Bird Pics

I know it's been a while since I've posted photos of the birds, and you all must all be suffering horribly from withdrawals! Well, shudder and vomit no more*, the bird photos have returned.

* That's my best guess at what is involved with withdrawals - shaking and puking. Yay? Nay?

Clara

Rosa

Polly Wolly Doodle

Blossom

Tinkerbell

Which, if any, of these photos do you think are worthy of turning into a painting? Please help me decide!

Scenes from the barnyard...

Spring is in the air... and so is avian testosterone, apparently. About a week ago, Mallow the duck suddenly decided that he could take on Chuck Norris the rooster. This has proved to be problematic, resulting in a bloodied duck who can't seem to figure out that a duck picking a fight with a rooster is like bringing a spoon to a knife fight. So poor Mallow has been in confinement for about a week. Every day we let him out to see if he can behave, but he heads straight for Chuck with a narrow-eyed determination, so we have to put him right back in to keep him safe. Here, you can see him shooting eye-daggers at Chuck as he swaggers by the pen -


Silly duck. Next in line - chicken butts! What is it about chicken butts that holds me so entranced? It's one of life's great mysteries.


And here we have lovely, lovely Tinkerbell soaking up the sunshine on this rare, warm day.


And finally, goofy Blossom...


Hope you are all enjoying your day!

February Jewelry For Charity Recap and March Kick-Off

I'm thrilled to report that February was my best sales month yet, which makes me extra happy because it means I get to send a whopping $630.00 to help the amazing creatures at Animal Place! Thanks to everyone who patronized my bead shop and my jewelry shop during the month of February - your purchases really do add up to help animals.


And continuing on a similar theme for the month of March, my featured charity is United Poultry Concerns, a wonderful group dedicated to promoting compassion towards domestic fowl. As you can probably tell if you've read my blog much before, chickens, turkeys, and ducks are some of my favorite animals. They have brought a lot of joy to our lives in the year since we've added them to our family.

It saddens me greatly to know that in the US alone, nine billion chickens are raised and killed for food each year - that's 90% of all land animals killed for food in this country. Nine billion! That's mind-boggling. These creatures are not inanimate objects - far from it! Each of our birds has her own personality, complete with likes and dislikes. They feel pain, and they know joy and sadness. If you eat chicken (or even eggs), you are essentially paying someone to imprison, torture, and kill these unique and lovely animals simply to please your own taste buds.

I have great respect for groups like UPC, whose members work tirelessly to educate people about the value of these birds' lives. I hope one day to be able to add on to my own little poultry haven so that I can rescue even more of these wonderful beings. In the meantime, please join me this month in supporting UPC by either donating directly or by making a purchase from my bead shop or my jewelry shop. As always, thank you for caring!

Duck Pic of the Day

Polly Wolly Doodle

Stormy Skies

I have been waiting for a couple of days for a break in the weather so I could photograph some new beads and jewelry (to be posted soon) - it's been so dark and dreary outside, which makes photography tough. Anyways, I finally saw a bit of sun peeking through the clouds today, so I was able to take my pictures. I froze my butt off out there - we're having a major cold spell here, at least by California standards - and by the time I was finished with my pictures, the sky was looking more and more ominous...


And within a few minutes of finishing my photo shoot, it began to hail. HARD. Carlos had fun watching the ice come down.


The chickens and turkeys were all huddled up against our front door under the porch overhang, but the ducks didn't seem bothered at all - in fact, they had a nice little swim.


The chickens enjoyed eating the little bits of hail after the downpour ended.

Duck Pics of the Day

Today's featured animal is... { drum roll please }
Polly Wolly Doodle!

Polly is a funny guy. He's very gawky - he reminds me of the duck from the movie, Babe.

He has the softest feathers (although we don't get to enjoy petting them too often, since he doesn't really like to be held), and they always look so pristine.

Polly had a rough time when we first brought him home - our original two ducks were very mean to him. But now he's totally part of the pack.

Duck Pic of the Day

Mallow!

Duck Pic of the Day

I'm always posting pictures of the chickens; today I thought I should share the love with the ducks too! The two that look alike in the front are Shannon and Dean, the one in back on the left is Mallow and the white one on the right is Polly Wolly Doodle.