Sooner Than I Thought - Thank You Snow Day!

I'm back much sooner than I would have anticipated...thanks to the snow storm that blew through and froze the Pacific Northwest over yesterday. My drive home from work was pretty dicey - thankfully the husband met me at work so I could follow him home. There are some hills on my route home that when they are covered in ice can be scary. Although I'd anticipated a 2-hour late start today because it was announced yesterday, I was a little suprised when it turned into a full snow day. So even though I've got a bit of anxiety about missing a day and having to re-plan, but on the other hand, I needed the chance to get caught up on housework and get ready to have my mom and brother visit for Thanksgiving. The husband and the pets were also a big part of my day, I loved having the extra bit of unexpected quality time with them....Bambino had a blast playing with us and chasing his frisbee in the snow. This was the first experience with snow for the Buff Orpington hens that are new to the flock this year - they seemed pretty disturbed by the cold white stuff that was on the ground and every surface. I gave them lots of extra scratch corn - I've heard that it raises their body temperatures. It was wonderful to get a bit of time outside...even though it was cold, the sky was perfectly blue and sunny. I took a ton of pictures, I love how the snow makes everything look fresh and new...I tend to go nuts with pictures on snow days! So here's a whole lot of pictures with not a lot of post...Enjoy!

First Egg From the New Hens

The first egg from my Buff Orpington hens was laid today. I didn't expect any eggs from the new ladies for a month or a few weeks at the earliest. But, today was the day, there was a sweet little brown egg lying in one of the nesting boxes next to a few of the green eggs laid by my older gals. Such a sweet little gift! It could have been laid by any of my nine new ladies, I have no way of knowing which. In the next few weeks there will be many more first eggs laid!

A Summer Berry Preview

May has flown by much quicker than I can get my mind around...sometimes it seems like time is moving much too quickly. Though I'm a bit overwhelmed to be so close to June, I am excited to have summer right around the corner. In this corner of the Pacific Northwest everyone always says that summer actually starts on July 5th. This year I'm especially excited about the fresh berries I'm going to be picking in my garden. The blueberry plant above is new this year, but it's already looking like it is going to be one of my favorites, it is chalk full of berries that are getting more purplish blue in color everyday. Also, my strawberry beds are looking gorgeous. I have to admit that it was super annoying to have my chickens invade the strawberry bed at the end of the season last fall, they picked over it with their maurrading little beaks. I remember thinking that they were probably ruining the plants. Since then they've been moved and no longer have access to my strawberry plants or any of the raised beds in my garden for that matter. But, I think the um, fertilizing that they did while they were invading last fall was actually a good thing. I can't believe how healthy, huge and green those plants look! The berries we have are June bearing and ever-bearing varieties, so there should be lots of strawberries to enjoy!

Well, that's it for now, I hope your weekend has been sweet and restful so far!

Random Bits

I'm dropping in to say hello. Things have been busy lately - but in a good, happy, kind of way.

We've got a huge building project in full swing happening on our property. I managed to do what I do best and tack on an item that's been on my wish list to the project that is going on...so soon there will be a staircase that goes from the deck that is off of our master bedroom down to our patio below. I think this will lead to the deck being used more frequently. It's something I've thought about for a while now, so it's fun that it will soon be a reality. The husband is happy beyond measure to be back in his building groove again. His exhaustion after a long (and sometimes stressful) day is woven lots of joy...so his is a tiredness that comes with a contented smile. I think that's what it is like when a person is doing the job they were made to do.

Speaking of work that we love to do, my garden is full of growth, and my greenhouse is looking fuller and more green with each passing day. It is such a rewarding and happy place for me, I love spending time there. I'm sure in the coming weeks I will have lots to share - especially come June which is when I plan to transplant most of my seedlings from the greenhouse into the raised beds.

Job-wise, things have been busy in a good way also, but even with long hours, I feel like I have found balance in that realm lately. No, I'm not yet working my dream job, but somehow I have a sense of peace. It's hard to believe what a difference the last year has made. Looking back, the experience of losing my job was depressing and paralyzing in many ways. It was worse than a bad break-up, but like a bad break-up, time has made the difference in the healing process. I'm a better person today than I was when all of that happened. I still have moments where I feel angry, sad, or disappointed with myself, but those moments are usually overshadowed by feeling right with where I am now. Or, maybe content is the word.

