One of our chickens, Princess Layer, has gone broody. She's starting to molt, so her egg production is actually on hold. She started acting broody a little less than a week ago. In this video I demonstrate one of the recommended "cures" to help a hen get over being broody. It's not very effective.
Video Link
Showing posts with label video. Show all posts
Showing posts with label video. Show all posts
Monday, September 10, 2012
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Worm Treats
We found some baby worms in the backyard and wondered what the chickens would do with them.
Today was their first day getting worms. We shot this video during the second feeding. A couple of them know they should get them from the plate, but the rest just run around chasing the ones that have worms instead of getting one from the plate themselves. We thought it was pretty hilarious.
The white one - "Pox" - seems to be the most observant and curious. She always looks like she's studying you or puzzling things out in her head. She was the first one to take to the worms. Once she had the first one the rest chased her down to get it.
We don't plan on giving them worms often, since they are still pretty young and get all the nutrients they need from the feed. This was an experiment. We're also hoping that some exposure like this will help re-enforce their natural instincts for when they are introduced to their outdoor coop. They're already scratching around in the brooder looking for stuff under the pine shavings.
I'm amazed at how baby chickens are pretty much ready to go right out of the egg. We've had baby cockatiels several times, and they require a lot of care and tending by their parents. But chickens are walking, eyes open, and feeding themselves right away. They come "pre-programmed" with a great deal of know-how.
Today was their first day getting worms. We shot this video during the second feeding. A couple of them know they should get them from the plate, but the rest just run around chasing the ones that have worms instead of getting one from the plate themselves. We thought it was pretty hilarious.
The white one - "Pox" - seems to be the most observant and curious. She always looks like she's studying you or puzzling things out in her head. She was the first one to take to the worms. Once she had the first one the rest chased her down to get it.
We don't plan on giving them worms often, since they are still pretty young and get all the nutrients they need from the feed. This was an experiment. We're also hoping that some exposure like this will help re-enforce their natural instincts for when they are introduced to their outdoor coop. They're already scratching around in the brooder looking for stuff under the pine shavings.
I'm amazed at how baby chickens are pretty much ready to go right out of the egg. We've had baby cockatiels several times, and they require a lot of care and tending by their parents. But chickens are walking, eyes open, and feeding themselves right away. They come "pre-programmed" with a great deal of know-how.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Sunriver 2011
We had a really good time at Sunriver this year. This was the first time everyone got to ski/snowboard together. Adam wanted to try the snowboard. It was also Rachel's first time on skis. David, Tammie, and I also skied.
David was too fast for me and I never had a chance to catch him on video. This was his 3rd or 4th time skiing and we signed him up for his first lesson (up until this point I had been what one might call a teacher if one were being so generous). Each time he'd pass me up I wasn't expecting him so the camera was never ready.
David was too fast for me and I never had a chance to catch him on video. This was his 3rd or 4th time skiing and we signed him up for his first lesson (up until this point I had been what one might call a teacher if one were being so generous). Each time he'd pass me up I wasn't expecting him so the camera was never ready.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Rocket Party
I took the family out to have a little "rocket party" last Saturday. I had been working on a rocket with an onboard digital video camera and it was finally finished. (More information on this over at my Tinkering Lab blog.) So I also dug out some of my older rockets to re-launch. A couple of them needed a little fixing up, but no big deal. I bought each of the kids a simple rocket they could assemble and launch. And after getting my launch controller fixed up again (the switch had gone out) we were all set to go.
I found a huge field that is apparently used for growing wheat, but is vacant right now. It's close to home and free of trees and structures for our rockets to get stuck on. It rained a little bit while we were there, which almost spoiled the whole thing. But it eventually stopped and the winds didn't get too strong to kill the party.
The kids were funny to watch during the launches. Even though the rockets aren't that loud, the kids would plug their ears and flinch away. They even seemed to be a little scared of the launch controller, hitting the switch and almost running from it.
We did have one mishap with Rachel's rocket. Somehow the engine blew up on it. It was just mini A engine. Immediately after clearing the launchpad and about 20 feet in the air it just popped and fell to the ground. Rachel was so concerned for her rocket that she immediately ran to it and picked it up. Unfortunately it was still very hot and she burned the tips of her fingers. After letting it cool and upon further inspection we found that the engine had blown a hole in its side and the inside of the body tube actually caught fire. It was still smoldering when she grabbed it. I don't know if it was a faulty engine or just a really old engine (one of my old leftovers) that had exceeded its shelf life. I've launched many many rockets and never seen that happen before.
