Here they are all on top of their food 'dish' which is the plastic lid to a peanut butter jar....same thing we use for their water dishes until we can get one of those self-watering contraptions.
The temperature needs to stay around 95 degrees the first week, then lowers around 5 degrees each week as they grow more feathers. The black cord going down into the box is for the thermometer to help us monitor how warm or cold their box is staying...
So here are the chicks! They're TOO cute!! And boy can they 'peep peep' alot...and loud! Oh but they make the sweetest little chirps when they're content and tired huddled together staying warm or pecking and preening around their little box home. We have a total of 5 Aracauna chicks and in these photos they're 4 days old... Our small bathroom downstairs is actually working out great for our chick brooding 'facility'...Ha! It's called a cardboard box with a heat lamp suspended on a bungee strap underneath the changing table (having not been in official use now for quite some time) and the thermometer is up on the table with the cord running down into the box... If you look in the mirror behind our son, Andrew, holding Maple, you can see the heat lamp under the table and to one side of the box. We can regulate the temp by just moving the box either closer or further from the lamp. Works great! Here's Caitlyn holding Maple...she's the smallest chick...and a favorite because she's so docile...unlike Pom Pom... who goes nuts and is most definitely the loudest peeper! This is Heather's little chick, Bonnet.... Andrew's holding his chick, Blossom... And here's Asheley holding Blossom. I finally succumbed to the incessant begging and let them take their chicks out and hold them at 5 days old...on Mother's Day. How could I say no to them on Mother's Day??? After being given such sweet little hand-drawn cards...all singing Mommy's praises?? Besides, I wanted to hold 'em, too! ; ) Last but not least is Apple...now Asheley's chick...since Pom Pom proved to be so feisty. Apple's perfect for Asheley...she's alot like Maple. So for having never done this brooding thang before, chicks and children are lovin' each other....plus it's great entertainment! : D
1 Comment
Girlhood and Springtime seem naturally meant for each other, don't they? These are some lovely romantic images of girlhood culled from my dusty stack of vintage Victoria magazines....from sometime around 1993 and '94. That can't be like...15 years ago...can it??? Say it isn't so! Springtime is great for barefoot boys, too...and always sweet chubby babies! But we'll save them for their own day in the Spring sunshine. Today we'll just soak in our most nostalgically wonderful girlhood memories... And perhaps dream up a few more! Some 15 or 16 years ago when I first happened onto these beautiful images, I didn't even have children...including a son and 3 darling daughters of my own! Oh! The blessings that time does bring! It just so happens that Girlhood Home Companion has come out with their new Spring edition now! Yay! Jill Novak speaks to all our romantic girlhood notions...I would even dare to say almost better than vintage Victoria! I can't wait to get this Springtime inspiration for birthdays this May and June! They've also added a Tea Cozy club and Happy Trails Horse club ...plus a blog!...to their delightful mix. So go be inspired... and swept away into beautiful girlhood once again! xxx Would you mind just handing me that dust pan over there? Yep, that one...just don't trip over Mt. Everest...I mean, Oh the laundry...that's what that is on the living room floor! What was that?...my socks stick there, too. It's gross...I know... I'm starting off with the kid's room upstairs since the avalanche of clothing...which quickly translates into laundry...that despicable dirty word...that just cannot be ignored...even by me...anymore. I bought those white plastic dish tubs at the dollar store last summer that really work great for the top closet shelf. However, even they need some immediate attention! We took the folding doors off the closet to give more room...in that we have 4 children sharing the loft area...so extra room is key...a very key component for our present quaint abode. And these canvas hanging shelves work well for shirts, leggings, and play dresses. There are still way too many clothes...I know...but I can only eliminate so much pink and pastel...and frou-frou's and ruffles...girls will be girls! And this includes their mother! I do love seeing all the pretty summer dresses together. Aren't they sweet? I hope my girls always love to wear dresses...unlike their mom who has to have blue jeans...but I am getting better! My daughters are prevailing on me... As for the unending plethora of plastic and toys, I try to keep stuff that's cute or can be put into baskets out in view. All the rest of it, we sort into plastic buckets that can be slid under the bed out of sight.
