Sunday, June 12, 2011

and you shall be named Maverick..

 The temporary home should be done today and my little peeps will be moving out. This will probably take multiple trips to get them to the small farm. I am really hoping this works because I am really attached to these stinkers.

 One of the gray keets is named Maverick. Which gray one? Well.. ummm.. they are rather hard to tell apart. There is one that is rather daring, always getting into trouble, and as my daughter discovered yesterday.. prone to trying to perch on your head.  So Maverick.. is the keet that runs at you when the other 2 are hiding in the corner.

 Although it will be nice to use the bathroom again without 15+ pairs of eyes watching you, I will miss their "chatter". If you go by attitude and posturing.. we have more than a few roosters in this batch. I am really hoping the guineas have a few less males... but... only hearing 2 make a 2 part noise (it's supposed to sound like buckwheet). The vocalizations the keets and chicks are making is hilarious, and someone has taken an artistic twist because it sounds like parakeets are in with them.

 They are "conversing" right now. Quiet chicken chatter of the recently fed. Right after nap time comes the chaos. They can get loud.. someone will get irritated and cheep their outrage. The baby roos are starting to test each other..  the birds need more room to roam. The guineas need to learn where "home" really is, so later when they are allowed out they know where to return to to roost.

 I am waiting for a patch of chickweed to finish setting seed.  While I have offered tiny bits of lettuce, cabbage, beet greens, etc. the birds like chickweed the best. (Sap must be clear as there is a look-a-like with milky sap that is NOT edible.)

 I am currently rounding up phlox seeds. When phlox blooms out here it is lovely. The drive to the bigger farm on either side you go through a section of forest where the phlox makes a purple carpet. It perfumes the air with a light sweet scent that I just love.

 Chives.. always chives. You'd think I'd have enough of them by now, but no. I don't know what my deal is that I am so obsessed with planting more and more of them. The old patch sets out a ton of flowers, but little in the way of greens. Much too crowded, so I have another area started.

 It's time to put on some coffee and start getting ready to head to the small farm. It has rained a bit the last few days causing the weeds to completely go nuts.I'm hoping we move the birds today, and to be able to tackle the weeds. Tomato cages are still being built as we need over 60 of them at least.. and many of the tomatoes have set out flowers.

 Here's to hoping the chick like Four-lined plant bugs... as I am battling billions of them.. and flea beetles (which have devoured the eggplants!) 

1 comment:

  1. Do you mean chickweed with the blue flowers that has the edible root sometimes used for a coffee substitute?

    If so where did you get seeds for it?

    ReplyDelete