I have found that chickens like to group up for companionship and protection. The Evil Twins, Fick n Frack are separated only when one is laying an egg. The three Orps are always moving around as a unit and Little Bit sticks close to Rooster Stew all day. Ginger walks alone but that serves to delineate her as the top dog.
About the only thing I see where it's Every Man For Himself with chickens is when one of them finds a tasty morsel, like a bug or a slug. Then all pandemonium breaks out and they all behave like ice hockey players. Body slams, fakes and dodges. There will be NO REST until the food is down a hatch and until that moment, nothing is beyond the rules of engagement.
I have been working on another experiment...... this has to do with the laying of eggs and box assignments. You may have read where out of the three available, only one will suffice for the 3 laying chickens. There are 2 artificial eggs in there as well. One brown and one white. They only lay in the far left box with the brown egg. SO I cleaned the straw out and switched the two fake eggs. Now the brown one is in the middle box and the white fake egg is in the box where they lay.
Guess where they lay eggs?
Next week I will switch it up again and see what we learn.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Ketchup
We have been hard at it planting the garden and all the little things we started from seeds... so glad we did it this way. It's been a real learning curve and I have made mistakes I am certain to repeat, should I live long enough.
My intention to have staggered plantings have gone awry, naturally. That episode with the moldy cardboard pots has set us back considerably. Those seedlings should be much larger by now than the seconds and you cannot tell the difference in their ages at all. Additionally, in my zeal to get it all started, I did not take into account just how much farther north we are here than in our old house and subsequently I cannot put the tender things, like tomatoes and peppers and squash, out as early up here. And I didn't realize how quickly the seedlings would grow and WANT to be out there.
So in total, too make a short story long, I started too early. And while I cursed the skies last year for having 28 tomato plants all ripen the same two weeks, now I have more than 38 destined to do the exact same thing this year. Yea me!
We have 29 of them in the lower garden and all the rest in the raised beds and yesterday I planted more marigolds around as a companion plants. I started them from seed as well, along with impatiens which burned when I hardened them off outside one day, Hardened off indeed. Killed off is more descriptive. I am hoping they will have survived but it's looking grim. The sun toasted the leaves considerably. See.... learning curve, indeed. I must mention that at Home Depot I bought a flat of marigolds that were already in bloom and tossed them in as well.
The temperature in fluctuating between mid-40s at night to mid-70s during the day and the hardier plants are just leaping to life now. The spinach I started in January is delicious and the kale is out of this world. Not a big fan of Swiss Chard, don't think I'll plant that again next year but I did throw in a few of the neon seeds in last month and they are better than the bulk variety. Better tasting, The other ones before now were being enjoyed by garden slugs. Now that those critters are gone and the plant is thriving, I don't like it at all. Go figure. That was a waste of bed space. The collards are bolting so we are eating the leaves up and the brussell sprouts are still going strong. All the onions, garlic and shallots are doing their things in various beds and growth stages.
All the carrots were terrific and I still have the Jan beets to pull with a new crop just starting out. We tried mesclun seeds on a tape and they are wonderful!!!!!!! One whole raised bed is devoted to leafy greens and so beautiful. Now, the chickens that can fly over fences get in there and cause mischief. The three peas are growing, still no signs of flowering, however. The ones we started last fall were gorgeous and in full flower when a cold front with heavy winds and freeze killed it all off. We had 2 crops farther south last year. See what I mean? 20 miles and a world apart.
NOW fruit: the citrus all look dreadful. They are starting to send out a few leaves, all from below and sparsely but I am hopeful. In the meantime I put in a new Calamondin tree Just In Case. I really want that one more than all the rest and would pitch a fit if after waiting as long as Dan Gill suggests yielded me nothing more than a dead tree and a whole lost year, so we may have two (which is better than one in truth but not what I had originally planned for).
The peach, pear, fig and berries all look terrific but of course they LIKE the cold. And I am scoping out exactly where to plunk in the guava. I know where I WANT to put the three but that requires the removal of two more sago palms and I think I will work on that Friday.
Gotta go let the girls and Stu out. Yes, we still have the rooster. Some things are just hard to give up.
My intention to have staggered plantings have gone awry, naturally. That episode with the moldy cardboard pots has set us back considerably. Those seedlings should be much larger by now than the seconds and you cannot tell the difference in their ages at all. Additionally, in my zeal to get it all started, I did not take into account just how much farther north we are here than in our old house and subsequently I cannot put the tender things, like tomatoes and peppers and squash, out as early up here. And I didn't realize how quickly the seedlings would grow and WANT to be out there.
