The chicks came

 on Tuesday afternoon.  16 mixed beauties.  The peeping so loud that I could hear them when I walked into the main post office for pickup.  Two have a leg issue each (tendon I believe for one, probably the same for the other).  Legs are massaged and are wrapped.  I think that both will be lame but they are otherwise healthy so we are taking a wait and see attitude.

 They are full of life and so cute.  We have Silver Spangled Hamburgs, Rhode Island Reds, Buff Orphintons, Araucana/Americanas, Black Australorps, 1 Blue Lace Wyandotte and a Free Exotic
chick :-).  They were inoculated for coccidosis before shipping so they are on unmedicated food and for a few days were on a lightly sugared water.  The two with leg issues are on poly vi sol vitamins.  (without iron).

                                
Making sure the pool is covered properly with wood chips is also necessary so that we don't have more leg issues.  They like to move it around though.

McDonalds - Italian Style

Yes, it was served on china.

Paris or Venice

It's hard to say that I like one city over the other knowing the ire that I could face from the opposing side.
But I have to pick Venice over Paris.

It has nothing to do with the art which is fabulous in both cities though different.  Paris (as a city) seems to be  monochromatic while Venice is more individualistic.

Paris

Venice

Paris reminds me of Manhattan while Venice seems to have more of the small town feel once you get away from St. Marks Square.   Walking in Venice you always see a delivery guy.  Two ladies arm in arm out for a stroll or a visit to the market are a common site also.  Sitting in the cafe, eating a brioche with a cup of coffee, you can watch the locals come in to say hi to their friends and eat something standing at the counter (I always thought that each meal was a celebration in Europe but many people eat - at least breakfast in a hurry, while standing up at the counter, and with a quick "Ciao" they are off to their destinations.)

Gran Cafe, Venice, Italy August 2013

30 years

30 years ago today.  

Tonight there will be pizza to celebrate!  But then it was carrot cake.

What kind of cake did you have?  And feel free to include any particulars.

The Eiffel Tower --- at Night

I had made adventurous plans for our first night in Paris.  There were to be fireworks at Versailles and though the logistics were a bit complicated it looked like it might work.  That was until we found out that the major train to get there had cancelled part of it's route and there involved a bus and it turned out to be more than we felt that we could handle as first time visitors.

 So what to do.  We turned to the list that I had made of things to see and when items were closed.  Seeing the Eiffel Tower at night came up and was doable.  We got there before dusk to see picnics set up with families, friends or lovers on the green space next to the tower itself.

 And when it got dark enough, the lights came on.  The collective gasp from onlookers was priceless.

 The workmanship on the tower is amazing.  We waited a few days and then took a hike up.

More to come.

Chicken Hatching - 3rd incubation

**What I did worked for me but may not work for you.  I'm not an expert.

The first incubation went well.  6 of 7 hatched.  The 7th one got a beak through the shell and then did not make any more progress and died.  Wanting to know why I took the shell apart a few days later and saw a fully formed, large chick inside.  I read up chick in shell death and one article mentioned that large chicks may have a problem getting out of the shells.  It is easier for a small chick to get out.

The second hatch also went well.  Until the 5th chick tried to hatch.  It got it's beak through but that was all.  I waited until about 10 -12 hours later and still had a peeping but no further movement in the shell coming apart so I picked up the shell and started to dismantle the shell.  Carefully.  Pieces came off but the membrane stayed intact.  After awhile I pinched the membrane open (scared the chick) and left it in the incubator.  Within a matter of minutes the chick was out.  Eggs 6 and 7 were not fertilized which is why they did not hatch.  (I'm not good at candling).  

We are towards the end of the third hatch.  Egg #6 had issues.  Part of the shell came off but the membrane was intact.  So I waited.  About 14 hours later still no progress but the chick was peeping.  I started the dismantling process.  But this time there was blood (from the membrane I later found out).  So every time the egg started to bleed I put it back into the incubator.  I also wet the membrane with a slightly damp paper towel so the membrane didn't harden.  I kept this up for awhile and eventually had to open the membrane.  A chick slid out and laid there.  But it was breathing.  So I left it in the incubator.  About 3 to 4 hours later it was walking around and I cleaned off the blood (so the other chicks would not peck at it) and put it in with it's siblings.  The chick is the one on the bottom left.  It is walking around fine, chirping, eating and drinking.

**When it came out of the shell it's head was tucked inside in a way that it never could have reached the membrane to break it

Egg 7 might be another dud.