Well, I wouldn't know a silky chicken from a Dixie Chicken, but I know she keeps a few at home, and shares pictures and stories of them in between her legal 'seminars' she so lovingly shares with us. *In case you don't know, Dixie Chicken is a fabulous song by an all-time favorite band, Little Feat*
Yes, Joyce Vance is an amazing hooman being. The entire MNBC wimmin legal commentators easily outshine their male counterparts on cable. Analysis and commentary are fact and evidence-based with very little editorializing. And as you point out are unafraid to show themselves as people.
Yes, 2Ari. See him separate and apart from other male legal eagles for a host of reasons. Much like Joyce and the other wimmin analyzing and commenting on legal matters makes certain to include his human side albeit in his way and style. Much ~ respect ~ to Ari.
Now they could cook! I worked with them a few times, they could get in a groove like the Dead and just sail, I can still picture them playing together, thanks for bringing back the memories Daniel. 🙏
Hands down, the best live performances I've ever been to. And yeah, I've also been to a few Dead marathons, too! Was stationed at Camp Lejeune mid-to-late 70's, and they were still doing college towns and small halls.
It really is. I have my asshole ex-husband, who was a bit of a human in college and introduced me to Little Feat and Renaissance, to thank. I got him through school, wrote his papers for him. After we graduated and I couldn’t find work (1980) and he joined his father’s insurance company, it was “don’t let the door hit you.” But he’s a dick and I’m a good person so there’s that. :) And Little Feat!
You know, sometimes it takes a real dick to wake us up to what's really good in life, and I'm glad the dick in your life woke you up to some tremendous music! And I have no doubt of your goodness. Just "put on your sailin' shoes" and be "willin'" to get out there and enjoy life!!
i live in palm springs california. every evening at sundown i get a glorious swarm of hummingbirds. this is how i am staying sane. there is a thing that happens in an intense swarm of them where i feel absolute peace and calm. hummingbird zen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmmE8XP0TS4&t=411s
if you have more hummingbird questions, this is my youtube channel. please visit, it has lots of videos. i post several times a day and you can ask me your questions there. i really admire lucian. i don't want to hijack his thread. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8ci1sCreCgq_27xNLtFo2g
Speaking of hummingbirds, I used to live in Sonora, MX, not far the Copper Canyon which is purportedly longer, deeper and wider than the Grand Canyon. There's a great set of zip lines (longest in the world) that hops from ridge to ridge and is connected by trails and suspended bridges. The canyon is so big it only goes partway down from the rim eventually ending at a gondola terminal for the ride back up. The zips and gondola were built by a Swiss or Austrian company. We were some of the first takers because it seemed prudent to do it before the Mexican maintenance schedule kicked in.
The El Mirador hotel in Divisadero on the continental divide is set right on the edge of the canyon with a large viewing deck that is the home of 1000s of hummingbirds due to the feeders set all along the railing. What a sight/experience at sunset with the full moon rising over that enormous canyon while surrounded by a huge flock of hummingbirds. Makes me think about heading back for another dose. :)
It took 80 years off and on to build the narrow gauge railroad, El Chepe, that runs along the canyon rim. At one point it does a full 360º to corkscrew up a ravine. Initially it was meant to be the link to transport freight from the east to the Pacific, but it took 80 years to build and the Panama Canal happened not long into the building. It's got more bridges and tunnels per mile than any other railway and is purported to be one of the top 5 rail trips in the world. Being a basic transport system from Chihuahua to the Pacific, the train is full of all classes which makes for an all round great trip.
Touristing around Sonora isn't necessary meant for the faint of heart or on much of anyone's bucket list, but I traveled the back roads of Sonora and Sinaloa in my old Tundra for nearly a decade and lived to tell. But then I had an oosik on the dashboard for protection. :)
it's mesmerizing. they will be dog fighting and when another one is on their tail they think nothing of pulling an immellmann turn. that's killed human pilots. they do it for fun. when they hunting the bugs it's also amazing.
