That they are crosses is probably a good thing; hybrid vigor and all that.
Mama and baby this morning (the other chick was hiding):
The third egg has not hatched. I don't think she'll give it much longer, maybe another 24 hours or so.
That they are crosses is probably a good thing; hybrid vigor and all that.
Mama and baby this morning (the other chick was hiding):
The third egg has not hatched. I don't think she'll give it much longer, maybe another 24 hours or so.
I thought I heard chirping and some slight movement under the Buff Orpington broody yesterday, but couldn't be certain. Today I KNEW I heard something, so I opened the cage, gently moved aside one protective wing (although she growled a little, she allowed me to take the liberty), and -- she did it! Nestled underneath her was a precious tiny baby! I saw the flattened, empty eggshell first and thought oh no, maybe she broke it, but she has been such a good and careful mama -- no way would she have simply stepped on her eggs.
Here is a really bad photo of the baby, a tiny black chick. She probably hatched an Australorp egg! I didn't want to disturb her; I'll try to get better pictures later.
More later!
Much better photo of the new addition (any guesses? Australorp cross? Wyandotte? Barred Rock?).
ETA: A second chick hatched sometime during the afternoon. This one has some buff coloring on her face and is extremely tiny - I hope she makes it. As of this evening, the broody was sitting tight on two babies and one unhatched egg.
Here is a really bad photo of the baby, a tiny black chick. She probably hatched an Australorp egg! I didn't want to disturb her; I'll try to get better pictures later.
She did great! Here she is, tucking her little one back under her. You can see the empty eggshell right in front of her.
More later!
Much better photo of the new addition (any guesses? Australorp cross? Wyandotte? Barred Rock?).
ETA: A second chick hatched sometime during the afternoon. This one has some buff coloring on her face and is extremely tiny - I hope she makes it. As of this evening, the broody was sitting tight on two babies and one unhatched egg.
... is T-Minus 3 days and counting.
Unless the eggs the broodies are sitting are duds, we should have a couple of babies breaking free of their shells soon. If they are duds, and nothing hatches, then I shall have to find a couple of day-old chicks to sneak under each of them (at night, when they're asleep), so they wake up to a "surprise" in the morning and are convinced these baby chickens owe their existence to superior egg-sitting skills. Then they can get on with motherhood, etc, etc.
Little broody girls are just too cute, but this can't go on indefinitely.
Little broody girls are just too cute, but this can't go on indefinitely.
Walked out with DH to the barn this morning to feed the animals, and, lo and behold, a gigantic bird of prey was perched on top of the antique grain shed! I quietly stepped inside the house, grabbed my camera, but by the time I fumbled around with it and it made all the requisite noises and requests prior to assuming the "on" position (silly camera), the bird had taken flight, so all I got was this:
By this time it was pretty far away from me - and look how huge it is! And no, it wasn't a Turkey Buzzard; having grown up in this general area, I know what they look like. Not a hawk; I see hawks all the time. This bird made both DH and me stop in our tracks. We both got a good look at it while it was on the shed, and I am 99% certain it was a Golden Eagle (although I'm certainly no ornithologist). What a moment! Needless to say the ladies have been confined to their run for the day. I hope, too, that the barn cats decide to write this cold, dreary day off and nap in the hay.
Second photo - the wing tip feathers can just be seen by zooming in on the pic:
If it wasn't a Golden Eagle, then I'm stumped!
I wish I had gotten the photo of the bird perched on the grain shed, against the backdrop of the fir and pine trees - it was truly a magnificent sight!
Second photo - the wing tip feathers can just be seen by zooming in on the pic:
The first is an extroverted personality type known as "The Performer." I know an ESFP, and believe me, people remember him. He is extremely popular. He is very chatty, gregarious and he makes people laugh - all of which are highly prized traits in Western culture.
I am an INFJ, an introverted personality type (actually the rarest of all types), known as "The Protector," or "The Confidant." People rarely remember me - probably because I don't speak unless I really have something to say, and because - to put it simply - I am a very private person. I don't spend a lot of time talking about myself.
The ESFP gets his energy from being around people - the more people, the better. He does very well in large gatherings. Conversely, he feels drained by being alone.
