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....
Until well into the sixteenth century, bacon or bacoun was
a Middle English term used to refer to all pork in general. The term
bacon comes from various Germanic and French dialects. It derives from
the French bako, Common Germanic bakkon and Old Teutonic backe, all of which refer to the back. There are breeds of pigs particularly grown for bacon, notably the Yorkshire and Tamworth.
In England, a side of bacon is called a gammon, and a slice of bacon is known as a rasher. Seventy percent of the bacon in America is consumed at the breakfast table.
You are probably familiar with the phrase "bring home the bacon." In the twelfth century, a church in the English town of Dunmow promised
a side of bacon to any married man who could swear before the
congregation and God that he had not quarreled with his wife for a year
and a day. A husband who could bring home the bacon was held in high
esteem by the community for his forebearance.
In this health-conscious day and age, you would think that bacon would
be low on the list of preferred foods due to its fat content. Yet, as
anyone who dabbles in pork belly commodities can tell you, bacon is
solely responsible for giving a boost to the pork market. Bacon has
become so popular as a sandwich ingredient and a favorite of chefs in
fine dining establishments that bacon shortages have caused prices to
soar. However, bacon is still a bargain that can't be beat when it comes
to adding flavor. With low-sodium and lean varieties available, even
the dieter can partake in moderation.
Pretty sunrise yesterday morning. It was only 17 degrees outside! We only get to see the mountains in the winter because the leaves are finally off our many trees.
Love to watch the sun come up!
Hmm.... never noticed there were so many darn wires!
Looking West at Sunrise Mountain. The mountain turned pink, just like the sky.
It's pretty up here, but I still sometimes miss our other home on top of the mountain and the scent of all the lovely pine trees.
This was supposed to be for Friday Night Steam!!!! Sorry! :o(
Nothing like it in the world: China's time-tripping steam railway
By David Akast, for CNN
Bagou -- a coal town that's seen
its population fall from 20,000 to 1,500 since its mine ceased operation
-- is an anomaly in China. It's a town that's actually worse off in
2013 than it was 50 years ago. The narrow-gauge rail line was built in
1958 to connect Bagou with the river town of Shibanxi and has six
intermediate stops along its 19.8-kilometer (12.3-mile) route.
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China's incredible Jiayang Railway
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STORY HIGHLIGHTS
China's Jiayang Railway offers spectacular mountain scenery and a window into the Industrial Revolution
Trains headed for the coal town of Bagou are powered by one of six working steam engines
Buildings next to the platform at Huangcun, the final stop, are covered in Cultural Revolution slogans and artwork
(CNN) -- No city better exemplifies China's investment in its western interior than Chengdu, the booming capital of Sichuan, famous for pandas and spicy food.
The city recently hosted the Fortune Global Forum
and announced that visitors from 45 countries can enjoy a 72-hour
visa-free stay, further cementing its rise as a major tourism
destination.
Yet only two hours from
this metropolis of 14 million people lies a town that has remained
fundamentally untouched by the economic changes that have transformed so
many lives in China over the past 35 years.
Bagou -- a coal town that
has seen its population fall from a peak of 20,000 to 1,500 in the
years since the mine ceased operation -- is an anomaly in China. It's a
town that's actually worse off in 2013 than it was in 1963.
The vast workers'
auditorium, miners' cottages (several built by the British in the
1930s), schools and hospitals are all empty and in a state of abject
disrepair, but the fact that more tourists are arriving on the steam
railway means the town's worst days may now be behind it.
The narrow-gauge rail
line was built to connect Bagou with the river town of Shibanxi in 1958
and has six intermediate stops along its 19.8-kilometer (12.3-mile)
route.
Although used primarily for the transportation of coal, it continues to provide a passenger service.
In fact, until 2012 there
was no road to Bagou and the town could be reached only by train or on a
motorbike running alongside the tracks.