The weather for the past several days has been gorgeous, mostly sunny and blue skies with the occasional marine layer drizzle. I stayed outside until 8:30 one evening last week doing yard chores...it was so nice outside that I just didn't want to go in. We've been using the grill for dinner lately, I actually planned 4 out of 5 dinners this week to be made (at least in part) on the grill.

I've been doing a bit more sewing lately, I hadn't sewn at all in recent months, so even a bit of time at my machine is something. I made another pair of lounge pants and decided to use elastic in the waist instead of a drawstring. It was a cool idea, but I think I cut the elastic too long, it didn't seem to be "tight enough" to keep the pants up. Or maybe it was that the elastic was old and so it didn't have the well...elasticity. I think picked it up at a thrift store a while back. I am guessing that could happen. I also just bought a book about making skirts, the title is: Sew What! Skirts. It was a recommendation from Lisa of Polka Dot Cottage, whose blog I read. The idea is to make patterns that are customized to your own measurements. Can't wait to get started on reading the book and then making myself some skirts for summer - woohooo!

My chickens are happy with the increase in sunny-afternoon-free-ranging they've had lately, and I feel a little bit better about allowing this now that the little ones aren't so little anymore. In fact, when I was at the farm supply store the other day, I had to take a peek at the chicks and ducklings they are still selling...they are so tiny when you first bring them home. It's been over two months since we brought home our 10 new Buff Orpingtons, their size now compared to my 4 older hens is impressive, they are definitely going to be large chickens when they are full grown. Also, I think we may have a lead on someone who is interested in adopting a rooster to be able to breed and hatch chicks. Our little rooster has not yet started to crow, I imagine it will be a couple more months until he does. But, after all of the fiascos with our (late) rooster, Berkeley, may he rest in peace, the husband and I had agreed that we were going to have a rooster-free flock. The chances of bringing home a rooster in our group of 10 chicks were unfortunately pretty good, even though they sex the chicks, there's no 100% guarantee. So, rather than giving the little guy, who hasn't done anything wrong and seems to have a great temperment, to someone who will turn him into a meal, I'd prefer that he has the chance to live a happy life. I think any rooster would rather have a harem of hens than end up in a stew pot!

That's about all I can think of right now...I'll be back around soon!

Snow in May...

The past few days have been full of strange weather...wind storms that lead to power outages, torrential amounts of rainfall, thick fogginess, and tonight, snow. Very wet, slushy snow. I'm glad I held off from putting any of my little seedlings that have been growing in the Pod into the ground. As it is, I'm pretty sure that the ice pack is not a good thing for the spinach, lettuce and swiss chard that I started from seed in raised bed. Most of it was intended for our chickens anyway, so it's not a huge loss. But, this does make me more empathetic with farmers...how frustrating it would be to lose an entire crop to a freak spring snow storm!

The baby chicks (who are big enough now that I really should stop calling them baby chicks) were pretty wigged out by the snow - it was the first they'd ever seen. They were hiding in the hen house while the snow was falling. I brought them some bird seed to scratch in the covered run under their house and that seemed to lift their little chicken spirits.

I've been pretty busy lately, I just got done helping the husband for two days with a job he had installing crown molding. It was hard work, but we work very well together on projects of that sort. The experience actually put us both in the mood to do some crown molding in our own house. I've always wanted to finish our dining room ceiling - I think we may just get around to it one of these days.

In addition to being a "carpenter's assistant" for a couple of days, I'm still subbing a few times a month, doing my online teaching job, and working a couple of days a week at a greenhouse supply store. It's a lot to juggle, but I'm happy.

Today is a quasi-day off for me, I still have some online work to do, but nothing that will take me away from the house. So I've been having a slow morning. Plucking my eyebrows, spending time with the cat, making banana bread, and mixing up the spread that we put on our toast. I use 1/3 butter to 2/3 extra virgin olive oil. When I first mix it in the food processor, it is pretty runny, but the olive oil thickens when it is refrigerated. So by the time we need it to spread on our toast (or freshly baked banana bread!), it is a perfect spreading consistency.