It's the other way around for introverts. They excel in one-on-one situations and feel exhausted by the small talk and superficial interactions that tend to characterize large groups. They gain energy by spending time in solitude, alone with their own thoughts.
However, it is believed that introverts exert tremendous influence (behind the scenes, of course).
A few famous introverts:
Sir Issac Newton
Soren Kierkegaard
Albert Einstein
Steve Wozniak
Marcel Proust
Steven Spielberg
Charlotte Bronte
Virginia Woolf
W. B. Yeats
Vincent Van Gogh
etc.
Just some food for thought on a Sunday morning.
I am an INFJ, an introverted personality type (actually the rarest of all types), known as "The Protector," or "The Confidant." People rarely remember me - probably because I don't speak unless I really have something to say, and because - to put it simply - I am a very private person. I don't spend a lot of time talking about myself.
The ESFP gets his energy from being around people - the more people, the better. He does very well in large gatherings. Conversely, he feels drained by being alone.
It's the other way around for introverts. They excel in one-on-one situations and feel exhausted by the small talk and superficial interactions that tend to characterize large groups. They gain energy by spending time in solitude, alone with their own thoughts.
However, it is believed that introverts exert tremendous influence (behind the scenes, of course).
A few famous introverts:
Sir Issac Newton
Soren Kierkegaard
Albert Einstein
Steve Wozniak
Marcel Proust
Steven Spielberg
Charlotte Bronte
Virginia Woolf
W. B. Yeats
Vincent Van Gogh
etc.
Just some food for thought on a Sunday morning.
In addition to the Buff Orpington and the Australorp, one of the other Buff Orpington girls is now showing signs of broodiness. She screamed and bit me this morning as I gathered the eggs, rising up off the nest like an infuriated Velociraptor.
I've had no success breaking up the broodiness of the Australorp - she is sticking to her nest like a burr. I tried locking her out of the nest area for the past two days - she wasn't having it. Now she has plucked out her downy tummy feathers to line the nest and has since managed to steal two eggs, so she isn't sitting golf balls exclusively. *Sigh* I may have to either put her in a cage with just food and water, or put an ice pack in her nest. I definitely have to do something about the most recent case (the second BO), as I certainly don't need 24 pullets deciding en masse that nesting behavior looks like entirely too much fun to pass up...
It does appear that a movement is afoot in the coop, powered, as it were, by the rising tide of hormones and an overwhelming urge to reproduce. Wish me all the best as I try to restore some semblance of sanity to my ladies' lives.
Edit: Sarah the Australorp has managed to acquire one more egg, for a grand total of three. I have to admit, it is cute how she tucks them under her with her little beak while "talking" to them, then nestles carefully over them while gazing watchfully from her corner nest.
This guy/girl decided to put in an appearance this afternoon at around 4:30, rather early for one whose habits run to the nocturnal. He didn't appear to be ill (he was moving well and purposefully), but I didn't want him around my girls (and he was watching them), so I called them to me and put everyone in the coop, and chased our impromptu visitor away. No pasture-ranging for the ladies tomorrow; everyone will have to stay in the run until further notice.
Edit: I did some reading...most likely this is a mama raccoon with babies nearby. Apparently mamas alter their nocturnal foraging habits when they are raising their young, coming out during the latter part of the day to find food so they can return to the den to guard their babies over the course of the night. I plan to call a Wildlife Rehabilitation Center for advice.
After approximately 12 tries, this is the best I can do to get the image to upload. Windstream REALLY needs to do something about their creaky, medieval, sub-par Internet service/speed/issues.
I've had no success breaking up the broodiness of the Australorp - she is sticking to her nest like a burr. I tried locking her out of the nest area for the past two days - she wasn't having it. Now she has plucked out her downy tummy feathers to line the nest and has since managed to steal two eggs, so she isn't sitting golf balls exclusively. *Sigh* I may have to either put her in a cage with just food and water, or put an ice pack in her nest. I definitely have to do something about the most recent case (the second BO), as I certainly don't need 24 pullets deciding en masse that nesting behavior looks like entirely too much fun to pass up...
It does appear that a movement is afoot in the coop, powered, as it were, by the rising tide of hormones and an overwhelming urge to reproduce. Wish me all the best as I try to restore some semblance of sanity to my ladies' lives.
