all our girls are laying now. we have been getting one egg per hen, six eggs a day, for a week or more. occasionally we get only five. then yesterday, for the first time ever, we got seven! this was the seventh egg. inside was normal, but the shell was soft and pliable. we had heard that we would get a lot of variation in the eggs at first. but this one surprised us. even with crushed oyster shell supplements it appears they don’t have quite enough calcium to make two whole eggs shells a day.
failed egg of a newly-laying golden buff chicken
saint paul, minnesota
twice in the last week i have had people email me to request specific feather photos to be used for tattoos: one owl feather and this one above. i originally posted this feather in a grouping with others from the same woodpecker (never confirmed, but red-bellied if i had to guess). it was the second post i ever made on STILL blog: january 2, 2012. the request I received asked for “that woodpecker feather that looked more like zig-zags than polka dots.” i knew exactly the feather he was looking for. good luck with your tattoo aivaras!
woodpecker feather found along the shore of vadnais lake, saint paul, minnesota
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that would make an amazing tattoo.
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these native prairie grasses were standing in a good friend’s yard like a static green firework show. i love the two elegant antennae that extend from each seed, and I love the dramatic symmetry of each sparse head.
bottlebrush grass
saint paul, minnesota
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grasses always amaze me
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they are more striking on your blog then my garden. nice shot!!
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my kids are bringing me a handful of these from the backyard every day now. which means they are picking two handfuls, and i’m getting what’s left.
wild black-cap and red raspberries
saint paul, minnesota
there is a styling trend i have seen on a lot of design blogs using temporary installations of natural objects taped onto walls. these “mood boards” are always taped up using washi tape in the latest trendy color. even though i have seen it a lot, i still like the look. it always catches my eye. here is my attempt at it, without the washi tape (which i think is not in keeping with the STILL blog aesthetic.) the leaves started drooping pretty quickly, but i think it could work as a fun temporary decoration for party. or better yet, using dried plants and feathers for a more permanent display.
assorted late july botanicals
saint paul, minnesota
Interesting! I had to read the details to see what in the world that was. One of the most fascinating things I’ve ever learned was when a student brought in a jar of eggs that were all from the same chicken. All different sizes. I had never really thought about the fact that a chicken must have more than one egg in there at the ready all the time. Glad I’m not a chicken!