First eggs we found

 Wooden eggs at hobby lobby... $1 each

No longer needing to crawl through the hedges looking... priceless.


The chickens have been hanging out in the coop during these chilly days. It is so well insulated that just a few of the birds can make it nice and toasty inside.

 On Halloween we got our first treat!

One egg from each breed!

  The brown egg on top is the first one we found and the coloring suggests Zippy (the lone Rhode Island Red hen.) Barred Rock eggs, according to a family friend who is a chicken enthusiast, have more of a pinkish coloring. The faded sage colored egg is from one of the Americaunas (Easter egger).

 The eggs are a good size, and I just LOVE the colors!

  I honestly didn't think they would lay anything until January. My Mom's coon hound  keeps sneaking out and terrifying the birds. Thankfully he hasn't caught any yet. Her dog is going to take a LOT of training. My Mom is not adept at training dogs. Her dog, like every other creature my husband has encountered, is smitten with my husband.  


 With everything going on, we haven't gotten to planting the garlic. Still hunting for more employment, still trying to do what we can with what we have. 

 As the weather is too cold for crocs and clogs... my next younger sister sent me something fun... obnoxious converse! The Dr. Suess ones in particular seem to offend McGinty to no end. 


 We haven't gotten to the roosters yet. My husband will be making killing cones soon. For now they are ever excitedly devouring pumpkins donated by quite a few neighbors. They had the first one raw (and just LOVED the seeds).. the second one I may bake 1/2 of it so it is nice and soft.


 A few roosters figured out how to crack open dried radish pods and eat the seeds. I didn't even think about them getting into that when I pulled them down from where they hung to dry in the polebarn. It keeps them busy!

 Keeping an eye out for guinea eggs, and should we have any luck next spring we'll be potentially hatching some keets. We have someone who is interested in a few for their table. That would work out well for us even if we buy more keets. I seem to have the knack for selecting mostly male birds!


 Off I go... I am currently trying to keep busy twisting 14 gauge wire by hand to make a curtain panel for the front door. 


 Wishing you all the best.

 

Isabel the virtuous and the pissed off percolator

 I have a rooster admirer. Growly. 

Growly

From the moment I let them out, he follows me everywhere. All day long he growls, stamps his feet at my husband in the "back off buddy" kinda way, cock-a-doodle-doo's 20 times in a row off the railing where we have our coffee, hops the fence to hang out with me in the garden, and on rare occasions is distracted by Izzy (Isabel)- who launches herself on to my head in an attempt to preserve her virtue.

Izzy the virtuous on a breezy day

  I've given up even bothering to brush my hair until after the chickens have been let out, watered, fed, and distracted by treats stashed around the yard. Izzy has no problems launching herself on top of my husband's head.. and he is 6'4"! She's fast, agile, and clever.. which is why she has all of her feathers.

  Growly is rather middle of the pecking order. He's a chunky boy, a bulldozer with feathers. I'm trying to figure out what the heck he is doing, as in what do these behaviors mean.. He's making nests in various locations near me prattling on like a pissed off percolator.. head down, bum up.

Zero clue what you are trying to tell me there buddy.

   Maybe he thinks I am a slow hen? Rather like Zippy the Pinhead?

"Zippy" the pinhead..

  Zippy was almost named Winnie.. as she is a bird of very little brain. Sorta sweet, just she still hasn't figured out freckles are not food after all of this time... and blood. My feet will forever have "croc dots" as she figures a few life basics out. 

 Behind Zippy you can see a bit of straw on the patio. The bale of straw we cleverly hid in the dog crate (which has no door) was discovered.. and they "sploderized" it everywhere.

  It is possible some of the hens could be laying. I keep looking, but so far no luck. I am hunting down objects to use in the nestboxes as I can't find wooden eggs, and tossed our Easter eggs when we moved. The upside with so many roosters sleeping in nesting boxes, is that they fight a LOT less when in their condos. 

 We got a frost the other night. It wasn't too heavy, so a few things are still clinging to life. I am however realizing that when we really get nailed by the cold, I will have less excuses for this many roosters. 

  Lately, they have really been packing on weight. They aren't eating the pellets, and still the same amount of scratch is sprinkled out.. but a lot of grass has gone to seed. They also are dining all day on alfalfa and clover in the fields when not stealing apples from the crate on the back porch. You can't find a slug, cricket, or grasshopper within a 200 foot radius of the coop.

