More reader photos:
Eddie loves blueberries!
The Warrens took a trip to Norway:
Reader Quilts
I have a question for chicken owners: how do you treat for mites, lice and parasites? A feed supplement? Which one?
Good Night!
Sunday Night, 8-18-24
Country Threads Chicken Scratch
Farm life
Hi Mary….I saw the message about chickens at the bottom of your post. I use Diatomaceous Earth sprinkled into their grain every few days. Not tons of it, just a sprinkle, but I only have 6 chickens now. I also add Bragg’s organic apple cider vinegar to their water every few days. Just a splash will do. These two things seem to keep them very healthy, along with one slice of wheat bread every day or a wheat tortilla. This keeps them laying well. I do not add light in the winter, so they do give up laying in Oct. through Feb. Store bought then….Ugh.
It’s a great to see the pictures from Norway. Beautiful flowers.
Love the quilt show from your amazing readers. Very productive group.
Good discussion about the irons. I don’t like to put water in mine, either.
I love to read all the comments. Hope Elaine Anderson is able to recuperate. Prayers.
Hi Mary…to comment on Irons…I have an Oliso that I don’t really like. It is heavy and the lift legs just mess-up with my way of using an iron. I bought a Black/Decker for around $40. that is much lighter to lift and a good bottom plate. If I had known about replacing the cord in my first original iron that never actually quit then I would have done that. In comments I see many buy iron at a thrift store but none are near me. In reference to the nice wing back chairs from thrift stores even if available would cost much more here. Today should reach 105 in temp here. I see all the lovely flowers in the blog, sewing rooms, animals, etc and say Thank You for All Your Efforts and Be Well Soon.
Good morning. Love the pictures of Norway, quilts, and sewing rooms. I did purchase an Aliso iron. It was quite cheap one time. I won’t buy another one as my cord keeps catching in the lift up legs area. (I also have a wire to hang the cord on to keep it up, but doesn’t help.) Was concerned for the Fever team there
for a while. Boy, they couldn’t hit a basket if they wanted to early on. The 4th quarter was great. Caitlin
broke the assist’s record now.
Wow, Norway looks beautiful! And Barbara, you have been a busy lady! Sunflower’s sewing studio is very inviting! As Martha W in WY suggests, that comfy chair would be a great place to hide! Haha! As far as chickens, I’ve used Diatomaceous (sp) earth to dust under wings and I add it to the areas that they roll around in on the ground but it has to stay dry in order to work. So I put it in their favorite dust bath area under their coop (our coop is raised off the ground). I have read that DE isn’t good for them (or us) to breath, though. So I try to use it sparingly and let it settle before letting them near those areas. I haven’t really treated for internal parasites. I’m going to come back later and see what other people suggest. Good question! Jan in MA
Nice pictures to enjoy seeing this morning. Still love seeing everyone’s sewing rooms and projects. Blueberries are winding down here – just paid $3.50 for a quart. Honey Crisp apples and Paula Reds are now available so we brought home fresh picked off trees this weekend.
Covid is rearing it’s ugly head around our parts. We had a family gathering this last weekend and were minus 2 family members due to it. I am so thankful my family is kind enough to think of not passing it on by testing and remaining home even if it means giving up concert tickets or a party to not spread it to someone who it could potentially pose life changing risks to if they are in cancer treatments or elderly with breathing issues. I am picking up a testing kit next time grocery shopping so I have one around this fall due to its rise here.
I would show someone else the same respect I deserve.
Cooler day here so staying inside to clean my sewing room up as I have a cute pumpkin quilt pattern I want to make for fall and I like to see it more organized than it has looked lately in there. Just like back to school, I like my supplies in order to see and use efficiently. I am also pulling out a UFO maple leaf pattern that was on my DD list for those years as it’s fall colors so time to get it done for a throw size to use at our camp during campfires or rides around in the golf cart. I want to see my quilts enjoyed now while I’m alive.
Kathy,
Our local public library has covid kits for free if you ask at the adult library desk. Worth a phone call to your closest library to see if they also offer this community service.
Thanks Sunflower for this suggestion. I will do that tomorrow . I’m pretty lucky to have our town public library right within walking distance for me. I have a nice list too of books to look for with the darker evenings ahead. Our medical insurance also lets us select $50 worth of supplies each quarter for free so I have enough hand rail bars installed here, allergy meds, antibiotic ointment and bandages so will order Covid kits for winter there too. We’re all active with so much now that it’s inevitable we’ll need to stay on top of it with my husband having a weakened immune system since stroke and A Fib. His cardioversion did not work and they won’t try again till necessary. Thanks again as I didn’t know libraries might still have them.
Kathy in NY – hey, Kathy – my old golf cart died again – $1500-2000 to fix it but I’m going to do it because I feel a real kinship to that old cart and we’re both survivors!
Ohhhhh NOOOO. What is a mechanic going to replace or do to make it run again? My husband put in a new carburetor, fuel pump, 2 new belts, and gas filters for $50. It’s still slow and putters along but we won’t buy another one yet either cause he bonds with ours too!
