Cock-a-Doodle-DON'T

This is Jagger, letting it rip.  I love hearing him crow.  And now, with the younger cockerals up the back of the house, he calls to them and they answer.  It's funny to hear them go back and forth.  At least I think it is, and so does the rest of my family.

It seems our neighbor to the south does not.  She thinks he's SCREECHING all day long and has threatened to call by-law on us.  Geesh.  We live in a rural part of town where we are allowed "unlimited" animals on our property.  But she might be able to get us on a noise infraction, with time and help from other neighbors. I honestly don't know if she really has a leg to stand on, but for my own peace of mind, I've moved my bird. I noticed that since she uttered her threats, I'm noticing - and cringing - every time he sings.  I've also had to alter my morning routine to let all the animals out - saying good morning at the usual time to everyone between 7 and 7:30 AM,  except the hens and Jagger whom I've been keeping "cooped up" until 9 AM just to keep this woman happy.  I was finding that one of the favorite parts of my morning was not so much fun anymore.

So.  I've moved all the pullets to the run beside the main flock, which I was going to do anyway.  (And fixed the little coop, yay for me!)  And moved Jagger -TEMPORARILY - to the back run.  He'll be in with the other boys now, kind of a bachelor pen.  Might actually be better this way.  The hens will catch a break, and maybe grow some of their feathers back (if you have a rooster with your hens, you'll know what I'm talking about), and the boys will get used to each other without the distraction of the girls.  Then, come fall, my 2 main boys, Jagger and Jackson, will come back down to the main coop, and the other boys will go into the freezer.

Note to readers: if you don't like the sound of farm animals, don't buy property in an agricultural area.

'Nuff said.

Hide n Seek :)

Hmmm.  Hello Violet.  What are you doing?

Oh my!

I couldn't find one of our turkey hens the other morning.  My imagination thought the worst, so I started looking for feathers, a sure sign something got her.  Couldn't find any.  Another thought entered my head, so I started looking in well- hidden spots, and found her, very quietly, sitting... on 16 eggs.

Abundance!

Summer is about abundance, is it not?  I love how it goes in phases.  After all the planting and weeding and watering.  Then comes the watching.  What will come up first?  What will thrive?  What will we have to re-think for next year?

First, it was the early lettuces and spinach.  We enjoyed our salads daily, let me tell you!  As those got old and bitter, they were ripped out of the garden and offered to the chickens.  (Yum, says they.)

Then, and still, Carrots, Carrots and More Carrots.

So we're eating tons of the things, in soups, muffins and just by themselves.  We keep planting more.  We should have carrots until Christmas.  And then we'll be sick of them.  But then we won't have them again until June when we'll WANT them again.  And so it goes...

I'm also pulling a crazy amount of New Zealand Spinach out.  Well, picking a lot of leaves and pulling a lot of plants.  Have you ever grown NZ Spinach?  If you have, you know of what I speak.  We still have some in the freezer from last summer.  You'd think I would learn.  Nope.  I planted a row of "regular" NZ, a row of organic, and 2 rows of transplants from the little volunteers in the beds it was in last year.  Ugh.  Now it's crowding out the peppers, onions and eggplants, and spilling over the sides of the bed!  Good thing the chickens all like it!  That said, it really is wonderful stuff.  Full of goodness and freezes Awesome-ly!  (Is that even a word?)  I usually pick a huge bowl of it, wash it in cool water, stuff it into a pillow case and chuck it into the washing machine on "spin".  No, I'm not kidding.  Works like a dream!  Brilliant suggestions from my dear pal Lisa from Urban Harvest.  Then into Ziploc freezer bags - whole leaves.  Let it freeze, then crush it and it takes up 1/2 the space.  It's a hardy plant, loves the sun without bolting, and not really a spinach at all.  I don't like it in salads, as it's too "thick" for my liking, but in sauces and pestos, it's amazing.

I harvested all my cabbages too.  All 3 of them.  These awful little bugs got the rest:

A lot of cursing going on as I found all the holes in the cabbage due to this...this... thing.  If anyone knows the name of this little green monster, I'd love to hear it, as well as any tips to eradicate the beastie from my future cabbages.

More later!

The Full-ness of Summer

"Do you have a sec for me?  Puhleeeese??"

Wow.  It's already August.  Where does the time go?  It seems we spend most of the year waiting for summer and then it goes by in a blink.  I truly wonder where my days go.  I have been working 3 mornings a week at our family business, but the rest of the time is relatively unaccounted for.  I have not enrolled the kids in any camps, other than 1-3hr art camp, and the boy in a 2 hr/day music camp - but that hasn't even happened yet. 

