Baroquen x Smith's Lou had 4 nicely broken blacks just an hour ago. I was so pleased to see the entire litter is broken and all have very good pattern. I was hoping there would be chocolate, but I'll take it. I'm actually surprised there were no chocolates since she threw it in her last litter without trying. I was trying this time...Lou is lilac. Also pleased the litter is live and healthy. It's been 4 months since I bred any does so I was prepared for failure. Good girl, Baroquen! I didn't look to see if they are otters or selfs. Being broken, it might be a couple days before I can tell. Would be very helpful if the Smith's bucks carry self.
It took a while to get the rest of the does bred so the next round isn't due for 2 weeks. I still have one who will not lift. I had to do a lot of shuffling around to get the others bred. No one was cooperating, so I moved the does to a different cage everyday until they did. It's not working on the frigid one so I'll take her for a ride the next time I go to town.
It was such a great year for daylilies. Mild winter, plenty of rain and sunshine through spring and summer, and now still mild in November. Best bloom I can remember in a long long time. What really amazed me is that a couple varieties not known for reblooming did just that.
Like this one. This is Golden Gate and it has never ever rebloomed. It's been kicking out flowers for the last month. It's usual bloom period is early in the season (May-June) and then it's done. Even had 1st frost yesterday and the buds still opened today. Oh yeah, didn't get 1st frost until yesterday.
There's a few other blooms as well. The pink Knock-Out rose has some, and the white coneflower sent up more buds that started to open. I think the frost stopped them which made for an interesting flower. The petals look like toothpicks sticking out of the cone. I tried to get it with the camera when I got the daylily but I think my camera is dying. It gets harder and harder to get decent pictures. Seriously considering a new one in the near future. Other flowers are still coming but that frost should put a stop to that.
Didn't get the snow they went on about out of hurricane Sandy. It spit some mixed with a fine misty rain that day but that's all it amounted to. I guess the highest elevations got quite a bit. How odd that I had snow before Michigan.
I finally sold the 3 odd breed hens at a TSC parking lot animal swap a few weeks ago. Now I don't have to worry about cross-breeds in hatches next year. That leaves me with 8 cochins (2 roos, 6 hens), and the Silky hen. I'll probably bring in more next spring. I have a line to a breeder who has Mille Fleur cochins (pretty!), and I might try a hatchery order to get the colors I want.
tnt
