Thursday, August 19, 2010

Back To Mormalcy?

I love summer.  I think summer is the most wonderful time of the year.  Even from a kid I always enjoyed summer.  I was very close to my great aunt.  My great uncle passed away when I was four years old from cancer.  My aunt remarried and moved from New Jersey to Texas.  So from the ages of 8 to 18 I flew to Texas every summer to stay with her and her husband.  I've also spent summers working on fishing boats, playing football in the fields, building forts in the woods...you know, all that boy stuff boys do when they are young.  From the time I can remember, my summers have always been busy.  This summer, really, has been no exception.  It's been one thing after another. 

Of course, I was a pall bearer at my cousin's funeral last weekend.  That's not an activity anyone wants to attend during the summer, or any other time of the year for that matter.  My poor aunt told me that she was holding up okay, but the hard part was going to be after all the people were gone.  She has a 21 year old son with Down Syndrome.  Her son was her support line.  I told her that her other sons would help look after her, but she said it was different with Charley.  She said they looked after each other.  She's still gonna be in need of good thoughts and prayers.

My great aunt that moved to Texas is coming to visit next month.  They are on their was to visit friends in New York, but they are stopping by here in Greenville to give my mom a break.  She has been living with my other great aunt (sisters) who is 91 years old.  She has broken her hip twice and is not mentally or physically able to care for herself any longer.  I'm gonna try to take a day off to visit her for the weekend while she is here.

We are once again in possession of too many chickens.  We've had a good hatch or two this year, and we have lots of young chicks.  Since I am completely unable to sex a chicken at hatch I often wait to see if it's gonna be a cockrel or hen before getting rid of it.  I try to keep some of the hens to replace to older hens that are no longer laying.  The older hens end up in chicken and pastry like the one we had last night.  In fact, I'm having leftovers for lunch today.  My two biggest daddies are Perogi and Bucky.

That's Bucky on top.  He's my mixed bantam and Perogi on bottom.  He's RI Red, but I'm sure he's got something else in him because he's got a pea comb.  But I've got other daddies, too.  I've got a couple of silkie roosters that mated with white bantam hens.  So I've got some bantam chicks running around with feathered feet and five toes.  But I need to get rid of some of them, so I will be putting an ad in the Carolina Bargain Trader to sell some of them off.

Oh, I also got another pigeon chick born!  My white pair has laid on eggs three times this year to no avail.  Finally, yesterday, a single white chick hatched!  I'm so hoping it lives.  My black pair has hatched two chicks this year.  Four actually, but only one gets the needed attention, I guess.  So only two have survived.  She is now sitting on another egg or two.  Here's to hoping!

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Randy, I enjoyed reading your recollections of summer and the way in which one thought or idea sparks off another but was, of course, so sorry to learn of the recent death of your cousin. I do hope that your aunt will, with the support of you all, be able to come to terms with her son's death.

On the chicken front, all seems to be well!

Nekkid Chicken said...

Awe Hon, Some days in the summer I have barely time to breathe. It was my favorite season too as a child. Now I want winter because of the heat here in South Texas.

Take care,
Mal

Tracey said...

You've got a lot of cocks Randy! Hope they don't get sore....xxxxxxxxxx

BadPenny said...

Family wories are hard I know - wishing your Aunt will receive the help she needs.
I've come to hate the summer - roll on Autumn or Fall as you over the pond call it !

ted and bunny said...

just come over from Penny's...
..."I gotta tell ya. I'm not much into tai chi, but I love a good cuppa chai tea"...
I laughed so much I nearly wet myself (oops, am I allowed to say that to a stranger!)
xx

Becca's Dirt said...

I'm ready for some fall weather. This heat has been horrible this year. I guess near the end of summer and winter I am ready for a change. Sorry to hear about the family. I hate to deal with stuff like that. I find reasons not to go to the funeral home unless it is a close relative and even then. YUK but that is life. My mom and pop are getting rid of some of their chickens too.

Chicken Boys said...

Tracey, if they get sore, I'll just give them a good wack!

Ted and Bunny, glad for the visit. Hope you'll come again. You should go visit Tracey Crafty Scraps. She'll have you in stitches!

Becca, I was asked to be a pall bearer. We were close as children, but as adults we just didn't see or talk that much. He was a rather quiet and shy type, too. A break from the heat would be nice, but I don't want it cold either. I hate having to break chicken drinking water from ice. I can handle heat, but me and cold just don't mix well.

~Randy

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry to hear about your cousin.
It is so nice you have such nice memories of summer visits to your Great Aunt's home. The visits sound very special.

We have ended up with too many goats again around here and I keep putting off selling the extras.
Your roosters are looking sporty!
and the pigeons are cute. We used to raise pigeons years ago.
Good luck with the babies.

Have a great day.
Pam

Tracey said...

Bloody hell I had to re read wack several times!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LindaG said...

I wish I could take some of your chicks, but we can't have them here. :/
Did you know there is a yahoo group for NC poultry people, too? It's called ncpoultry2 and there might be people there that would buy your chicks, too. :)

LemonyRenee' said...

Nice to see you, Randy. Again, my sympathies to you and your family. I will keep you all in my prayers. I hope you do get to spend some time with your aunt as she passes through, that would be nice.

I envy you your baby pigeon! So ugly-cute! My pigeons sit on their eggs very seriously for a while and then I find them all pecked open and abandoned. It's not the worst thing since we are not allowed to have any more fowl on our land. (And I don't wanna hear about your chicken dinners!)

Have a good one!

Christine H. said...

Randy,

So sorry to hear about your cousin. It sounds like your family provides a lot of support to each other, so that's great...but what a sad event.

Christine

John Going Gently said...

oh the juggling ast of the rooster sexing!!!!!
I dont envy you randy!

~Kim at Golden Pines~ said...

I can see why your summers of past and present hold so many memories and emotions Randy. I'm so sorry about your cousin, and I do think it's a tribute to you and your family that you all pull together to support one another at life's most difficult times.

I continue to wish that I could have chickens...But I don't want to have to deal with an Achmed!
;-)

Jim said...

I'm with you Randy on the joys of summer. Love it too. Hang in there!
Jim

Gary said...

Randy, Sorry for the sad times you have had this summer. Hoping you have had more happy ones though. I am there with you on summer being busy and now we are getting ready to go into September, where did the summer go??? - G

Donna said...

Love the chickens! Bright colors!

I hope she has help with everything...it's So hard to loose a loved one...
(((HUG)))