Tickets for "local"
trains cost 5 RMB (about 80 cents) to ride the line in its entirety,
while those for the new tourist trains from Yuebin are RMB 50 ($8).
These services are
air-conditioned, provide a seat (not guaranteed on local trains) and
will usually stop in Jiaoba to allow passengers to photograph the most
scenic part of the route.
All trains are powered by one of six working steam engines that are housed and serviced in Shibanxi.
The final stop on the old line is Huangcun Station.
China's industrial heritage
Most passengers, both
locals and tourists, disembark in Bagou, but an interesting alternative
is to continue to the final stop, Huangcun, to take in the Cultural
Revolution slogans and artwork that decorate the buildings right next to
the platform.
Huangcun is also home to the coal mine Bagou and its surrounding villages relied on for more than 70 years.
The mine has been open
as a tourist attraction since 2008 and daughters of former miners (the
guides are all female) lead informative tours.
After emerging back into
daylight, the 20-minute walk to Bagou through plantain groves passes
many buildings of interest, including the former Occupational Disease
Clinic, hospital and middle school.
With a well put
together museum in Bagou, housed in the Soviet-built former
town-administrative center, the mine and steam engines mark the
beginning of a nascent interest in industrial heritage in China.
Steam enthusiasts arrive
from, chiefly, the UK, Germany, the U.S. and Japan, but it's Chinese
tourists that the town is trying to attract in larger numbers.
An increasing number of
chartered trains bringing in groups from Chengdu and further afield
attest to the success of the local campaign sign-posting the railway as
"a living fossil of the Industrial Revolution."
Along with the
industrial heritage appeal, Bagou is attracting tourists interested in
the social history aspect of a town that has been frozen in time.
A superintendent of the former Workers' Theatre proudly looks after
old images of Hua Guofeng, Sun Yatsen, Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai.
Cultural Revolution
artwork and slogans that adorn many buildings have been repainted and
the original "Mao stage," where only 40 years ago "struggle sessions"
viciously humiliated supposed class enemies, has been authentically
restored.
The Jiayang Railway
makes a fascinating addition to the well-established local itinerary of
Emei Mountain and Leshan Big Buddha. With outstanding hiking
opportunities in the bamboo-covered hills that surround the line, fresh,
fiery and delicious Sichuan food and accommodation at RMB 50-100 per
night it also makes for an ideal weekend excursion from Chengdu.
An out-of-towner slid on an icy road drove his
car into a ditch. Luckily, a local farmer came to
help with his
big strong horse named Buddy.
He hitched Buddy up to the car and
yelled, "Pull, Nellie, pull."
Buddy didn't move. Then the
farmer hollered, "Pull, Buster, pull." Buddy didn't
respond. Once more the farmer commanded, "Pull, Jennie, pull."
Nothing. Then the farmer nonchalantly said, "Pull, Buddy, pull." And the horse
easily dragged the car out of the ditch. The motorist was
most appreciative and very curious. He asked the
farmer why he called
his horse by the wrong name three times. The farmer said, "Oh,
Buddy is blind, and if he thought he was the
only one pulling, he
wouldn't even try!"
A color film from the 1939 Macy's Day Parade - How different it is today!
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
is one of the most famous parades in America and the world at large.
Held annually every Thanksgiving (which always falls on the last
Thursday in November), the parade is a staple of the holiday of
Thanksgiving and an event that is instantly associated with New York
City. The parade is also symbolic of the impending Christmas season via
the appearance of Santa Claus at the end of the procession. At present,
the parade is televised in full and broadcasted internationally; it
begins at 9am and lasts three hours.
The Thanksgiving Day Parade was started in 1924 and funded by the
department store Macy’s. In the 1920s most of Macy’s employees were
immigrants from Europe who wanted to use Thanksgiving as a way to
celebrate their new lives in America. Initially the parade was called
the “Macy’s Christmas Parade” which was later renamed to the “Macy’s
Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Parade.” In present times, the parade is
known simply as the “Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade” but the tie-in to
Christmas (with Santa’s appearance at the end of the procession) remains
intact.
