half now. I bought them because Charlie was wearing Ethel and Lucy out. He needed more hens. I had the EXACT same problems with them that I had with Oscar and Nina. Ethel and Lucy hated them. Just didn't think you would want to hear of the same adventures all over again. And yes, Laverne and Shirley lived in that damn chick hutch for a loooong time!
Shirley is very timid ( Ethel almost killed her). She is picked on the most. Laverne is the scrappy one. She will steal a treat right out of Ethel's mouth even though she knows she is going to get bitten.
They still pair off: Lucy and Ethel against Laverne and Shirley.