 Still learning a lot, always researching.. still have yet to stumble upon something regarding odd birds. The farm neighbors across the street, a couple in their 80's, well... he's a bit of a joker. It is a gamble asking him for advice. It's like asking John Cleese and Robin Williams to write a Presidential address. For the record... if they did... that may be the only time I'd be wanting to listen!! I am open to any poultry advice..

 In case you ever wonder what that "look" is.. by a chicken.. right before they hop on to your head.. or peck you..

And a second later... I couldn't see a thing.

Happy "Sun"day

Here's to hoping all of you have a relaxing and peaceful Sunday.

Elderberry, here's a sign..

 Only am getting a few moments back at the house and trying to get done as much as possible! The last few days have been blustery, cold, windy.. cabin fever set in about 10 minutes after the rain began. The wind has been sending patio furniture flying, eradicated any chance to catch up on laundry, and making for some very misbehaved poultry.

 I may need a sign soon, if only to warn the drivers as they go down the road..

 "caution! Assless chaps and nude chick(ens)"

 Maybe a series of signs..

 "Slow chickens"
 "seriously, they aren't very bright"

 The guineas have handed many a rooster their tail when confined in the coop for more than 6 seconds past when "they" think they should be out. Hence the "assless" chaps. 

 Guineas get first dibs on everything, regardless if they like it or not. Apples, corn, and the occasional Sprite melon have been on the daily afternoon menu. I cut the apples up and throw them everywhere so everyone gets some. The guineas like it best when I hold a piece, so they can peck at it. Some days they have good aim, some days it is like wearing Lady Gaga's meat dress around a pack of wolves.

 I'd probably be less fond of them if they didn't come racing out to me every time I go outside. My minions... they are greedy, feathered, flighty and feeble minded.. and really darn cute. Up close, guineas remind me of Dr. Suess.. and a horror flick at the same time.

 Anyhow... elderberry is well into their season. I'm trying to grab up what I can, mainly to plant them later. The seeds can take up to 2 years to germinate. 

 The berries can be dried for use later in teas and such. Personally, I like them in jam best. Back when I could consume sweets.. we used to make a syrup from elderberry and black caps. It is lovely over pancakes... or mixed into 7-up or Sprite. Often we'd have cottage cheese with sliced canned pears and drizzled with the berry syrup.. or doused over ice cream. Oh man... I miss sugar.

 If you dry the berries, the seeds can be stored for over a decade. Elderberry usually start producing at about 3 to 4 years of age. The fruit sets on first year wood. It is an understory shrub, but one that exists more often along the edge of a forest, or even along streams. They can handle full on sun, but appreciate a bit of shade. 

 They are a shrub that defies juglone producers.. like black walnut. There are several cultivars.. and a native red elderberry (do not eat this one..) that is not edible. Most of the dark fruited wild ones seem related to European strains in this area of the Midwest. 

 While not a very long living shrub, the fruits are fairly rich in antioxidants. They have a history of several medicinal uses, but I like them for their taste. They were one of the things we would snack on as kids as we romped around outside.

 Hoping to get some more time soon. Hope you all are doing well.

Today at the farm.. err.. garden... area-like-type-setting

If you've seen the commercial.. you'll get this..

Oh man... I coulda got a falcon!

    I've pulled the last of the purple tomatillos. Many don't realize that how purple they get depends on sun exposure on the fruit. You can get them to further ripen to a lovely gem colored shade by lining them up on a window sill for a little while.

  Tomatillos are one of those plants where you need several of them for proper pollination. I pulled all of the seeds of course as these had a great flavor and were nicely sour. It is iffy as to my germination rate for a first year here as the pollinators took awhile to work them.

 Elderberry harvest has been weak at best so far. I have a scant few after the chickens found one of the few shrubs, and the wild birds feasted on the others along the woods. The shrubs are getting nailed by some sort of borer, many of them are quickly dying. The few berries I have will be planted.

 Trying to go out to pick the berries is a challenge, as the birds love to follow me. I had to call in a furry reinforcement.

  He's a good dog and I'm lucky that he's so well tempered. 

 This roo here.. a bird of every color.. Ozzy.. not the best mannered. 

  He has a look alike.. Gonzo.. so named because the down near his tail is white and it makes him look like a puppet that has been loved to the point where the stuffing is coming out. He's also a butthead like Ozzy.

 Speaking of which.. the sun is down and I have to race back to the farm. Trying to find some computer time between painting the neighbor's house, replacing the other computer's power supply, juggling 2 bids on our house... you know how it is.. when it rains, it pours.

