Tag Archives: Chicken

Wasp Hunting Grilled Chicken

I was listening to an episode of The Infinite Monkey Cage that was discussing wasps versus bees.  As part of the conversation, one of the contributors mentioned that wasps like sweet things early in the season when they are feeding their young but, later in the year, they are only feeding themselves and they want protein (or the other way around if I have remembered incorrectly). I didn’t know anything about this before but then, shortly afterwards, we were sitting out on the deck after dinner and a wasp landed on a plate and then flew off with a chunk of chicken.  This chunk was almost as big as it was.

A week later, we were back out on the deck and, with dinner done, a wasp came back to check out the leftovers.  This time I was ready with my phone.  Sure enough, it landed on my plate, checked out a piece of corn and then homed in on some chicken.  A few bites later, it had extracted its meal and got airborne and away.  I had my video proof, so I was happy.  It came back for a second piece a little while later, so I guess it was storing food for later.

Chickens

Chatting with a work colleague recently, we were talking about Molbaks Garden Center in Woodinville which we have visited many times.  She asked if we went to Flower World too and I had to admit I had never heard of it.  It is in Maltby, about ten minutes from home but I had no idea it existed.  It not only is a nursery but it also has a farm with a farm shop.  A visit seemed in order.

There are a lot of chickens at Maltby Farm.  There are a bunch of them roaming the park areas around the garden center.  Within the farm ground, they have a large enclosure full of chickens and the eggs are sold in the shop.  Chickens are interesting creatures since they come in such a wide variety of sizes and plumages.  When the light is right, it really pulls the colors out of the feathers.  They are also amusing to watch with the little battles that break out with surprising regularity.

The Chicken Secret

We have just spent a week on Kauai having a great time exploring a fantastic island. I will cover aspects of the trip in coming posts but today I want to cover the big story that no-one tells you about.

We read many books and websites when researching the trip to Kauai. They were full of lots of good information about the island but not one told you the number one theme. Chickens! The island has thousands of chickens roaming wild. The normal predators are not present on Kauai so they flourish.

We arrived at the airport and a family including some very small chicks were walking across the parking lot. Someone mentioned it to the shuttle bus driver and he said they were everywhere. He wasn’t wrong!