Later I may work out a bit on the ellyptical and then head out to the chicken coop to see how my feathered friends are today. I'll probably intentionally let myself get distracted in the greenhouse after I stop at the chickens. It's nice to have a day where I can linger a bit, even if it is still pretty chilly outside!

First Time Free Rangers

Ten little Buff chicks got to try free-ranging for the first time yesterday. They didn't stay out for very long, maybe about 20 minutes and they were back in the coop while the four big hens stayed out longer. They stuck close to the door of the coop and the fence that runs along the garden. They also stuck together in a group, no straying away alone. But they seemed to enjoy scratching around for bugs and pulling strands of grass out of the ground. For now, I think the little ones aren't quite ready for the big world of the orchard, which is alright, I don't think I'm really ready for them to be all grown up yet.

Sweet Buffs

In the midst of talking about integrating my flocks, creating chicken distractions, and the *possible* discovery of a rooster amoung us, I haven't said how much I really like my new chickens.

It has been fun to watch them discover new foods like worms, greens and wild bird seed. It's cool to see them learn to use their wings to fly - even short distances. It was kind of funny watching them learn to walk down the chicken ramp, they are very cautious at first, but then they figure out that there are slats for their feet to grab onto and they start going up and down more quickly and confidently.

This group of chicks has mostly been a joy because they are so good natured. They are not at all skittish like my group last year was. This group of chicks loves to be petted. They are friendly and curious. The little girl in the picture above was determined to play with my camera strap while I was taking pictures...I hope that these chicks can keep living up to their Buff Orpington "reputation" of being one of the more friendly chicken breeds. They make it easy to like them.

Oh No! Not Again!

It started off as an observation that one was a bit bigger than the others...

Then it was noticing that the comb went a bit further up the head

than the combs on the others seemed to...

We didn't see them for a couple of weeks because we were traveling,

so my mother-in-law watch them for us...

When we got back, the first thing that I noticed

was how much more red that big comb had become...

Much more like a cock's comb than a hens comb...hmmm

There was also that red wattle coming in under the beak.

Shoot, I think it may just be that we've got ourselves another rooster...

I may not have mentioned it here, but it was just last month

that we decided that it was time for our original rooster, Berkeley, to go.

He had become increasingly aggressive and honestly,

any sympathy I'd felt for him was gone.

We promised each other that there would be no more roosters in our coop.

So why does this little bird have to be so sweet, so cute?

I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think I am...

I think we have another rooster on our hands.
Dagnabbit!

Pecking Order and Chicken Distractions

I've been concerned about how my old hens were going to accept my new chicks as I began to integrate the two flocks over the last week...there has been a bit of pecking going on, it's hard to watch the big hens pick on and bully the new chicks. I realize that it will probably all be fine in the end, but to help smooth things out, I've been trying to provide a few distractions for the four older hens. Things that will take their focus off of their new "roommates". The husband has helped with the efforts, he had the idea of giving them a pile of sand to play in - a good idea - they've all been scratching and rolling around in it. But I've wanted to keep the big hens busy to give the little chicks a chance to adjust to being in the new area and learning how to get along with the hens. So I decided to try something out... I cut a cabbage into two halves and used a fondue skewer to string each half with twine.

Then I hung each half with a length of twin from the netting that covers the fenced in area where my chickens live.

Why would I do such a thing? What was my plan for these cabbage pinatas?

They were an idea I'd gleened from a blog written by some folks at Sunset Magazine...basically, they were a distraction, a new toy if you will, for my chickens. The idea is for them to peck at and eat the cabbage. It's a bit of a challenge since the cabbage is hanging, so it is supposed to give them something to work at and stay busy. When I first hung these cabbage halves, the chickens pretty much ignored them.

But after a little while, a little curiousity was shown. Unfortunately, I couldn't hang out in the coop area all day to find out if my idea was going to go over.

But I did check back a couple of times. A few hours after I'd hung the cabbages, the inside of both had been pecked at a bit.

