Monday, July 26, 2010

Party Pics and Meet the Chicks

Simply White




Baloons



Clover and I had a fun day on Sunday at a birthday party in Howarth Park. A boy from her preschool turned four and all the kids got bracelets for unlimited access to the attractions.

Our day involved carousel rides, train rides, playing at the playground, eating chocolate cupcakes, watching/wincing through the mesh as my little girl braved the wild free-for-all that is the jumpy house, and her first real pony ride atop a gallant little steed called midnight. As you can see from the pics, cupcake face had a total blast.

Nothing new as far as the 100% thrifted outfit is concerned, but doesn’t Clover look adorable in the hand-made felt flower headband I received awhile back in a giveaway package from Andrea :D

We also went to this event on Saturday, but I still need to go through the way too many photos I took before I get a post together on that. For now, here’s a little chicken update:


After taking some outfit shots, I popped into the chicken coop with my camera to get some photos. They’ve been growing soooo fast! Not yet full-grown, but looking more like small chickens than big chicks at this point. They’re now happily living outside in their coop full-time.

I’ve discovered that chickens are harder to photograph than you might think. They’re all about fast jerky movements right when you go to snap a shot and the more chickens in the shot the more jerky movements to deal with! Trying to take a one handed photo of yourself holding a chicken adds a whole new layer of difficulty, but I did manage a couple :)

We haven’t totally settled on names yet, but I’ve tentatively given them each a different herbal moniker to go by. This one is our little sweetheart Chicory, the smallest and most easy going of the bunch, she’s usually more up for being handled than the others.

They’re all pretty good-natured though. We chose breeds with characteristics that would make good pets as well as be decent egg producers. Chicory seems to me especially “cuddly” for a chicken though. She’s a Speckled Sussex as is the larger and considerably more comb and wattle-endowed Sassafras, below.

Actually, even though there hasn’t been any official crowing yet, we’re pretty sure we’ve got ourselves a rooster here. They sex the chicks at birth, but apparently it’s not foolproof and a small percentage do turn out to be roosters.

Sadly, we can’t keep a rooster, so Sassafras will most likely soon be returning to the feedstore where they buy them back to resell. The name was chosen early on, due to a “sassy” personality, which as it turns out, is probably just rooster-y. I wish we could keep him around though, he’s a gorgeous bird and super friendly and curious with us.

Last but not least, these gals are our lovely Silver-laced Wyandottes and they‘re very much a pair. I’ve been calling them Hazel and Nettle (a little herbal play on Hansel and Gretel, though luckily they appear to both be female as expected).

These days, it’s getting increasingly difficult to distinguish Hazel from Nettle. They’re looking more and more alike as they mature and their temperaments are so very similar too. This breed is particularly striking when full grown, so I‘m looking forward to seeing them eventually transform into this.

We're finding the chickens totally fun to have around. I love just watching them and how they interact, getting to know each one, and we’re REALLY looking forward to about four months from now when the eggs should start flowing, woohoo!

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

So much cuteness! Bouncy balls and ponies? Hurrah!

And the chickens look just lovely. And so calm in your arms!

Karen/Small Earth Vintage said...

I love the photo of Clover behind the other little girl, scoping out her cupcake--and then Clover with the cupcake face. Talk about total happiness!

And also really enjoyed the introduction to your chickens. I think you have given them the perfect names. They are really sweet-looking birds. Here's to lots of eggs!

ELM said...

I've been thinking about having chickens as pets ever since a friend of mine in high school had a hobby of raising exotic chickens in his back yard. Unfortunately, that was a short-lived hobby, as a fox wreaked havoc on them...

But curious, why can't you keep the rooster?

Alexa said...

I love a carousel ride, can't wait to take Lena on one.

Yea Sassafras and Chicory! And how great it will be to have eggs from your backyard!

Courtney said...

Clover looks like such a happy happy girl! She looks positively jubilant to be aboard Midnight. I'm so excited for you and your chickens. They look like so much fun, and the eggs will be so yummy.

moonshinejunkyard said...

awwww, what a fun party! it's true, clover always seems to be positively sparkling with happy energy. and i LOVE your chickens, they are beautiful and the image in my mind of you dashing after them trying to photograph them is totally hilarious and endearing. great job on the photos and names. what lovely babes, and i soooo wish you could keep the rooster, he's lovely. actually i kinda wish i could have him, mister sassafras looks like a real gent.

