JuJu The Donkey + Beep Beep The Baby Chicken= No Longer Enemies

Remember the attack, when JuJu tha' donkey felt strong murderous instincts against the baby chicken Beep Beep?

No longer a problem. :)

Xoxoxo

The Pecking Order, Literally

It's like highschool all over again in my barnyard. I started out with one Rooster (the rhode island red) and one hen (golden comet I named Honey Pie)... Red and Honey Pie were in total bliss, always bathing in dirt, basking in the sunlight together, sticking together like those glued by the squeeze tube of love.
And then.... the other hens came, and the hardcore pecking, squawking, fighting and bitching exploded. At no instigation of the Red Rooster, this was between the women - and Honey Pie was not going to lose her place as top hen, even if she had originally earned it by being the only one around.

Pictured above is Honey Pie (#1 in the pecking order), I now have one other hen who looks similar to her (see in the background of the pic) - I call that one Skinny Minnie cause she has a long skinny neck. Skinny Minnie by some twisted racist default got accepted right away just cause of her color/breed similarity to Honey Pie - even the donkey didn't bother her because she was familiar looking.

So even though Skinny Minnie turns out to be somewhat of a loner herself, she never gets picked on, she always goes to the coop at night, she gives up the sex to the rooster, and fits in fine with all the hens. This is why I consider Minnie #2 in the pecking order.

The creamy tan colored hen pictured above is Mrs. Butterworth. She is in the middle of the pecking order, with her friend Margarine (who is tan and white feathered, and can be seen in the very top pic with all the chickens together). Mrs. Butterworth and Margarine are both in the middle because they equally stand their ground and peck back, yet also allow themselves to be pecked on and pushed around by Honey Pie. Margarine is more aggressive to those lower then her on the pecking order (since she can only fight so much to those higher)- and for this reason it makes it so Mrs. Butterworth is #3 and Margarine is #4 (she spends too much extra time seeking out the weaker, which takes away from Rooster time).

And then below pictured is Whitie (for lack of a better name)....

she is kind of a dull personality. So unassertive & so barely there in her energetic presence that she is more of a sheep or chicken droid who has no real place - she can fluctuate between #2 to something lower, but mostly has her loyalty to the rooster and doesn't concern over the other hens. She knows were the fertilization is at! She is still #5 in the pecking order, cause she lacks importance to... well... anything around but me.

Second to last on the pecking order (#6) is Beep Beep, the baby chick (see pic below)! Everyone except the rooster picks on her, even the donkey! She is always spending her time running away from everyone or finding a lil' nook to herself to scratch in, all alone. In Beep Beep's mind, she don't even care 'bout all them bitches running around acting all plump and egg layin' --- to Beep Beep I am her mommy and best friend and she follows me all around instead.

LAST in the pecking order(#7)....... is of course my most magnificent, beautiful and stunning hen! Lady Gray. They tear her feathers out, she is never allowed with the group, they are cruel to her and treat her like shit - she refuses to even go into the coop with them at night and has taken up with JuJu the Donkey who doesn't seem to mind letting her sleep perched in her stall. She never initiates an attack on anyone else, including tiny Beep Beep - she avoids everyone at all costs except for myself and the donkey. She has to be fed separately then the rest to get a fair share. It breaks my heart to watch.

Gawd....

do they not remind you of humans? We peck each other into order, we too are still animals.

XOxoxoox

I've Been Re-Wilding At Firefly

Guess where I have been since Thursday??? Re-Wilding classes at the annual FIREFLY!Firefly is a local Western North Carolina 'gathering' of people (all ages) who want to learn how to do amazing re-wilding, primitive, homesteading, crafting & earth easy skillz --- it consisted of 4 really intense days of classes taught by lovable teachers who don't just know the skillz but live them every moment of their lives.
I arrived at Camp Pinnacle wednesday night for registration, where i was given a canvas name tag and a little wooden bead on hemp string bracelet to show I was now part of the re-wilding tribe. I was then handed a map, with a LONG list of classes to choose from--- so many classes that it was literally agonizing trying to decide....

Classes available were an expansion on primitive ways of life, and survival knowledge... wild mushroom, tree & plant walks, building rafts, tanning animal hides, carving wooden spoons and bowls, basket weaving, slaughtering chickens & goats, trapping animals, debris shelter & friction fire making, flint knapping, sewing with buckskin, making bows and arrows, DIY Oil lamps, pottery (should I really go on?... you can see the list here cause you will want to go next year! )

Before any classes began, there was a short & sweet orientation where a man walked out to start a ceremonial fire with a bow drill, using friction (see pic above) - I seriously thought we'd be there for 30 mins waiting for the fire to start but it could not have been more then 5 minutes that he started a whole bonfire, using just friction & his breath into the smouldering kindling. It was f-en incredible!

CLASSES/STUFF I LEARNED::::::

The first class I attended was spoon carving - a technique that was not easy, but also was shockingly simple. The teacher (Barron, see guy in jumpsuit above) started with just a simple small piece of fresh cut green wood and a hatchet to split it into a thinner piece to begin carving with.

We used tools he had handcrafted himself & our personal knives (cause at this event everyone carries a KNiFe!!) Starting buy gouging out the spoon center, then carving around it....

this is my spoon below, almost finished. Chunky, but oh my gawd I was sooooo proud & love it.

I was really into learning how to tan animal skins, so that I can use them to make clothing and other long lasting items...so I took a BARK TANNING class with Todd (the rad guy who can start fast friction fires!)

