Today started off like any other day. I made breakfast for guests, looked at my to-do list, planned my day, cleaned a suite and then completely changed my plans because I remembered the chickens were arriving today. So, on my way I went to the grange to pick up my new fuzzballs.
I call them my little chicken nuggets. I may or may not have walked out of the store with 16 Mc Fuzzballs. I couldn’t contain myself.
Setting up the brooder (cute, warm little fuzzball house) isn’t easy when you skip a year. Everything gets stored away in places you never knew existed – including the keys to the shed.
But the peanut gallery cheered me on. Or maybe they just wanted grain.
Scavenger hunt finished… cage behind the barn, waterers in the shed, feeders in the attic of the barn and comfy bedding shavings in the back of the truck. Chicken nugget warmer ready. I will not need exercise for two months.
Twenty-five pounds of special, baby fuzzball food. Check.
Ooooooo shnooky wooky. You so sleepy?
Giving me the stink-eye, huh, sassy sweetums?
That’s okay because someday you will be a diva and look like Cher so I’ll let your miniature attitude go for now.
Sun bathing beauty. My little California girl. My little sunshine bunshine.
And this one? I bought her just because of her breed name. She is a Frizzle. She will be frizzly. My little frizzly bear.
I shall talk normal again in a few months. I promise, my lovey dovey pookie wookie. Thank you for visiting.
This week I set up a photo shoot with the girls. Okay, really, I just saw that it wasn’t raining and decided to see if I could get a few good shots of our hobby farm poultry.
This is one of our Rhode Island Red chickens. She has a suite at our B&B named after her. It’s called the Rhode Island Red Suite.
Now is probably a good time to admit that I bought this Ameraucana chicken just so I could have blueish-green colored eggs like Martha Stewart. These chickens are also known as Easter egg chickens. This might also be a good time to admit that I’m not wearing matching socks. Or maybe not. But I feel better letting that out.
This is our Speckled Sussex chicken. To be perfectly honest, her butt is even cuter than her face with all her speckles and all. Did I just say that out loud?
Two rhodies sharing lunch.
Time for a water break.
Then there’s our Rouen duck. She is as sweet as can be and our survivor. She’s the only remaining duck after some raccoons came to visit this fall so she is BFFs with the hens. And for this, we call her Ducken.
The two step.
Did I mention that I found a fruit tree on our property. I’m beyond proud to tell you that I’m growing not one…
… but two beautiful cherries. Today I shall celebrate and eat one. Never mind that they are barely bigger than a Tic Tac.
Just for fun, a shot of Ducken filling up.
Did I mention that I’m also growing a bazillion blackberries? Yes, yes I am. You can congratulate me in the comments.
And I leave you with this… the cutest back of a ducken drinking water out of a large bucket on the first Monday morning in July I’ve ever seen. You’re welcome.
The Old Hen Bed & Breakfast will be featured on Evening Magazine tonight, Thursday May 3rd at 7pm on channel 5. We don’t know when we will be on, so be sure to tune in a little before 7pm in case we are first. Tomorrow we will go back to our regularly scheduled recipes.
It all started with our window washer. We asked him… okay, we begged him to come clean our windows and he rearranged his schedule just for our top-secret shenanigans.
His payment may have involved freshly baked scones. After all, it was an emergency.
We decided we couldn’t be on a show that airs in a few states & parts of Canada without flowers in the yard so I went to the store and got some brilliantly colored and carefully chosen flowers.
The table was perfectly set.
But the kitchen still looked like this when I got the email at 10:30am that our host would be at the B&B not at 1pm but at noon.
I panicked.
So much so that I misplaced this little sippy cup that belongs to our little friend, Taye. I’m sure I’ll find it soon. I hope.
Just a few things to put away. That and, you know, get myself ready. I’m sorry, there will be no before pictures of me.
I interrupt this blog post to present thee with clean floors. Loverly.
We bought new goats just on time for this segment. We had taken a few months off from being goat owners after selling our mixed breeds and went back to these sweet pygmies. They are brothers. Their names are Ringo, George and Paul. Imagine.
Right after everything was ready, our host, Michael King and the camera man, Mike, showed up. Michael tried to catch our duck but she’s too sassy.
The chickens, however, played along well. We’ll see if this trick makes the segment.
After meeting all the hobby farm animals, they walked down to the Snoqualmie River.
It was time to finish up the pastries and such for the camera. Approximately half of this powdered sugar ended up on me and the floor. Or, the floor and I. Or, I was floored.