 I hope all of you are doing well and am wishing you all better times.

Fall chores with pesky poultry

 Forget what the calendar says, fall is here. The fields of soy and corns are awash in shades of gold, and the occasional leaf flutters off the tree. Nights and early morning it is cold enough to see your breath, but thankfully no frost yet!

 The neighbor's granddaughter cuts the lawn at the small farm whenever it needs to be done. It's been her summer job for the last 5 years. This is the first year with the birds, and with the busy schedule of a 16 year old, we never know when she's showing up. The grass got long, and went to seed.. the birds happily snacking on the seeds. They go at it much like one goes at a straw pulled out of a milkshake, sliding their mouth along it. When she showed up late in the afternoon, the gang of course were all outside romping around. 

 At first the sound and sight of her flying across the yard was enough to send them racing towards the coop. I tossed out scratch hoping to lure the stragglers into the pen. It's not even a pen.. or a cage..  all those imply some sort of restraint.. and almost every one of the birds is able to escape. It is more a suggestion of where I'd like them to hang for awhile. No problems until the guineas decided she was too close to their hang out spot. Keet Richard, the lone dark guinea, had had enough and was going to chase her off. He charged, she stopped, she inched forward, he inched forward, she stopped. This went on for 10 minutes before I did the only thing I could do.. I ran in to the house and made a sign.

  Guineas = 50 points
 Roosters = 25 points
 Hens =  -10 points
   
 Followed by a big smiley face. 

 She laughed, waived her arms and Keet Richard lost his nerve. He ran back into the shrubs. She's had Guineas, but she's rather impressed at how confident these little buggers are.  She finished up quickly, and as she headed off to the next zone, Keet and the other Guinea boys charged out. In their minds, they chased her off. Keet's macho level was now at a new high. 6 birds all sharing 1 mind means something is always happening.

 I've given up trying to get the birds to sleep on the roosts at night. Each evening brings what my husband calls the "cluck shuffle" as they figure out where they want to sleep in the coop. Others have birds that pick their sleeping place and keep rather consistent. Mine.. don't. Ever. Alliances alter everyday, pecking order redefined. Last night's second stringer is tonight's upper roost dweller. Then.. there are the non-conformists that have taken to the nest boxes. The nestboxes are 15 inches cubed.. rather roomy. For 1 it is spacious, for 2 it is comfortable, 3 makes it a bit cozy.. but these knuckleheads have managed to squish 5 into the prime top 2 boxes that I have dubbed Boardwalk and Park Place. 

 Guineas sparring do something called "necking".. and if you've ever caught the "Gladiators" tv show long ago.. the part where the contestant faces off a "gladiator".. on a balancing beam, armed with what looks like industrial sized Qtips .. you have a good idea what necking looks like. A bit Rock 'em Sock 'em robots.. but with giraffes. They apply these skills each night on the chickens they deem are in their sleeping spot. Kate, the white male guinea, is particularly adept at up-ending usurping sleep spotters. Sticking his head and neck out under the tail area of said chicken, a quick nudge upwards and the problem is now fluttering about in the shavings below. A lateral game of "king of the mountain".. and true to current day contests.. no actual winner.

 There's a group of barred rocks that tend to sort of stick together. I can really only make out a few of the who's who by their coloring. I refer to them as the BUB's.. Bottoms Up Bunch. They can be found at any point, fluffy side up as they hunt for anything edible. The BUB's have taken to a new approach on things, therefore have deconstructed the compost pile. Much like their "pen".. this is now a "suggested compost area" that they gleefully fluff up and relocate daily. They are a busy lot and always on the move. I get stuck raking the lawn every time it gets mowed.. with guineas voicing their displeasure over the metal rake (to which I agree.. raking sucks!) and by the time I get done making piles, the BUB's have scattered the piles apart. 

 I should have known better. You know how things go when you have a huge list of things that need to get done today.. and yet not enough time to do it all.. so you multitask. I was in full blown multitask mode. I hoped straw in the nest boxes would make them less roomy. Maybe convince a few non-conformists to rethink their stance... maybe drop a few pegs.  At my 5'7" height, Boardwalk and Park Place are a challenge to clean out without a rain poncho. Wheelbarrow full, I was unloading in the suggested composting area when I heard the dog, who was moments ago sleeping by the coop, bark and then race off. (The dog hangs with the birds and will sneak out of the fenced backyard to sun himself near the coop. We think he dug a hole out somewhere in the raspberry patch..) I ran to check.. and he had a cat cornered in the mulberry tree. These feral barn cats are the biggest predators of chickens around here, hawks a distant second. I called the dog back, he ignored me until I used the magic I-mean-it phrase that overrides his rottweiler selective hearing... "Want a cookie?"  This distraction gave the BUB's just enough time to explode the bale of straw all around the coop. Butts up and fancy free they were having a ball scratching and kicking straw everywhere. The tractor gone.. the others wandered out from under the coop and joined the fray.