Edit: Sarah the Australorp has managed to acquire one more egg, for a grand total of three. I have to admit, it is cute how she tucks them under her with her little beak while "talking" to them, then nestles carefully over them while gazing watchfully from her corner nest.
This guy/girl decided to put in an appearance this afternoon at around 4:30, rather early for one whose habits run to the nocturnal. He didn't appear to be ill (he was moving well and purposefully), but I didn't want him around my girls (and he was watching them), so I called them to me and put everyone in the coop, and chased our impromptu visitor away. No pasture-ranging for the ladies tomorrow; everyone will have to stay in the run until further notice.
Edit: I did some reading...most likely this is a mama raccoon with babies nearby. Apparently mamas alter their nocturnal foraging habits when they are raising their young, coming out during the latter part of the day to find food so they can return to the den to guard their babies over the course of the night. I plan to call a Wildlife Rehabilitation Center for advice.
After approximately 12 tries, this is the best I can do to get the image to upload. Windstream REALLY needs to do something about their creaky, medieval, sub-par Internet service/speed/issues.
I know it almost certainly may appear as though nothing else is happening in my life but chickens, and the care of same, however, a disclaimer:
I do spend time in other pursuits, such as reading, the making of art, gardening and hiking...I also spend time with my horses. The horses have been shedding their winter coats and grooming them means a veritable storm of hair and dust in the air around me - and the occasional coughing fit when some of it ends up in my throat. No sooner do I brush them out than they roll in whatever mud or muck they can avail themselves of in the paddocks...and we begin again. They're like big kids.
Just so you know that I do have a life outside of chickens. I didn't say it was a particularly exciting life, did I? Nay, that I did not.
It's just that something always seems to be going on with the ladies - they are so full of life and energy that writing about them seems to come naturally. I suppose I'll probably bore everyone to distraction when the Guinea keets arrive on the first of May! (Yes, I'm looking forward to my army of tick eradicators!)
Anyway, getting back to the main thrust of my post...my pullets are almost seven months old, and have been laying very nicely since the end of January. I fully expected the broodiness issue would present itself at some point, next year perhaps, or at some vastly inconvenient time, say, when it's -4〫outside. Not so. Approximately two weeks ago, one of my Buff Orpington girls began to exhibit signs of extreme grumpiness - walking around with her wings outstretched, screaming, growling and puffing up at the others, and screaming at me if I came near her while she was on the nest. She hadn't settled, and I wasn't sure if this was a "trial run," but, lo and behold, four days ago she settled, seemingly committed to brooding (and hatching) three eggs and two golf balls.
I finally moved her yesterday, because the others really need the nesting space she had been occupying, and because her broodiness seems to have inspired one of the Australorps...who hasn't laid an egg in two days, but who is also hunkered down on two golf balls...! Miss Belle is in a broody cage with her own nest, food and water, her three eggs under her, smooshed down on them like a pancake and growling at anything or anyone who comes near her. I am about to try to break up the broodiness of the Australorp by moving her away from her nest for a couple of days.
So, to brood or not to brood? Yes...and no. The Australorp will eventually have her turn at being a mama; we are nothing if not democratic here at The Carriage House Farm. I just don't think I can manage two or more crabby girls at the moment, so we'll just allow Miss Belle to carry her maternal instinct as far as it takes her, and allow Miss Sarah to try the next time she feels the urge.
I found the little egg in one of the nests the other day, and yeah, I had to save it. It's almost as though a small bird flew in and left it - very diminutive, and therefore cute. The middle egg is of average size; about what the ladies give us every day/every other day.
We've had a few of what I call "rocket' eggs, really large ones, even larger than the one shown. Too large for six-month old pullets, methinks.
Still, the range is interesting.
Rainy day, inside, about to bake more of this:
I baked it a couple of days ago, and it's gone already. I think I may make an herbal loaf (rosemary, or something). Haven't decided yet.
I hard-boiled some of their eggs (older and cracked ones) -
Made up a pot of oatmeal -
Crushed the eggs (with shells) into the cooked oatmeal -
Opened a can of pumpkin near the expiration date, added two big glops -
Added some crushed red pepper flakes, turmeric and garlic (good for gastrointestinal chicken workings). Whew! Good thing chickens can't smell.
Took it outside. They came running immediately.
