Selena, the chick whisperer

The chicks are 4 weeks old today and up until yesterday they had been living in our laundry room in large cardboard boxes with heat lamps running from the ceiling. We had to change bedding (newspaper), water and food 2-3 times a day so it got to be quite a mess. (By the way, I would not use newspaper next time as it flattened out the surface and was therefore hard on the chick's feet. i.e. better to provide an uneven surface, like wood chips).

I decided to order chicks at the earliest possible arrival date so that we would have eggs in July and meat in the freezer or on the table by June. We have 50 chicks; 25 Delawares for eggs and 25 red broilers for meat. The Delawares are the friendly birds, especially with Selena who has a calming affect on them.
The light colored chicks are the Delawares. This photo shows them at 2 1/2 weeks. The Delaware is a heritage dual purpose breed. Because of industrial farming these breeds and their genetic hardiness and diversity are in danger of dying out. (See Amercan Livestock Breeds Conservancy ) The turkey poults, Bourbon Reds, that will arrive in April are also considered a heritage breed.
Last week I moved the adult chickens out of the hen house and into a silo lean-to. We only have 8 egg laying hens and one rooster (Cow) left from my Ham Lake flock but they are still providing us with enough eggs. So, yesterday the chicks were removed from the laundry room and put out in the henhouse. Now they have enough space to run and jump around and are already trying to hop up to the roost. Chickens have a natural tendency to try to get up above the ground and roost. I am looking forward to warmer weather when we can let them go outside and run around. There's no better relaxing entertainment.

Xavi's concert debut at Salon Se Léve

As the 2009 Schubert Club winner in guitar Xavier was invited to perform a program for Salon Se Léve; a local group that supports young musicians by providing them the opportunity to perform professionally. Xavier has been working on his program of 6 pieces since last summer when he was first approached for the gig. So, in other words, this wasn't just another typical recital but the mini-version of a professional concert where he had the opportunity to "pull his own weight" and take center stage for a half hour program (for which he was paid :)

The concert took place in the art gallery of the United Methodist church on Hennepin Avenue. We had to arrive an hour before the performance (who knows why) so we tried out the stage and I took these photos. (It kind of looked like he had matched his shirt to go with the chairs and rug in the hall.) The hall was filled with paintings. Paul Wirth, a local pianist and Salon organizer, pointed out that there was a 16th century painting with the first appearance in western art of a "new world" turkey in it. This was really interesting since the turkey depicted in the painting does not look like a wild turkey but more like the domesticated breeds that I assume came later. This is puzzling to me and deserves some fun research at a later date. In fact, that particular painting is located above Xavier's right shoulder in the photo above.

Below: a copy of the concert program.

Xavier played the "Frog Galliard" piece well but showing some nervousness. By the time he started the Regondi, (my favorite) I was happy to hear that the nerves were calm and he was making music. Boy, I love that piece and his phrasing is excellent. Right now he's still working on finding the right mix, especially for the coming GFA competition in June, but all in all, it went really well for him. The Bach "Prelude" was beauuutiful and the "Allegro" was a bit too fast, but not as fast as you hear in some recordings. So, the program was finished, Xavier took his bow and the audience rose for a standing ovation! Yikes, Xavier was NOT prepared for this possibility at all. All of his time had been invested in preparing the program without considering that a encore piece might be required. I wish I had a photo of the look on his face as he was trying to figure out what the heck he was going to play for an encore! Finally he sat down and played half of "Blue Shift" but had some trouble remembering it. "Sorry, I can't remember it", he said, and the audience laughed and stood up again. This time he bowed and made a quick exit.

After the concert there was a reception for the artists so he chatted with folks for awhile. We were SO glad to see our friends Jane and Geza Simon at the concert, and even more so to celebrate together afterwards at the restaurant Monte Carlo. You can see in the photo below how happy I was; good times with good friends!

Above: Geza, Xavier and Jane

Below: the Salon Se Léve billboard for 2009/2010 season