Kennedy’s Weekly Photo: May 4th
Author: Reagen Mueller
Kennedy’s Weekly Photo: April 27, 2021
Chickens
Today I am going to talk about chickens, the first animal we ever bought for our little hobby farm. We have had all sorts of different types of chickens, buff orpingtons, black australorps, and rhode island reds are the tree main types but we also had a few random chickens we acquired in one way or another. Recently we got 13 more chickens, which was 13 more than we were planning to get. We knew we were going to get three chickens from a family friend that didn’t want them, so me and my mom drove to our closest TSC. We went straight to the chicks and looked at all the kinds they had. They also had baby turkeys which look surprisingly like slightly bigger chicks. We ended up getting six isa browns. We chose these because they are supposed to be able to lay up to 350 eggs a year. Then we after we left we realized we forgot to get cat food so we went to Runnings. When we got there I instantly went to the poultry section to see if they had any cool breeds of chickens, and they did. They had Easter egger chicks, which can lay blue eggs when they get older. The eggs you buy in a store are white most of the time. Chickens like white leghorns lay white eggs. You have also probably seen brown eggs, which is what all of our chickens up until this point have layed. Now we have chickens that will lay blue eggs. There are actually a few different breeds that lay blue eggs, Easter eggers, Ameraucana, and Araucana. There are a few differences between these breeds. The Ameraucana and Araucana are both pure breeds and an Easter egger is a mix of a Ameraucana and a another breed, normally one that lays brown eggs. Our Easter egger chicks are a cream color with some brown stripes on it’s back, but ate the store there were also ones that were a charcoal gray. So now we have talked about chickens that lay white, brown, and blue eggs, but did you know that there is a breed called Olive Eggers that lay green eggs. Or maybe you want speckled eggs, then you should get Welsummers. Actual chickens themselves can be weird colors too. Ayam Cemani for example, these chickens are completely black. Their feathers, legs, bones, and even their meat is black. These chickens are like this because of a dominant gene that causes fibromelanosis, or hyper pigmentation. Chickens can also be extremely fluffy like silky chickens. These chickens are fluffy because there feathers don’t have barbicels. Which according to Oxford Languages are, “any of the minute hooked filaments that interlock the barbules of a bird’s feathers.” That is all I’m going to write about chickens today but I will keep you updated on the chicks this month.
Kennedy’s Weekly Photo: April 20, 2021
Kennedy’s Weekly Photo
My sister, Kennedy wanted to post one of her pictures every Tuesday. This week is the first official week of Kennedy’s Weekly Photo.
Permaculture
Permaculture is a way of gardening that creates a sustainable and self-sufficient environment. To understand permaculture we have to look at what nature does with no human interaction. If nature sees a bare spot of land it will fill in the land with any plant that can grow there whether that plant is native or not. If nature sees a problem like polluted water it will put a plant that can help fix polluted water there. Some gardeners pull weeds and plants that are not native without a second thought, but take a closer look maybe that plant is there to fix something that’s wrong. If you want an abundance of crop you should think about permaculture because not only is row gardening inefficient but it is actually less beneficial. But you can’t just plant any plants next to each other you have to think about there needs and also how they benefit your environment. For example tomato and basil grow really well together because basil helps keep away bugs that are looking for tomato seeds. Another great example that you have probably heard of is the three sisters. Many Indian tribes used this method of planting. The three sisters are corn, beans and squash. Bean plants can take nitrogen from the air and bring it to the soil and that helps all three plants. A case of two plants that do not get along is walnut trees and tomato plants. These plants don’t like each other because walnut trees produce juglone. Juglone is a chemical compound that stunts the growth of other plants. Permaculture doesn’t just involve plants though animals and insects can help too. Chickens can really help with bring up the soil and bees pollinate plants. Rabbit poop is also a exceptional fertilizer. Permaculture is an efficient and beneficial way of gardening and I encourage all of you to do more research on it or just try it yourself.
Journal prompts
So a few weeks ago I posted a article on journaling. But if it’s anything like when I started Journaling you may be a little bit lost on what to write so here are 31 journal prompts. You could even do one a day for a month if you wanted to.
- If you won the lottery what would you do?
- what does your dream house look like?
