This year's young birds

My own chicks are now 2.5 months old and the finest of all the years so far. Although the rooster was yet another Lavender Araucana, this time the hens have, besides a fashionable tufted head, the whiskers on the cheeks typical of a rumpless Araucana.
Here are some pictures of my young birds today. Besides my lovely crosses, the flock also holds Black Copper Marans and birds bought from the Sakala hatchery: Dominant Blue (dark grey) and Dominant Leghorn (white).

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A pullet with delicate grey plumage, a pale blue egg layer

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A black tufted head, a green egg laying pullet

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Lavender plumage, a delicate olive green egg laying pullet.

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White plumage, a pale blue egg laying pullet

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Dominant Blue and Black Copper Marans

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A Black Copper Marans cockerel, tail feathers still nonexistent

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Dominant Blue

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Dominant Leghorn

 

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Violin case repair

Last school year, I repaired my grandchild's violin case. The loops meant for attaching the backpack straps had torn off. She cycles to school, and it’s impossible to ride while holding the violin in your hand. Naturally, the violin and case—which belonged to the school—went back at the start of the summer. Now that the new school year has begun, she has been issued a school violin and case again, but this one is in even worse condition than last year's. So, I undertook the repair once more. This time, I decided to replace the entire back panel—including the piping—and cover the torn section at the end of the case with a leather patch. I used reflective tape for the top layer of the piping. The video condenses six hours of work into three minutes. If anyone finds themselves in need of a similar repair, I will be able to take on a few jobs starting in February 2027, and I can handle a few at a time during the summer break.

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