The initial Thanksgiving Day Parade was conducted by Macy’s employees
and some professional entertainers who were hired to march from 145th
Street in Harlem to Macy’s flagship store on 34th Street. Although the
first parade featured none of the now-famous balloons, the marchers wore
colorful costumes and there were live bands and floats. The Central
Park Zoo even allowed some of their animals to take part in the event!
The parade was such a success that Macy’s decided to turn it into an
annual tradition. In 1927, large animal-shaped balloons replaced the
live animals and this began the tradition of giant balloons that are now
iconic of the parade.
Every year the parade grew in popularity and by 1933 over one million
people came out to watch the procession! In 1934 the first Mickey Mouse
balloon appeared to delighted crowds. Before television was widely
popular, the parade was broadcasted on the radio between the years of
1932-1941 and 1945-1951. The parade was suspended from 1942-1944 as a
result of World War II and the dire need for rubber and helium during
that time. The parade resumed in 1945 and became especially famous after
it was featured in the 1947 hit film “Miracle on 34th Street.”
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is still going strong and it is
expected to entertain millions of viewers from all over the world on
November 28, 2013. Television and the Internet has made it easier than
ever to access information about the parade. However, if you live in New
York, it is certainly worth taking the time to see the parade in
person!
This giant dragon balloon in the 1931 parade.
This giant Mickey Mouse balloon, shown here in Glendale, Calf., floated down Broadway in 1934 and required 25 handlers.
Here balloons float down Broadway for
the 1937 parade. Seven musical organizations, twenty-one floats and
balloon units and 400 costumed marchers participated that year.
This cop balloon, shown here at Broadway and 56th St., was also featured in the 1937 parade.
The dragon balloon roared down the parade route at the thirteenth annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in 1937.
Too funny - Today's post was about the wild turkey - look went through just now!
(might have to make the pictures bigger to see 'em - and yes, it's snowing!)
Thought this was an interesting read to start the day off with. We have wild turkeys that pass through here all the time. Charlie doesn't like them and once he even chased them back into the woods!
Wild Turkeys Are Back, A Century After Severe Decline
By Douglas Main, Staff Writer | November 25, 2013 09:13am ET
Wild turkeys are found in 49 of 50 states, an enormous
turnaround after having disappeared from much of the country early in
the 1900s. Credit: Dendroica Cerulea/US Department of the Interior
In the early 1900s, wild turkeys seemed to be on the road toward
extinction, as unregulated hunting and widespread logging had wiped them
out over much of their range. In the last few decades, however, the
birds have made an incredible recovery, reaching levels near those of
their precolonial days.
The birds are now found in virtually all parts of their former
territory, and some new places where they hadn't been previously, said
wildlife biologist Thomas Hughes of the National Wild Turkey Federation,
an organization that has reintroduced the animals into the wild. They
can be found in 49 U.S. states, with the only exception being Alaska,
Hughes said. In total, about 7 million wild turkeys live in the United States; prior to 1500, an estimated 10 million turkeys existed, he added.
In some places, the growth of wild turkey populations has been so
dramatic it has caused minor problems, said Kelsey Sullivan, a wildlife
biologist with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife in
Bangor. In Maine, for example, the birds have been known to damage
strawberry and blueberry crops. They have also been found rummaging in
the fodder of dairy cattle, which they can contaminate with their
droppings, Sullivan said. [Gobble, Gobble: 8 Terrific Turkey Facts]
Minor conflicts
There have also been conflicts with homeowners, particularly in areas
that have recently been developed. "There have been problems from
[turkey] droppings on the lawn, to roosting on the roof, to pecking the
side of a car where they see their reflection, to chasing the mailman
from time to time," Hughes told LiveScience.