So in total, too make a short story long, I started too early. And while I cursed the skies last year for having 28 tomato plants all ripen the same two weeks, now I have more than 38 destined to do the exact same thing this year. Yea me!
We have 29 of them in the lower garden and all the rest in the raised beds and yesterday I planted more marigolds around as a companion plants. I started them from seed as well, along with impatiens which burned when I hardened them off outside one day, Hardened off indeed. Killed off is more descriptive. I am hoping they will have survived but it's looking grim. The sun toasted the leaves considerably. See.... learning curve, indeed. I must mention that at Home Depot I bought a flat of marigolds that were already in bloom and tossed them in as well.
The temperature in fluctuating between mid-40s at night to mid-70s during the day and the hardier plants are just leaping to life now. The spinach I started in January is delicious and the kale is out of this world. Not a big fan of Swiss Chard, don't think I'll plant that again next year but I did throw in a few of the neon seeds in last month and they are better than the bulk variety. Better tasting, The other ones before now were being enjoyed by garden slugs. Now that those critters are gone and the plant is thriving, I don't like it at all. Go figure. That was a waste of bed space. The collards are bolting so we are eating the leaves up and the brussell sprouts are still going strong. All the onions, garlic and shallots are doing their things in various beds and growth stages.
All the carrots were terrific and I still have the Jan beets to pull with a new crop just starting out. We tried mesclun seeds on a tape and they are wonderful!!!!!!! One whole raised bed is devoted to leafy greens and so beautiful. Now, the chickens that can fly over fences get in there and cause mischief. The three peas are growing, still no signs of flowering, however. The ones we started last fall were gorgeous and in full flower when a cold front with heavy winds and freeze killed it all off. We had 2 crops farther south last year. See what I mean? 20 miles and a world apart.
NOW fruit: the citrus all look dreadful. They are starting to send out a few leaves, all from below and sparsely but I am hopeful. In the meantime I put in a new Calamondin tree Just In Case. I really want that one more than all the rest and would pitch a fit if after waiting as long as Dan Gill suggests yielded me nothing more than a dead tree and a whole lost year, so we may have two (which is better than one in truth but not what I had originally planned for).
The peach, pear, fig and berries all look terrific but of course they LIKE the cold. And I am scoping out exactly where to plunk in the guava. I know where I WANT to put the three but that requires the removal of two more sago palms and I think I will work on that Friday.
Gotta go let the girls and Stu out. Yes, we still have the rooster. Some things are just hard to give up.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Back By Popular DEMAND!
Okay so I've had a few days off from posting and am back with this!
We have been acclimating the biddies to the older chickens. By older, I mean, only several months older. Not exactly OLD........ but the older ones are also LARGER and more fierce so the little girls tend to stay together as much as possible and respond to our voices very well. They like to be picked up (eventually. At first, they give a small squawk and then settle down for a cuddle and a coo)(yes, I coo to the little girls)(call me crazy).
And they are SO cute, I can't stand it! You don't know adorable until you have bonded with something that looks like a dinosaur with feathers.
I spend lots of time these days out in the garden and tend the veggies growing out back, We have corn and beans up (my shout out these days: "We won't starve this summer!") and the tomatoes we transplanted last week are looking very hopeful. I had my doubts because of those dicey days of mold on the pots. And I have more to come, or go as the case may be. The potatoes are coming up as well. We have 1 (short) row of Blue potatoes, 2 of Yukon Golds and 4 Redskins and they are starting to crown.
But the BIG news is the Guavas arrived (yippie!) and they are HUGE trees! Man alive, I had no idea! and I have to find just the right spots for them. I think I know where two will go. They want protection for the worst of the southern heat. (think: afternoon shade) and The Arbor Foundation sent the 10 trees as well, so I have them potted in large containers. Now again, I have 10 (11 actually. They threw in a BONUS crape myrtle) but no ID tags so I have to wait til they leaf out to identify them all.) And they are really just tiny little seedlings. If they survive, I am either a Master Gardener or that will tell me every plant is eager to live and I have been murdering all others this whole time through noting more than willful neglect. sigh
What's funny is the "evil twins", as John likes to refer to them. Those rascals fly the fence and high-step over to the nearest pile of mulch and just start wailing away with those clawfeet. And John gets furious!."You miserable chickens! I JUST recovered all that!!!! Get AWAY! Go over THERE!" like they speak English! or ...... something.
It's almost 9pm and I am still awake. I surely must get all sorts of merit marks for this...
We have been acclimating the biddies to the older chickens. By older, I mean, only several months older. Not exactly OLD........ but the older ones are also LARGER and more fierce so the little girls tend to stay together as much as possible and respond to our voices very well. They like to be picked up (eventually. At first, they give a small squawk and then settle down for a cuddle and a coo)(yes, I coo to the little girls)(call me crazy).
