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....
Last Thursday the weather had been really nice and the gang was out in the yard for a long time (as per Friday's morning post). Later in the afternoon, Betty was quiet and just stood without eating anything else for the rest of the day. It happens sometimes and I didn't think anything of it.
Friday morning, she didn't come out of the coop - I though she must be laying an egg in the egg box. Still not worried about her. Hubby and I went to the store and ate lunch. Later on I walked over to the pen and did not see her. Opened the coop and there she was - sick! I picked her up and she just went limp. I felt her crop and was just like a water filled balloon. Oh, NO! The dreaded impacted crop!! Ran into the house to get a cup of olive oil and an eye dropper. Held her in my lap and used the eye dropper to force the oil down her throat and massaged and massaged that lump until she threw up. It was a mess! Did it several more times to get all the gunk out (it was mostly rotting grass). And boy, did ever stink! A couple of times she rolled her eyes and her comb turned blue. I thought she was a goner.
After a while nothing else came up and she fell asleep in my arms. Later I put her in the coop and she stayed by the waterer that I keep in there. She did not come out the rest of the day. Every time I checked in on her, she was sleeping - poor thing was exhausted!
Saturday morning when I let them out for breakfast, guess who was the first one out the door? Betty!
She was fully recovered and back to normal - what a relief! None of them have been out in the yard since then - maybe today they can wander around for a bit!
Charlie is starting to molt. Maybe that is why he is so cranky lately:
The gang loved being out in the yard chasing and catching little fluttery bugs:
Hubby could finally get the grass cut:
And I tried out my new washing machine! It's one of those electronic wizards that you need a darn engineering degree to operate. Wonder if I'll ever figure out how to use all the buttons and dials....
Spotted these pretty little pink flowers:
It really was a lovely day and I sure did enjoy the time outside soaking up those rays!
The neighbors thought
it was odd, but 93 year old Morton was dating again. One Monday morning
Morton woke up with a funny feeling that something important happened
last night. It was during breakfast, that Morton finally remembered
what it was. He had proposed to his date Greta. But what she answered
he just couldn’t seem to remember. Morton picked up the phone and
dialed. “Hi Greta”, said Morton, “I have a funny question for you, do
you remember last night when I proposed?” “Oh my gosh” gushed Greta,
“I’m so glad you called, I knew I said yes to somebody but I just
couldn’t recall who it was!”
Read more at:
The neighbors thought
it was odd, but 93 year old Morton was dating again. One Monday morning
Morton woke up with a funny feeling that something important happened
last night. It was during breakfast, that Morton finally remembered
what it was. He had proposed to his date Greta. But what she answered
he just couldn’t seem to remember. Morton picked up the phone and
dialed. “Hi Greta”, said Morton, “I have a funny question for you, do
you remember last night when I proposed?” “Oh my gosh” gushed Greta,
“I’m so glad you called, I knew I said yes to somebody but I just
couldn’t recall who it was!”
Read more at:
The neighbors thought it was odd, but 93 year old Morton was dating again.
One Monday morning Morton woke up with a funny feeling that something important happened last night.
It was during breakfast, that Morton finally remembered what it was. He had proposed to his date Greta.
But what she answered he just couldn’t seem to remember. Morton picked up the phone and dialed.
“Hi Greta”, said Morton, “I have a funny question for you, do you remember last night when I proposed?”
“Oh my gosh” gushed Greta, “I’m so glad you called, I knew I said yes to somebody but I just couldn’t recall who it was!”
Hey, hey baby, I wanna know
If I can be your girl
Hey, hey baby, I wanna know
If I can be your girl?
When I saw you walking down the street
I said, "That's the kind of guy I'd like to meet"
He's so pretty, Lord, he's so fine
I'm gonna make him mine, all mine
Hey, hey baby, I wanna know
If I can be your girl?
When you turned and walked away
That's when I wanna say
Come on baby, give me a whirl
I wanna know if I can be your girl?
Hey, hey baby, I wanna know
If I can be your girl?
When you turned and walked away
That's when I wanna say
Come on baby, give me a whirl
I wanna know if I can be your girl?
Hey, hey baby, I wanna know
If I can be your girl?
Twins Francis E. Stanley (1849–1918) and Freelan O. Stanley (1849–1940) founded the company, after selling their photographic dry plate business to Eastman Kodak. They made their first car in 1897. During 1898 and 1899, they produced and sold over 200 cars, more than any other U.S. maker.[1] In 1899, Freelan and his wife Flora drove one of their cars to the top of Mount Washington in New Hampshire, the highest peak in the northeastern United States. The ascent took more than two hours and was notable as being the first time a car had climbed the 7.6 miles (12.2 km) long Mount Washington Carriage Road; the descent was accomplished by putting the engine in low gear and braking extensively. The Stanleys later sold the rights to this early design to Locomobile, and in 1902 they formed their own Stanley Motor Carriage Company.