And truly feel grateful when one or more decides to go into helo mode within a foot or so from my face as if to say how come you can't do what I can, you 2legged non-feathered oaf?
PS. Live in the Sonoran Desert so don't need any feeders other than the natural flowering plants they are built to feed from. 4eg desert slippers that have a very tiny bloom that doesn't lend itself to any other feathered flier.
i have also had great luck with pineapple sage and lavender. the lavender can tolerate a desert summer well. i have a friend here in palm springs that doesn't use feeders either. she has spent years studying and working to build a glorious pollinator garden. the only artificial item for her is a couple of fountains. they love having fresh water. she gets close to the same number of birds each night that i do. hers are spread out and doing a lot more movement. from natural blossoms they get one sip, maybe two before they need to find another. a lot of the ones to dominate will pick out a single plant and hold that against all comers.
Hummers are Earth Mother's fairies. Well, being ~indigenous~ means everything is related back to the natural world. It's possible fiction writers did look to nature when crafting many of their non-hooman characters.
Be proud of how you value the hummers by taking steps to see to their well-being including food, water, and shelter. That connection is that of having a good soul, aka strong spirit within. With it comes an attachment with all living things rather than how so many hoomans de-tach themselves from the world that surrounds them 24/7/4life. Those who connect and attach to the natural world relaize it is hoomans, not the hummer who are truly the smallest in a much larger mosiac.
the land i live on is leased from the cauhilla nation, agua caliente band. they revere the hummingbirds. their origin story is that they followed the black chinned hummingbirds (tuchil) to palm springs where the many canyons provided shelter from harsh weather and the mojave desert was its own defensive barrier. one of my neighbors this morning found a dead hummingbird while she was walking her dog. she called me, i came to collect it, and called the rez. someone will be out soon to take it. they use it in ceremony. i do not know the ceremony or any details. i know it is important to them and that's enough for me.
1/3 cup sugar to 1 cup tap water for the main feeders. the hand feeders get 1 cup sugar to two cups water. the big attraction is that i have protein feeders. i put kitchen scraps into them and they grow fruit flies which are 80% of the hummingbird diet. in the summer i cut the main feeder solution to 1/4 cup to 1. it does better in the sun and is less attractive to bees and ants.
I must have 40 of them on my 1/4 acre lot and the lot on either side of me and behind, I use feeders on poles that screw into the ground, making them movable, with baffles to keep them from climbing up and placement far enough away from anything that they can jump from or drop from. Hummers are fun, I’ve seen one give a Cooper’s hawk standing on a branch surveying a feeder, a piece of it’s mind from 4” or 5”, all of the other creatures in the yard had gone silent, the hummer was fearless. Zip zip zip, the hawk knew it had no chance.
i have a nesting pair of cooper's in a big oak across the street at a hotel. a lot of the hummingbird's nest there because while the cooper's don't hunt them, too fast, too much work for too little pay off, they do hunt the mockingbirds, jays, and others that hunt the hummingbirds. most of the predators go for the nests because that's the only time they are still. when they nest near the cooper's it's a symbiotic thing. the cooper's benefit because the predators go for the nests and they don't have to travel and hunt. the prey comes to them. the hummingbirds are amazing when they go on offense. they're too fast for the others to defend against. i've seen single hummingbirds take on a road runner and chase it off. if they attack it's done with full speed flying needles to the eyes.
easy. i put up more feeders than they can dominate. the way i have it arranged now, there are five 12 oz feeders in one area. there are four others hanging apart from them. those are for the ones who feel the urge to dominate. it's a powerful instinct they have. you can't stop it, but if there is enough food around it calms down. i still get dust ups. the main five feeders are close together to restrict the airspace between them. if it's getting too wild at the feeders i lower the awning so they can't do power dives to each other.
