Hello from Chicken Paradise Hawaii — today it’s me and Taro. A farmer who is a friend of a friend grew lots of cucumbers and offered the slightly bruised ones, so a share of their share came our way. They’re going to the chickens later.
Our nest-box security guard
What happened here? The hens were squabbling so much over the nest boxes that Piccolo stepped in to break it up. Thank you for looking after everyone every single day, Piccolo.
Then came a parade of faces: Star looking scary, Fujiko, Nuts, Mikan underneath, and big sister Purin passing through. Mimi was angry, and so was Fluffy — far too angry. Shachi was there too, then Nana, and Kombu kept pecking at me from the side. Scary!
A finger lime at last
Today I want to show you a plant I bought today: a finger lime, a long, skinny lime shaped like a finger. Open the fruit and it’s full of tiny popping beads. There are none of the fibers you find in a mandarin orange, so the beads just tumble out — it’s even called “citrus caviar.” It’s said to be really delicious, and rare.
I’ve wanted to grow one for a long time, so when I spotted small seedlings at the home center I nearly jumped for joy. There were only two, so I bought both. Marron couldn’t care less. Now to repot them. I hope they grow big!
Today’s Dolly
I stepped outside for a moment, and Dolly came to peek after me, looking worried. Then, by chance, the car of a man she adores pulled up, and she peeked harder than ever. Just a little longer, Dolly!
Meet Lavender
Lavender is an Old English Game Bantam in a color called blue speckled — which simply means blue and mottled, even though the feathers aren’t really blue. She was left unsold at a shop, so I took her home for a low price, together with her little sister Lilac, who I’ll introduce another day.
Her face is so cute: big round eyes, a real beauty. Her nose is a little stuffy right now.
This breed is familiar in Hawaii, where it’s called a “table top” — they’re so small they get made to fight on top of a table. They’re tiny but strong-willed, and calm once you’re friends, so lots of people keep them as pets. They’re also entered in shows that judge a chicken’s beauty, looking at feather length and pattern, so they don’t struggle however much you handle them. Catching her, though, was a lot of work!
Thank you for watching Chicken Paradise! See you in the next episode.