I know, I know, it’s Irish not Scottish, but I’m still excited that I’m learning a new language!

I have to say I’m very impressed with the Rosetta Stone course, it uses lots of pictures and sounds and it never really tells you exactly what you’re saying, it makes you figure it out based on the “theme” of the lesson and it’s totally working for me.

Damian really likes it too, although he gets pretty cheesed off when the spelling of a word doesn’t match what it sounds like at all!  Just based on various books that I’ve read that have a wee bit of Gaelic in them here and there, or characters names sometimes, I think I know a bit more than he does in the way of how some things should be pronounced so that stuff isn’t bothering me at all.  It’s very entertaining to listen to someone else say the lessons out loud, that’s for sure!

Damian is pretty big into etymology so I looked some stuff up and it turns out that Dia also means God in Old Irish, and the way to say Bless You in Scottish Gaelic after someone sneezes is Dia leat!  You see, similarities abound between the two I’m sure!  I’m determined to make the connection!

But all in all I’m enjoying it very much and I’ll hoping that it will help to get the gist of whatever Scottish Gaelic I may encounter in the future.

I’ve been feeling bad for a couple of my chickens lately, they are losing back feathers to the rooster from whenever he “treads” on their backs while mating. And for some reason, he always chooses the same two girls, Ruby and Amber, one of them most often (Amber), and there is really no way to stop it short of separating everyone.

Then all of a sudden Amber got way worse, and I had to take some quick action before she got hurt and whipped up a chicken jacket/saddle for her, and enlisted my sweetie to help hold her while I put it on. It was my first try and to be honest I think it was too big, it didn’t sit flat and it seemed to really bug her and eventually she managed to pull it off. In the meantime though I cranked out version 2 with some modifications, so at the end of the day we did the ole switcheroo and got that one on her instead.

And voila! Right away it fit better and she didn’t fiddle with it trying to get it off again. I’m afraid it might not be wide enough, but so far it seems okay. As you can see it looks a little goofy (she’s the one on the left), but when I sent a photo to my mom she said it looks like she has a Superhero cape – I like that idea way better! Much cooler!

So here’s to our new Superhero – Amber! Come to save the day with her dainty little eggs! Now if only there was something I could do about her practically bald head – a chicken helmet maybe?

As for Sgt. McBluey, he’s reached his full maturity and has suddenly decided that he’s the boss of everything including me – he launched a few sudden attacks on my feet and hands – so I looked up what could be done.  The answer – kick him in the butt, literally!  Not hard of course but the plan was to go into the yard (what he sees as his territory) on the offensive, don’t even wait for him to launch an attack, and give him a swift kick in the rear and chase him down – if he could be caught then hold him down and then he’ll know you’re the boss.

Well, easier said than done!  I did finally manage to deal him a wee kick in the behind but it was harder than I thought it would be, and most of the time was spent me chasing him around.  I never did catch him, but he laid off on the pecking flurries for a while so that seems to do the trick.  He’s tried it again a few times when I’ve let my guard down but he never does do anything major and as long as I’ve got shoes on (of course I would in the chicken yard, gross!) then I’m totally fine.

I wonder if I crowed would he take that as my proclomation of being top of the pecking order?  I’m sure my sweetie would think it was pretty funny if I tried!