Very impressive! I love hummingbirds. They love my “hot lips” plant like crazy and my flowering maples. Such a joy to watch them. Just like watching acrobats!
The thing I love most about this chicken coop is that you gave the chickens a porch! And the details are wonderful. I would have loved to have written about this in my days back in the NY TImes Home section!
I resided in Shelbyville for one growing season. Had a contract gig to produce 1.4 million Hosta for a wholesale nurseryman just down the road near Chapel Hill. I would never recommend any place that has more houses of worship than establishments that serve hard liquor.
Back to the topic. I’ve lived in more humble domiciles. 😉👏👏👏💪
Weeks like this have me turning on "The Incredible Dr. Pol" at night so I can turn off politics and watch Dr. Pol with his arm (up to the armpit) inside a cow, pulling out a breech calf to save its life. Life is a miracle. I'd rather sit in a barn full of bellowing cows than listen to one lying Republican politician. What fun, to build a chicken tractor! Lucian, you are always full of surprises.
This is awesome - especially as it was built with all salvaged materials. My neighbor is planning on getting chicks this spring and since he's handy (builds furniture for a hobby) I'm going to show him your creation. He's been researching coops, but hasn't seen anything this neat. He has a tractor so he can pull it around with and change his chick's scenery!
I had a chicken tractor! It’s Amish built with a metal frame and tarp covering. You pick up one end and move it about on wheels. But it didn’t work out for me... my yard was too small, and on a slope--going uphill was painful. Worse, the hens dug holes every day trying to make dust baths... then I’d trip in the holes.
I got me a regular cute ol’ stationary coop--but it does have electric netting all around to keep predators out, and I just installed an automatic door that closes after they go inside at dusk, and opens in the morning! Peace of mind. I also set up little watering cups that have “joysticks” in them to dispense water when the chooks peck at it. They learn quick! They are gravity fed from a rainwater tank. No more hauling water (except for a few months in winter).
Oh, and by the way: I attended a total of 4 “Chicken Camps” with the great animal behavior trainer, Dr. Bob Bailey (who trained, with his wife Marion Bailey, with B.F. Skinner back in the day. They are both rock stars in the animal training world.) 40 hours each of those weeks--training a pair of hens to do AMAZING things. Best thing I ever did for my part-time passion and now retirement job-- dog training.
Does it have fowl injection or use a cowburator?
Touche.
How eggonomic to have used so many fownd materials!!
Well, sir. I have respected you for your writing and insight up to now, but now I have another perspective from which to offer my respect. Well done.
I wonder if Joyce Vance would want to commission you for one in HER backyard??
Does Joyce also have silky chickens? Love her GSD.
Well, I wouldn't know a silky chicken from a Dixie Chicken, but I know she keeps a few at home, and shares pictures and stories of them in between her legal 'seminars' she so lovingly shares with us. *In case you don't know, Dixie Chicken is a fabulous song by an all-time favorite band, Little Feat*
Once you see a silky chicken, you can't unsee it.
Yes, Joyce Vance is an amazing hooman being. The entire MNBC wimmin legal commentators easily outshine their male counterparts on cable. Analysis and commentary are fact and evidence-based with very little editorializing. And as you point out are unafraid to show themselves as people.
https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/meet-silkie-chicken/
Now that is a gr8 band name/song combo
Agree w/MSNBC, but I must throw a bone to my fellow testosteroner, Ari. He fits right in with all the 'wimmin'! And thanks for the link!!
Yes, 2Ari. See him separate and apart from other male legal eagles for a host of reasons. Much like Joyce and the other wimmin analyzing and commenting on legal matters makes certain to include his human side albeit in his way and style. Much ~ respect ~ to Ari.
Love the peacock!
Now they could cook! I worked with them a few times, they could get in a groove like the Dead and just sail, I can still picture them playing together, thanks for bringing back the memories Daniel. 🙏
Hands down, the best live performances I've ever been to. And yeah, I've also been to a few Dead marathons, too! Was stationed at Camp Lejeune mid-to-late 70's, and they were still doing college towns and small halls.