My days are FULL.  With what?  Ummm.... there's been more than a few birthday parties for kids' friends lately.  Not very much beach time at all.  The harvesting of various veggies and berries and the resulting canning or processing of such foods. Knitting where I can, even just for a few stitches.

And my "rounds" as I like to call them.

All of which can be interrupted at a moment's notice by one of the children, usually the boy, hollering about something from the deck as they can't be bothered to come and find me.  (Our place isn't THAT big.)  More often than not, the boy needs me to watch him go to the bathroom.  He's 5.  And on the precipice of becoming a musician.  Me thinks he's just getting used to having an audience.  I half expect him to bow after he's done his business.  Anyway, I digress.

About 3 times a day, I start in the backyard with the turkey babes, watering, feeding, checking the heat and watching for anything out of the ordinary.  Then to the adult birds, ducks and geese included.  Then to the "nursery" yard, where the several of this year's chicks (not so much chicks anymore) are foraging and learning about life as a chicken.  I usually cuddle one or 2 of the little ladies (Princess Leia being a favourite -- she's a pure white Easter Egger).

Wondering to myself when I'm going to get to repairing the little coop in the chicken garden adjacent to the main chicken yard so that I can move these lovelies so as to become aquainted with the main flock through the fence.  Gotta do that SOON.  Then, leaving them, through the garden to be sure everything is going as it should be, stopping to munch on something yummy, or yank out a few weeds.  Then to the sheep yard, a chat & a scratch with the girls there, checking on water, and enjoying the simpleness that is sheep.  Watching them for a while, where they are hanging out at various times of the day, what they are eating and when.

Making mental notes to self about all that and thinking about how we are going to pen them with their newborn lambs next spring.   Lastly, to the main chicken yard to watch the grown up birds getting lost in the tall tall grass there, clucking happily to themselves as they find another tasty morsel.  Watching them for a bit.  And lastly into the coop itself to collect whatever gold lies there (in the way of fresh eggs, of course).  And winding my way back up to the house, wash off the eggs and any other goodies from the garden.

All the while, thinking about all these critters that have found their way to us, what they mean to us, how they enrich our lives in so many ways.  And loving them all, even the ones that will eventally be in the freezer, and thanking my lucky stars that I can do this.

Weekend Reading

This Life Is In Your Hands by Melissa Coleman is a memoir about living off the land and the hardships, blessings and tragedies that can go along with it.  In the fall of 1968, Melissa Coleman's parents, Eliot and Sue pack a few essentials into their VW truck and abandon the rat race for a cleaner and back-to-the-land way of life on the coast of Maine, under the wing of Helen and Scott Nearing, authors of "Living the Good Life."  Summers are full and overflowing, while winters are harsh and difficult.

I enjoy reading books like this; it helps keep reality in check for me.  I often say that I was born 100 years too late, that I would have liked to be a pioneer and do everything from scratch.  But honestly, that's HARD.  Really Hard.  There's nothing wrong with a few modern conveniences (like a real oven, and indoor plumbing) but it's really good to know where your food comes from.

Where ever you go, whatever you do, enjoy your weekend!

Coming Up... Stay Tuned :)

Some things I'm working on :
- Triticale update - how much of this stuff can I harvest and how many ways can I use it?
- Another t-shirt makeover
- Garlic harvest
- Lavender fun - or "What to give to 9 year old girls that don't want toys anymore".
- Last batch of 2012 chicks to hatch next weekend!

See you  soon!

Are they turkeys or are they vultures?

Turkeys now doing well.  They like to perch on top of the old playhouse, about 10 feet in the air. All the girls and the 2 yard babies can get up there, and to the untrained eye, they might resemble vultures!  Quite funny and quite safe up there.  Poor Waldo is bigger and is molting so can't get enough air to perch that high, so I usually find him, or clues that he's been, on the gate.  Hmmm.  Turkey poop is similar to chicken poop. But bigger.  And smellier. Yuk.

We moved the babies to a bigger home too; their little cage in the chicken house was getting too crowded.

I was worried about them the first night.  I think I mentioned that turkeys get upset easily, so changing their home was a little daunting.  I was concerned they'd forget how to eat, or be too scared to venture out, away from their hatch-mates, so I made sure they knew where their food and water was by dipping their beaks into it.  They seem to be getting the hang of it.  My fingers are crossed that we're out of the woods with these  little guys!  I swear, chicks are on their way after about 4-6 days.  Turkey poults are more like 3-5 weeks.  Gotta keep a close eye on them, that's for sure.