Arty Chickens

You only have to browse some of the country and even city gift shops to see what a popular subject the chicken is in the art world. Paintings, gift cards, ceramics, jewelry and toys are inspired by our feathered friends. Their unique and humorous characters are always portrayed in the massive array of merchandise on offer, and never fail to bring a smile to the chicken lover. I started off by playing around with my camera's special effects and was amazed at the different ways I could capture my beautiful little hens - Blodwyn, Braith, Bethan and Bronwen.

I wonder what the great Claude Monet would think of my impression of Blodwyn in the meadow?

Blodwyn in the meadow

Then I turned Blodwyn into an Andy Wharhol type image

Blodwyn

Could this be a Tate Gallery possibility?

Bethan -section image

Then the nostalgic sepia effect

Bronwyn

And the old black and white - which is most appropriate for my girls as they are called Magpie rangers and their colouring is black and white.

Braith

After the photos, I had to dig this one out. An original 'doodle' by Phylis Blakemore - member of Wrekin Writers and most importantly - my mom! She doodled this cute little cockerel when we were on holiday in Scotland. I treasure it, as she not only created a little character - she gave a little bit away about her self.

Cockerel doodle - Phylis Blakemore

This is an original creation by a young lady I met through my work called Mel Addison. She agreed to paint my lovely cockerel Jupiter in exchange for a copy of my book. You only have to go to the beginning of my blog to see how well she captured him. As he is no longer with us, I feel she immortalised him in this magical picture.



Jupiter - Melanie Addison


This lovely picture was painted by Susan White who is married to our very own Mike White of Wrekin Writers. The subject was a cute little cockerel who we met on our annual writer's retreat last year, near Aberdovey. Susan is very talented and captured this little character so well. We all got to feed him as he was very tame. She created this gorgeous little painting within a few hours, as she does with many of her paintings. I was so thrilled when she gave it to me and he proudly adorns my kitchen wall, along with an entire collection of arty chickens!

Picture of a cockerel - Susan White 2008


I make no apologies for the shameful plug on this one. The little brown hen on this book cover has helped to sell my book 'One Hundred Ways for A Chicken To Train Its Human'. She and all the other chickens I have been blogging about are a constant source of inspiration to me and will continue to be in the future.

Inside a different chicken coop

I recently made a visit to the Wernlas Collection in Onibury,Nr Ludlow, Shropshire. It is a unique and beautiful collection , showing off some of the many rare and stunning breeds of poultry. I was amazed to see so many different varieties on display. Some were beautiful, others not quite so. They ranged in size from something similar to a pigeon to a small dog. But they all had a fascinating history dating back for centuries and spanning many countries. It really is a fantastic place to go if you are into something a bit different.

The place is run by Sue and Shaun Hammon who have been running the collection for over 24 years. I will be going back soon to take more photographs for some articles I am working on at present, but I could not resist taking these snaps, despite the torrential rain. The chickens certainly looked more presentable than I did once I had finished!

It is well worth a visit if you are in the area as it truly is an interesting place to go, just try and choose decent weather as I found a lot of them hiding in their coops and most reluctant to come and say hello when it was raining so hard.

Silkie

Dorking - A very old English breed

The tiny and very cute, Gold Seabright

The White Jersey Giant
The name speaks for itself, they were massive!

The Black Jersey Giant






The Appenzeller Spitzhauben
I wonder what they were saying, certainly curious looking little creatures.

All details for the Wernlas Collection can be found on their website on www.wernlas.com.

Summer Holidays

'Wow! Look at the size of those worms'

'I'm going to take a closer look'

'Whoa! Where did you come from?'

'I'm on holiday, I live at the seaside'




'It's great fun, people swim in the sea and make sandcastles. You just take a bucket and spade and fill it with sand, then pack down firmly'.

'Tip it out'

'And there you go - I'm king of the Castle'

'I want to be queen'

'No chance, this castle is mine. I shall defend it to the last'

'Just a minute, you are only visiting. I could have you put in a paella before you can say 'Lobster Thermodore'. I rule the roost around here and don't you forget it'

'OK, wow, you are one feisty chick, I don't get this much bother from the seagulls. Mind if I take a dip in your pool before I leave, I feel half cooked in this heat!

Happy Holidays everyone!

Anyone for Tennis?

Yipee - It's Wimble'd -Hen!

'I think I'll just check the net before we start the game, don't want any 'fowl' play in this championship.'

