Early Morning Visitor

Caught this guy (or girl, but I think it's a guy-bird) hurrying up the dirt road behind our place early this morning.

Here he is again! I took this photo today (March 4), through the window of the house, as this handsome fellow ventured near the barn once again. I hope no one bothers him.

Free-Ranging

Now that the days are lengthening and the sun is making an appearance in the sky more often (or so it seems), the ladies have been free-ranging around the coop and near the barn, finding all sorts of goodies in the mud under straw and hay. I found about eight of them today in Sally's stall taking a dust bath, all but laying on their backs and throwing dust up into the air with great abandon while others picked carefully through the hay for bits of dropped horse feed (oats and whatever else they were able to find). They seemed to be having the equivalent of some sort of party, and if they could have, I'm willing to wager they would have been laughing - great fluffy-belly chicken laughs.

The rooster is very entertaining in his self-important way; he certainly struts his stuff (and has it to strut), but if he finds a particularly tasty morsel, he summons his girls to him and allows them to eat it. He also takes seriously his responsibility to protect them, and the various calls, clucks, barks and other sounds he makes are meaningful, at least to his charges; in specific instances, his chatter elicits an immediate response.

Really, they are fascinating creatures.

Fluffy bums in the sun.

Shadow is intrigued, but unafraid.

Speaking of Shadow, isn't this a great photo of her? She climbed to the top of the coop to have a look around.

The girls have also been very generous with their eggs. They gave us five so far today - and such pretty little eggs they are! Of the six breeds we have, some (if not all) of the Red Stars, Wyandottes, Orpingtons and Delawares are laying. I think the Barred Rocks are laying as well. I have seen the Australorps inspecting the nesting boxes with great interest, but I don't know if they have begun to give eggs. No hurry, though. They're still young, and all good things come in their time.

Stonewall "taking the air" with his ladies.

I think I may have been born for this.

This Year's Garden

This is a non-comprehensive list of the veggies, herbs and flowers that I am/will be growing. I spent the afternoon cataloging them and assigning each a start/transplant date, except for the varieties that are sown directly outside at a specific time of the year. I still have to order cabbage, pumpkins, potatoes, onions and two or three additional varieties of herbs, but this is the bulk of what I believe will be an aesthetically pleasing, diverse and delectable garden. Some of the seeds are rare and difficult to find, having been handed down in isolated geographic locations for many years (in the case of the Crapaudine Beet, a thousand years); some varieties were, at one time or other, on the verge of extinction.

Of course, everything is Heirloom/open pollinating/non-GMO.

We have an old plow that can be attached to a tractor; our neighbor offered to come over and hook it up to his Oliver so it can be used to turn the soil, after which the soil will receive amendments in the form of beautifully composted manure before it is tilled to receive seeds/transplanted seedlings.

Other projects in the works: Possibly incubating some Guinea fowl and Silkie eggs for live births. Guinea fowl are wonderfully adept at keeping pests under control. Because we have had a relatively warm winter, we have already seen ticks in the area; starting soon, it will be both chickens and Guinea fowl to the rescue!

I am praying for a robust and bountiful harvest; enough to keep us in vegetables all winter long, with plenty left over to share with others.

Tomatoes:
Cherokee Purple
Southern Night
Cour Di Bue
Rose
Brandywine
Jersey Giant
MamaLeone
Pantano Romanesco
The Dutchman

Gourds (might as well give it a try):
Gakhaa Gourds
Bushel Basket Gourds
Other Saved Seed Gourds

Rhubarb:
Victoria Rhubarb

Eggplant:
Diamond Eggplant
Arumugam's Eggplant

Cauliflower/Broccoli:
Cauliflower (Purple Sicily)
Broccoli (Waltham)
Broccoli (Romanesco Italia)

Corn:
Country Gentleman Shoepeg Corn

Carrots:
Parisienne Carrot
Cosmic Purple Carrot
Atomic Red Carrot

Beets:
Mangel Yellow Beets
Crapaudine Beets
Detroit Dark Red Beets

Zucchini:
Lungo Bianco Zucchini
Black Beauty Zucchini

Parsnips:
Guernsey Parsnip

Peppers:
Ozark Giant Pepper
Quadrato d’Asti Rosso
Golden Marconi
Purple Beauty

Beans:
Dragon Tongue Beans

Spinach
Gigante d’Inverno Spinach

Sunflowers:
Tiger Eye Sunflowers
Lemon Queen Sunflowers

Herbs:
Broad Leaf Sage
Common Thyme
Oregano
Echinacea Purpurea
Fine Verde Basil
Cilantro
Rosemary

I Miss My (Injured) Thumb

It hasn't actually gone missing, or anything like that, at least not permanently. I had the absent-minded misfortune to slam the chicken coop door on it yesterday, and because the temperature was very cold outdoors, I was quite unaware that I had done any real damage until I came in some time later, and all the interesting blue and purple colors common to an offended digit began to develop.

