ACK! MOLT!

Voltron II has decided his old feathers must go. Unfortunately he was a major part of my entry to the CrossRoads of America Poultry Show in INDIANA~ dang dang dang. I would enter his brother ~ Henry ~ but Henry has been busy messin' around in the dirt and grass, breaking his beautiful foot feathering. I had put Voltron up off the ground on deep shavings (something I really really don't like doing...) in an effort to preserve those delicate feathers for this particular show. This show...It's a Big Deal. aw well.

I do still have a trio of the Calls going anyways.

Look how pretty we are staying!

We are hanging on to OUR feathers, why can't Voltron??

Molt Happens.... at seriously inopportune times.

Summer is done

The colors of Summer have faded..

To be replaced by the colors and tastes of Fall...

Loganberries ripening on a still warm afternoon

Juicy apples waiting to be picked

..and my arch-enemy, lessening in numbers in the garden.. ;)

Champions at Bearfoot Hollow :)

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Voltron II and his sister Aria both did really well at the Puyallup Fair.

He got Best FeatherLeg and Aria got Reserve FeatherLeg. I am really really pleased as this is the best win EVEH! :)

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Our Standard LightBrown Leghorn also did really well.. but she always does--coming from top lines here in the PNW. She is Son's 4H hen, we don't breed this type of chicken but she is always good for a visit to Champion Row for him. :) She is our one and only "big" chicken, so her name is Big Bird.

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I almost forgot to mention that the Butterscotch's did alright too :) One of the Junior girls (I didn't take a coop picture!) got Reserve Variety. So here is a Junior girl.. enjoying some sun. ;)

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It was also the first ever Tabletop Show for the Serama here in the Northwest. It was really fun, controlled chaos, as it was a first for everyone. Once we got going, everything went fabulous... Our Judge --Don Nelson, was very relaxed and super nice. He made it easy to come up to the table with our birds. :) Then, it was just like hanging out playing with our chickens with our chicken friends! Nothing like a little friendly competition amongst your buddies. Our Seramas didn't place, but it was still a great experience and I am looking forward to the Fall show in Stevenson, as that is the next Tabletop competition.

It's almost my turn! eee.. nervous!

Romeo REFUSED to stand on the carpet..he squatted down and wouldn't really move. Judge Don said to make sure to train him on GREEN CARPET! ;) TT's will ALWAYS use the green carpet.

a cute little frizzle--not ours

and a GORGEOUS boy --also not ours. I WISH!

Stop over at our Facebook photo album to see more pictures.. :)

Garlic!

The garlic I planted early this Spring was ready to harvest. I could tell because all of it's leaves had fallen over and were beginning to turn brown at the tips.

So, what to do with it? Braid it of course!

How does it go from this,

freshly picked

to this,

cured for about 3 weeks in the garage

And now

cleaned and ready to braid..

to finished....

It is actually not as intimidating as it looks, if I can do it--so can you! :) Mine is a very simple braid, some people braid colored ribbon and other goodies into it (like hot peppers, etc--you may have seen those at Pike's Place). This was my first attempt, so I kept it easy.

I started by gently cleaning the dirt, loose paper and leaves off, then trimmed the roots to look neat. I also dampened the dried and cured leaves in a moist (not soaking) towel, so they were nice and pliable, not so brittle. Don't soak them, you want them to dry quickly--no mold in your braid! It also helps to use a small bit of string or yarn to tie your very first 3 cloves together to hold them steady.. do this right at the top of the cloves, leaving the rest of the leaves loose for braiding. It will be hidden almost immediately as you start the braid.

Then you just braid! The only difference is that you will be adding a stalk at each OUTSIDE throw of your braid. It's a little like french braiding. When you reach the end of your garlic and want to finish the braid..use a piece of string to tie the braid together. Make a small loop with the string at the back of the braid so you can hang your artistry on the wall :)

I have not found ANY pictures that easily show how a braid is accomplished, but THIS VIDEO does a pretty fine job.