BANTAMS

The last remaining flower in my perennial bed is a fall blooming Anemone. Mythology tells us the anemone sprang up from the blood of Aphrodite's slain lover Adonis. The name "windflower" signifies that the wind blows the petals open and eventually blows the dead petals away. The anemone is a wonderful flower for the fall garden.

My little banty rooster has been a wonderful addition to my flock. I, who was dead set against keeping a rooster, will now eat crow. Oh, he is a looker alright and his Cock- A- Doodle-doo has been practiced to perfection. Banty's enjoy small social groups, one rooster to three hens. Don Juan keeps a protective watch over his ladies making sure their feathers remain intact. Speaking of feathers, there is a new trend in my area anyway, where rooster feathers are in demand. It seems for $35.00 you can have a feather woven into your hair. I happened to notice a sign with the words "get feathered" I had no idea what it meant. You might have guessed by now I am not very trendy. Well, it appears rooster feathers are the new hot "it" item. Let me just say the only ones sporting feathers here at Dog Trot Farm will be my chickens.Loretta is a Mille Fluer, a very sweet and social gal.Josephine is a lilac colored Cochin and is very lady like.Annabelle, a Japanese bantam is the smallest of my bantams. She also happens to be Don Juan's favorite. Bantams lay the sweetest little eggs, three bantam eggs are equivalent to one hen's egg. I have read that bantams can also be raised as meat birds and make a mean chicken cacciatore. Bantams are friendly little birds and quite entertaining, they scurry about the coop yard but know enough to stay out of the way of the older hens making sure no toes are stepped on.Don Juan..guardian of Dog Trot Farm...and proud feather