This week I drove up to Colorado to visit my sister. I went, partly, in order to lay out the quilt I’m making for our niece, Kat. Here it is:
I love this pattern - I love how it appears to be blocks lying randomly on top of other blocks.
Quilting may have begun around 3400 BCE, but the earliest surviving quilt fragment was discovered in a Mongolian cave and dates to around 100 BCE. Quilting was brought to Europe in the twelfth century by Crusaders, who wore quilted garments underneath their armor.
What fascinates me about quilts is how they’ve been used as communication tools. For instance, a quilt with a Log Cabin pattern would be hung on the clothesline along the route of the Underground Railroad to indicate a safe house. A Flying Geese pattern hung on the line meant to head north. A Drunkard’s Path meant “do not head in a straight line”. I love the idea of using quilts as a sort of code.
There are quilt patterns used for special occasions, like the Wedding Ring quilts. There are Friendship quilts. And there is the AIDS Memorial quilt. I love how expressive this humble art form can be.
Another thing we’re doing this week is preparing for our new chickens. We ordered some day-old chicks in February. Twenty five of them. That was the smallest amount you could order. They’re arriving this month. The hatchery puts the hatchlings in a box with enough food and water for three days and mails them. Our phone number is printed on the outside of the box, with a notice to the postmaster to phone us immediately.
We are leaving nothing to chance, though. We went to the post office last week and told them the chicks were coming. They said that they really enjoy it when people get chicks in the mail! All the cheeping is festive, they said. I’m glad they feel that way. I remember when I was in my 20s and got a swarm of bees in the mail. My postal carrier was definitely not delighted.
Once we get them home, our chicks will need a heat source that gets them to 95 degrees. They also need to be able to walk away from that much heat. We had originally thought we’d build them a little nursery on my front porch - the same porch that we turn into a kidding parlor in the spring. But it’s been so hot here, we decided that would probably kill them. We put a thermometer on my front porch. It’s been 107-111 out there for days and days. Even after we hung a shade cloth over the windows it's that hot. After considering a gazillion options, we decided that we’d put the nursery in the bedroom that Kat uses when she's here. She's been in Colorado lately, so that space is available.
We rolled up her rug, moved the furniture to the walls, and created an enclosure for the chickens out of wire fencing lined with mats. We taped it all together, mainly to make sure there were no holes where a baby chicken could escape. We put in their heater and their feeder. Here’s what we made:
We covered the bottom with puppy pads that we’ll replace every day. Their enclosure has a little door, so we can walk in to change out the puppy pads. I’m excited to see whether my cat Bela will be interested in the baby chicks. She won’t be able to see them - this nursery is kind of a fortress. But she’ll be able to hear them.
In this photo you can see their heater (the black rectangle). It's got yellow adjustable legs, so that we can raise the heater when the chicks get bigger. And, the blue and white thing is their feeder. We'll add a watering device, and then we'll be ready for the chicks to arrive. I can hardly wait!
And finally, we hung a shade cloth in the pygmy goat pen for Leroy and Roger. Here it is:
We tied it to the fences with left-over baling twine. Of course. While we were tying it, one of the feral cats came to the pen, climbed up the outside of the chain link fencing, and dropped to the ground inside the pen. Leroy and Roger seemed to think their pen is where that cat belonged at that time of the day. Perhaps she visits every morning around 10:30. We had no idea any of the cats visited the goats.
Anyway, we noticed that Leroy’s ruff fur has suddenly changed color. He’s got a full black mantle now! This is a photo of him from yesterday:
This is a photo of him from a month ago:
See how there's no trace of that mantle just a few weeks ago? It's amazing how beings change! And, that new mantle. It makes him look so debonair!