But by and large, these conflicts are minor and isolated, Sullivan
said. They are also not usually difficult to fix; loud noises and dogs
are effective at keeping the birds away, he added.
Furthermore, the birds are often blamed for damage that they have not caused. Animals that are active at night, like deer and raccoons,
are more likely than wild turkeys to destroy most crops, according to
work by researchers at Purdue University. One 2005 study, for example,
found that less than 0.1 percent of the crop damage in Indiana is caused
by wild turkeys. But when the turkeys show up in the morning, often in
the same areas that have been damaged, they get wrongly blamed, said
Duane Diefenbach, a wildlife researcher at Pennsylvania State
University. Gobbler restocking
Prior to the 1950s, efforts to restock the wild turkeys mostly failed,
Hughes said. That's because researchers tried to use domestically bred
wild turkeys, which couldn't survive in nature. By the 1950s, biologists
had developed a special type of cannon-propelled net that allowed
scientists to catch groups of wild turkeys more effectively, to
translocate them to new areas, he added. Since then, the bird has slowly made its way back.
While populations continue to grow and spread in some areas,
particularly the Midwest, populations in some Northeastern states appear
to have leveled off, according to Diefenbach and Sullivan. In the
Southeast, the traditional stronghold of the iconic animal,
populations have declined in some areas, Hughes said. The reason isn't
yet clear, although it may have to do with changes in forest management
that have allowed dense underbrush to grow, as well as increased urban
development. Wild turkeys can live in forests and farmland, but don't do
well in dense thickets — they need open spaces where males can display
to females as a part of their breeding ritual, Hughes said.
Hughes first got interested in wild turkeys when hunting them with his
father as a child in northern Florida. And he still hunts them "at every
opportunity," he added. In most areas, turkey-hunting season occurs in
the spring and fall, with catch limits designed to keep populations
stable or growing, Hughes said.
"We consider them a real delicacy on the table in my house," Hughes said. Especially at Thanksgiving, he added. EmailDouglas Main or follow him onTwitterorGoogle+. Follow us @livescience, Facebookor Google+.
Warbonnets (or war bonnets) are the impressive feather
headdresses commonly seen in Western movies
and TV shows. Although warbonnets are the best-known type of Indian
headdress today, they were actually only worn by a dozen or so Indian
tribes in the Great Plains region, such as the Sioux, Crow, Blackfeet,
Cheyenne, and Plains Cree.
In the first photograph, you can see a Dakota Sioux warrior wearing a trailer warbonnet
(native headdress with single or double rows of eagle feathers descending in a long 'tail' all the way to the ground).
In the second photo, modern Crow elders attend a formal event in halo warbonnets
(native headdresses with eagle feathers fanned out around the face in an oval shape).
The third photograph shows a Blackfoot man wearing a straight-up feather headdress (taller,
narrower headdresses where the eagle feathers stand up straight.) All three types of Indian war bonnets were made from the
tail feathers of the golden eagle, and each feather had to be earned by an act of bravery.
Sometimes a feather might be painted with red dye to commemorate a particular deed. Besides the feathers,
Plains Indian warbonnets were often decorated with ermine skins and fancy beadwork.
Native American warbonnets were important ceremonial regalia worn only
by chiefs and warriors. Also, only men wore warbonnets. (Women sometimes
went to war
in some Plains Indian tribes, and there were even some female chiefs,
but they never wore these masculine headdresses.) Plains Indian men
occasionally
wore warbonnet headdresses while they were fighting, but more often they
wore roach headdresses into battle (see below) and saved their
war bonnets for formal occasions. In particular, long feather trailers
were never worn on the battlefield. It would be impossible to fight
while wearing them!
In the 1800's, Native American men from other tribes sometimes began to
wear Plains-style warbonnets. Partially this was because of the American
tourist industry,
which expected Native Americans to look a certain way. Partially it was
because many Native American tribes were forced to move to Oklahoma and
other
Indian territories during this time in history, so tribes that used to
live far apart began adopting customs from their new neighbors. In most
cases, the feather warbonnet did
not have the same significance among the new tribes that adopted it. For
them, wearing a feathered headdress was a matter of fashion or a
general symbol of authority.