Early Stanley cars had light wooden bodies mounted on tubular steel frames by means of full-elliptic springs. Steam was generated in a vertical fire-tube boiler, mounted beneath the seat, with a vaporizing gasoline (later, kerosene) burner underneath. The boiler was reinforced by several layers of piano wire
wound around it, which gave it a strong but relatively light-weight
shell. In early models, the vertical fire-tubes were made of copper, and
were expanded into holes in the upper and lower crown sheets.[3] In later models, the installation of a condenser caused oil-fouling in the expansion joints,
and welded steel fire-tubes had to be used. The boilers were reasonably
safe, since they were fitted with safety valves. Even if these failed,
any dangerous over pressure would rupture one of the joints long before
the boiler shell itself could burst. The resulting leakage would relieve
the boiler pressure and douse the burner, with very little risk to the
passenger. There is not a single documented incident of a Stanley boiler
exploding.
The engine had two double-acting cylinders, side-by-side and
equipped with slide-valves, and it was a simple-expansion type. Drive
was transmitted directly by the crankshaft to a rear-mounted differential
through using a chain. Owners often modified their Locomobiles by
adding third-party accessories, including improved lubricators,
condensers, and devices which eased the laborious starting procedure.
To overcome patent difficulties with the design they had sold to
Locomobile, the Stanley brothers developed a new model with
twin-cylinder engines geared directly to the rear axle. Later models had
aluminium coachwork that resembled the internal combustion cars of the
time, but they retained steam-car features by having no transmission,
clutch, or driveshaft. They also had a fully sprung tubular steel frame.
When they later moved the steam boiler to the front of the
vehicle, the owners dubbed it the "coffin nose." The compact engine ran
at considerable steam pressure, with the 10HP boiler described in 1912
at having the safety valve set at "650 pounds" (psi), with the burner
set to automatically cut back when pressure reached "500 pounds". The
twin-cylinder steam engines were at that time 10HP, with 3.25-inch bore
and 4.25-inch stroke, and 20HP with 4-inch bore and 5-inch stroke, and
made extensive use of ball bearings. In order to improve range, condensers were added from 1915.
A Stanley Steamer set the world record for the fastest mile in an
automobile (28.2 seconds) in 1906. This record (127 mph (204 km/h)) was
not broken by any automobile until 1911, although Glen Curtiss
beat the record in 1907 with a V-8-powered motorcycle at 136 mph
(219 km/h). The record for steam-powered automobiles was not broken
until 2009.
Production rose to 500 cars in 1917.
The Stanley Steamer was sometimes nicknamed "The Flying Teapot". At least one Stanley Steamer found its way to Castle Hill, New South Wales, Australia where it was driven in the late 1920s.
Not to much to write about - we've had sooo much rain lately. Parts of Joisey were flooded. Luckily, we are up high enough that Coopville is never in any danger.
The sun finally came out and the gang enjoyed looking for goodies that the rains left:
That's Maude making the purring sounds. She is bald because she is Charlie's favorite one (for now).
When they go in for the night, he chases the other girls away and old Maude gets to roost next to him.
She doesn't lay eggs anymore so I don't understand why he gives her so much 'attention'.
Since the run was constantly wet I put hay on top of a pallet - they all hopped
My Step Grandfather had one. I remember when we used to visit his farm in New Hampshire ( I was just three or four) that car was always kept in the barn.
One day my cousins, brother and I were playing in the loft swinging from a rope and jumping into a pile of hay in one of the stalls.
Needless to say, one of us missed the hay and went through the canvas top on the car. I really don't remember who the culprit was......
The thorn bug is an occasional pest of ornamentals and fruit trees in southern Florida. During
heavy infestations, nymphs and adults form dense clusters around the twigs, branches and even
small tree trunks. Some hosts that have been severely damaged include Hibiscus sp.,
powder-puff (Calliandra spp.), woman's tongue tree (Albizzia lebbek), and Acacia spp.
Young trees of jacaranda (Jacaranda acutifolia) and royal poinciana (Delonix regia) with a
diameter of 1.5 to 2 inches have been killed by thorn bugs in the Tampa area. The trunks
were so heavily infested that is was difficult to place a finger anywhere on the trunk without
touching a specimen.
The thorn bug causes damage by piercing the plant tissue and sucking
the sap and by making cuts in the plant for oviposition. Butcher
(1953) reported that certain trees, especially some cassias, suffered
considerable loss of foliage, and that pithecellobiums (Pithecellobium spp.)
suffered general and extensive terminal twig death. He also mentioned
that thorn bug honeydew secretions and accompanying sooty mold
development caused a nuisance to home owners. Kuitert (1958) noted that
heavy accumulations of honeydew sometimes occurred on parked
automobiles.