Over The Weekend

Good Tuesday morning! We are getting a break in the temperatures this week finally. It will ONLY be in the lower 90s. Okay, I will take it, its better than over a hundred degree temps. You can tell the chickens are feeling the break in temperatures as they are venturing further out for longer periods in the day.

Friday my friend Karen and her daughter Tiffany, also Shelbys friend, came for a visit. We had plans to go to Collinsville Trade Day in Alabama Saturday morning early, so we hit the sack early that night. Next morning we got out of the house and loaded up by about 6 a.m. I was ready this time. I had bungee cords, a cart and a crate for some lucky animal that would come home with us. I had on tennis shoes this time for the rough terrain at the flea market. I was ready. Except for the picky kid and the whiny kid we did alright. Picky kid, Tiffany, wanted Chick File for breakfast. Well, there is no Chick File between here and Collinsville. There was a Hardees....Nooo...dont like Hardees. There was a Burger King...noooo don't like Burger King. McDonalds...nope. So, my child is starving to death, ready to eat the leather off of the seats while picky eater keeps passing things up. Well guess what. We got all the way to Highway 11. I informed everyone we would be stopping at the American Cafe attached to the gas station. They served breakfast and we were gonna eat NOW. It was alright. It did its job, filled our stomaches and kept them from caving in and devouring themselves in desperation.

After some eggs, grits, and a biscuit we were off to the flea market. Going in I knew just where to park this time. I went all the way to the back so we could start with looking at all the farm animals. Unloading the cart, the crate, strapping the crate onto the cart and strapping down Karens purse and my purse with more bungee cords we were ready. Except my daughter slams the truck door into the truck next to us...as she LEAPS from the truck in terror...with this horrifying look on her face...oh yes, this was going to be FUN. A yellow jacket had gotten in the truck first thing. That meant the place was going to have yellow jackets everywhere. I thought they didnt show up til Fall? My daughter is allergic to bee stings, so she had every right to flee, but not at the cost of whamming my truck door into someone elses. Lucky for that truck it was old and had a fender guard on the wheel well.

So we started out going up and down aisles of animals. Goats, ducks, chickens, pigeons, dogs, puppies, turkeys, peafowl, guinea keets, guinea adults, quail, you name it, they had it. As we walked through, Karen noticed a lot of hispanic folks...and those folks seemed very interested in the chickens around there. Karen was horrified as she saw the hispanic men grabbing the big chickens up by their wings and pinning the wings behind the body, holding them up high, I guess to inspect them for their volume of meat on their bones. She asked why they were doing that and I told her. I told her that is just how it is. She wasnt too happy about the hunting dogs for sale in pens and cages...she said they seemed so sad. I told her a lot of the dogs sold here have purpose, they are sold to work. They are not treated as pets. There was one lady that had a great pyranese dog, and an older looked to be mix of great pyranese, smaller framed dog. She was giving the dog away because she was old and not handled, so she said. As we were leaving we happened to see a hispanic man leading the dog, well, dragging the dog away down the walkway. It was then I saw why she was getting rid of the dog. This poor dog had severe hip displasia. Bad enough that she really should have been put down rather than given away to just anyone. Karen was heartbroken for the dog. But you cant save the world. That is just life.

So back to our wanderings about the market. We drooled and gawked at the wonderful woodwork of rockers, tables and swings...moved on to some jewelry. Shelby ended up with some sterling silver earrings. One a spider web and the other was the spider, with a black onyx stone in the middle. Tiffany bought a ring. They also got some matching sunglasses along the way. We stopped for lemonade, really good lemonade I might add.

Now we had been walking around for a while. Remember Shelby has a foot ailment, so she was beginning to wear out. She was hot, she was tired, her hip hurt...whine whine whine. I asked Karen what time her phone read...she said it was 9:02. Hmmm...it sure did seem kind of hot for 9:02. I said we would head back soon, and we took a picnic table and rested for a bit with our lemonades. It dawned on me then. The time changed when we went over the state line. It was not 9...it was 10! Okay, we had been there long enough...no wonder it was already so crowded. I don't do crowds. Hate crowds. So we headed back to the truck. When we got to the parking area Karen noticed some hopping potato sacks by a truck. She had seen the hispanics stuffing chickens in sacks everywhere and knew what was in those hopping sacks. She made the suggestion that I should steal those poor chickens and rescue them from their fate. I shook my head. No, no...I am not going to steal those chickens. Those chickens are someones food, and that is just the way it is.

I used to think I could save the world, but over a period of years I have learned I cannot. My heart is a lot harder than hers nowadays. I do not take in strays and I do not rescue chickens that are destined for the stew pot. Its just the way things are in the country. People eat out of their back yard, and thats fine with me, as long as they dont eat out of MY back yard...unless I offer vegetables to them from the garden that is.

We got back home and had a nice nap that afternoon. Ian got home from work and the girls convinced him to go out with us to Stevie Bs pizza buffet. It is like CiCis pizza, except a LOT better. They have special pizzas...like BLT pizza, and loaded baked potato, mac and cheese pizza, tomato alfredo, cheeseburger with pickle pizza, good stuff. So you would think...but our picky eater did not like any of those new kinds of pizza, she didnt even like the pepperoni pizza because the pepperonis had pepper on them...so she found some that didnt have pepper on them. Want to guess what I was going to fix for supper? Home made pizza....pepperoni, ham, mushrooms if you like them, onions if you like them. GRRRRRRR...oh well.

I really had planned on having Sunday to ourselves, just Shelby, Ian and me. But it was not to be. The day was almost over by the time they left. I really did enjoy their visit...but I have so little time with Ian...Sunday is our day to be a family and spend time with each other. Which we will do next Sunday for sure...with no company.

Oh I totally left out what I got didnt I??? ;) Well...there was a man that had a chicken that caught my eye. It was a black, white crested polish rooster, well cockeral. He was still very young. He wanted ten, I said how bout 7, he said how bout 8. I said no and walked away. Next I was eyeballing a young turkey. Couldnt really decide...so I moved on down the line and there he was. I always know it when I see it. Kind of like you would see the perfect dress or perfect shoes, well I see the perfect chicken for me.

I may have mentioned before that I like the Silver Spangled Hamburgs. They have a very unusual comb and are very striking in black and white. Well I walked right up on a young cockeral of this breed and knew right then I had found who was coming home with me. The man took him out of the cage for me to hold. He was not unruly at all, not biting or kicking, very tolerant of me. I asked how much and he said he needed ten dollars for him. I said SOLD. Now you may be asking why I would pay ten for this bird but not for the other. Well, he just LOOKED worth it. The other one did not look worth ten. I will be trying to find him a couple of girls over the winter so I can breed them next Spring. I also think I want to show him this February, he is just that handsome. I had him named before I even got him in the crate strapped to the cart.

Everett is his name...now...I am not going to tell you where this name came from right now...I want you to guess. It is one of my favorite movies though...and just to give you one more hint...that Golden Laced Wyandotte cockeral I got for free with the layers back in the Spring, well his name is Pete...do you know where those names come from?

Here is Everett...

 

Muh hair...where is my Dapper Dan? I don't use FOP...I am a Dapper Dan man!

(Another hint as to where his name came from)