After he handed the mic over to me, Michael let the camera man Mike take over and I don’t remember anything I said after that. I may have muttered something about how everything tastes better with streusel. That, and I may have made a slightly inappropriate joke when the host asked me how to use the rain shower. But only slightly. Oh gosh, I hope it was only slightly.
After the host jumped on this bed, I realized that I had forgotten to straighten it up again before the next guests came. I’m hoping they happen to read this and consider it a wonderful memory. So, if you see something about a tousled bed on Trip Advisor, just know that this is the story behind the tousling.
This is Everett. I served Everett his plate four times before he got to eat. This part turned out nicely. It was in a sneak peek of our segment last night and I don’t mean to brag, my service after the fourth time was excellent. Practice makes perfect.
Breakfast was served at 2:00 in the afternoon to our fake guests. Well, they were real but, you know, fake. All of them have stayed with us before. They were real at that time. Oh dear. I’m not sure if they’re ever going to come back again.
I may or may not have fallen on this couch when the filming was done.
And one last confession…
I may or may not have found these in the back of my car the next morning. Brilliant. Simply brilliant.
We send huge thank you to our host Michael, camera guy Mike and real guests Everett, Rhonda and Tyler. Thank you to everyone who voted for us. We can’t wait to see you at the B&B again soon and appreciate you taking the time to vote. We know it is a lot for you to stop everything going on in your lives to vote and we cannot begin to thank you enough!
We had some very special visitors this week at The Old Hen Bed & Breakfast. We invited some of our previous guests over for brunch. Oh, and King 5 Evening Magazine happened to stop by too.
We are being featured on Evening Magazine because we are a finalist in their Best Northwest Escapes contest.
So I made some danishes… two trays just in case one of them burned from my happy, scattered, nervous brain waves.
Like a good girl scout, I was prepared with all of the fillings.
Even more than a crowd of 12 people could eat, I’m sure.
I lined up my serving wares.
Food safety (and a picture) first!
… all as Mike waited for his million dollar shot which I believe involved the magical rolling of the spiral omelet.
Tyler graciously waited for his 2pm breakfast in the midst of all the camera hoopla by killing time on his phone and chatting.
Rhonda and Everett enjoyed the Cake Wrecks books. Who doesn’t?
Streusel makes everything prettier. And tastier.
The suites are ready for their camera time. Or so I thought.
Mom pulled the danish out of the oven while I showed the camera guy and host around.
Finally. Breakfast… er lunch… um, almost dinner for Michael King and our other guests.
Or breakfast. I’m so happily confused.
The truth is, however, that no matter how well lined up things are, there is always room for some improvement. This I shall share on Thursday afternoon before our segment airs so that you have the behind the scenes scoop – hopefully that which does not show on air at 7pm on channel 5 on Thursday, May 3rd. Did I mention it’s this Thursday?
Michael, I look forward to hearing what you think of the fresh duck eggs and, Mike, I hope you made it to your next camera shoot on time. Thanks, guys for a fun day!
One of the very best things about innkeeping is that you get to meet fun, beautiful and sometimes quirky people from all over the world. About a year ago, we met a fun, young couple who we really hoped would come back again. I am quite sure we have had the best guests a bed and breakfast could ever, ever hope for.
This week they came back. It’s their anniversary. We were so happy to see them again and Jessica came with a gift. Even more reasons to celebrate. That makes me happy. You will want to celebrate too when you see what she gave me.
I don’t think I have ever owned such an adorable stuffed thing in my whole life. She is gorgeous. She has pockets. She is flowery. She is organized. I love her.
If you would like to meet Jessica, you’re in luck. She has a lovely blog named Rag-a-muffin. Oh, and an etsy store too. Visit her and tell her that Deanna from The Old Hen -the innkeeper with the pocket chicken – is a fan.
Yeah. That’s not the farmer’s wife in the painting. That’s his spinster daughter. So if you’ve ever used this picture to depict a happy couple, you are forgiven. But, pretty please. Just don’t ever do it again. It really grosses-out people who know the truth. Love, Deanna
Deanna’s love for baking and cooking began as she sat upon a baker’s stool as a little girl. Her love for people grew in the midst of church potlucks. She expresses her loves today creatively through speaking, writing for her foodie blog as well as hosting guests, including celebrities, at her award-winning B&B in Snoqualmie Valley, Washington.
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