Comanche Crossroads

Seeing as I missed the cut off by a whole day, I had to take a different approach to deciding on if I was going to go to this show or not.. We have a whole slew of hatchery quality birds we're trying to unload. Back in the spring we got a little crazy with those cute feed store chicks for the boys and ended up with over 100 birds that we had NO intention on doing anything with. Some of them grew into strong healthy birds. Some of them were resold as chicks or young birds. Now November, we still have an over abundance of Cochin Bantams and a few others that would be great for a backyard flock but just don't fit in with the SOP quality birds we typically keep. The lesson here is don't let the pregnant lady order a bunch of cute adorable puffy faced chicks from a hatchery.

Present day we decided that even though we missed the cut off to bring some of our show birds, we still wanted to go and hang out with these fine folks and bring some sale birds. Just in case. You never know who will want an adorable fluffy butt that's spoiled rotten. So we quickly drew blood on about 15 birds, calculated the trip, loaded up, and hit the road. This rash decision happened over the course of about three days. I went from "I'm not going" to "maybe there will be enough people there to make the trip worth it... snap some pictures, get some candid shots, meet new people, etc."

So off we went.

Upon arrival of the show grounds we were greeted by Dwayne and Melody, the folks who run the show. It was 7 AM and quite chilly. They offered up coffee, snacks, and drinks. Wow! Such hospitality! We got checked in, unloaded a couple of the sales birds, and ensured everyone else had food and water. One of the other exhibitors had made kolaches. Home. Made. Kolaches. They were amazing!

Within the hour exhibitors had arrived and began prepping their birds. I watched in awe at the prep work it takes to get silkies, show girls, and strippers ready for show. I've never really paid them much attention. I stick with my clean legged birds... a little wipe down, occasional brushing of a few fly feathers, a little RX on the comb ( makes it redder ) and off we go. Silkies? Oh man. I watched the blow them out with blowers, obsessively brush them clean, wash their feet and spray them with all sorts of sprays. Cleaning them, especially the paints and the whites, took quite a bit of prep work.

This little guy in particular was busy flirting with his neighbor. He was throwing shavings, feed, scrambled eggs ( an early morning treat from his owner ) and anything else he could get his mouth around. He was scratching and cooing, doing his best to win the affection of the girl next door. She could care less what was going on in this young strutters cage. All she cared about at that moment was the food that had just been placed in front of her. He would throw her more shavings and food ( further staining his beard ) and she would happily peck away at the feed in the cup in front of her.

Saturday wound down with many interesting conversations and new friends. Many new faces and an intrest in a new breed ( hence the focus on the Silkie's ). The Jonas family invited all of the exhibitors out to supper at a local Mexican Restaurant. The food was amazing, albeit they seemed a little unprepared for the volume of our party. The table was full of laughter and discussion. Both about birds, family, shows, and whose who around where. The conversations started to dwindle, the last of the food scraped off plates, and we made our way to our motel room. This pregnant lady had had enough of being on her feet and was ready for a warm bed.

Sunday morning was the same routine. Exhibitors began trickling in as early as 7 AM, some barely made it before the judges arrived. Some wore the face of the night before. Some wore the pre-coffee I need to wake up face. Some arrived bright eyed and bushy tailed, well rested from the night before. Conversations started up as the coffee and blood continued flowing. Roosters reminded everyone there was food to be poured.

While watching the exhibitors prep their birds, and snatching candid shots such as this one here:

Patricia: "Normally people catch me making faces like this!"

(Pictured: Jennifer Etheridge-Robertson and Patricia "Patty" Ann Dunlap-Vento)

Or some like this:

These ladies were busy prepping these lovely birds for the mornings show. I don't know who was cackling louder, the chickens or the ladies in the silkie corner. Their morning conversation consisted of a few regretting going out the night before, and a few discussing how they slept wonderfully. I will spare a few of you the embarrassment of the pictures I took of your faces pre-coffee. I'll leave Patty and Jen to enjoy their candid moment.

It seems it doesn't matter what show you go to the groups will all have their fun. You see them in dairy goats, cattle, pigs, poultry, it doesn't matter where. Someone is going to go out the night before the show and regret life. Someone is going to go to bed early and be known as the 'party pooper'. Someone is going to have a herd of children they're trying to wrangle while prepping the kids show animals.

Back to the cackling Silkie owners. As Sunday morning progressed and the coffee kept flowing ( courtesy of the Jonas family ) the cackling eventually out grew the hundred plus birds in the building. The laughter and friendships were very apparent among these ladies. The ladies who had plucked me out of the crowd and tucked me under their wing for the weekend. We talked birds, talked breeding plans, talked future shows. We had a lot of fun.

Although the hair dos from the exhibitors were faltering this morning, the birds were ready to show. The judges arrived and everyone rushed to put their finished products back in the cages.

Once the birds were prepped and ready, the judges on the prowl, several exhibitors disappeared back to their campers. Time for a nap while the judges do their thing. Time for us to pack up and head home. An open invitation to find them at the next show we attend littered the air as we packed up. We had all the fun we could manage. I was tired, I had a four hour drive ahead of me, and I did not have birds there waiting to be judged. There was no reason to stay all day.

Lets face it. The chair I brought was quite uncomfortable with all the extra weight from the pregnancy. The bars from the fold up chair digging into my legs the entire time cutting off circulation. Can't get up and do a whole lot of walking, thanks to my hip, so it was time to join the comfort of my truck and head back to the house.

We will be trying to attend at least ONE more show before the baby arrives: Klein County. Anything else will have to wait until after the first of the year once he gets some size on him. I know plenty of people who are just as anxious for his arrival as we are here at the house. There's nothing quite like a little mini-you running around to remind you of why you keep going every day.

So we hit the road and headed home, hugs and goodbyes all around.

Happy Hatching,

Kate

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