Origami Paper Overdye!

Today I cleared off my lovely big kitchen kitchen counter and had at overdying some of my Cost Plus paper from India.  The paper is soft and almost fabric-like, and is a lovely light turquoisy-teal color with gold accents.  It takes cobalt blue and purple watercolor overdying really well.

Wetting the paper allows the colors to run and blend together very prettily.

Once it's dry a couple of hours later, the colors soften a bit.

Now it's ready to cut!

Meanwhile outside, the clouds were doing their weird pancake thing again, this time with cool artsy whispy bottoms, though.

I thought it looked very much like a jellyfish.

Meanwhile, In Nevada...

Things are getting freaky-deaky!

Our sky this afternoon, the mammatus clouds are back...

This apparantly opened some kind of portal which Seagoat took advantage of.

Buttercup. too.

...and little Fries had to come stomping out of the coop to let me know she's broody.

And quickly assumed the position, The Broody Sphere.  After pecking my shoe and chasing some chicks, the Broody Ball went back to her nest.

Good girl!

Technicolor Twilight

Sooo...just another Eastern Sierra sunset last night, you know...

"Goodness gracious hun, ain't the sunset over thet thar chickin coop purty tahnite, tho?"

There were no fires nearby for a change, just the lenticular clouds doing their thing.

Just gorgeous!

Fun With Weather #342

Today it got weirdly cloudy and all thunderstormy, which developed into this covering the sky over our entire valley for about half an hour or so:

They were quite tumorous looking and freaky.  They are apparantly Mammatus clouds and are usually the harbingers of heavy weather.  By the time we'd driven home and I'd grabbed the camera they'd faded to this, they HAD been quite a bit more impressive earlier.  Strange, but lovely!

I Has A Crop!

Harvesting it took all of 30 seconds, mind you...

But it counts, damn it, IT COUNTS. Out of three tomato plants this is the only tomato so far. Our soil here is so very laughably poor, even WITH adding bagged garden soil, compost, etc. But I'll keep after it, with work (and pulling trash out of it) it can only improve.

Since I had so much free time open up after this, I actually thought ahead for a change and made little chicken & vegetable broth discs for use in the upcoming cold months for the dog and the chickens.

Once they are frozen I'll pop them out of the muffin tins and store them in a bag in the freezer, then when I need one just grab it. This winter one of two of these mixed with warm rice will make nice treats for Dusty and all our assorted chickens.

Lastly, last evening after the afternoon thunderstorms had passed we had a lovely sky.

Pancakes Over Reno?!

So last night while making dinner, I glanced out the kitchen window and saw this lenticular cloud formation in the distance, hovering over Reno:

A few minutes later the colors had deepened a bit:

...further cementing my theory that Reno is a gaping Hellmouth. The locals call this cloud formation that regularly forms over Reno when we're in for a storm the 'Reno Wave'.

Also, fired up the ReptiPro incubator today in preperation for setting another clutch of eggs tomorrow morning. If all goes well and there are embryos when I candle them on May 17th, hatch date SHOULD be June 7th. So far I've gathered almost 2 dozen from our large breed chickens (no bantams this time around), hopefully we'll get some big chicks from our flock this time!

Right now we've got 2 broody hens setting--Sonic, our golden laced Giant Cochin and Pompadour, one of our gray Giant Cochins. Both are mature enough to be moms. The little d'Uccles have dropped their broodyness and are slowly getting un-grumped.