It really is. I have my asshole ex-husband, who was a bit of a human in college and introduced me to Little Feat and Renaissance, to thank. I got him through school, wrote his papers for him. After we graduated and I couldn’t find work (1980) and he joined his father’s insurance company, it was “don’t let the door hit you.” But he’s a dick and I’m a good person so there’s that. :) And Little Feat!
You know, sometimes it takes a real dick to wake us up to what's really good in life, and I'm glad the dick in your life woke you up to some tremendous music! And I have no doubt of your goodness. Just "put on your sailin' shoes" and be "willin'" to get out there and enjoy life!!
If you’ll be my Dixie chicken, I’ll be your Tennessee lamb.
And as he handed me a drink, he began to hum a song. And all the boys there, at the bar, began to sing along! One of the greatest song lyrics EVER!!
And we can walk together, down in DixieLand.
I came to Lucian's Substack immediately after reading Joyce's. Joyce's hens have a new coop, but it isn't on wheels. Chickens rule!
Agree. Chickens are baby goats with feathers????
I had the same thought!!!
Strange, but I can almost see flustered Katie Britt standing there on the porch trying to upstage the peacock.
I guess I really do need a break. Thanks for the egging. :)
POTD (Post Of The Day)
i live in palm springs california. every evening at sundown i get a glorious swarm of hummingbirds. this is how i am staying sane. there is a thing that happens in an intense swarm of them where i feel absolute peace and calm. hummingbird zen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmmE8XP0TS4&t=411s
if you have more hummingbird questions, this is my youtube channel. please visit, it has lots of videos. i post several times a day and you can ask me your questions there. i really admire lucian. i don't want to hijack his thread. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8ci1sCreCgq_27xNLtFo2g
Speaking of hummingbirds, I used to live in Sonora, MX, not far the Copper Canyon which is purportedly longer, deeper and wider than the Grand Canyon. There's a great set of zip lines (longest in the world) that hops from ridge to ridge and is connected by trails and suspended bridges. The canyon is so big it only goes partway down from the rim eventually ending at a gondola terminal for the ride back up. The zips and gondola were built by a Swiss or Austrian company. We were some of the first takers because it seemed prudent to do it before the Mexican maintenance schedule kicked in.
The El Mirador hotel in Divisadero on the continental divide is set right on the edge of the canyon with a large viewing deck that is the home of 1000s of hummingbirds due to the feeders set all along the railing. What a sight/experience at sunset with the full moon rising over that enormous canyon while surrounded by a huge flock of hummingbirds. Makes me think about heading back for another dose. :)
It took 80 years off and on to build the narrow gauge railroad, El Chepe, that runs along the canyon rim. At one point it does a full 360º to corkscrew up a ravine. Initially it was meant to be the link to transport freight from the east to the Pacific, but it took 80 years to build and the Panama Canal happened not long into the building. It's got more bridges and tunnels per mile than any other railway and is purported to be one of the top 5 rail trips in the world. Being a basic transport system from Chihuahua to the Pacific, the train is full of all classes which makes for an all round great trip.
Touristing around Sonora isn't necessary meant for the faint of heart or on much of anyone's bucket list, but I traveled the back roads of Sonora and Sinaloa in my old Tundra for nearly a decade and lived to tell. But then I had an oosik on the dashboard for protection. :)
Zips: https://parquebarrancas.com
Train, El Chepe: https://chepe.mx/en/
Copper Canyon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper_Canyon
Copper Canyon hummingbirds: Broad-billed, Berylline, Violet-crowned and Lucifer
Love their games of tag in and around dusk.
it's mesmerizing. they will be dog fighting and when another one is on their tail they think nothing of pulling an immellmann turn. that's killed human pilots. they do it for fun. when they hunting the bugs it's also amazing.