 Standard day I guess. Almost get 1 thing done and 2 more things get on the list. Crossed off my bucket list is adding fodder to some potentially interesting small town gossip.

 Courtesy of the guineas.

 Almost every morning I make oatmeal (right now cinnamon apple oatmeal), scrambled eggs with chives.. toast. Nothing too exciting (unless you are a chicken.. they go insane for oatmeal leftovers.) Simple pre-coffee question.. "hon, have you seen the scissors? I need to cut chives."

 "You are so like your mother."


 Ok.. to any guys reading this...in general, that phrase is a one way ticket to Lonelytown. My husband and I are pretty snarky in the sense of humor department, a quality we both adore in the other. That sentence is the death knell to your sex life.. or rather the interlude to a series of leaps through flaming hoops of fire before you even think you are getting out of hot water. Just a heads up there.

 We were joking as always. Hence I told him to start looking for a girlfriend.. and he quipped "Don't threaten me with a good time."

 I grabbed the closest thing to fend off the cold.. which was a thick fluffy pink bathrobe, safety scissors from the craft drawer and braved the elements fearlessly. I was looking gorgeous. Rocking a hairstyle that screamed... "Yes.. I went to bed with wet hair!" part CarrotTop part "Kate plus 8" meets flobee.. camoflage colored clogs.. I was owning the mid-life crisis hangover look.. less the hangover. 

 Just the time you don't want to see a construction crew working on the street in front of the house. Grab chives, run inside.. I'm sure they can't see me that well.  Time to employ my suburban housewife ninja skillz.

 Like when you are a little kid.. and cover your eyes, you think other people can't see you. As I didn't have my glasses on.. I was really hoping they couldn't see me. 

 "doot-dah-dooo doot-dah-doo" 

 The shrubs shook as the guineas were scoping out new turf under the spirea hedges. A big red dump truck was crawling up the road to the crew. I'm trying to slink around the front porch to get to the chive patch.. then the dump truck pulls into the driveway. The guinea alert sounds.. all 6 pop out of the shrubs, lined up, heads stretched out.. egos inflated to super size. They were headed right at the truck at a run.

 "CRAP!!"

 I had to head them off. I am now quite positive the whole crew could get an eyeful of my radiant beauty as I ran down the drive. I got in front of the birds (now 30 feet from the truck) I throw up my arms, bright purple safety scissors still in my grasp. The birds were unphased.. jazz hands did not move them, they could still see the truck. Like a subway flasher.. I threw open my robe and scared the crap out of them. (The birds that is.. and yes.. I was clothed.. still scary ) Changing a birds' mind sometimes must be done manually. They ran back to the coop, I got the chives and went indoors. The truck unmoved, the whole crew now watched me.

 I chopped the chives up quick and tossed it into the eggs. My husband asks me "Why is there an "I heart BINGO" patch on the back of the bathrobe?" 

      

Japanese Beetles.. how far they have spread

 I thought I would pop this up quick to show the range of these beetles. A 100 years ago they were spotted in New Jersey. Kentucky has also popped up several times as one of the areas from which this pest was introduced.

  That was 2005. This next one is the range over the last decade.

 This map is from NAPIS (National Agricultural Pest Information System.)

 The Japanese beetle tirade here hasn't quite slowed down yet. The chickens and guineas were doing an incredible job keeping the beetle numbers down. I did not realize how big of an impact they were making until we moved them to the coop. 

 3 days away from the garden and the beetle numbers just exploded. Gently shaking a leaf of a wild grape vine and dozens would tumble into my awaiting hand. The pole beans which finally made yet another surge of growth.. was now a lacy wreck.

 It did make me pause a moment and consider how much food my chickens and guineas were foraging. 34 birds are consuming about 50 pounds of feed a week (50% scratch and 50% layer feed).. although much of the layer feed gets wasted and the scratch is like candy to them. It works out to be about 3.36 oz of food per bird per day including the wasted feed or the veggies I give them.

