Chick Wisdom and other stuff

Chicken Wisdom #1:  Boxelder bugs crawling on the floor of the brooder box are fair game/prey. Boxelder bugs flying are scary things that you need to run away from! So says Buffy.
The chicks are lots of fun to watch.  They are growing quickly and are much more active and noisy this evening.  Their wings are feathering out nicely and they are just starting to get little tails.  Too cute.  I could spend lots of time watching them but I've got other things to do.
J16 is working diligently on her mock-up dress before she starts the real thing.  For the trial run, she chose a beautiful tan/cream/brown batik cotton with a darker brown for the contrasting band.  She is learning lots about clipping curves on the fitted bodice.  And it's a good thing I insisted on trying the pattern first.  It is an old pattern from the early 80's (it was the pattern used for one the bridesmaids dresses for one of my sister's weddings) and sizes aren't exactly the same now as they were then.  She discovered that to get this fitted dress to fit that she needs to take only 1/2 inch seams rather than the usual 5/8.  Ripping seams on cotton is seems much more forgiving than on black satin.
She also discovered that JoAnn Fabrics (where we got her fabrics) is having a sew your own prom dress contest.  She's hoping to enter.  The grand prize is $50,000.  She has to make the dress and one accessory. Not too bad.  They finally announced the date for prom so she has her deadline. May 7.  But it will be a busy month until then.  She has lots and lots of irons in the fire right now... but she's young.