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Thursday, May 14, 2009

New-fangled solar dryer


After twenty years of not having a clothesline, we finally did it. Now I can have that bury-your-face-in-the-sheets-and-inhale feeling again. I can also feel good about my lower electric bill and helping the environment.




Little Red (Hen) likes to peck at our jeans...and legs, and toes.












A head of cabbage a little past optimum human consumption? No problem for the hens!





Louise, my Easter Egger who lays pinkish eggs instead of green, scores a quarter for herself.

Watching chickens and clothes drying, do I know how to have fun, or what!

17 comments:

Sandy Nawrot said...

It totally takes me back to my childhood on the farm! I love the smell of clothes dried out in the breeze and summer sun! I think my neighbors would turn me in if I did it now. I love your rooster and hens too!

Char said...

line dryed linens? heaven. what a beautiful day for all of that.

Susan said...

Sandy, that's my childhood, too. When my kids were little in the late 70's and 80's, I used a clothesline all the time.

Oops! They're all hens. My rooster had to go bye-bye when he started attacking the grandkids. Went to live on a real farm.

Susan said...

Char, there is nothing like that fragrance. Proctor & Gamble keeps trying, but they just can't manufacture that aroma. It's a beautiful day today and I've got even more hanging on the line.

Ruth said...

YIPPEE! Can I come over? Oh dear, I want to steal your laundry joy.

You need to teach me how to hang that duvet (? sheet?) so cleverly on two lines with something else hanging between. Wow.

Don hasn't fed his hens a head of cabbage in a while, and I haven't witnessed it yet.

Yayayayayay, I'm so happy now.

CottageGirl said...

Hey Susan! How comforting it must be to sit there and enjoy the basics of life!

I'd love to have a clothes line up, but I'm afraid now we have to room. Do you have any clothesline poles? I wouldn't even know were to find some! I bet my DH would have to make them!

CottageGirl said...

Man -- I can't write! Sorry for the type-o. Let me try again?

...but I'm afraid that now we have no room.

Amy said...

Congrats on getting a clothesline. I love mine-it saves me a ton of money! Your hens are so pretty and robust. I find that sitting and watching laundry dry and hens eating cabbage is wonderful for my stress level and blood pressure. I don't need expensive entertainment centers. The best entertainment in the world is right in my yard!

Susan said...

Ruthie, there's plenty of laundry joy to spread around, so you won't need to steal any! I've been catching up on all the blankets and sheets. Now my whole linen closet smells like fresh air! Yay!

Those are flannel sheets on the line. I just keep one end of the sheet or blanket in the basket while I'm hanging the other end on another line. It helps dry them a little faster.

I usually don't feed the chickens a whole head of cabbage in nice weather, but that one got pushed back and pushed back until I forgot about it, so out it went. They enjoyed it immensely!

Susan said...

CG, you're right! It's amazing how soothing it is to see linens billowing in the breeze. It doesn't take much to entertain me!

So far I haven't needed any props for the lines, but I think you could probably find some at a hardware store, or online at Lehman's. They probably wouldn't be too hard to make though.

Susan said...

Amy, not only do I find it calming to watch the clothes dry, but I actually enjoy the process of hanging them and taking them down. I'm such a nerd!

I know for myself that being out there with my chickens brings down my stress level and helps me sleep better. I noticed a big difference during the winter when I couldn't sit in the yard. My insomnia was back, now it's gone again! Magic!

Don said...

What do city folks do for fun and relaxation? I hear they have picture shows and stuff like that. Out here in the boonies, we just watch laundry, chickens and turkeys.

Susan said...

Hey Don! What are you doin'? Skipping school?!!

That's right! Here at Green Acres, we eschew the city life for a much simpler existence! Gonna have to get me some turkeys. We don't have any gobbling going on here. However, we did gobble down some wilted lettuce salad the other evening. The first picking from the lettuce bed! It was goo-ood!

Tipper said...

I like your new clothesline-and your chickens look so pretty and healthy!

Susan said...

Thank you, Tipper! I've been so lucky with my chickens and haven't lost one yet. Crossing my fingers. They're good layers, too! I'm getting about a dozen eggs a day on average out of 15 hens.

Cindy said...

hey it looks like you know how to have fun to me! Your hens are beautiful!!

Susan said...

Cindy, I'm easily entertained! Thank you! I carefully disguised all the rough parts where they've molted. lol