 They really do not like the bagged feed. I made the mistake of mixing some scratch in with it to encourage them to eat out of the feeder.. the results were a massive mess in the coop. They about emptied the 30 pound feeder just picking out the seeds. If I only offer pellets, then a 50 pound bag would probably last almost 2 weeks. 5 pounds of cut up dinged garden veggies lasts 2 minutes. The only time their crop is empty is in the early morning. No chubby chickens either as they run around all day long.



 Milky Spore is on my want list.  Kinda further down on my want list.. as my husband has noticed the bug devouring power of our feathered fiends. 

 It is hard to see Japanese beetles as a blessing, but as chicken feed.. I suppose they are. I couldn't imagine how bad the beetles would have ravaged the garden had we not had the birds. 3 days without them and many things in the garden almost were eradicated.

 Maybe... I just need more chickens. 

Under the cover of darkness...

 We (and by we, I mean my husband) slapped up 1 hand made screen into the window, noticed the sun had set long ago and said "Screw it, the other 3 will go in tomorrow!" We (again him.. but I like to feel involved) packed away the tools, and set out to meet the task on hand...  moving day for the birds.

 Imagine the relay race in the Olympics..  except set out in a farm, in almost complete dark, with 2 "runners" (again him.. I'm too endowed to run and remain conscious, but I am great at living vicariously through his athletic achievements).. a 5'+ tall fence.. oh.. and the "baton" is actually a chicken.     
 Some how when designing the fence to the yard, "someone" coughMomcough put in 2 gates.. on only 1 side of the fence. To move the birds quickly, and without the extra time or potential issues that occur when chickens freak out in the living room when cutting through the house..  we had to do the hand-off over the fence. A tangent but... scotchguarding the couch was the best move my Mom ever made.
 When it is dark out, the birds settle down. They are basically blind in the low light. I was grabbing them from their comfy place, racing to the fence and handing them off to my husband. He ran them to the coop and lined them up on the roosts. Moving 34 birds took a little over an hour. We had the drive and the motivation.. provided by a skunk. 
 Closing the coop, we patted ourselves on the back and headed in to bed. 


 Anyone notice a problem with our setup?


 The next morning a major storm blew in, and we didn't have to worry. SWEET RELIEF! The winds howled and blew.. no chickens sliding across the patio like weather reporters covering a hurricane. About noon it cleared up and we could check on the birds. That's when we noticed the problem.
 While the roosts were measured, and they had enough room to be on them and not touching... we (and by we, I mean my husband) forgot to measure the ass to head overlap. The 2nd stringers were sporting crap caps. 
 We have to adjust that feature.. or add a bird bath to the coop. The birds are avoiding being a 2nd stringer in the meantime.
 Most of the chickens have figured out the coop is home. The guineas (stew pot gang) and their minions... have not. The relay race happens every night and will continue to do so until they get a clue. We (not my husband) realize that this may take up to 6 weeks. 

A labor of love I tell ya.


 Not to be confused with this...

A test of love.. fermenting tomato seeds.

  The picture isn't out of focus.. it is just that the stench is powerful enough to warp the lens. These are tomato seeds that are ready to be cleaned. The aromatic output wafting off this is enough to test any marriage.. or cover that pesky "improperly stored corpse" scent still lingering in the drapes. Container with a lid is a must.

 At this rank stage, the gel coating around the seeds has dissolved. Add water to fill the container near to the top, wait a few seconds, and pour the floating gunk off. Repeat filling and pouring off several more times. The "fleshy bits" tend to float.. as does tomato seeds without an embryo. Viable seeds are typically sinkers, but they need a couple seconds to do so.
 I then finish washing them off using a strainer under the tap (cold water). They get laid out on wax paper or coffee filter to dry. Avoid putting wet seeds on to a paper plate, napkin, glass.. unless you plan on watching them and moving them a couple of times in the next few hours. Otherwise the seeds will cement themselves to the paper or glass. 
 Drying.. I let my seeds dry out for a couple of weeks in an area that has good air flow and is out of direct light. Do NOT use a dehydrator. Heat over 100 degrees and you are starting to cook the seeds. Cooked seeds don't sprout.
 If you dry a larger seed at the same time as tomatoes.. you can test the bigger seeds and get an idea how far along they are. Seeds that are dry enough to be stored will snap when folded in half. If they bend (still pliable) they have too much moisture. If you get the moisture content to 8% or less (breaks in half when folded).. they can be frozen and still hold viability for decades. Otherwise these seeds can be stored in air tight containers, out of light, and in a cool location (constant temperature a big bonus.. want to keep the glass stage of the seed).. they should retain very good viability (80%+) for 10 years and longer.