But for the Plains Indian tribes, feather warbonnets were a sacred
display of a man's honor and courage, and each feather
told a story. Eagle feathers are still sometimes awarded to Plains
Indians who serve in the military or do other brave deeds today.
Feather warbonnets are better-known to popular culture, but roach headdresses (also called porcupine roaches or
artificial roaches) were the most widely used kind of Indian
headdress in the United
States. Most Native American tribes east of the Rocky Mountains were
familiar with some form of roach headdress. These native headdresses are
made of
stiff animal hair, especially porcupine guard hair, moose hair, and
deer's tail hair. This hair was attached to a bone hair ornament or
leather base so that
it stood straight up from the head like a tuft or crest. Often the hair
was dyed bright colors and feathers, shells, or other decorations were
attached. In some
tribes, men wore their hair in a scalplock or crested roach style
(frequently given the name Mohawk or Mohican after two
tribes in
which roached hair was common), and the artificial roach was attached to
the man's own hair. The Caddo man in the first picture is wearing his
roach
headdress this way. In other tribes, porcupine roaches were attached to
leather headbands or thongs and worn over long hair or braids. This is
how
they are most commonly worn today.
Roach headdresses were usually worn by warriors and dancers. Like
war-bonnets, the porcupine hair roach is traditionally men's headwear,
not worn
even by female warriors. Their use varied from tribe to tribe. In many
tribes, roaches were worn into battle, while more formal tribal
headdresses (like
warbonnets, otter-fur turbans, or gustowah caps) were worn to ceremonial
events. In other tribes, roaches were worn primarily as dance regalia
or
sports costume. In some tribes, individual men chose to wear porcupine
roaches while other men did not. Like other clothing styles, roaches
sometimes went into and out of fashion. They were not generally as
spiritually meaningful as Native American warbonnet headdresses, though a
boy earning the right
to wear a roach for the first time was an important ceremony in some
tribes. Today, porcupine roaches can be commonly seen at powwows, where
they are still worn as regalia by male dancers from many different
tribes.
Basket hats (also known as twined caps or basketry hats)
were the most common type of Native American headdress west of
the Rocky Mountains. Different tribes made basket hats in different
shapes and styles. California Indian tribes usually made small rounded
or fez-shaped
basket caps from tightly coiled sumac, like the Hupa Indian hat below.
Northwest Coast tribes like the Haida and Salish often made larger hats
in more conical
or brimmed shapes from fibers such as cedar bark or spruce root.
In California and the Plateau tribes, basket hats were normally worn
only by women and girls, and their designs were mostly decorative.
On the Northwest Coast, both men and women wore basketry headgear, for
dance regalia and ceremonial purposes as well as everyday life.
Northwest
Coast basket hat designs often conveyed information about a person's
clan, achievements, or status within the tribe.
The Indian headband is also well-known from movies and other
popular images of Native Americans. However, this style of headband
was typically only used by a few tribes of the northeast Woodlands.
Usually the headband consisted of a finger-woven or beaded deerskin
strip
with tribal designs on it. This band was then tied around the brow with a
feather or two tucked through the back. Not only eagle feathers but
turkey, hawk, egret, and crane feathers were also used for Woodland
Indian headbands.
Unlike many of the Native American headdresses on this page, both men
and women wore headbands, which were not associated with war.
The number and type of feather did not usually have special symbolic
meaning, though in a few tribes that bordered the Plains eagle feathers
were reserved for warriors. For the most part, Woodland Indian headbands were worn for their beauty,
and were often decorated with intricate patterns, wampum, beads, and quill work.