Violet Folklore said...

Oh the names are fabulous! Isn't naming things just so satisfying? I heart Hazel and Nettle.

What we four say said...

You are lucky to be able to keep chickens, they are so precious. But then again, so are you and "cupcake face" :)

Missa said...

Elissa: We can't keep one due to zoning laws and the noise factor, which makes sense as we live in a residential neighborhood. I'm sure we have neighbors who wouldn't be too stoked on crowing every morning at the crack of dawn ;)

sally said...

wow, such cute party pics! pony rides were the best when i was tiny! also, one of my favorite kid books was about these mice and all the baby mice were named after spices: parsely, sage, nutmeg, rosemary, etc -- i've always wanted to name things after spices because of them and thus LOVE your chicken names! inspired!

Milla said...

I love the chickens, they're so cute. Oh I miss my chickens. As soon as March rolls around I be getting some. These guys are really cute, I love the more exotic brands, but sadly they don't fare well here in the cold far north (lol). Last winter Charlie's boss' fancy bantam keeled over from sheer cold during a frosty snap. Literally. He just fell off the roost. So it's ordinary chickens around here.

The only thing cuter than a chicken (or my kitten obviously) is Clover, oh my Goddess! She's a wild one. I love the pony ride and the sugar-tinged giggle-face, oggling a second helping of cupcake. Girl knows how to have fun!

I love your floral garden pictures, you look so ethereal.

Teeny said...

Wonderful names for your chickens, and such lovely outfits for you and your sproglet.I love how you have belted that top in over your skirt. Magic!

Aya Smith said...

Oh my, Clover is getting so big!! SO cute :)

I know I already said it, but this is a beautiful outfit, and you look simply gorgeous! (I love you in white)

Love,
Aya of Strawberry Koi

flaming hag folkwear said...

those party photos are terrific, so cute.
and i love the chicken names, too, and they're so big already!
the photos they have on the rivertown revival are so much fun, i look forward to seeing yours of the real thing.

Andrea said...

The chickens look very cute! It will be great when they start laying eggs - free range definitely taste the best :)

Hannah said...

You look so lovely and elegant. Your skin looks so perfectly sun-kissed too! I hope when I go on holiday in a few weeks I'll come back looking the same because right now I'm pale as anything! We recently got chickens too! We adopted them because they won't being looked after very well and now we have fresh eggs every morning!

Victoria / Justice Pirate said...

I really love all of your phtoos and how you bring your personal joy through what you write about what is happening in the pictures. That outfit is gorgeous too!

chloeraub said...

What a delightful little cupcake face! Love that headband. And still totally envious of your chickens - one of these days I'll have my own! Those are especially good looking little chicks :).
Thanks so much for stopping by - I know, I love that there are folks out there who can post outfits every day, but woah, can't imagine where they find the time. xo

Ginela Gonzalez said...

Missa thanks so very much for following my blog! I went head over heals in merriment when I saw you one there. Sorry I'm hardly computer savy, so I had no idea I had subscribers! Gonna have to check that out. Thanks for reading me all along, I'm so lucky to have you dig my blog. Yaaay I'm so happy!

Clover looks like she's having so much fun like always. But oh man what's not to have fun when you get to wear the cutest little head band and eat cupcakes all day? HAha lovely. Missa your red flowers are gonna have me drooling pretty soon. Such beauties! You have the jolliest garden ever.
I bid you good luck with your chickens, they probably love having such an amazing family to live along with!!
Cheers! Peace and love!
- Ginela

Lisa said...

Love your flowy white outfit, so pretty and Clover is looking as cute as ever! Your chickens are beautiful, congrats.

Marta said...

such adorable photos!

menina raposa said...

sweetest post ever!
xx

Cadmium said...

i love your outfit - so perfectly summery. what a fun day! clover is adorable.

Tera said...

Chickhood goes so fast {sigh}. Yes photographing chickens is part luck and part art. They do move uber fast.