 The "glass stage" of seeds is essentially when the seed is dried enough that it almost freezes time. It is a stage of dormancy.. with each strain of seed having their own activation triggers (temperature). This is how seed vaults are able to hold on to strains for decades before needing to grow the crop out to refresh their stores.


The sun is setting.. I have to head back to the farm and prepare for the nightly relay race. I am hoping to update you soon on things I have been foraging and collecting. 

I am hunting for a good applesauce recipe to jar up the mini mountain in the kitchen. If you have a good recipe.. please share!!
 

the Z4c

 Sometimes, to get a job done right, you need the right equipment. Other times, you make due with whatever you have on hand. Changing an angry chicken's mind or thwarting a mob of feather pulling guinea fowl from a distance is not easy. 

  I find this situation often as 2/3rds of my flock are rather randy males bent on being the "Commander-in-Peep"... I am not a fan of their prison style attempts at adoration with my under aged chicks. 

 Being a chicken chaser on dew slicked grass while wearing crocs is dangerous to say the least. More than a few times I have found myself flailing with limbs somehow all able to head in opposite directions. Flat on my back.. wind knocked out of me.. I stared at the happy fluffy clouds and wondered how many turds I managed to slide across while trying to save Doink.

 Doink is a black and white Americauna hen who has been desperately trying to save her namesake, the lone feather on her tail that curls to the side. She's rather skittish unless oatmeal is involved, at which time she will risk anything to have some. 

 Which brings me back to needing to be properly armed while attending the feathered deviants. Squirt guns no longer effective.. I needed to find another non-lethal "mind changer" and in a hurry.  This brings me to the happy chance of discovering a new talent.. and a new arsenal. I am an amazing shot (up to 20+ feet) with my trusty Z4c.

   Yep.. the Ziplock 4 cup container flies like a dream. I am able to bean a bird from what once was "too far away." Able to stop the mental mob of 6 guineas bent on beating up someone in seconds with a rump shot.. I am no longer defenseless. I've become adept at "issuing the warning shot" by bouncing the container over the offender.

  I am.. Ziplocked and loaded and ready to go.


 We are as well starting to look into actual means of protection. The clincher happened the other night when we had an issue of my husband being in the new chicken coop.. and coyotes just outside of it. Yelling did not deter them. He did get them to leave by turning on his saw as he cut the poles for the roosts.

 That situation is not cool. In rural areas you tend to be reminded that you too.. are potential prey. I think my husband may ask DV (the neighbor) for some guidance. Land owners here can also get a permit that allows them to get 4 deer per year. 


 My thoughts are.. my Z4c may need to be upgraded should the obnoxious neighbors at the big farm keep up their antics. We fixed more of the fencing.. and boy will I be mad if they cut our fences and tear through our fields on their 4 wheelers... again.


 I suddenly have.. a lot of neighbors. Of which one in town has asked my husband to fix his porch after he took a peek at the coop. Although not exactly a steady job.. it is work. Any work in a town this tiny is hard to find and no luck in the surrounding towns either so far. A chance to get some bills paid is a happy thing!

 

Of Beaks and Beans

 We had to seek refuge from the heat. In the high 90's, pushing 100 with air so humid it was smothering even before the sun rose. The dog was in utter misery and I was worried like crazy about the young chickens, so we went to the farm and turned on the AC. My husband packed some things from our house and spent the night there. He got heat stroke... in the house. I'll be surprised if any of my seeds in this house are viable.

 We've been pulling bowl after bowl of beans and a few tomatoes every day. A lot of tomatoes are still very green, and I am awaiting to see what some of my mystery tomato crosses will be. So far.. quite a mix. Seems the yellow pear has crossed with ???  The plants are covered in light bulb shaped tomatoes, but much bigger than the standard yellow pear parent, and they are still very green. I have to say... I am excited about the Goldman's Italian American tomatoes. Massive rippled tomatoes.. RIPEN ALREADY!!! Seriously not getting any younger here.

   Now.. July and August are when the tomato horn worms come out. To be quite frank, I totally wasn't even thinking about them. I wasn't even thinking to look for them until about a half dozen tomato plants totally disappeared to nothing but a stem. I'm still training the chickens.. (yes.. training them).. and so far behind on weeding, laundry and basic functions that checking on the tomatoes was pretty far down the list.
 The Japanese beetles are fabulous for chicken training treats. "Izzy" knows her name, so does "Karen" and "Kate" and "Roy".  The beetles appeal to the chicken's 5 senses.. crunchy and shiny. After shiny, not much else matters.

