97 degrees!
That's miserably HOT!
Here's a question.......
If normal body temperature is around 98.6 degrees,
why do we feel hot when the outside temperature is around the same?
Answer....
Humans function best in ambient temps of around 70 degrees.
The reason is that we generate our own heat, but disperse heat
less effectively in a hotter environment.
We sweat to compensate. To cool off.
In this climate, that works most of the time, but add moisture to the mix,
and now we are fighting to cool off from the heat AND the humidity.
Everything suffers in the heat.
The plants need watering twice daily.
If not, they droop.
I found some wild violets growing
in the side garden.
I think I'll replant them in a pot.
They produce pretty little purple flowers.
Chickens are different.
They have an internal temp of around 106 degrees.
You'd think that would be hot enough to lay scrambled eggs!
But, they must feel the heat as we do.
I found the girls under the shady tree in the back yard.
They didn't even get up when I called them.
Its just too hot!
Their egg production lessens in the heat too.
So, while the girls laid in the shade,
a shy friend came to feast on their breakfast.
That's a female mourning dove.
Pretty.
I picked a few of the flowers to bring inside.
That's my Dahlias, a Sunflower and the broccoli flowers.
I've picked them before, but this is the current crop.
Here are a few more
Dahlias.
This is sunflowers and sweet yellow onion flowers.
Beautiful!
They do smell like onions though.
:(
It seems that we grew some mutant carrots.
They were grown from the tops of carrots bought at the grocery.
I cleaned them up and cut them into small pieces.
The chicken girls loved it.
A nice treat.
On Sunday, for Memorial Day, we took a ride to the cemetery to place flowers
and flags on the family graves.
These angels just struck me as so very
beautiful.
Guardian angels.
On the way home, we drove out to the Lakefront.
It was an exceptionally beautiful day.
The waves slapping on the seawall threw up a fine spray
to cool us off.
Peaceful.
This past Memorial Day turned out to be a wonderful day.
All along the Lake we saw people fishing, flying kites, sailing and having picnics.
Did you know that Memorial Day was begun to honor
Civil War dead?
Over 600,000 Americans died then.
Their families wanted a day to honor them.
The US also began to set aside land for military burial grounds.
In places like Arlington, the entire grounds are covered in flags.
Also in Arlington,
there are monuments to military dogs.
Animals have served alongside man in almost every war.
Horses, dogs, Homing pigeons,
and chickens.
Yep.
In Rome, the armies took pet chickens with them.
Not to eat, although they did do that with some of them.
They tended to eat mashed chicken brains with wine and bread crumbs.
They also stuffed chickens by feeding them breadcrumbs soaked in wine and lizard fat.
Yum?
But, these chickens were there to foretell the outcomes of the battles.
If the chicken was agitated, the Romans feared a negative outcome.
Conversely, if the chicken was laid back, it would be a victory.
If the rooster fought something, the battle was in the bag!
That's a lot riding on that chicken's head.
Pun intended.
So.....
It seems kinda funny that the contemporary term,
"Chicken - Liver" means a coward,
and someone running around
"like a chicken with it head cut off",
is bordering on neurotic, or
"the sky is falling!", is
in effect a full blown panic.
This lowly little fowl has served man in countless ways.
From wars, to food, to companions,
this modern raptor
can lend itself to....
"What do you think a dinosaur tasted like?"
Chicken!
Remember.....
Life is short.
Smile,
while you still have teeth!
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