Like feather war bonnets, buffalo horn headdresses were
traditional regalia of certain Plains Indian warriors. These were
helmets of buffalo
hide with a pair of buffalo horns attached, frequently adorned with
shaggy buffalo fur and a buffalo tail trailing behind. In many cases
ermine skins and
war feathers were hung from the headdress, as in the second picture.
Sometimes a horned headdress was even combined with a feather trail, as
in
the third picture.
The spiritual and ceremonial importance of horned headdresses to the
Plains Indians was similar to that of feathered warbonnets. Only
distinguished
male warriors wore this sacred kind of regalia. Horned headdresses were
rarer than eagle-feather warbonnets, because they were used by
fewer tribes (only the Sioux and a few other tribes of the northern
Plains wore this kind of headdress) and also because only warriors of
certain
clans or who had accomplished specific deeds wore bison horns.
Otter-fur turbans (also known as otter-skin caps) are
ceremonial headdresses worn by men in certain Prairie and Southern
Plains tribes,
such as the Potawatomi, Pawnee and Osage. These are round hats made of
otter fur with the otter's tail either hanging behind or jutting out to
one side in a
beaded sheath. The turbans and tail sheaths were often elaborately
decorated with beaded and painted designs symbolizing the owner's war
honors, and
a chief and his descendants usually attach eagle feathers to the back of
their turbans.
Otter-skin turbans were formal headdresses
with great symbolic importance. They were worn at ceremonies or other
solemn occasions, not by warriors entering
battle (who usually wore porcupine roaches.) Even today, otter-fur caps
are sometimes worn at formal events by Southern Plains Indian men.
The gustoweh cap is a formal feathered skullcap used only by men
from the Iroquois tribes. The big eagle feathers on top of the cap were
symbols that
showed which specific tribe an Iroquois man belonged to. (The three
straight feathers on the cap in this picture mean that the owner is
Mohawk.) In some
northern California tribes, men wore flicker headdresses as dance regalia. These California Indian headdresses are made of wide leather strips decorated with the red
scalps of woodpeckers. During the 1800's when cloth became more readily available, cloth turbans decorated with feathers became stylish
among Cherokee, Seminoles and other southeastern Indian men, and cloth headbands became everyday wear for
men from the Navajo, Apache, and Pueblo tribes.
Interesting - something else I never knew about.... CM
Last night the temperature was going to be around 10 degrees. The wind had not stopped howling. To protect Charlie and the girls, we wrapped plastic sheeting around three sides of the pen to keep the wind out. The gate to the run is not covered just in case they want to exercise in the run. The back of the coop is wrapped in plastic, too. Extra hay is put in the pen for them to snuggle into. Drafts can kill your chickens and frost bite could be a problem too. Check their combs and wattles every day. If you see any signs of frost bite, make sure you put Vaseline on them - this will protect them from injury. Also check their waterer often. It can freeze solid in a matter of hours.
During the week we will make it a lot neater, but right now I just want them to be protected. The whole setup doesn't look pretty right now, but I don't care - their health and well being is far too important to me than how it looks.
Approximate heights of various notable statues:
1. Spring Temple Buddha 153 m (incl. 25m pedestal and 20m throne)
2. Statue of Liberty 93 m (incl. 47m pedestal)
3. The Motherland Calls 91 m (excl. plinth)
4. Christ the Redeemer 39.6 m (incl. 9.5m
pedestal)
5. Statue of David 5.17 m (excl. 2.5m plinth)
Here's the results of the "painting" from last week:
The actual color is "Sea Foam Green". Have absolutely no idea why it looks grey. Maybe I should read the camera instructions on how to work all the doo-dads on it.....
Bagou -- a coal town that's seen
its population fall from 20,000 to 1,500 since its mine ceased operation
-- is an anomaly in China. It's a town that's actually worse off in
2013 than it was 50 years ago. The narrow-gauge rail line was built in
1958 to connect Bagou with the river town of Shibanxi and has six
intermediate stops along its 19.8-kilometer (12.3-mile) route.