Added some of their layer mash and scratch seeds to the mess. It looked sort of like...alien egg salad. But a weirder color.
By this time, they were all waiting outside the tack room. Some were peeking in through the cat access door. Impatiently. Tapping their little chicken toes on the concrete.
Emerged with the bowl in my arms, and proceeded to spoon out the gunk into their flat Tupperware dishes. Old ones, you know, that we don't use anymore.
THEY WENT WILD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Everyone had some, and some more, and YAY! PARTY! And some more. YAY! (again)...peck, peck, peck...chickens waddling everywhere with egg/oatmeal/whatever all over their beaks, faces - oh, the joy of just snarfing something extra yummy on a Friday afternoon! And then to doze in the sun!
Later, I came back out to take some photos of some lazy pasture-ranging as the day wore on:
Stonewall and one of the girls relaxing on the cart:
Buddy patrolling the front of the barn:
In other news, a clandestine friendship has apparently sprung up between an evidently lonely bachelor pheasant and several of our ladies. I caught them together on the loft side of the hill (again) this afternoon:
He had spotted me by the time I took the picture and retreated to the left side of the rain barrel. He is gorgeous, very vividly colored, so who knows - maybe the ladies think him an odd but companionable sort of fellow, a rooster! maybe, then again...maybe not, but hey, whatever, plenty of room to hang out, so yeah...let's!
Happy Friday!
Happy Spring!
He spent a couple of nights sequestered in a cage, away from the others, and DH let him out today after the others had had a chance to inspect him (he really should have been quarantined for 30 days, but DH made the call). Stonewall immediately stepped between the interloper and his girls, dropped a wing, circled and pushed him to the edge of the group, assisted by a couple of indignant ladies who flew at Buddy for good measure. Buddy wandered away, cooperative, if a bit lost.
This went on for the greater part of the afternoon. The two males did not fight, and I was frankly (and quite pleasantly) surprised, but Stonewall did keep a sharp eye on the newcomer, broke up spats, prevented any romantic, er, interludes from taking place (not that the ladies were entertaining overtures), and generally kept order in the yard. Impressive achievements for a creature almost universally disdained as stupid. (Chickens aren't stupid, by the way. They are charming. And very good at being exactly what they were created to be.)
Buddy exploring his surroundings:
He had cautiously re-approached the far orbit of the flock by evening and, upon finding that he was, by then, huffily tolerated by most of the ladies and the celestial ego object Stonewall himself, he happily pecked around the coop before retiring for the night.
Although I have been working on drawings, paintings, gourds, the set of old doors and other projects (I may score yet again today in the "old stuff" category (maybe, we'll see, and if I do, I'll post those photos), I probably won't be posting here about art much anymore. Soon all existing art posts (and images/information on anything new that I have been working on) will be migrating to a Wordpress blog, and this blog will be devoted to farm/homestead life. It's too random this way, for one thing, and it's also difficult to post photos to this blog, for another. I don't know if it's a blogger issue, a Mac issue or an ISP issue, but it is annoying to have to spend 15 minutes or better to post a single image. I hope WP is a little more user-friendly, to drag a term out of mothballs. If I find the process works better and saves time, the farm/homestead blog will migrate there as well.
I figure it probably doesn't make a lot of sense to add posts here that I'll just have to cut and paste to a new blog in the next few weeks, so sorry for that. I hope that those of you who are interested in in farming/homesteading will continue to visit me here - or there, however it ultimately works out - and those of you who like art and art-making will visit the new blog when it's up. It's been great to see the many countries around the world listed daily in my stats. I appreciate every interaction.
Is it too cliche to write that I hope your day brings you joy?
I figure it probably doesn't make a lot of sense to add posts here that I'll just have to cut and paste to a new blog in the next few weeks, so sorry for that. I hope that those of you who are interested in in farming/homesteading will continue to visit me here - or there, however it ultimately works out - and those of you who like art and art-making will visit the new blog when it's up. It's been great to see the many countries around the world listed daily in my stats. I appreciate every interaction.
Is it too cliche to write that I hope your day brings you joy?