By the end of the day, the damage was much more extensive. It was kind of cool to see that the idea worked. I also noticed that the big hens seemed to be more lax about the little chicks being there. I didn't see as much chasing and pecking as I had in the couple of days prior.

I think the cabbages helped, it's also helped to have all of the chickens sleeping in the same area. The first evening that the little chicks joined the big hens in their hen house, I had to actually go out and physically put each of the little chicks into the hen house and then close the door so they couldn't get out. The second night I went out at dusk to check on things and only 1 of the 10 little chicks hadn't made her way into the henhouse. She seemed upset and confused that she was all by herself as it was getting dark. I put her inside and again closed the door so no one could get out. It seems that being in the same place and getting used to the sounds and smells of each other is smoothing the process out.Another distraction I've been using is giving all of the chickens "treats" - piles of collard greens and wild bird seed in several locations in the coop. Having a few areas where there are treat piles keeps the competition for said treats from getting out of control. I don't really know if all of this really is the "right" stuff to do, but it seems to be working so far.

Though I have to admit that in this season of adjustment, I am going to have to expect that a few odd things may happen. Like this egg being laid under the ramp that goes up to the hen house instead of inside the nesting boxes. It's been a long time since one of my hens laid an egg in a weird spot, the last time it happened in fact, was when we were in the midst of having hawk and coyote problems. It seems like stress and change causes the chickens to do odd things. I can only hope that it is going to continue to all work out as the next few weeks pass.

An Afternoon in the Greenhouse and Garden

To put it lightly, last week was stressful. I took on a new responsibility which involved changing my routine and pretty much giving up any extra freetime. It was a tough thing for me to admit that I'd bitten off more than I could chew, and that even though I'd made a commitment, some re-evaluating was necessary. Fortunately things worked out alright and I was able to adjust. I am hoping this week will be smoother. Because Sunday was the first full day that I had in a while to relax, I decided to take full advantage. The husband and I made a full breakfast and ate slowly. There were also many hours spent outside. So many things have been happening out in the garden - even without me being there. I got to munch on my first piece of asparagus for the season. It was of course eaten straight from the ground as I stood in the garden and was absolutely delicious. If only there had been more - but it looks like I'll get a bit more this year. It is supposed to be in the 3rd year that asparagus really begins to take off -so next year will [hopefully] be the year of asparagus harvest! The trees in the orchard are also changing rapidly right now. In the past month or so, they've gone from being completely bare to being covered in leaves and blossoms now. One of my recent "projects" with my full grown chickens has been training them to feed on the grass that grows under the trees in the orchard. When I let them out to free range, I throw a bit of corn scratch in the grass under various trees. They are pretty good about mowing it down to nothing. There are a couple of benefits to having little avian landscapers - when they take the grass down, that means we don't have to go in and cut it down with the motorized week wacker. Also, ants and other pests live in the grass below the trees and the lower that grass is, the more likely those bugs are to stay off our trees and potential fruit. This reduces the need to use any kind of insecticidal spray...and in my opinion, the fewer sprays, the better. Speaking of chickens...I have been slowly integrating my ten new Buff Orpington chicks with my 4 full grown Americauan hens. They are now all living and sleeping together, but for the first few days I had the little ones outside, I kept them in a netted off area of their own - reason being that they were still small enough to squeeze through the openings in our wire fencing. They've grown a bit too big for that since then, but they still look tiny next to my four full grown hens. I wish the hens would be nicer, but I guess nature is what it is and they'll work it out.They are slowly working out the pecking order, so far nothing too horrible has happened. But I do worry about my little girls getting hurt. On Sunday I also spent several hours in my new greenhouse getting seeds started. I went heavy on the tomatoes and basil, and I'm excited to try eggplant for the first time.. It was pretty relaxing, I enjoyed every minute. So did both Figaro and Bambino. Fig was pretty interested in the chickens, the little ones are now big enough that he isn't a threat to them. Bambino ran around until he was pretty tuckered out...he ended up taking a nap in the Pod next to me while I worked on getting seeds planted.

He looked so cozy and peaceful lying there on the pea gravel...I couldn't help myself with the pictures!

Be back soon!