From more than 60 submissions via the original blog post and Facebook, the list has been narrowed down to a select few.
As promised, an esteemed panel of judges (all of you!) will pick the winning name. The winner will receive a dozen eggs (if you live in town). If the winner lives out of town he or she will receive something of similar, but less perishable, value.
Vote Now!
Filed under Albuquerque, New Mexico, Urban Chickens
We recently spent a lovely day as tourists in our own city. On a stunning Memorial Day weekend Saturday we ventured out the Albuquerque BioPark complex.
We started at the Botanic Garden. The highlights were all the plants in full spring bloom and the recently-opened-for-the-season PNM Butterfly Pavilion.
We then ventured over to the Albuquerque Zoo and ran into an old friend, a zookeeper, who got permission to let us FEED. THE. HIPPOS. Hippos are remarkably, fantastically cute. Especially when they’re behind six-inch steel bars. It was also public giraffe feeding time so we did that too!
To top off a lovely day, we had dinner with some of our favorite people and the saw The Avengers, most of which was filmed right here in Albuquerque.
Here are some gratuitous butterfly, hippo and other assorted pictures for your ooohing and ahhhing enjoyment (mostly hippos though).
Filed under Albuquerque, New Mexico, Outdoors, Travel/Tourism, Uncategorized
I’ve been looking for authoritative information on the annular solar eclipse path next Sunday, May 20th. Seems that the good folks at NASA obliged.
This interactive map can tell you if you’re in the path of the eclipse and what time it will be visible for you. The only challenge is that the times are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UT) otherwise known as Greenwhich Mean Time (GMT). So basically, if you’re in Albuquerque like I am, you’ll need to subtract seven hours from the time below to see when the eclipse will those in Mountain Standard Time. But WAIT, there’s a catch: it’s daylight saving time, so only subtract six hours. What’s that you say, why don’t I just do the subtraction for you? OK, fine.
The start of the partial eclipse will be: 6:29 p.m.
The start of the annular eclipse will be: 7:35 p.m.
The maximum will be 7:36 p.m.
The end of the annular eclipse will be: 7:38 p.m.
And the whole spectacle will end at: 8:37 p.m.
If you’re in another timezone beside MST, you’ll need to do your own clock math.
And finally, don’t forget to be prepared to watch the eclipse with some other device besides the naked eye. Watching a solar eclipse without eye protection turns you into a rabid flesh-eating zombie. It’s true. So protect yourself and happy eclipse watching!
Filed under Albuquerque, Outdoors
One of our chickens is nameless and that lack is starting to impact her self esteem. She mopes around in an existential funk questioning her place in the world. So, it’s time for her join her named sisters: Mrs. Henny Penny/Penelope Houston, Houdini, Karen and Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy for short).
Here’s some details on the Chicken Who Shall Be Named:
– She’s an Easter Egger and will lay either blue or green eggs.
- She’s rather friendly and will let you pet her and pick her up.
- She was the runt of the litter but now has grown to be of equal size to our other chickens.
And here are some glamour shots, the white chicken is the one that needs a name:
And here are some details on the contest:
- All entries must be received by May 31st, 2012.
- All contest entries should be submitted in the comments to this blog post. You’ll need to provide your name and email address to comment below and suggest a name, which will also give me your email so I can contact you if your the winner. Your email will not be used for nefarious purposes.
- If two of the same entries are submitted, the one submitted first shall be considered.
- The winner will be selected by an esteemed to-be-determined panel of judges.
UPDATE: The winner will be selected by the most esteemed panel of judges I could think of – all of you. That’s right – this chicken will have a crowdsourced name.
- The winner, if in town, will receive a dozen fresh eggs (once the hens start laying). If you’re out of town, you receive something equivalent. You’ll also be immortalized in our chicken history.
- The winner will be announced here in mid-June.
Filed under Albuquerque, Urban Chickens
Our chickens are rapidly progressing to adolescence. And it’s a tough journey for all of us in the household.
First off, they’ve started preening – checking themselves out the mirror and applying too much blush.
And I caught Mrs. Hennypenny texting her chicken friends when she should have been studying for Egg Laying 101.
Just the other day Houdini tried to convince me that she should live in room with the separate entrance to the outside. Sure, like I’m going to fall for THAT one.
And the brooding, the endless brooding. The other evening, they all put on eyeliner and listened to The Cure and Depeche Mode all night long.
The pecking order is also in full effect. They’re very judgmental and have started harassing our late bloomer. The runt isn’t developing at quite the same rate as the other and they make endless fun of her. I think they even anonymously had a training bra delivered to her the other day. Teenagers can be so cruel.
But before we know it they’ll be out of the house ready to embark on life’s journey in our backyard. I hope we’ve given them to tools to be good chicken citizens. And I’m sure we’ll look back on this time in their lives with fondness.