Speaking of compost, this is some good stuff:
And seeds started in it simply burst into life (here comes the eggplant!):
Allowed to compost with hay, straw and other organic materials, it breaks down into nutrient-rich, black soil that may then be tilled back into the earth to amend it for crops that sustain both human beings and animals. This process also provides the animals an important role to play as team members; they help to close the nutrient cycle.
Paul, a very dear friend who has been a tremendous blessing over the last several months, installed an additional two new sets of motion lights around the barn today, working well into the evening. The barn looks amazing.
We also cleaned stalls, tidied the chicken coop, fed and watered every animal that calls our home their home, DH and Paul helped Andy load and unload a piano, and we entertained (after a fashion) some dear friends from church this evening. They were so gracious to allow us some extra time to finish up outside before we hurried in, washed up, made a pot of coffee and arranged dessert on a tray to be enjoyed in front of the fireplace.
I am beyond exhausted, tonight we move the clocks forward an hour (losing a bit of sleep), but we had a fantastic day.
ETA: Happy girls on pasture (or wherever they choose to range. Sometimes it's on/under straw):
So simple, and yet so good.
The view this morning:
Winter is sensing that she is needed elsewhere, and bends to gather her long white cape about her to betake herself to other lands; the geese are beginning their long flight back to northern climes and baby animals will soon be instructed in the art of survival by their mamas. Spring, and the promise of new life is nearly here, repeating a cycle as old as the earth itself.
The light is changing again, and seems to flood all living creatures - and even inanimate objects - with a hale and hearty anticipation of good things to come. (Hope.) It seems alive, this Light. It is certainly a joyful thing to awake in it, to watch as it dances through the windows in the morning hours of a never-before-day.
Despite the challenges we have faced (and continue to face), I know I am tremendously blessed to be able to live this way - to have been entrusted with the care and stewardship of this spot of earth and the animals who flourish upon it, to be able to walk into the barn every morning and hear the welcoming nickers of our horses. My raucous (and often demanding) ladies make me smile as they crowd around me at feeding time, hoping for treats, as do the barn cats, who leap and run ahead of me each morning as I bring their food to the tack room. These moments may seem insignificant to others, and that's okay. I receive them as gifts from a loving and bountiful Creator.
I'm grateful. For my life, exactly as it is, and for every obstacle and trial that has sculpted my soul; for my family, friends, home (yes, even with everything that we have had to contend with), but most of all, I am grateful for my Savior and Lord, who loves me greatly, and teaches me daily to love him, love others and trust in his goodness.
Winter is sensing that she is needed elsewhere, and bends to gather her long white cape about her to betake herself to other lands; the geese are beginning their long flight back to northern climes and baby animals will soon be instructed in the art of survival by their mamas. Spring, and the promise of new life is nearly here, repeating a cycle as old as the earth itself.
The light is changing again, and seems to flood all living creatures - and even inanimate objects - with a hale and hearty anticipation of good things to come. (Hope.) It seems alive, this Light. It is certainly a joyful thing to awake in it, to watch as it dances through the windows in the morning hours of a never-before-day.
Despite the challenges we have faced (and continue to face), I know I am tremendously blessed to be able to live this way - to have been entrusted with the care and stewardship of this spot of earth and the animals who flourish upon it, to be able to walk into the barn every morning and hear the welcoming nickers of our horses. My raucous (and often demanding) ladies make me smile as they crowd around me at feeding time, hoping for treats, as do the barn cats, who leap and run ahead of me each morning as I bring their food to the tack room. These moments may seem insignificant to others, and that's okay. I receive them as gifts from a loving and bountiful Creator.
I'm grateful. For my life, exactly as it is, and for every obstacle and trial that has sculpted my soul; for my family, friends, home (yes, even with everything that we have had to contend with), but most of all, I am grateful for my Savior and Lord, who loves me greatly, and teaches me daily to love him, love others and trust in his goodness.
Sowing. An act as old as humankind. No wonder it stirs something in our blood.
I'll start my tomatoes this afternoon. I'm sure by the time all the vegetables that need an indoor start are sown, every shelf and windowsill will hold a flat or two. Maybe next year I'll have devised a more systematic approach to getting the garden underway, but this seems to be working for now.
Besides, I may put the seeds into the ground, but it is God who blesses them to cause them to grow, and who gives the increase in this as in every endeavor of life.
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.
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.
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 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
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
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.
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.
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:
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:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