  I... armed to the teeth with my trusty never-to-be-used-again-for-people salad fork.. went to wage war in the pathetic tomato patch. You can sorta pop horn worms off if you *use the fooooork Luke... use the fooooork!* place the tines to get the last 2 sets of legs off the plant. These wriggling juice bags went right into a container to be fed to the chickens.

 These are the 3 amigos..

 Horrible picture of them, I know... but my husband had the camera. The crocs are worn strictly to torment the fashionista poultry. These 3 follow me everywhere. The brave, the daring.. they are the few that will go into the garden. So I didn't think much about these boogers when I was picking beans.. until I heard the squeals of excitement by the 3 little dorks as they went tearing back to the house. You could just hear what they were thinking.. "Omgomgomgomgomgomg lookit what I have!!!"

 When one of my chickens has something new.. it must show whatever it is off to the other birds. Their reaction determines if what they have is any good.. desirable... so the initial "run" plays out like the OJ car chase. Really slow, with everyone watching.. still processing what is going on.  If they know they have the goods.. break-neck speed right to the cop.. through the masses.. 

 They thought they had horn worms, until they got to the coop and paid attention to what they snapped up. Several minutes later they are back in the garden.. then sqeals as they zoom back to the house. It takes a chicken quite a few times to figure something out. About 1/2 a bowl full of beans before mine figured it out.

 If you like silence.. listen to Pioneer Preppy and do not get a guinea fowl. When they are content, it is like a bunch of 6 year olds with kazoos saying "Doot-dah-doo" over and over. When they are not making that sound.. they are screaming repeatedly. When you go inside to hide from their commotion, they seek you out and express their dislike of your relocation.. right after they crap on the patio.

  At first, a loud sound of any sort would surprise them into silence. Then they caught on and it would force me to reach for desperate measures... old songs.

 RAMA-LAMA-DING-DONG!!!!!!!!!!!   OOOOhhh   EEEEEE  OOOOhhh-AAAHHH AHHHH
TING TANG!!  WALLA WALLA !!! BING BANG!!!!

Then came disco...  oooowwp   ooowwp!  and imitations porn...  bow-chica-wow   No pride left.. I just wanted a few minutes of blessed silence. Nothing was safe, nothing was sacred.. songs learned in CCD to pop songs.. a nursery school song in German, advertising for dog food, theme songs to TV shows.. all fair game.

 No pride left I tell you. A fact I completely realize when I have to get them back into the temporary coop at night. When I hear myself mutter things like "please get in.. sleepytime.. please don't make me use the jazz hands..."

 The chickens meanwhile.. just hop right in.

Japanese Beetles and building the coop

  I've been swamped and hit a few times by heat troubles. Wild black raspberries are in full swing and I'm determined to grab up as much as I can! (Even though I will never ever be able to make a dent even if there were 20 of me picking around the clock.)  My overzealous picking has landed me in hot water twice now where I collapsed in the lawn on the way back to the house. Hot and humidity in the 90's really can hit you like a ton of bricks. Heat exhaustion happens easily, but trying to track back through a forest to get to someplace cool was the only option. Humidity that high and evaporation does not happen. I take emergency ice packs with me just in case now.

 What also is in full swing are Japanese beetles (Popillia japonica).

  These bugs will "fall" when disturbed. So I grab a large mouthed container, throw in a bunch of ice and some water.. and let them drop in. The wild grape vines and wild roses all around the garden are essentially acting like a trap crop.  They drop into the ice water and are too cold to fly away.

 These beetles will skeletonize a long list of plants. It is like a biblical plague. Several trees are so covered that you barely can see the leaves. While you can use a lure trap, it will essentially attract the fiends in greater numbers than what the traps can catch... As in.. if you use traps, put them up at someone else's place far away!

 Once I have my finely honed attack chickens ready (read.. brave enough to leave a 20 foot radius of their coop).. I dream of opening the door and yelling "RELEASE THE FOWL!" The beetles will tremble and go elsewhere. I did mention I was dreaming..

 At 8 weeks old, I am bringing the beetles to them. I collect up what I can, pour it into an old flower pot and let them devour the semi-frozen fiends.

  I should have had my husband ready with the camera. That red headed chicken is "Karen".. and a force to be reckoned with. She is brave (within sight of the coop), independent (as long as she sees you are around), a natural laid back little leader. The "Karen technique" essentially means we may never ever need to use the weed whacker ever again. She has taught the others the scratch and sit method that has cleared the grass and weeds around the 20 foot distance of the coop to the house.

