As of today, I’ve lived in Alabama for 13 years.
(Feels like 30.)
That’s over 31% of my life! Still doesn’t make me a Southern Belle, though, does it? Damn Yankee that I am, adding vegetables to the chicken and dumplings and preferring sweet cornbread to the regular stuff and unable to stand the taste of good ol’ iced tea.
Another 13 years, maybe I’ll take up tea drinking and swanning about with big Southern hair.
(Probably not, though.)
So, the newish song by Katy Perry (aka Zooey Deschanel’s doppleganger) with the line “That’s what you get for waking up in Vegas.”
Did anyone hear “That’s what you get for waking up the baby” the first thirteen times they heard the song, or was it just me?
We watched I Love You, Man the other night, and I have to say that it made me laugh out loud several times. The best part of the movie, though, is the gag reel. Paul Rudd and that chair, man. He cracks me UP.
I adore Jason Segel. I can’t wait for How I Met Your Mother to start up again in the Fall.
And speaking of TV shows, I’m a little embarrassed to admit it, but in the desert wasteland that is summer TV, we’ve been taping and watching Two and a Half Men, and man. That show makes me laugh my ASS off.
Shaddup.
Scenes from around Crooked Acres.
Spider web on the rearview mirror (don’t know where the spider was, though).
Copper Marans rooster. Check out his fancy feathered feet!
We’re pretty sure this is a Silver Speckled Hamburg. I think she’s shaped like a pigeon. We moved her out to the big chicken yard, but she was so persistent in escaping that yard and hanging around outside the maternity yard that we let her stay there – at least for the time being.
Muppet Momma and her babies.
Roosters always have somethin’ to say.
Young chickens, dust-bathing. Don’t they look guilty?
We call this chicken “One Eye” because, well, she only has one functioning eye (the other eye exists, she just can’t see out of it). She’s a good momma, and this is her second set of babies this year. Buff Orpingtons go broody at the drop of a hat, it seems.
The Maestro, before his hair cut.
And after.
This is the “broody breaker.” When a hen goes broody (ie, wants to sit on and hatch eggs), we put her in the cage for a day or so. Because she can’t get warmth underneath her, eventually the broodiness goes away. That’s the theory, anyway – if they’re still broody after a couple of days, we give up and let them sit on eggs. Basically, they can BE mothers, they just have to want it badly enough. (That black hen on top of the broody breaker is just checking things out – she’s not actually in that trap, she’s behind it. Fred put the trap up there to discourage the chickens from hanging out on top of the broody breaker, but sometimes they’re determined.)
The kittens are now meeting me at the door. I guess they’ve learned the sounds that mean I’m walking down the hallway to their room, and there’s always at least four of them sitting there peering up at me when I open the door.
The other trick they’ve learned? Climbing up the back of my shirt to perch on my shoulder. Only Sam does it regularly, but every once in a while one of the other kittens will see him doing it and think “Hey! I can do that too!” and join him in the climbing.
It hurts to feel their needle-sharp little claws sink into the skin of my back, but they’re SO proud of themselves when they get to my shoulder that it’s pretty much worth the pain.
I have fallen head over heels for these little monkeys. I always do.
How can you not love that sweet little face?
Sweet Bill.
What I’m beginning to think is that Sam just likes to sleep with his elbow propped up.
Terry. Oh, how I have to fight not to squeeze the stuffin’ out of this little guy!
The will to live has been sapped from poor sad Suggie. But keep in mind that when the collars are finally removed for good, he will be SO overjoyed that he’ll be bouncing off the walls (literally) for weeks and weeks. Don’t feel too sorry for him – he spends his days stretched across my desk. When I sit down at my computer, he creeps closer and closer until I scratch his neck, then he lays there and purrs and purrs. It’s a rough life.
Previously
2008: In lieu of a real entry today, sights and scenes from around Crooked Acres.
2007: “It’s not a tumah,” he said, as is standard.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
2004: Give me time, I’ll have fifteen different versions of “Xanadu” in my music folder.
2003: MY ARM HURTS.
2002: I think no one ever told Billy Bob that if you ANNOUNCE you’re taking the high road, then you aren’t taking it.
2001: No entry.
2000: No entry.
Will the kittens always have squinty eyes? or is that a residual effect from the eye goopiness? However, it does add a certain charm to them.
That Sam is too gorgeous! Could I adopt him and you keep him for me since I am allergic? Pleeeeeeez
When I look at that spider web, I see one little leg waving from the top of the mirror, hehe, at least I like to *think* it’s the spidey waving at you. And Jason Segel? Aw yeah, whatta teddy bear. Delish.