- My favorite quote is…
- things most people don’t know about me
- my top 5 favorite memories
- How I think I can improve in life
- 10 new thing I want to try are…
- 10 things I want to do again are…
- 10 things I NEVER want to experience again are…
- Things that make me feel calm are…
- My favorite family traditions are..
- I couldn’t live without…
- What’s the definition of success?
- your last happy memory
- what would your life be like if it took place in the eighteen hundreds?
- 10 thing I really, really want but don’t need
- 10 things I’m really, truly grateful for right now
- What makes you mad?
- If you knew you only had one year left in life what would you do right now?
- What do you imagine your life like in 10 years?
- What is your favorite season? Why?
- If you could only go one place and never leave that place where would it be?
- 10 things I thought I needed a year ago but am doing just fine without know are…
- 10 things that really bother me are…
- in another life who would you be?
- What is your dream job?
- What is one talent you wish you had?
- How can you use the talents you do have, for good?
- Who inspires you?
- What is your favorite part of your life?
- What is your least favorite chore? Why?
There are 31 Journal prompts for when you don’t know what to write. See ya next time.
Climate Change in recent years
So we all know at this point that our world is Very polluted and, it’s very sad to to think that some people don’t care. Some say that it’s not real but there are facts that global warming and pollution exist. 100,000 sharks die from humans every year. 1,000 turtles die from plastic every year. 5 million animal die do to deforestation every year. The worst part is it’s not like we haven’t thought of solutions, we have but most of the time there a little more difficult or expensive then what we are used to. Lake Victoria in Africa for example, gets filled up from rain that falls directly on it, and because of global warming it’s in danger of drying up. There are animals that live in this lake that only live in one other place in the world. Think about that because we need our plastic bags and water bottles, animals are dying and when an animal goes extinct it’s gone forever. So I really hope that after reading this post you will make an efforts to stop using plastic.
Journaling
So you’ve heard of journaling but like me you probably thought “that’s dumb I hate writing” or “I don’t have time for that”. But Journaling actually has a lot of great health benefits. Here is 5.
1. Keeps memory sharp
It has been proven that when we right stuff down we are more likely to remember it.
2. Reduces stress
A journal doesn’t care if you unload all your stress on it.
3. See problems clearer
- If we right down our problems sometimes we can see that the answer is really quite simple.
4. Helps with physical health
Journaling has also been proven to help people with asthma and arthritis
5. Helps injuries heal faster
It has been proven that injury can heal 4.4 times faster if you journal.
Those are five health benefits but there are still lots more. Just remember when your journaling that you don’t have to take it to seriously. It’s fine if you miss a few days or even weeks. It doesn’t matter if your sitting at your desk or laying in bed. Your the only one who’s going to read this so say whatever. See ya next Thursday.
why you should shop secondhand.
Chances are most of you here have heard of shopping secondhand, and whether you thought it’s not for me or sounds cool, I recommend you read this article.
1. You will save money
Some basic things that people need like silverware and clothes cost way more then they should. At second hand shops or thrift stores the price of things is sometimes half of what it was new, and most of the time it’s in pretty good condition.
2. You will give items a new life
These things in thrift stores were put there buy some one who didn’t want to throw them away, so by buying them you are making sure that item doesn’t go to waste.
3. You will find unique items
Sometimes you kind find handmade or rare items that no on else in the world but you will have. Just think out of the 7.8 billion people on this earth you are the only one that will own this item
4. The things you will find have character
Have you ever saw something in a store and thought “I wish I could find a lamp with more detail” or something like that. Well at thrift stores you may be able to find that detailed lamp of your dreams.
5. You will find better quality items
Now you may be thinking “Better quality? won’t they be all old and ruined. You may find some things like that but just because something is old doesn’t mean it is poor quality. In fact the opposite is true, older things were most likely made with more care then some mass-produced T-shirt you saw at the store earlier.
6. Less clothing thrown away
11.2 million tons of textile waste is thrown away a year. By buying secondhand we can take that number down at least a little.
7. less resources used
You may not believe it but it takes 3 thousand liters of water to make one cotton T-shirt, and 1,800 for a pair of jeans. Not to mention all the carbon dioxide being let into the from the machines.
I really hope that I have convinced you to shop secondhand and thanks for taking time out of your day to read this article.