 This is the coop so far. Keep in mind most all of this is from wood my husband is scavenging from the ancient barn. The bottom was excavated a bit. It should be deep enough that they should be able to wander around under there. Wiring has been sunk into the ground and then rocks which are mud packed as well as concreted into place hopefully will deter any predators.

 

 Floor boards are from the old barn, as are the posts. You have no idea the string of adjectives my husband was able to fluently string together. Everything is warped, twisted due to time and exposure. Not an attribute my perfectionist husband particularly cares for.

  The coop will be 8' by 12' and have 4 windows that are also reclaimed. When you are working with reclaimed materials, it takes a lot more time. We are insane for doing this. Trying to build a coop this large for under $1,000 is interesting. 

 Here's what my incredibly amazing husband is rummaging to get much of the lumber..

So the cavernous old barn will get a new life as a little chicken cottage, with any luck. When the coop is done, then construction on making some compost bins to organize my piles, and cold frames.. ugh cold frames. Endless list.

 Focus Danielson! I suck at completing projects by the way. I am great at starting a million of them, but notorious for flaking out and biting off more than I can chew. Kinda like the multiple stock pots of berries that I must freeze or jam.. 

 I need a jammer! As in.. here.. you make the jam while I pick the berries. As having a big family is not in my cards to create, maybe I should create a commune. Which I totally would do.. you know.. if I actually owned the land. Maybe start some sort of rent-a-jam-granny business. 

 Time to run over some produce from the garden and get back to work. Take care and stay cool!

View from the porch

 Thought I'd share the view from the small farm's backyard.

  The field was baled a little over a week ago. Wild grapes are going crazy along the fence of my Mom's former garden. It is the ultimate weeding nightmare with grasses that instantly fill back in tilled areas and henbit galore. 

 Can you spot the onions? lolol I will get more pictures so you can laugh, and suddenly feel better about what you have to weed. 

 As the soil is heavily clay, smothering the garden areas without having the compost (mountains of compost) to amend it is not a good idea. In this case the weeds help retain the moisture and keep the surface from drying out into a concrete like swath. I weed around the tomatoes, beans, squash, etc. but let the rest go. It gets hand trimmed back (I need geese!!!) and tossed into the compost pile. The weeds right now are also retaining the soil.

 Tiny garden compared to what I wanted to do.. but a huge project nonetheless, especially when you consider that most of the ground breaking and hacking back of waist high grasses was done by hand. Insane I know.. but we didn't have much choice! So the squash patch is on hold until next year.. by then hopefully the tiller will be fixed and good to go!

 Some of the birds braving the bugs to run out and say hello to us.

  To the far right the red and black hen is Izzy, the barred rock to the left of her is Timmy, Kate the white keet, then Terry the black & white hen. Those 3 chicken up front are incredibly mellow and friendly. They love people, especially people with treats. The one in back flapping is Karen.. coming in for a landing and using her buddies to soften the impact. She's considerate that way.

Terry..  I'm trying not to have favorites.. but she's beyond sweet.

 And another picture of the stinkers.. many won't deal with the bugs and hang out by the fan. The keets sound the alarm when something scary is around.. like those man eating hummingbirds.

 This is what the fly strips look like after an hour. 1 hour.  We have 4 up that we swap out almost every hour. Black Flag fly strips.. 4 for $1.. longer than the other brands we have encountered. The fan is on the opposite side of the run so it blows air quickly across the area where their food and water is.. and the entrance of the coop. This keeps the buffalo gnats out of the coop, lets the birds eat in peace.. and this side we have the shade cloth up. The gnats seem to be attracted to the scent of the birds.. which wafts out from this side.. so the fly strips collect up the cloud of gnats that gather here.

  The birds have discovered stink bugs are nasty.. regardless of who is brave enough to run around with one in their beak. Lightening bugs are also not tasty.. june bugs are scary.. worms and grubs are divine.. flies are delish and ants are also yummy.

 Off to the farm I go. Trying to make tomato cages still and attempt to contain the plants. We have post holes to dig, and as well dig out the area where the coop will be as it is a sloped area. Should we have a moment.. we still want to round up mulberries from the bigger farm and check on the blackberry patches and gooseberries. That takes several hours as it is a pretty good hike to zigzag over 80 acres of overgrown hilly terrain. Hopefully we remember to avoid the poison ivy! lol