riding in cars with roosters

I went up to Eureka, CA over the weekend. That's about 300 miles northwest along the coast. It's really a beautiful drive, which is a large part of the reason I don't mind driving that far for a poultry show! It also happens to be my favorite show. It's fun, relaxing, people seem more at ease there versus other shows. And I have some darn good friends up there. Huge ginormous thank you to Dan, my "host with the most" (lol!) for letting C.S. and I crash at the house! You are awesome. :-) Late nights on the couch discussing all sorts of interesting things, Mexican hot chocolate on the stove in the morning, a comfy bed with flannel sheets, ahhhh. I like these new traditions!

C.S. carpooled with me and brought a bunch of her son's Polish, and I hereby declare that Polish are horrible to ride in the car with, because they NEVER SHUT UP. I think those roosters crowed the whole time. I was about to go crazy by the time we got home. They are much louder than my birds. I decided it's because they can't really see anything with those ridiculous poofs on their heads, so they must just make noise all the time, in case there's a reason, even though they can't see whether there's a reason or not. My word.

The show was great. A couple of head-scratchers about the judging, but that's typical. One of my Black Rosecomb pullets took Reserve Champion Bantam and Best of Class, so I'm very happy about that. The last several year's worth of decreased interest and LATE hatching have taken a toll on the overall quality. I've got my work cut out to get the males back to where they need to be, but I'm stickin' with it, just limiting the number of colors I'll breed and not showing as much anymore. I've got one more show coming up and then I'm done for the season. I set up breeding pens last week, and will be starting to collect eggs soon.

How bout some pics!

Chicken spa! Ha ha.


This is why you shouldn't feed the ducks. It attracts more ducks. There were about a dozen standing around the car by the time I finished my lunch on the drive up on Friday.

Driving along the Avenue of the Giants on the way home on Sunday.

And this isn't even all that big compared to some of the other trees!

The Eel River (I think?)

I felt the need for another scenic detour, so I took Hwy 16 through the Capay Valley (and I saw a Bald Eagle, woo hoo!). This is a charming place called "Cowboy Camp" near the intersection of 16 and 20. I'd love to ride there. I always see it at a bad time of day for taking photos but it's very pretty.

And look, cowboys! Be still my beating heart! ;-)

The drive to the next show won't be nearly as scenic (Fresno).