They grow up so fast.
Trouble in a cage.
Making a break for it.
Filed under Albuquerque, Urban Chickens
And so begins our poultry adventure. We picked up our chicks today from Miller’s Feed in Albuquerque. They are just two days old and happily peeping away under their heat lamp.
We have four breeds of chicks (hopefully all hens, but we won’t know for a while yet if we’ve got any roosters).
The breeds are:
Rhode Island Red
Buff Orpington
Araucana (also know as an easter egger or a south american rumpless) (rumpless, hah!)
Barred Rock
Excuse me while I go look in on the chicks again, they keep falling asleep spontaneously and just kind of falling over into a fluffy little heap. The cuteness is maintaining at pretty much ridiculous levels.
Want to learn more about Albuquerque’s Urban Chicken Ordinance and about urban chickens? Check out this urban chicken website and download the report for information on urban chickens in 25 cities around the U.S. including Albuquerque.
Filed under Albuquerque, Urban Chickens
We took an urban chicken class through the Albuquerque Old School today in preparation for the arrival of our chicks next week. Eeeeeek, I’m so excited. And I’m going to apologize in advance for all the gratuitous chicken pictures that are going to be posted over the next few months.
Filed under Albuquerque, Urban Chickens
We’ve been messing with the high-speed video feature on our new camera and braved the white fluffiness to bring you this slow-motion snowstorm. I find it rather zen-like.
Filed under Albuquerque, New Mexico, Outdoors
This year’s Nob Hill Shop and Stroll was severely impacted by sub-freezing temperatures. In an inspired effort, many of the local Nob Hill merchants of banded together for a Park & Shop on Thursday, December15, 2011 from about 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. (depending on store hours). And don’t forget, parking is free up-and-down Central in Nob Hill during the holidays.
Here’s a little bit from the event creators on why a second try at a holiday shopping extravaganza is so important:
In Nob Hill many small businesses are struggling. Shop and Stroll is usually the biggest day of the year for most of the retailers, but an epic wind storm made it hard for the community to come out this year. The timing couldn’t be worse.
For many Nob Hill Merchants this year has been the most challenging year we’ve ever faced. A huge number of stores have closed in the last few years in Nob Hill, and many of us are struggling just to get by. Many shops have cut hours, laid people off, taken on more, and learned how to do more with less just to survive. What’s happening in Nob Hill is happening all over America, and through this action we hope to make it easier for folks to keep their money in their communities.
When you shop in Nob Hill you are supporting businesses that are based in Albuquerque. We live here and we love it. We support the community through community donations, gross receipts taxes, and (perhaps most importantly) through the love and care that we put into our interactions with you in our shops and restaurants in our own wonderful and quirky ways. We believe the neighborhood of Nob Hill is special, and we appreciate the experience of creating this incredible community with you.
The event’s Facebook page has some of information and you can go here for an updated list of all the specials being offered by Albuquerque’s fantastic local merchants including:
A Celebration of Love Weddings
Aqui-Nob Hill
Astro Zombies
Bailey’s on the Beach
Bath & Body Bistro
Birdland
Cowboys & Indians
Dawg Gone Good Boutique, Barkery and Paw Spa
Ecco Gelato
Form Gallery
Gambei Wellness Salon and Spa
Gearwerks
Heart + Soul Salon
Ingrid Mari Boutique
KINK a beaux arts gallery
Kosmic Trading Post
Lilly Barrack
Nob Hill Fabrics
OFF BROADWAY
Olo Yogurt Studio
Ooo Aaah Jewelry
Papers
Peacecraft
Revolver
Rhythm Dance Company
Rockit Hair Studio
Self Serve Sexuality Resource Center
Serafin’s Chile Hut
Sexy Me Brazilian Wax Salon
SOLE Art & Antiques ~ SO much more than just antiques!
Stilo Lifestyles Accessories
Stone Circle Massage
Stone Mountain Beads
StreetFood Asia
Sukhmani Nob Hill
Terra Firma
The Barber’s Shop
The Herb Store
The Yarn Store
TNA Tobacco & Supplies
Tokyo Hardcore
Tres Boutique
Zap…Oh
Filed under Albuquerque, New Mexico, Shopping
Whew. Raced out the door at 6 a.m. to get some lunar eclipse pictures. It’s a good thing none of the neighbors were out as my eclipse photographer getup consisted of some yoga pants, hoodie, some ridiculous shoes and hair that bore a striking resemblance to a tumbleweed. Cosmic fashion choices aside, the eclipse was stunning in the light of the sunrise and made me once again appreciative of the clear skies of Albuquerque.
I’ll leave you with this quote from the incomparable Carl Sagan on the pale blue dot we call Earth.
“Consider again that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every “superstar”, every “supreme leader”, every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.”
Filed under Albuquerque, Outdoors