And they are SO cute, I can't stand it! You don't know adorable until you have bonded with something that looks like a dinosaur with feathers.
I spend lots of time these days out in the garden and tend the veggies growing out back, We have corn and beans up (my shout out these days: "We won't starve this summer!") and the tomatoes we transplanted last week are looking very hopeful. I had my doubts because of those dicey days of mold on the pots. And I have more to come, or go as the case may be. The potatoes are coming up as well. We have 1 (short) row of Blue potatoes, 2 of Yukon Golds and 4 Redskins and they are starting to crown.
But the BIG news is the Guavas arrived (yippie!) and they are HUGE trees! Man alive, I had no idea! and I have to find just the right spots for them. I think I know where two will go. They want protection for the worst of the southern heat. (think: afternoon shade) and The Arbor Foundation sent the 10 trees as well, so I have them potted in large containers. Now again, I have 10 (11 actually. They threw in a BONUS crape myrtle) but no ID tags so I have to wait til they leaf out to identify them all.) And they are really just tiny little seedlings. If they survive, I am either a Master Gardener or that will tell me every plant is eager to live and I have been murdering all others this whole time through noting more than willful neglect. sigh
What's funny is the "evil twins", as John likes to refer to them. Those rascals fly the fence and high-step over to the nearest pile of mulch and just start wailing away with those clawfeet. And John gets furious!."You miserable chickens! I JUST recovered all that!!!! Get AWAY! Go over THERE!" like they speak English! or ...... something.
It's almost 9pm and I am still awake. I surely must get all sorts of merit marks for this...
Monday, March 22, 2010
"Remember in November"™
should be the campaign slogan for the next 3 elections.
Consider this trademarked. "Remember in November"™
This is Rahm Emanuel, the White House Chief of Staff at the Inauguration of Barack H. Obama.
This is what the L.A. Times wrote of this photo at the time.
"Rahm Emanuel.....Enjoying the day....... Funny gesture"
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
to show that you do not respect rules, laws etc or you do not care what someone thinks of you : 
a chance to thumb his nose at the college authorities
I think that sums it up.
Consider this trademarked. "Remember in November"™
This is Rahm Emanuel, the White House Chief of Staff at the Inauguration of Barack H. Obama.
This is what the L.A. Times wrote of this photo at the time.
"Rahm Emanuel.....Enjoying the day....... Funny gesture"
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
thumb your nose at somebody/something
a chance to thumb his nose at the college authoritiesI think that sums it up.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Spring is for Weddings
and we just attended what must be described as the perfect intersection of roots and growth. These two people have been entwining for as long as I have known the family of the young man. If he was home, she was there. If she was seen in town, he was beside her.
The bride was beautiful & adorable (this is not a common occurrence), the groom stuff that make hearts flutter in romantic young girls (he brushed a stray strand from her forehead as the vows were being declared, aawwww!) and setting was on the edge of the glorious swamp of her backyard, where the pair have been friends and a couple for the past decade.
John (with the Home in the background)
The house sits raised high on the property, so the bride swept down the gracious stairs, which face the frontyard, on her father's arm and floated up the aisle to her waiting man.
Even with the surgery, I could not hear what was spoken
but the ceremony was very brief and supervised by a horse watching from the sidelines. He had the occasional head-bob as though he approved the entire event. Like a director, minus the megaphone.
I have to mention that completing the procession was Gumbo, the family dog.
He followed after the bride's mother on the way to and from the altar and added that lagniappe to make this the most joyful and spontaneous, impromptu wedding eveh! If there was script, it was Oscar quality.
If I get permission to post photos of the wedding couple, I will add them later. In the meantime, let this stand as an accurate description along with shots of subjects I am sure will not object.
The bride was beautiful & adorable (this is not a common occurrence), the groom stuff that make hearts flutter in romantic young girls (he brushed a stray strand from her forehead as the vows were being declared, aawwww!) and setting was on the edge of the glorious swamp of her backyard, where the pair have been friends and a couple for the past decade.
The house sits raised high on the property, so the bride swept down the gracious stairs, which face the frontyard, on her father's arm and floated up the aisle to her waiting man.
I have to mention that completing the procession was Gumbo, the family dog.
If I get permission to post photos of the wedding couple, I will add them later. In the meantime, let this stand as an accurate description along with shots of subjects I am sure will not object.