This class was also simple, chemical free yet a hard working process - I learned how to use hemlock tree bark & red oak to tan animal hides--- the bark has to be pounded into a powder and then either boiled down or soaked in water. He said if the water is cold sometimes with Hemlock it brings out the astringent tannins instead of the bitter ones, and FOR realZ he had everyone in the class taste the tannins so they could know the difference because the bitter ones work better! I totally only sniffed it... ;)

People not only tasted the tannins he had in jars, but they even tasted the tannins holding the animals skin in the bucket - the tannins are so strong, they kill everything (germs, foot fungus) - the color from the bark made a soothing shade of red on the leather...

He showed us animal skins tanned with and without the fur on too - the smaller critters needed a stronger quicker solution, while the bigger ones, start out with weaker solutions. The coolest part was it's REALLY hard to fuck up this process, the part that is most likely to get messed up is during the skinning and scrapping that is done before the tanning.

A favorite class of mine (mainly cause i was totally loved by my teacher Laura) was the Pine Needle Baskets!!! I have been waiting to learn how to weaves a nice tight basket for along time- and this method was a fairly easy coiling method, using long pine needles. You can use other gathered materials too (I am hoping to make some out of grass, devil's vine, and kudzu).

Using just hemp twine and a needle, we were taught to coil & weave the basket together, in a patterns of circles.

Later on during the night, when I went to decorate my basket with beads, Laura was nice enough to show me how to make OLIVE OIL LAMPS (which can also be done with animal fat and other slow burning oils). Simply by filling a glass or ceramic jar/container with the oil, then taking a wire, coiling it around a nail, then pull the nail out and shove in a cotton wick. Make the large wire circle at the bottom and handle at the top to make it easy to pull out and stand up...

Have you eva' heard of Brain Tanning Animal Hides? A process different from bark tanning, but brain tanning makes the leather so buttery soft (without using any chems) it's hard to believe --- I took a class on how to Sew With Buckskin that had been brain tanned!

Not using needle and thread, but using cordage made from the skin itself and an awl to poke the holes to lace it through - following the contours of the animals natural curves to decide it's best use (AKA does it make a good shirt, skirt, top, or purse). Parts of the hide are stronger then other, like the neck, spine and bottom - and the outfits need to be made with symmetry in order for them not to get out of shape only on one side.

I am still working on my project, but it's going to be a fringe skirt (shown below) and a bikini top(not shown)! wooo!

OTHER ENTERTAINMENT:::::::::::::

FireFly was at a place called camp pinnacle, that had been a summer camp in Hendersonville, NC for the last 80 years. There was a beautiful and warm 17 acre lake to swim, canoe, kayak, dive into- and for some designated areas to even skinny dip in!
At night there were 3 fires going, with drumming, hoola hooping (fire on the hoola hoops!), dancing, singing, and even some fiddle playin'!

Watching the people go absolutely tribal and bazzzurk around the fire made me feel like i was Britney Spears on the side lines of something really different then myself. I stayed an observer, but one who could hardly stop looking.Other types of evening activities consisted of primitive potluck & cookoff, barter fair, and my very favorite the "trade blanket"! No money allowed at the trade blanket, everyone who had something to trade sat in a circle, one by one placing what they wanted to trade on the blanket in the center. Each person had a chance to offer a trade or refuse, some people offered stuff like herbs, mead, massages, fudge, juggling lessons, animal furs, animals antlers, handmade jewelry, feathered earrings, drums, books, clothes....

Firefly runs on a sliding scale ($$$) for classes, and you can go for the entire event or just for a day... It was totally worth every moment, every penny, and every missed wink of sleep (and even the long drive which was difficult for me)!

I highly recommend this event to anyone interested in learning how to really live in union with nature, our natural biology, and our deep need to be true survivor.

XOxoxox

Chemical Free Cleaning Frenzy

I went on a bAzzUrk cleaning frenzy today. A little secret about me is that some may call me dirty, messy and I have even thought of myself akin to "Pig Pen'... like the time i jumped in someone's car and the sun shown just right through the windshield only to reveal a cloud of dust poofing off my clothes. Then they sneezed. Not to say I am totally disgusting but I can relax with a mess around - as long as everything I need is perfectly organized and in it's place. A little dirt won't hurt.
When I do finally decide it's time to repair the tornado that is life - I do everything eco friendly without a single chemical.
I hand wash my clothes in a Wonder Wash (spins them clean in just a few minutes) without using soap! I usually squeeze a lemon into the wash, drop some baking soda, or vinegar... or like today I boiled some ginger & lavender in water and poured that in. Mmmm.... smells so good. I stopped using soap many years ago when I could not find one that was gluten free plus chemical free (I bet there are some like that now but I dont look for it anymore.)
Once the clothes are washed I hang dry them - outside in the spring, summer and fall and then inside over the main heat source during the winter. The outside sun does the best and makes the clothes smell sooooo good, so in the winter I really miss it. I don't eva' use a clothes dryer.
For cleaning my kitchen counter and table I invented a neat little liquid scrub in my blender today... I took a huge chunk of ginger and a few sprigs of fresh lavender, tossed them into the blender with a cup or two of water and blended the ba-jezuz out of it. I then wiped clean all the smooth surfaces! It totally got up the whatever that makes globby spots and sticks to tile. It worked good on hard to clean dishes too. :)
I swept the floor and picked up bits of trash. All tidy and smelling good without any chems or much electricity.

But I am not even through...

XoXo