Aside from that major downer, we all had fun.
Anyway, here are a couple videos of my "Big Daddy" rocket with the onboard camera:
I'm so glad I caught the rocket on that second launch or it probably would have really munched it. The parachute can be repaired so we hope to have it flying again soon.
During our little rocket party we also got to see some jets from the airshow going on at the nearby Hillsboro airport. The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds gave us some noisy flybys. We were close enough to get some cool views of the jets, but we weren't in any of the flight paths to be too concerned about our rockets interfering with the low flying aircraft. But we still made sure not to launch when the jets were flying around us.
That photo is of a very large plane that flew by. I'm not even sure what it is but it's HUGE! The picture doesn't even do it justice. It took us by surprise and I didn't have my camera out fast enough, but when we first saw it, we can only describe it as a "flying cruise ship." It looked too big to be flying. And to see it flying so low just made it stand out all the more.
I found a huge field that is apparently used for growing wheat, but is vacant right now. It's close to home and free of trees and structures for our rockets to get stuck on. It rained a little bit while we were there, which almost spoiled the whole thing. But it eventually stopped and the winds didn't get too strong to kill the party.
The kids were funny to watch during the launches. Even though the rockets aren't that loud, the kids would plug their ears and flinch away. They even seemed to be a little scared of the launch controller, hitting the switch and almost running from it.
We did have one mishap with Rachel's rocket. Somehow the engine blew up on it. It was just mini A engine. Immediately after clearing the launchpad and about 20 feet in the air it just popped and fell to the ground. Rachel was so concerned for her rocket that she immediately ran to it and picked it up. Unfortunately it was still very hot and she burned the tips of her fingers. After letting it cool and upon further inspection we found that the engine had blown a hole in its side and the inside of the body tube actually caught fire. It was still smoldering when she grabbed it. I don't know if it was a faulty engine or just a really old engine (one of my old leftovers) that had exceeded its shelf life. I've launched many many rockets and never seen that happen before.
Aside from that major downer, we all had fun.
Anyway, here are a couple videos of my "Big Daddy" rocket with the onboard camera:
I'm so glad I caught the rocket on that second launch or it probably would have really munched it. The parachute can be repaired so we hope to have it flying again soon.
During our little rocket party we also got to see some jets from the airshow going on at the nearby Hillsboro airport. The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds gave us some noisy flybys. We were close enough to get some cool views of the jets, but we weren't in any of the flight paths to be too concerned about our rockets interfering with the low flying aircraft. But we still made sure not to launch when the jets were flying around us.
That photo is of a very large plane that flew by. I'm not even sure what it is but it's HUGE! The picture doesn't even do it justice. It took us by surprise and I didn't have my camera out fast enough, but when we first saw it, we can only describe it as a "flying cruise ship." It looked too big to be flying. And to see it flying so low just made it stand out all the more.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Orlando Adventures - Day 14 Finale
Well, that's it! We flew home today. No incidents at the airport or en route. Fun was had by all, but we are also glad to be back home. I'm sure this feeling of "glad to be back" will last until tomorrow when we all have to go back to school and work. I predict that around 11:00am tomorrow we'll all be wishing we were back at Walt Disney World or sitting by the pool in the sun. Oh well, it all had to end sometime.
I've finished editing a couple videos of Epcot and Hollywood Studios. Not the best videos as I didn't get a whole lot of video footage. Also, these were shot using my digital camera with a primary purpose of still photos. But, you get the general idea.
The video of Soarin' flashes because I'm using a video camera to record film. Video and film rates are not the same, so you get a strobe effect. Anyone who's ridden the ride knows that it doesn't really look like that.
Epcot:
Hollywood Studios:
I've finished editing a couple videos of Epcot and Hollywood Studios. Not the best videos as I didn't get a whole lot of video footage. Also, these were shot using my digital camera with a primary purpose of still photos. But, you get the general idea.
The video of Soarin' flashes because I'm using a video camera to record film. Video and film rates are not the same, so you get a strobe effect. Anyone who's ridden the ride knows that it doesn't really look like that.