I really want to add some shots of the photographers surrounding the events. (I know they will have taken far far better photos than these and I cannot wait to see the ones they took of the two on the boardwalk leading out onto the bayou. From the distance watching, it looked the perfect setting for stunning photography) At one point, when cutting the cake, it looked much like I imagine what celebrities suffer on a daily basis. 
Between the professionals and the party guests snapping away (me included) the poor couple didn't know where to look. Gumbo did. Eyes on the cake.
I don't blame him one bit. The cakes were delicious!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
No Sewing For Now
because the sewing machine is kind of loud..... I need to find a pair of mufflers....
And it may be getting boring to read only about chickens, but did I tell you about the cute thing that happened yesterday evening? How cute is this? I wish I had video of the event:
After I got back from the doctor's appt (healing going well. auditory testing in 5 weeks) I got home and let the little ones out into the runs. I don't like leaving them for longer than a half hour unattended. Kids! They get into so much mischief!
I was bouncing between the garden, the run and the house, doing work here and there and I finally stopped by the coop to check on them. Two of the little guys (girls) were in one run with one hen, binking around and the other one was alone with the rest of the bigger birds and clearly having issues with the nearness of them (they can be intimidating). She was dashing back and forth along the fenceline trying to find an escape route. Cheeping frantically.
She saw me open the gate and move inside and she took off at a dead run straight at me, flew up my leg and grabbed onto my jacket screaming bloody murder as she made her way to the top of my shoulders and jumped on my head! There she settled down and scolded me!
I AM mother!
And it may be getting boring to read only about chickens, but did I tell you about the cute thing that happened yesterday evening? How cute is this? I wish I had video of the event:
After I got back from the doctor's appt (healing going well. auditory testing in 5 weeks) I got home and let the little ones out into the runs. I don't like leaving them for longer than a half hour unattended. Kids! They get into so much mischief!
I was bouncing between the garden, the run and the house, doing work here and there and I finally stopped by the coop to check on them. Two of the little guys (girls) were in one run with one hen, binking around and the other one was alone with the rest of the bigger birds and clearly having issues with the nearness of them (they can be intimidating). She was dashing back and forth along the fenceline trying to find an escape route. Cheeping frantically.
She saw me open the gate and move inside and she took off at a dead run straight at me, flew up my leg and grabbed onto my jacket screaming bloody murder as she made her way to the top of my shoulders and jumped on my head! There she settled down and scolded me!
I AM mother!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
This Figures
When my brother-in-law ordered supplies for their new coop, I noticed there were 16 brood boxes on the list for 15 chickens and I suggested from (limited) experience that perhaps 16 was too many.
Yesterday, Ginger proved me right. Apparently, only one will do for some chickens. Witness:
There are 3 boxes there to lay an egg in and the one Ginger wants is occupied at this moment. And this makes her very unhappy. And she lets everyone know of her displeasure.
I was out in the runs all day, resting (started feeling what I can describe as light-headedness. a vague sense of something is not normal.....take it easy) and keeping a motherhen eye out for the chickies and I hear this squawking. It continued so I wandered into the coop to find Ginger up in front of the boxes just giving Frack whatfor for being in HER box. Her special box. The ONLIEST box which will suffice to lay an egg in. And the world was going to end unless she got off of her space and let Ginger have it. Even the rooster was watching this nonsense..... Frack, or is that Frick?, of course would not concede and you have to wonder how easy it is to lay an egg when you're getting yelled at and have this chicken rump in your face.
After the noise died down, I looked in again and found this:
So I thought, at last, peace in the coop.
In any case, when I checked later for eggs, all three were in that same nestbox so Ginger waited for the right one. I think she was faking out the other one to get her to finish up. Chickens!
Yesterday, Ginger proved me right. Apparently, only one will do for some chickens. Witness:
There are 3 boxes there to lay an egg in and the one Ginger wants is occupied at this moment. And this makes her very unhappy. And she lets everyone know of her displeasure.
I was out in the runs all day, resting (started feeling what I can describe as light-headedness. a vague sense of something is not normal.....take it easy) and keeping a motherhen eye out for the chickies and I hear this squawking. It continued so I wandered into the coop to find Ginger up in front of the boxes just giving Frack whatfor for being in HER box. Her special box. The ONLIEST box which will suffice to lay an egg in. And the world was going to end unless she got off of her space and let Ginger have it. Even the rooster was watching this nonsense..... Frack, or is that Frick?, of course would not concede and you have to wonder how easy it is to lay an egg when you're getting yelled at and have this chicken rump in your face.
After the noise died down, I looked in again and found this:
So I thought, at last, peace in the coop.
In any case, when I checked later for eggs, all three were in that same nestbox so Ginger waited for the right one. I think she was faking out the other one to get her to finish up. Chickens!
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