Yeah, I watch Two and a half Men. I should hate it but it is damn funny so there. Plus, I love me some Charlie Sheen. Love the bad boys I guess. Dave was laughing his ass off at it on Monday while I was catching up on Design Star.
No need to be embarrassed. Two and a Half Men is one funny show! Immature humor, but hey what could be funnier than that?
No, you should be embarrassed of Two and Half Men. Go ahead.
That rooster with the fancy feet looks like a rock star to me…like Steven Tyler.
I have a chicken question please. With larger livestock, manure is always an issue. My sister has horses and “shit shoveling” is just one more routine chore around the farm. What about chicken shit? Does it have to be cleaned up? Or does it just lay there and degrade? Does it build up? Thanks!
Given that the majority of your wildly adorable group of fosters (and I’m more than happy to join you in the squeezin’ of the stuffins) have some sort of physical issue, is it possible they might be the result of… um… how to say this delicately? An “unwholesome familial relationship” perhaps? Is anything about their parentage known?
And give the Cat of Great Unhappiness and Woe some extra lovin’ from his fan in Houston, please. 😉
I love two and a half men. I know, I sort of feel guilty too!
What? Southerners don’t put veggies in their chicken and dumplings? Guess that makes me a yankee too, as I’ve always put carrots, onion and sometimes celery in mine. I wonder it’s a Betty Crocker thing.
Hey Robin, where did you end up finding your ceiling swag lamp you mentioned yesterday? I’ve been looking for something like that for a while now, and a google search didn’t yield anything as inexpensive as you mentioned.
God. Sorry I spelled your name wrong. Need more coffee, obviously. 🙂
We watch Two and a Half Men and laugh our asses off too. And Charlie Sheen…mmmmm…don’t know what it is lol
Thanks for those funny pictures! Makes me want a farm….almost! Great hair-dos!
Robyn-Have you and Fred ever watched the series Freaks and Geeks? Jason Segel is one of the stars, and it was such a great show. This is one of my favorite DVD series ever!
Question: Does Mr. Wonky Paws (Terry) have 4 toes and a dew claw or 5 toes and a dew claw? If it’s the later, he is polydactyl and that’s just plain cool. I always wanted a polydactyl kitty – I was a “polydactyl” baby. I had 6 fingers in each hand when I was born. In humans isn’t not called polydactyl, but I want to be just like a cat so call me Ms. Polydactyl.
V
That 8th chicken picture is just gorgeous, and if you put veggies in your chicken and dumplings it just became chicken soup! HEH! Noone I know puts anything in their chicken and dumplings that I know of.
No shame in watching 2 1/2 Men…it’s the best show on tv!!!
Know I’m a yankee ’cause I’m thinking-isn’t all cornbread sweet? Probably why I like it. I guess it’s not so sweet in the South? Seems odd because it seems like a lot of southern things are-like sweet tea. Do people ever make thier sweet tea w/splenda? Not the biggest sweet tea fan either. I like it made w/mint herbal tea and add splenda at the beginning. Happy 13 years Robyn. Was the temperature change Maine to Alabama in August a shock?
Hey Robyn. I feel your pain with the back-climbing kitten torture. My little monkey Sammich took great pleasure out of jumping onto, or climbing up or just launching himself at my back.Once he made it to my shoulders he would lay there and purr and purr and purr. My co-workers joked about my wild sex life, judging from the claw marks all down my back and shoulders. If only my life was HALF that exciting!
…All righty then… My Mama was a born Southern Belle-in Powderly Alabama- and always put sugar AND black pepper in her cornbread(cooked in a cast iron skillet coated with bacon grease). And cooked her chicken and dumplins with cut onions and celery. She also prefered iced coffee… Sigh… miss her… And her big hair !!!
xoxo
I love Two and a Half men too, the banter is grand. Great chemistry with the cast,for sure =)
I have that same spiderweb/mirror thing, and one day I saw the spider poke his little head out from BEHIND THE MIRROR. So I think he lives back there. I just take down the web every day and figure one day he’ll just die of starvation. 🙁 SAD BUT TRUE.
Do you realize you and Fred have the perfect life ~ the “American Dream”? You are luckiy in love, staying home taking care of the homefront, the garden, the kitties, the cooking, the internet writing – as you happily make your way through the day. While your brilliant husband makes enough for you and him to live moderately and creatively and happily! Congrats and thanks for sharing with us and letting me dream of what you do!