Kathy – Rick replaced both fuel pumps and several other things but I guess we blew it up trying to get it to run and it kept backfiring. Ugh. Doesn’t matter – I need it and if they can keep it running I’ll pay the bill. I’m using the spare cart now but I have a real fondness for my old one.
Kathy – we blew a seal in the motor. They have to pull the motor and rebuild it. Tell your hubby.
I have a hard time catching my chickens in order to dust them but I do put DE (diatomaceous earth) in the coop and nesting boxes and in their dust baths. I also put dried herbs in the coop. Whatever I have on hand..lemon balm, tarragon, mint, lavender.
My son has chickens and he using a powder that he puts on his chickens. I don’t know the name but he gets it at Tractor Supply in our area. Works well
Hi Mary, fancy the dog eating blueberries! Bella is wanting to eat the same as me at present, so l give her little bits in her bowl, no onions though! I have been watching videos from the last homely house recently, she quilts etc, l now have iron envy, she has a olino iron that lifts up when she puts it down on the ironing board, what do your readers think of them?Take care everyone, best wishes from Sandy
Sandy, I do appreciate how easy my olisio iron is by just setting it down and the legs life up. Not sure if I would pay the dollars now to replace it as I picked up some older irons a couple years ago from a Ronald Macdonald home fundraiser that stay on rather than auto shut off which I like now.
Sandy, I do not have an Oliso iron, but have read mixed reviews on them. They are quite expensive and if you get one, it may last longer if you do not use it with water. I personally think the least expensive irons are the best, like Black and Decker. They last long and if they break, you are not out a bunch of money.
I am a huge fan of The Last Homely House and Kate Jackson’s other site, The Last Homely Garden. She is so down to earth and such a lovely woman, just like our Mary here on Chicken Scratch. I have followed both for years and feel like they are both friends, though I have not meet either.
Sue in PA – very kind of you to say – living in the Midwest all my life keeps me pretty grounded. Haha!!
Hi Sue,
I like watching Last Homely House as well. Have you seen any of the videos presented by k3n?
Here is one on Mola inspired work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXGJfHXgMpM. My favorite so far is the one she did on Kawandi.
Hi Sandy,
The Oliso iron I ordered over a couple of years ago had an acrid odor to it that would not diminish. I picked up a $40 Black and Decker because it had a switch to turn off the Auto Shut Off. Right now I am using a Hamilton Beach that that is unplugged when not in use. i keep thinking that it will heat up if it tips over by accident even if the dial is turned off. What an odd way to look at it, no?
Beautiful quilts tonight and gorgeous scenery and flowers. Thanks for sharing all the photos. My daughter in ND has a few chickens. I don’t recall her saying that she’s had to treat the chickens for mites or lice. Now the kids are a different matter. The kids go to school on an Indian reservation and the they get lice a couple of times a school year. I’ll ask about a chicken supplement, too. I think she just feeds them regular chicken feed and oyster shells.
In some of the sewing room photos, I’ve noticed a recliner or comfy chair the sewing room. Are they for taking a break, reading, hand sewing, for the hubby or hiding from him?
what lovely photos from norway. thanks so much for sharing them. the quilts and sewing areas are wonderful. always love seeing them.
spent tonight reviewing comments from the last several days. so much information. now i’m going to bed. see everyone tomorrow. hugs, to all. patti in florida
I forgot to say Norway looks amazing. Hope I can go there one day. Like watching the quilt show. Haven’t been quilting lately but attending a retreat in the 3rd week of September so I will get stuff done.
My husband picked five pounds of blueberries for us. Eddy just got a few before we stopped him. He just loves blueberries and raspberries. He even picks the raspberries off our bushes if they grow over the fence and he can reach them.
Teresa – how old is Eddie? I see his muzzle is getting gray.
Hi Mary, Eddy just turned three. He is a golden doodle that both parents were white yet all the babies were born with black coats and some grey. Eddy always had a grey band across his chest between his front legs, grey on his legs and on his bum, some grey on his face but our favourite is his grey eyebrows. In the past year he’s gotten more grey on his face and more grey and white on his legs.
Teresa – oh, so his gray hair isn’t a sign of old age!! Haha – my mistake! He looks like a sweetheart!
Hi Mary, I really don’t have any expertise on chickens. However I remember my friend who had chickens saying she had to dust them with a powder. It didn’t sound like fun. You certainly don’t want to breathe in any of that.
The Fever did it again. They won another game from a tougher? Team. Caitlin had a hard time finding her 3 pointer but she does everything else. I didn’t know how it would end because Seattle was really on in the first half
That is a lot of blueberries. Hope Eddie doesn’t eat all of them at once. It might cause a problem.
Wow, what beautiful scenery from Norway. What a trip, and beautiful flowers.
Love the quilts and more busy quilting spaces.
In regards to black bears-yes they will eat small mammals and carrion I believe. They love fruit and bird seed apparently.
Goodnight.
Pat in Md