July Fry

Well, we are truly into the month of July here in the Ozarks.  It is hot and humid.  The temps got almost to 100 degrees with humidity levels in the mid-70's.  The air was soupy and the heat sucked the air out of your lungs within a couple of minutes of being outside.  I really don't do well in the heat. Thank goodness I have the studio to hibernate in when it gets this bad.

Mr. Wonderful has chickens - one rooster and 22 layers.  Several of them are broody right now. That means they have laid eggs and are sitting on them in preparation to hatching.  In the past, John has removed the eggs when the hen leaves the nest to get water or eat.  He recently started leaving one or two to see what would happen . Of course, we know what happens when you leave the eggs in the nest for the hen to sit.  21 days after they are laid, they hatch into baby chicks.  We lost 2 a couple of weeks ago - not sure what predator got to them immediately after they hatched.  We lost 2 yesterday morning.  John went to do his chicken chores in the afternoon and there was a baby chick - probably less than an hour old.  He quickly got it out of the nest, and placed it in the brooder with a heat lamp and water.  He  'beaked' it right away - that means he put its little beak into the water to encourage it to drink - and beaked it again last night when he went to close up the chicken coop for the night. As of this morning, the little chick is still surviving.  

It has very few feathers so it needs the heat lamp to keep it warm. One would think in the heat we are having that would be enough but it's not.  Hoping my amazing Chicken Whisperer can keep this little guy healthy.  

Cross Stitch Camp continues through July and into August.  For July, the challenge was to stitch something that would be turned into something other than to be framed.  I stitched an autumn design that will become a strawberry.

I really like these little designs.  They stitch up fast on 14 count fabric and look so cute in my dough bowl.  August's challenge is to stitch something new to me - a designer, a floss, a shape.  I think I will go with a designer.  Tiny Modernist has several cute charts and I have some in my stash.  Now to decide which to stitch. 

This cross stitch project was such a joy to stitch.  It is from a Ukrainian designer - I can't remember which one right now - and shows some of the beautiful landscapes of Missouri.  I worked on it off-and-on for several weeks and finally finished it last weekend.  I've downloaded one for Utah and have it all kitted up to start soon.  I think I will stitch one for each state I've lived in - California, Arizona, Utah, Missouri, Rhode Island, and Maine.  While I haven't actually lived in Utah or Maine, I've spent a lot of time in each state and they hold a special place in my heart so they get to be stitched.  I also have charts for almost every country I've visited - I'm only missing the Philippines.  I have enough plans with charts to last me a very long time.

Have a wonderful rest of the week. Thanks for stopping by.