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.  

14 years apart and good friends

Sport and Watson have become friends, good friends actually.  Lots of play which largely involves Watson running and Sport reaching out a paw to snag him.  Sometimes there is wrestling and belly biting.

Watson is highly interested in food and would like us to share our dinner with him but we are not as tolerate as Sport is.  Even though he has doubled in size he can still fit under the sofa with ease.

Watson

You wake up on a Wednesday morning, thinking about having 2 days left of summer camp left to teach, and little do you know that by noon you will have a Watson in your life.

Some teachers down the hall from me heard a kitten meowing during the camp morning and looked outside to find this little guy.  No one wanted to take him home, so after calling Dale at work I put him in a box and he was ours!  A vet visit Thursday afternoon gave us the all clear health wise.  Watson is between 5 and 6 weeks old and weighs 1 lb.  He is energetic, likes to snuggle (for short periods of time - there is too much to see to be still for long) and has a lovely purr.

Snoopy is in love.  Between the kitten and 5 new chicks he could not be happier.  The rest of the pets are either peeved or indifferent.

Happy Mother's Day!

Yesterday the baby chicks started to break through the eggs into the big world.  Today they all hatched.

 A lot of work

for a little one and sadly one did not make it (after making the initial hole).  One had to be

helped a little this afternoon and now is in the brooder box with it's siblings.

6 babies.  Warm and safe.  It was a great experience and one that we will try

again later in the summer.  These chickens are destined for a friend who is married

to a guy who is an ex butcher.  A barter for lessons in processing.

But right now they are adorable.  Snoopy hangs about the closed bathroom door like

he is the proud papa and not the rooster who has been strutting around guarding his

ladies and telling us all about it at 6am.