Trimming

Trimming can be a bit sad. We gave away our remaining seven 3-year old laying hens yesterday so we could get our almost two month old pullets into the hen house. The old wire dog cage that Louis outfitted with the perches was getting too crowded now that the pullets are about five times their two-day old chick size & are fully feathered.

Louis had one Spangeled Spitzer that he almost didn't let go. This hen, with an attitude, would have pecked & picked on the young pullets the most, but has so much personality. She's always the first hen out of the hen house each morning. We have only been getting two large brown eggs a week recently from our older hens. The Spitzer lays only white smaller eggs. So it's not for her egg production that she'll be remembered. It's just that she's different than the others, who sort of blend into an indistinct group. We hope we found a good home for their old age... a Bellarussian family with 5 children. The Dad had just built a chicken coop for the children so he could teach them about chickens. The Spitzer will stand out to them, but probably not attack them. She only picks on others of her kind. Do you know people like that? I do.

First 2010 Hike with the Hallelujah Hikers - Up & Over Mt. Sentinel

Israeli Independence Day & Esther's 22nd birthday was a clear 80 degree day. The Hallelujah Hikers spent the morning hiking up & over Mt. Sentinel. We started on the Ken Williams Trail out of the University district & after about a half mile, hiked up a trail on the North side of Mt. Sentinel. Part way up that trail we could look over the mouth of Hellgate Canyon & see Missoula in the distance & the Ken Williams trail bordering the Clark Fork River on the left & I-90 on the right.

A few minutes later, we had hiked high enough to look north & see over Mt. Jumbo to the mountain range beyond. A previous year's hiking post detailed our Spring hike up & around Mt. Jumbo. We laughingly recalled that hike where we were literally crawling on our hands & knees at points.

At the top of Mt. Sentinel, we ate our lunch. Above is Harriet; below
are Laura & Esther. This was Esther's first hike with us. She grew up in Switzerland & learned to love hiking mountains there. We crossed a few remaining patches of snow, like the one seen in the background beyond Laura & Esther.

The hiking poles laying next to Judy helped us get through the snowy patches without falling. Judy is my prayer partner. We get together a couple of times a month to pray for our church, friends, nation, etc. Such times are extremely bonding.

After lunch, we hiked down the south side of Mt. Sentinel into Pattee Canyon, where we had already left one of our cars. The entire hike was about 5 miles with a slight breeze much of the way. A wonderful start to this year's hiking.

April Snow & Our Pets

Zeke waiting for his bottle in the 1 inch of snow we received yesterday. The snow melted off by mid-day today.
Zeke gobbles his thinned goat's milk bottles in less than a minute.

Ben Ari is jealous of the attention I share with Zeke. The only time he jumps on me is when I am on my way to feed Zeke a bottle.

Our huntress, Shadik, loves tree climbing even more than usual when there's snow on the ground. Here's a close-up of her on her perch.