Epcot:
Hollywood Studios:
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Orlando Adventures - Day 7
Click on the photo to be taken to the first in the set of today's photos.
Today went off pretty much as planned. We made it to Blizzard Beach around 11:00am (an hour after opening) and had a really fun time there. The weather was cool and there was some rain just as we were leaving the house. At first we were worried that it was going to ruin the day, but I figured that if I'm going to get wet then I want to do it on purpose. Better to be wet at a water park than wet at an amusement park. So we kept our plans and it worked out perfectly. The rain stopped just as we got there and the sun came out from behind the clouds quite often. But the water park attendance was really low which made it all the more fun. No lines at all on any slides. Plenty of room in the pools and beach chairs.
We had fun in the wave pool, then moved on to the water slides. The weather was just cool enough to chill the kids in between slides. By the end of the day their teeth were chattering so we left about a half-hour early (it closed at 5:00). The kids were really brave doing some slides that looked scary.
David had the goal of conquering the biggest drop (in the top picture above). It's a nearly verticle drop all the way down. You get going about 50 mph by the time you reach the bottom. I took Rachel along with us just to see if she wanted to do it. She showed no fear and just walked right up to it without hesitation. This is the same little girl that runs and screams in fear if she sees a bee, or hears a bee, or thinks she might have seen or heard a bee but it was actually a fly.
They made me go first though and I felt like I had to put on the brave face. Sitting at the top of this thing is very intimidating. About 2 feet in front of you the slide just disappears. I made it to the bottom, with some pain from the water slapping me pretty hard as it brought me to a stop. Then Rachel came next followed by David. Each of them came out with a look of pain on their faces. And each of them, like me, said "that was fun, but let's not do it again."
We didn't have a chance to do everything there, but we did get to do everything we wanted to do multiple times. They also asked if we can go back, which we definitely will when we have the next opportunity.
After we left Blizzard Beach we continued as planned and went back to Hollywood Studios. Everyone was hungry so we went to the Commissary for dinner. We ate there the last time we were in that park and liked the selection. We also saw some cool Lost displays.
I still wanted to see the Backlot Tour, but we were too late. The sun had just set and they don't run it after dark. So we went to One Man's Dream instead (a display and movie about Walt Disney), Star Tours, Muppet Vision 3-D, then Fantasmic. The park was closed when Fantasmic got out so we headed back home.
A fun filled day where we did pretty much everything we had set out to do and had a fun time doing it.
Tomorrow is the Animal Kingdom and back together with the whole gang again.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Water Park
We went to the North Clackamas Aquatic Park today. It was our second time going, but this time I took my waterproof camera case.
The above embedded video is really low quality. I recommend going to the Youtube page instead and clicking on the "watch in high quality" link just below the lower right corner of the video.
More pictures here.
The above embedded video is really low quality. I recommend going to the Youtube page instead and clicking on the "watch in high quality" link just below the lower right corner of the video.
More pictures here.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Me for Pres '08?
Did she call me a "virtual unknown"?! Pshaaa! If Real News is calling it "Catherall Mania" then I beg to differ. And, while I'm quite flattered, please...no more tattoos.
But really. I don't think the country is ready for another Bill in the White House. On the plus side, comedians would be impersonating me on Saturday Night Live. And I promise to increase NASA spending by 10,000%.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Adam - Piano
Adam has been watching Tammie teach other kids piano for a while now and has been begging to be taught as well. Tammie wasn't sure that he was ready or that he'd stick with it so she kept putting it off. Meanwhile Adam would occasionally sit at the piano and "play songs" by just randomly playing the keys. But he wouldn't pound, he'd act like he was playing for real. So Tammie decided to give it a shot and just see what happens.
He took to it like a fish to water and is progressing very rapidly. Tammie began teaching him sometime in late February this year and he's moving along very well. We're also surprised at how much interest he has in it. He begs for more lessons and we never have to force him to go practice. We usually have to force him to take a break. He'll even walk away from a full dinner plate to go play some more.
Mickey Mouse March
He performed these two songs at a Primary talent show last Saturday. When people asked how long he'd been playing and I'd answer "a little over 2 months," they'd respond with, "You mean he's been practicing those songs for 2 months?" "No, that's when he started playing the piano."