DH thinks I broke it; I'm not sure if I did, but it does hurt like the dickens, and I can't bend it, or do much of anything with it. Even typing this entry is awkward.

Necessity being what she is, I found a soft piece of wood and DH has just gone to the barn to fashion it into a splint, because I have much to do and I have no intention of sitting the day out. Nor do I have any intention of going to an ER to be charged a small king's ransom for the docs to do exactly what I am doing - putting a padded splint on my thumb. They won't do anything else; I've broken my fingers, toes, etc., before. A splint it is and out you go.

I'll spare you any images of a black - and - blue thumb; who wants to look at that?

Ah, DH is back with the splint.

More later.

Getting Underway...Finally

I must preface this post by stating that I tried, repeatedly, and failed as many times as I tried, to upload a moderately-sized image file this evening. The results may be seen above, and since the photo in question appears as though it has partially been 'through the looking-glass,' I suppose anyone with any interest will have to peer at it in order to make out what it is about. Annoying.

This is because either Blogger is slow or Windstream, my ISP, is slow (and Windstream is very slow), however, it would seem that one of the two (or both) is boasting upload speeds that rival two-neutrino double-beta decay. Hah. Look that one up.

Anyway, I'll try to fix the image, but it's late and I'm tired. So this is it for now.

2/8 - Trying again:

Could it be? It worked?

Getting back to the REASON I decided to update this blog:

The subject of tonight's brief post is...newspaper pots. They are an inexpensive way to start your seeds, and very earth-friendly into the bargain, as newsprint degrades easily (use newspaper printed with soy-based inks wherever possible). When the time comes to transplant your seedlings, simply open up the bottom of the newspaper pot so that the roots of your plants have access to freshly tilled (and amended) garden soil, and plant the entire parcel. A snap!

I included my seed packets in the photo because I'm quite over the moon about the wide variety of non-GMO/Heirloom vegetables, herbs and flowers still available to gardeners. I have created a database to track the performance of each variety of tomato, carrot, eggplant, etc., from seed sowing to harvest, a project that contains within it a host of lessons in nurturing and husbandry yet unlearned. I am looking forward to not only evaluating outcomes, but to discoveries, delights and even frustrations as the footpath through a new experience is revealed (or reveals itself). As I think I have mentioned, I have always gardened, but this will be my first year to do so on such a large scale. I hope I am attentive.

Newspaper pots:

Fold newspaper or newsprint in half lengthwise, and lay a medium-sized can along the edge. Ignore my camera; it likes to blur everything, regardless of setting.

Roll up the newspaper using the can as a guide.

Press newspaper against the bottom of the can along the seam.

Continue to press the newspaper against the bottom of the can until the newspaper pot also has a bottom. Optional: I use a small piece of scotch tape (which I will remove before planting) to join the seams and for additional strength on the bottom of the newspaper pot. Tip: I also turn the can right side up and press down into the newspaper pot to flatten the inside bottom before I remove the can.

See how easy that is? You can place them in flats (I use box lids lined with plastic, shallow boxes, all kinds of things), fill 1/2 to 2/3 of the way with soil, and start your seeds. Place in a spot where there is plenty of natural light, and watch life take hold in the good earth.

Joanna the Chicken Watches TV

First, let's dispel some myths. Chickens are not filthy animals, no dirtier than any other creature, unless they are forced to live in filthy conditions, that is. Our chickens live in a clean (meaning regularly maintained) environment. They don't harbor mites, lice or any other such pests, because we dust for them, and we use food-grade DE in their coop to keep pests at bay (or at a minimum).

Yes, they poo, but Joanna sat on a bunch of paper towels while she roosted on my lap, and was therefore not walking around the house poo-ing at will on any and all surfaces. I'm pro-cleanliness, so that is a no-no in my book.

So Joanna is no worse in terms of her overall hygiene than a cat, dog or other large bird such as a parrot (aside from the fact that she is not house-trained). She is also on the low end of the pecking order in the coop. As I was feeding yesterday, I observed how she stands alone on her part of the roost and how easily the others are able to make her move off. Joanna is an unusually sweet, quiet and gentle chicken who, from babyhood, has always sought human interaction. She will squat, spread her wings and make a soft trilling sound when either I or DH lightly rub her back.

Having always had a bit of a soft spot for the underdog (or, in this case, chicken) I decided to bring her in, play with her for a while and let her have some time away from the hierarchy of the coop.

Joanna spent about an hour inside, contentedly snuggled up on my lap on her paper towel barrier, eating and watching TV. We watched a BBC period drama set in Victorian England, and she seemed especially fascinated when she heard birds chirping in the background.

Evening fell, and once again it was time for Joanna to return to her flock. I made sure the other chickens were not able to peck at her as she re-entered the coop, then placed her on the roost, wished the girls sweet dreams, and turned out the light.

Everyone needs a break once in awhile.