'That ball was in! Chalk dust - everyone could see there was chalk dust! Right where is the Umpire?'

'You cannot be serious! Did you have your eyes closed? That ball was in!

'And just how many ball girls do you need?'

'Oh no it's raining again! Typical of the English weather - I'm off.'

'Where's she gone? I can't win this championship on my own. '







'Where do you think? When there are strawberries and cream on offer inside the chicken coop, why on earth would I want to run about a court for hours chasing an odd shaped egg?'







'That girl has has no willpower, and that cream will go straight to her hips. You have to be in it to win it. I think I will spend the time polishing my trophy! It's great for my bingo wings!!

I declare myself the winner, so that makes me the 'Great Brit-Hen' champion of this major tennis tournament for this year - watch out Andy Murray!

A friend like Ben

I could not let today pass by without paying tribute to Michael Jackson who died yesterday. It was such a shock to learn of his death and I admit to weeping when a clip was shown of him singing 'Ben'. It was from the film about a boy who befriends a rat, only he could touch the hearts of people by singing about a creature that most people despise.

I went up to see the girls and sat for a minute inside the coop. It was all so still, then suddenly my own resident rodent appeared. I usually scream and run from the site when I see a rat but today I saw him in a different light.

It's not ideal to have rodents near by, but when you have chickens, it's the norm and I realise I will have to do something about it, but today that little rat touched my heart and it was all because of a legendary pop icon. His memory and his music will live on.

Summer Solstice

Who needs Stonehenge when there is an equally magical stone circle inside the chicken coop?

This morning thousands of people flocked to Stonehenge to celebrate the Summer Solstice. The girls were up at the crack of dawn too ready to see the sunrise on this magical day.

This astronomical event occurs twice a year when the earth's axis is inclined towards or away from the sun. This is considered to be the beginning of summer, and in medieval times, healers would gather herbs and plants considering them to have miraculous healing powers.

I think Braith is just happy she has longer to scratch around for grubs and worms.

But Branwen got into the celebration of the sun and went totally bonkers!

Elizabethans believed that this was a time when all sorts of magical things happen and an old tale states that if a maiden sets a table with a white cloth, placed bread, cheese and beer upon it, then the man she was to marry would join her for supper either in person or his ghost.

It appears some were less superstitious - Branwen got stuck in on her own and within a few seconds started to demolish the bread without even waiting to see who turned up to join her!

I think she even drank the beer!

Of course our most famous Elizabethan - William Shakespeare brought the celebration to life with his play 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. Could this be Titania , queen of fairies sat under my maple tree? And are those her little attendants, Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Moth? But where is Mustardseed?

There she is - showing off again.

On a magical day like this - nothing is impossible and sometimes fairy tales come true.

Happy Summer Solstice - enjoy the day.

Meet the ancestors

I wonder if Blodwyn realises, she may have just met one of her distant ancestors.

Scientists are finding constant links that our modern day chicken could be related to the incredible dinosaurs that enjoyed a 'free range' of our world over 100 million years ago.

The terrifying Velociraptor, made famous by the film 'Jurassic Park' was believed to have a fine covering of feathers and possibly not much bigger than a turkey. The picture of Branwen indeed shows a more ferocious side to our feathered friends.

If she was any larger, I think she would certainly be a match for any Velociraptor!

Feet are a great clue to their past. These pair belong to Branwen. Note the sharp claws at the end and scaly skin. Not unlike the Archaeopteryx below - one of the first fossilized birds.

Then there is the Gallimimus which is closely related to the ostrich. Part of the Ornithomimids group and very similar to our ground living birds with a lightly built skeleton, long neck, compact body, small skull and beak.

Note how long my hens necks appear on this photograph and quite similar in structure to the ancient Ornithomimids.

That's the science bit - now for something eggstra!

Dinosaurs laid eggs to hatch their young - just like my girls - I am a little concerned about what is hatching inside the chicken coop though.

Could this be the start of something new? There are dinosaurs all over the place.

Blodwyn is not too happy about sharing the coop with a stegosaurus.

That may be that he is not such a close cousin as the mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex. At least she has the upper hand now, as after 100 million years, she is a lot larger, so he is no competition for her.

The Dinosaurs may be extinct, but some of their characteristics live on in our feathered friends. Watch out for that broody hen or the ferocious cockerel next time you go inside the chicken coop.