With a half marathon in the foothills coming up next month, and a 40 mile trail relay in April, it was time to hit the hills for a bit of training. Hubby towed the kids in the bike trailer and rode along side on his mountain bike while I ran 14km up (and thankfully down) some beautiful but painful hills around Dwellingup. I definitely had the edge over the bike on the uphill but couldn't compete coming down. With a maximum recorded heart rate of 229bpm I'd say I was being worked pretty hard. Apologies for the dash reflection in the picture. It was taken through the windscreen while we were driving.We made sure it wasn't all work and no play however. It's blackberry season, and while the thorns are a real pain while trying to navigate the trails, the fruit is lovely and unsprayed where we were, so we stopped to pick some for the girls. We were entertained by emus, running along the tracks, and had a very close encounter with one. They are quite hilarious to watch at speed, standing so tall and proud, and ridiculously light on their feet. I wish I'd had my camera with me. Post run/ride we cooled off with a swim in the Murray River. What a charmed life my girls live.
While in Dwellingup we decided to pick up a few more chickens for the yard. Our 3 Isa Browns have been declining in egg production lately. It has been very hot, so they may pick up again with cooler weather, but we thought it was a good time to expand the family, with something a little different. The new additions are Cochin chicks. The larger two are 5 weeks old, one is 4 weeks old and the baby is just 2 weeks old.
The baby is just gorgeous, and getting Poppet to put it down is proving to be a challenge. She has claimed it as her own.
The Cochins are paler in colour to the Isa Brown, apparently much more placid and quiet, and their cute fluffy faces really make the hens look like Angry Birds.
The only downside to cute fluffy chicks, is that their genders are unknown. We're hoping for females because 1) we would love some more eggs, and 2) we can't keep roosters where we live. Here's hoping!
Pam, fingers crossed that they turn out to be hens! How long before you can tell? Are Cochins a hybrid like the ISA browns?
ReplyDeleteI suspect if I had a "very" good look I'd be able to tell the sex of the babies now, but to the untrained eye we just have to wait to see how their feathers and combs grow. Maybe a few weeks? The cochins are not a hybrid like the ISA browns, but they have been selectively bred for their fluff and feathery feet which is interesting! My big girls have gone a bit maternal since the introduction of the chicks and have stopped laying altogether. I hope they start again soon.
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