Popeye the Sailor Man
He got a big kick out of seeing himself on Youtube after I uploaded these videos. Now he wants me to make more.
He took to it like a fish to water and is progressing very rapidly. Tammie began teaching him sometime in late February this year and he's moving along very well. We're also surprised at how much interest he has in it. He begs for more lessons and we never have to force him to go practice. We usually have to force him to take a break. He'll even walk away from a full dinner plate to go play some more.
Mickey Mouse March
He performed these two songs at a Primary talent show last Saturday. When people asked how long he'd been playing and I'd answer "a little over 2 months," they'd respond with, "You mean he's been practicing those songs for 2 months?" "No, that's when he started playing the piano."
Popeye the Sailor Man
He got a big kick out of seeing himself on Youtube after I uploaded these videos. Now he wants me to make more.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
PowerBots
Yesterday, David and his Lego team attended the state FIRST LEGO competition. They participated last month at the local tournament and did so well there that they were invited back this month to the state tournament. The video above is from their 3rd round at the table competition where they earn points by completing mission objectives. (They are the Beaverton PowerBots in the bottom half of the split screen.) They designed and programmed the robot to perform the missions autonomously. This final round was their best of the 3 (I don't know what the score actually was, but things went much better than in the other 2).
The scoring at the table is only 25% of the final score though. The other 75% of the final score is comprised of judging based on teamwork, robot design (technical), and a presentation on the research project. This year's theme was alternative energy sources and the project was to visit a local building, do an energy audit, and make recommendations for more energy savings.
Here's a video from one of the practice rounds where the kids tested out some last minute modifications.
This competition is a really fun way to introduce kids to the world of engineering. They are given a set of problems and some parameters in which to solve those problems. Also, they are not given a whole lot of time to solve the problems. Even the most organized teams who begin meeting early in the year only have a couple months to work out the details of this particular competition. So not only do they learn some engineering principles such as drive trains, chassis design, power transfer, programming, etc. but they get to learn problem solving skills. There are often even problems that come up at the competition where they could only have a few minutes to brain storm and execute the change.
Here's a video from one of the practice sessions for the research project presentation.
They did really well yesterday competing against some of the best teams throughout the state and got 2nd Place in the category of Innovative Design!
Way to go team!
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Snorkeling video clips from Turks & Caicos (Dec 2006)
Underwater 1
A short underwater video clip. Snorkeling at a small reef just off the beach.
Video Link
Underwater 2
Swimming with the fishes.
Video Link
Underwater 3
Some cool blue fish.
Video Link
Underwater 4
I shot this clip while snorkeling at one of the larger reefs.
Video Link
Underwater 5 - Barracuda!
This was one of the barracudas hanging around and checking us out as we snorkeled. I estimate that it was about 4-5 feet long, and very intimidating.
Video Link
Underwater 6 - Turtle!
Swimming with Crush out at the reef. I apologize for how jumpy this clip is. I didn't want to get too close and scare the turtle, so I stayed up at the surface where I was getting tossed around by the waves making it difficult to hold the camera steady. This turtle was a young one. It's only about 2 feet long.
Video Link
Underwater 7
Tammie accidentally shot this video while snorkeling. It's not the best of the clips, but there was one fish that keeps appearing and I think it's pretty funny.
Video Link
You can see the pictures from the trip here.
A short underwater video clip. Snorkeling at a small reef just off the beach.
Video Link
Underwater 2
Swimming with the fishes.
Video Link
Underwater 3
Some cool blue fish.
Video Link
Underwater 4
I shot this clip while snorkeling at one of the larger reefs.
Video Link
Underwater 5 - Barracuda!
This was one of the barracudas hanging around and checking us out as we snorkeled. I estimate that it was about 4-5 feet long, and very intimidating.
Video Link
Underwater 6 - Turtle!
Swimming with Crush out at the reef. I apologize for how jumpy this clip is. I didn't want to get too close and scare the turtle, so I stayed up at the surface where I was getting tossed around by the waves making it difficult to hold the camera steady. This turtle was a young one. It's only about 2 feet long.
Video Link
Underwater 7
Tammie accidentally shot this video while snorkeling. It's not the best of the clips, but there was one fish that keeps appearing and I think it's pretty funny.
Video Link
You can see the pictures from the trip here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)