Products from: Land of Nod Photo from: Baby's Rooms
Photo from: Baby's Rooms Photo from: Baby's Rooms Photo from: Baby's Rooms And I love this little set up for children...a ladder with shelves, measurements taken on the side, white painted basket tucks neatly at the bottom...and all fits in nicely with an easel or chalkboard...and of course the blue denim cubed-ottoman is darlin', too! And all from PBK...as you might've guessed! And let us not grow weary... in doing good, for in due season, we shall reap... if we do not lose heart. So how could I...or better yet...should I stock my pantry? I've discovered Heidi Swanson's marvelous recipe blog on Amazon...after stumbling upon her new Super Natural Cooking: Five Ways To Incorporate Whole and Natural Ingredients into Your Cooking which is a cookbook garnering some appetizing reviews! In Ch. 1 Build a Natural Foods Pantry of her book she begins: The more I find out about Heidi Swanson, the more intriguing she becomes. She's started 101 Cookbooks.com she states as an attempt a few years ago to use the many recipes she already had on hand...as opposed to succumbing to the overwhelming temptation to buy the latest cookbook on the market. She's also an amazing food photographer providing all the photography herself. We don't have to buy her book, though, in order to treat ourselves to the massive abundance of recipes and her scrumptious photos that accompany them...she already has tons available online! I would be inclined to get the cookbook however, just based on this review by Cathe Olsen in regard to the manner in which Heidi formats this particular book. Evidently it's not just the standard cookbook fare as Cathe points out: Hello! My daughter and Anne of Green Gables welcome us to the beautiful shores of Prince Edward Island! And here's the cute front entrance where we begin our tour... The kitchen is darker than I would prefer for my own kitchen...but the perky pots of geraniums instantly reminded me of Anne... and the quaint old-fashioned charm of the rustic sideboard and table and chairs by the window offered a beguiling sort of comfort... We were limited, of course, as to how much we could actually wander about the old house but the whole area was roomier than I had imagined it would be. The tidy-sized stove I really adored...and it was totally in keeping with Green Gables: And this was the sideboard laden with a few of Marilla's brown 'everyday' dishes...as you might remember: So since 'everyday' it is at the moment, let's just see the utilitarian pantry room first. I hope you're taking notes like I am! I love the crockery, the wooden bowls, the basic shelving looks easy enough to accomplish...baskets....mmm, and a meat grinder on the end of the counter. A string strung up for dish towels to dry...and is that a dry rack against the wall...??? It can't be a ladder. Anyway, I see some big metal tubs, too. Oh! And a window at the back of this small room...very important feature! And now for the other pantry. Very pretty...not too fussy or fancy...and not too pretentious either! The plates and platters (can't help thinking of Anne falling through the roof while trying to replace a broken borrowed platter!) provide all the decor that's required...with the added touches of fruits and cheeses. A soft white linen towel hangs on the wall then wooden utensils and a rolling pin lay in a basket under the window. There's an elevated...not ostentatious...feeling about this small room that I long to capture. Oh this is perfect! I think I'm beginning to get the idea here! How about you? And I know you're just dying to see Anne's room, aren't you! I know I sure was when I was there! Would it live up to my expectations and envisions of Anne's little gabled room at the top of the stairs..?? Well, the above photo offers you a hint! I've been searching for information on how to set up a pantry...not just any pantry mind you. I actually prefer a pantry reminiscent of days gone by...like something my great-grandmother might have set up and kept stocked with fresh veggies from the garden...or that Laura Ingalls Wilder described in her glorious depiction of stacked drawers and bins Almanzo built for her as his new bride. However, I realize rather ruefully that my old-fashioned ideals are thoroughly tainted with present day depictions of pristine painted cupboards, matching knobs, and dressed up with high-dollar amenities too numerous to detail. As gorgeous and perfect as they are....well...they're just not what...hmmm, how do I put this? They just don't look quite like Grandma's would. I'm inching my way toward replenishing or replacing my store of dishcloths with ones that I've knitted. The task is long over due...I might add...and these knitted ones are always far superior... I saw some of these wonderful washcloths in neutral tones already knitted up and for sale by Mother Mabel's at the local Whole Foods and Uncle Dean's Good Groceries. They looked so earthy and wonderful alongside all those handmade soaps with goat's milk and dotted through with fresh herbs and oatmeal. I needed no more incentive or inspiration than that! The petticoat skirt with the lovely lace and trim that the yarns are nestled upon is one I found recently at the thrift store for the girls. Now if I can just find one like this for myself.... Can I tell you how much I adore those well-worn gathers and crumpled edges...?? I refuse to iron them out straight. And perhaps I'll add some soft blue, too. What do you think? I have my Grandma Cady's set of Blue Willow wedding china that's sitting in a box...patiently waiting to accent my future kitchen. Oh and do check out Mia's new blue and white tea towel quilt that she finished recently! You'll see what I mean about Vanilla and Blue! What kitchen is complete without some hint of Vanilla and Blue? xxx That's right..you got it! I just had to do it!! I realize that the high yesterday was a very warm and balmy 30 degrees outside...but it was very sunny...with a light breeze...OK, a very brisk wind....so I did it! I hung our bedding out on the line! I had to wear my gloves and earmuffs to do it...and snow boots. Like I said, thinsulate is my friend...it's my buddy...my pal...we're tight...we go everywhere together! : D So how do you know when it's actually dry??..one might ask...and that's a very good question. Well, if when you take your pillowcase off the line, it won't bend in certain places as you try to fold it into the basket...and your shams appear to be starched stiff to within an inch of their lives...then you know it's still wet. I believe the optimum word would be frozen, actually. Oh! But can I tell you how wonderful our beds felt last night..?? Can I even begin to describe the wispy fragrance of summertime that filled the entire bedroom..??? It was sheer heaven...sheer thoughts of leaves and green grass and wildflowers!! Do you ever find yourself saying this to your children? "It's OK...now just go and play"...and they run off chasing and squealing, smiles and laughter on their faces. And I watch them go...wondering why I don't just run out there with them...no cares, no worries, no saving the ills of society all by myself...no carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders...no fretting over what their future is going to look like...no spending hours filling out legislator's contact forms...all of whom may or may not read my thoughts and pleads. |
I've moved my blog to...
The Romantic Mom blog
The Romantic Mom
Let's Chat!
what else am I doing?
|