Dog fighting+ Well-said.
And truly feel grateful when one or more decides to go into helo mode within a foot or so from my face as if to say how come you can't do what I can, you 2legged non-feathered oaf?
PS. Live in the Sonoran Desert so don't need any feeders other than the natural flowering plants they are built to feed from. 4eg desert slippers that have a very tiny bloom that doesn't lend itself to any other feathered flier.
i have also had great luck with pineapple sage and lavender. the lavender can tolerate a desert summer well. i have a friend here in palm springs that doesn't use feeders either. she has spent years studying and working to build a glorious pollinator garden. the only artificial item for her is a couple of fountains. they love having fresh water. she gets close to the same number of birds each night that i do. hers are spread out and doing a lot more movement. from natural blossoms they get one sip, maybe two before they need to find another. a lot of the ones to dominate will pick out a single plant and hold that against all comers.
Hummers are Earth Mother's fairies. Well, being ~indigenous~ means everything is related back to the natural world. It's possible fiction writers did look to nature when crafting many of their non-hooman characters.
Be proud of how you value the hummers by taking steps to see to their well-being including food, water, and shelter. That connection is that of having a good soul, aka strong spirit within. With it comes an attachment with all living things rather than how so many hoomans de-tach themselves from the world that surrounds them 24/7/4life. Those who connect and attach to the natural world relaize it is hoomans, not the hummer who are truly the smallest in a much larger mosiac.
the land i live on is leased from the cauhilla nation, agua caliente band. they revere the hummingbirds. their origin story is that they followed the black chinned hummingbirds (tuchil) to palm springs where the many canyons provided shelter from harsh weather and the mojave desert was its own defensive barrier. one of my neighbors this morning found a dead hummingbird while she was walking her dog. she called me, i came to collect it, and called the rez. someone will be out soon to take it. they use it in ceremony. i do not know the ceremony or any details. i know it is important to them and that's enough for me.
Hi, neighbor. I live in the valley, too. I never get more than one or two at a time. What is your secret elixir?
1/3 cup sugar to 1 cup tap water for the main feeders. the hand feeders get 1 cup sugar to two cups water. the big attraction is that i have protein feeders. i put kitchen scraps into them and they grow fruit flies which are 80% of the hummingbird diet. in the summer i cut the main feeder solution to 1/4 cup to 1. it does better in the sun and is less attractive to bees and ants.
How do you set up the protein feeders to keep the squirrels out or are they not a problem there.
squirrels are not a problem here. i'm not sure what i would do with them.
I must have 40 of them on my 1/4 acre lot and the lot on either side of me and behind, I use feeders on poles that screw into the ground, making them movable, with baffles to keep them from climbing up and placement far enough away from anything that they can jump from or drop from. Hummers are fun, I’ve seen one give a Cooper’s hawk standing on a branch surveying a feeder, a piece of it’s mind from 4” or 5”, all of the other creatures in the yard had gone silent, the hummer was fearless. Zip zip zip, the hawk knew it had no chance.
i have a nesting pair of cooper's in a big oak across the street at a hotel. a lot of the hummingbird's nest there because while the cooper's don't hunt them, too fast, too much work for too little pay off, they do hunt the mockingbirds, jays, and others that hunt the hummingbirds. most of the predators go for the nests because that's the only time they are still. when they nest near the cooper's it's a symbiotic thing. the cooper's benefit because the predators go for the nests and they don't have to travel and hunt. the prey comes to them. the hummingbirds are amazing when they go on offense. they're too fast for the others to defend against. i've seen single hummingbirds take on a road runner and chase it off. if they attack it's done with full speed flying needles to the eyes.
