Sally's GF3 thread

[Sally PB]

Of my 4 Bielefelders, 2 are more reddish, 2 are more grey/dun. Pip and Squeak are the grey/dun pair. It doesn't show as well in the photos. Of the two, Pip is more blonde. (If I type it with the "e" on the end, will that help ensure she's a pullet?)

This is Squeak. Her comb is noticeable too, though a little less than Pip's.

Here is a picture of the two of them; Pip is at the top of the picture, Squeak is at the bottom.

Pip (top), Squeak (bottom), and Sunny (left). Sunny has more red tones in her back feathers.

Not shown is Robin, who has more red tones than Sunny. Sunny and Robin have smaller combs than Pip and Squeak.

It seems that Pip and Squeak are from a different line... maybe? They are definitely getting more reddish tone to the feathers on their breasts than they had before.

Pip and Sunny seem to be my lap chickens. For a few minutes, though, all 5 of them were on my lap, including Button. They won't fit for too much longer, so I'll enjoy it while it lasts.

 

[aart]

Came across this pic today @Sally PB , shows 2 maybe 3 leaf sets gone.

 

[Sally PB]

Thanks, @aart! I think I'll dig one tomorrow to see how it looks. I think they're ready.

 

[Sally PB]

Tomorrow is my yearly physical. Yippee. I have to fast for the blood work, only 1 cup of black coffee allowed before the appointment. That's the worst part.

I always get the blood test results mailed to me, hard copy. I go through the numbers, panel by panel, with the help of a book, titled, Your Blood Never Lies, by James B. Lavalle. It has a lot more information than just the high, normal, low designations. It tells what might cause an out-of-optimal range reading.

Like something in my hepatic panel a couple years ago. It was a little bit high, but not high enough for the doc to flag. Still, it was an outlier for me. Turns out, Ibuprofen can cause that change, and I'd taken it the day before.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Tomorrow is my yearly physical. Yippee. I have to fast for the blood work, only 1 cup of black coffee allowed before the appointment. That's the worst part.

I always get the blood test results mailed to me, hard copy. I go through the numbers, panel by panel, with the help of a book, titled, Your Blood Never Lies, by James B. Lavalle. It has a lot more information than just the high, normal, low designations. It tells what might cause an out-of-optimal range reading.

Like something in my hepatic panel a couple years ago. It was a little bit high, but not high enough for the doc to flag. Still, it was an outlier for me. Turns out, Ibuprofen can cause that change, and I'd taken it the day before.

Hope you like your results.

 

[Sally PB]

Hope you like your results.

Thank you. My cholesterol has been rising a bit, but other than that, the numbers usually are very good. "Impressive" to a friend of mine who is a retired internist, anyway.

I know I am very, very lucky to be blessed with good health. It's up to me to take care of it.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I am also blessed to be in far better health than I have any right to be, though I can't pretend age hasn't had an effect on my resting heart rate and BP. I fear a complete blood panel at this point.

 

[Sally PB]

I fear a complete blood panel at this point.

There is a tiny little voice in my head that says, "Don't take anything for granted."

A dear friend of mine (young enough to be our daughter, so DH and I refer to her as such at times) got a diagnosis of lymphoma 2 years ago. 12 sessions of chemo and she's clear, but we all know it could come back.

My mom seemed to be in good health, then went downhill quickly and succumbed to Wegener's granulomatosis, which at the time, none of us had ever heard of.

I dread the curve ball that might have my name on it. But it might not be out there, either. Loss of mobility scares the crap out of me, but dementia scares me even more.

 

[Sally PB]

When I was out in the garden yesterday, I was patting my back about how clean the sweet potato bed looks. Today, it is almost covered with tiny little sprouts of purslane. Dang, they come up fast!

If I had to choose a "favorite" weed, it would probably be purslane. Yeah, it's ubiquitous, but it's low growing and helps shade the ground, conserving moisture and shading out other weeds. It's easy enough to pull up.

If you just hoe them down, you might not actually kill it, unless you remove the plant. The roots will find a way to grow, if they're covered up at all by dirt or a pile of other weeds. I was pulling up lots of weeds, tossing them into a pile to RIP (rot in place). The purslane that is on the top looks like it's trying it's best to grow again, thanks in part to the rain we had last night. I'll have to go out with a pitchfork and carry them off to the compost pile.

One last reason to like purslane: the stems, leaves and flowers are edible, either raw or cooked. It's high in omega-3 fatty acids (good), but also in oxalates (not good if you tend to form kidney stones).

 

[U_Stormcrow]

When I was out in the garden yesterday, I was patting my back about how clean the sweet potato bed looks. Today, it is almost covered with tiny little sprouts of purslane. Dang, they come up fast!

If I had to choose a "favorite" weed, it would probably be purslane. Yeah, it's ubiquitous, but it's low growing and helps shade the ground, conserving moisture and shading out other weeds. It's easy enough to pull up.

If you just hoe them down, you might not actually kill it, unless you remove the plant. The roots will find a way to grow, if they're covered up at all by dirt or a pile of other weeds. I was pulling up lots of weeds, tossing them into a pile to RIP (rot in place). The purslane that is on the top looks like it's trying it's best to grow again, thanks in part to the rain we had last night. I'll have to go out with a pitchfork and carry them off to the compost pile.

One last reason to like purslane: the stems, leaves and flowers are edible, either raw or cooked. It's high in omega-3 fatty acids (good), but also in oxalates (not good if you tend to form kidney stones).

throw it at your chickens. If they eat it, fine. if they don't? also fine.