A chicken story and a giveaway winner

Dot and Flossy

Back in November, we had a little Wyandotte chick hatch. She grew into the most beautiful little chicken you can imagine, and we named her Dot. She was a really happy little lady, followed her mama hen around everywhere. Then when she was about 10 weeks old, she got a funny leg - like one leg was just giving way and couldn't support her. It was not very nice. So we took her to the vet, who told us she had a temperature and gave us antibiotics for her. We had to keep her quarantined for a week, away from the other chickens and her mama hen.

We kept her up near the house, and at night she slept in a cat carrier that we tucked away in the laundry. She took it all in her stride, although she seemed a bit depressed, and the leg got better. I was surprised to be honest, chickens are not alway the hardiest creatures. But I'm glad we took her to the vet, as she pulled through beautifully. However, when we took her back to the chook run, she was rejected by all the others. Her mama hen didn't want to know about her. She was so, so sad. And it made me so sad too.

After a couple of weeks, with not much change, and Dot just mooching around, barely coming out of the hen house and just being on her own all the time, I figured it was time to find her a friend. So I put a little ad on Gumtree, wanting a young Wyandotte hen to keep her company. Someone emailed me and said try my friend, so I did try the friend, and the next day we collected a little gold laced Wyandotte, a little younger than Dot but that was not a bad thing. We named her Flossy. We kept the pair of them quarantined for a night, so they would buddy up, then put them back with the others.

I am so glad we found a friend for Dot, now the pair of them are always together, they are the most beautiful little chickens (and so are the rest, of course), and they're back in the good books with the mama hen and her offsider. They have all bonded so well. And Dot is a beautiful, healthy, happy little chicken. I love a happy little ending!

*  *  *  *  *

And so to the giveaway winner. Not many entries people! I guess I've not talked much about crystals and how I use them in my life here on the blog, at least not for a couple of years. I use crystals a lot, for all sorts of things. Such as, I use a nice big piece of garnet to help heal an old scar from when a car knocked me off my bike, and I used it for morning sickness when I was pregnant, and I used it to help my blood after I had a miscarriage. And I used a piece of Tiger Iron for the same thing. And I have numerous pieces of rose quartz throughout the house. And I usually have a piece of Tibetan quartz stashed in a pocket somewhere. And I carry a piece of Amazonite if I feel I need a bit of extra warrior woman energy about me. Anyway, more about that another time perhaps. For now, the giveaway winner is Meg Smith - well done Meg! Thank you to all who entered, I wish I could give make everyone the winner. And thank you for supporting my little shop, it really means a lot to me.

And my apologies for posting the winner a day later than I said I would. We had some really big gusty winds in these parts which caused a bit of havoc and we had no power, and so no internet. It was a wide area of power outage too, it was a bit of a treat to have a night with no electricity around anywhere nearby. Although I did realise how much I like my creature comforts like lights and a warm shower.

A little crystal giveaway

So if you read my last post, I was talking about following along with the #EtsyResolution thing to open a little Etsy shop for myself. I have to say I've fallen off the wagon a little, with a bunch of other things competing for my attention for the past few weeks (including a weekend spent doing my Reiki II, which was amazing). But I'm pulling myself back into line and getting it moving again.

I've been finding so many little new pieces for the shop, it's hard to stay focused to be honest. As in, I just want to buy everything I see, to stock the shop, because I love it all. So over the next few weeks I'll start to get some new lovely pieces coming in. But in the meantime, I'm offering one reader a $20 voucher to use in the shop. To be in the running, just leave me a comment on this post. To get an extra entry, you can favourite my shop The Little Crystal on Etsy (and let me know here that you have). Winner will be drawn at random and announced here on the blog on 28 Feburary, a little over a week away.

I'm also offering 20% off for the rest of February for everyone - just use the code HAPPYFEB15 at the checkout if there's anything in there that you think you must have.

Late summer, 2015.

The corn, a few weeks ago. Before Harmony got to it.

I can really feel the shift of the seasons in the air now. The calendar says it's summer for another three weeks, and the days are still summer hot. Hottest so far, probably. But the air is different, the light is different, and my senses tell me the season has changed. Autumn has arrived, the first signs are here. First leaves turned yellow and fallen from the old trees. The shortening days. The different light.

Which makes sense, because early November felt like the shift into the summer season, and early August felt like the shift into spring. I will be watching to see now if May feels like the shift into winter. I think it does, thinking back to earlier May's.

We spent Saturday in Melbourne. I was so very happy to be taking part in an Etsy photography workshop,  as part of their #EtsyResolution campaign that's happening. It's all about helping people finally open that Etsy shop they have dreamed of but keep putting off, or for existing sellers to give their shop an overhaul, with a series of blog posts by Jess Van Den of Create and Thrive. And a real life, in person, photography workshop to help you take better product photos. How good is that?

The workshop was run by professional photographers and I came away with new ideas and inspiration and so much more confidence in taking better product photos. And some help with my camera as well. It was perfect really, just what I needed. A day in the city, a few Melbourne coffee's, a Melbourne cafe lunch, and a photography workshop. So I'll be trying out a few new things this week. It's keeping me pretty well occupied at the moment.

So anyway I decided to actually, finally open an Etsy shop. This is a bit of a big deal for me, it's one of those things that I wanted to do but didn't really have the confidence to do. Like going to a group fitness class at the gym, that was a big deal for me also. I am working my way through the series of #EtsyResolution blogs and slowly building up a shop. You are welcome to take a look, it's a little crystal shop. And it is still very much a work in progress but hopefully by the end of the series I will have it all just right.

The image above is from a few weeks ago. Seems our Harmony horse has a liking for corn. We've now lost about half the harvest, I think. Plus a whole smaller bed of corn, that has all been eaten. She shouldn't even be on the house block, that horse, but sometimes I relent and let her out. Poor girl is usually stuck in the paddock watching Flo pony help herself to all the green pick as she comes and goes through the temporary fence as she pleases. And - green grass coming through in summer. It's been a strange one, that's for sure.

Sharing the [Etsy] Love

It's no secret that I love a bit of Etsy shopping. It's that giant market place where there is something beautiful, unique, handmade, artistic for whatever occasion. I've been addicted for a while - you know, every time I need new plugs for my ears - Etsy. If I want a print for a wall - Etsy. If I want some random but specific crystal specimen - Etsy. And that's not even scratching the surface. 

Increasingly, and through this blogging caper, I keep finding new and exciting shops to dazzle me with their wares. And I love this so much - I just think handmade anything is so, so, so much nicer than products that are mass produced in a big factory. To me, it's about the heart and soul that has gone into creating something, as opposed to big companies with big marketing budgets and a soul-less factory somewhere. Plus when I meet bloggers with Etsy shops, there's usually a common interest in there somewhere to start with, so it's no wonder that I end up falling in love with their stores. 

I thought I'd share a couple of old favourites and new finds that are currently on my wish list. If you haven't been for a look at these stores, go check them out, and behind all of them is a lovely blogger who you may also want to say hi to. 

1/2/3/4

Elephants. I have an elephant statue, Charles has an elephant statue. I think this print would look so sweet on the wall of our nursery - so our little one can have elephants too!

Beautifully simple wire wrapped quartz crystal necklace. Love it. Want it.

Handmade soap! I've been thinking about making my own soap lately, but this looks just divine. Free from all the nasties and with lots of natural goodies added.

A little rabbit. A sweet little soft toy that I think would be perfect for a new little baby.

Have you got a favourite on Etsy? Do share - you can find me here to connect and share favourites!