Wow! How do you deal with dominant males?
easy. i put up more feeders than they can dominate. the way i have it arranged now, there are five 12 oz feeders in one area. there are four others hanging apart from them. those are for the ones who feel the urge to dominate. it's a powerful instinct they have. you can't stop it, but if there is enough food around it calms down. i still get dust ups. the main five feeders are close together to restrict the airspace between them. if it's getting too wild at the feeders i lower the awning so they can't do power dives to each other.
Thank you! I’ve tried putting them “out of viewpoint” of each other. I’ll try clusters instead, and a visit to the bird store.
Very impressive! I love hummingbirds. They love my “hot lips” plant like crazy and my flowering maples. Such a joy to watch them. Just like watching acrobats!
Wow! Wonderful!
The thing I love most about this chicken coop is that you gave the chickens a porch! And the details are wonderful. I would have loved to have written about this in my days back in the NY TImes Home section!
Thank you for a lovely break. And the peacock is amazing.
What a great job! local farmers are using similar structures to do rotating animal grazing on pasture land. Very “woke” in agricultural terms.
I resided in Shelbyville for one growing season. Had a contract gig to produce 1.4 million Hosta for a wholesale nurseryman just down the road near Chapel Hill. I would never recommend any place that has more houses of worship than establishments that serve hard liquor.
Back to the topic. I’ve lived in more humble domiciles. 😉👏👏👏💪
HA! I was raised in NC and you’re right…my town had a church on every corner!
😉🤷♂️
Bravo!
Weeks like this have me turning on "The Incredible Dr. Pol" at night so I can turn off politics and watch Dr. Pol with his arm (up to the armpit) inside a cow, pulling out a breech calf to save its life. Life is a miracle. I'd rather sit in a barn full of bellowing cows than listen to one lying Republican politician. What fun, to build a chicken tractor! Lucian, you are always full of surprises.
This is awesome - especially as it was built with all salvaged materials. My neighbor is planning on getting chicks this spring and since he's handy (builds furniture for a hobby) I'm going to show him your creation. He's been researching coops, but hasn't seen anything this neat. He has a tractor so he can pull it around with and change his chick's scenery!
Thanks and a Tip o' the Hat LT, for two things just now.
Yes, Good Laws We Need a Break from Orban's Orange Valet.
Secondly, chickens are great company, on a lazy afternoon...
Alan South of Boston
Did you learn that at WestPoint in Mechanical Engineering? Really impressive! All Claude’s brothers wanted from him was a tie rack.
Are you serious? I wouldn’t be caught dead at the United States military Academy. Annapolis is much more my crowd and disposition.
I’m sure I learned it in some issue of acres USA.
In the decades since I have seen it at the practice hundreds of times.
Sorry. The USMA question was directed to Lucian. He and my husband knew one another there a gazillion years ago.
I had a chicken tractor! It’s Amish built with a metal frame and tarp covering. You pick up one end and move it about on wheels. But it didn’t work out for me... my yard was too small, and on a slope--going uphill was painful. Worse, the hens dug holes every day trying to make dust baths... then I’d trip in the holes.
I got me a regular cute ol’ stationary coop--but it does have electric netting all around to keep predators out, and I just installed an automatic door that closes after they go inside at dusk, and opens in the morning! Peace of mind. I also set up little watering cups that have “joysticks” in them to dispense water when the chooks peck at it. They learn quick! They are gravity fed from a rainwater tank. No more hauling water (except for a few months in winter).
Oh, and by the way: I attended a total of 4 “Chicken Camps” with the great animal behavior trainer, Dr. Bob Bailey (who trained, with his wife Marion Bailey, with B.F. Skinner back in the day. They are both rock stars in the animal training world.) 40 hours each of those weeks--training a pair of hens to do AMAZING things. Best thing I ever did for my part-time passion and now retirement job-- dog training.
The photo sensitive armature is the difference between a Cadillac chicken coop and a hovel. 🤣👏👏👏💪✌️
I love it! I’m vaguely familiar with chicken tractors, and yours is hands-down the finest a biddy could wish for.