Chickies 5/6/2020

I spent all of Tuesday morning doing chick stuff. First I fixed up this little pen to use as a chicken tractor and moved the oldest babies out onto an unused garden bed.  Then I refreshed the brooder they had been in and put the next batch in it. 

Then I moved the week old babies out of the house into the small brooder.  

And when I got home from work I took the newest batch of babies out of the hatcher. 

#appreciation

Just really appreciating the new to me incubator and it’s easy use. The olive eggers have been hatching like crazy. 

Seedy Sunday 5/3/2020

I go some beets and green onion planted  out. 

Potted up eggplant, basil, marigolds. 

Then planted about 8 trays of seed. Winter squash, summer squash, flowers, herbs. I also planted the tomatoes in big pots on the patio. Then set about 10 mouse traps to help protect them. The basil, sweet alyssum and cucumbers I planted a few days are coming up.  Looking forward to more things growing. 

#appreciation

Today just appreciating being home, enjoying the day, the sunshine, the garden, the new growth everywhere 

Farmer Friday Happy Beltane

Been a crazy week. The Mexican primroses are blooming. 

More chicks hatched. 

I discovered peel and stick white board. 2x3’ now on the freezer. The red scribbles are only on the picture to cover my customers names, for their privacy. My old smaller board is now my to do list. 

The potatoes are jammin’. Other things not so much. 

My daughter brought me fresh mozzarella. My first attempt at pizza on the BBQ. Ugly but tasty. 

A pot of snapdragon blooming. 

The blue sage and golden poppies are more beautiful in real life. 

I took the row cover off this bed to find half of it growing like crazy and the other half wilted and nearly dead. Not sure if it’s part is sandier and drier or if it’s nematodes.  Cabbage, calendula, beets, sunflower. 

There are now 5 Nankin chicks. When the first ones hatched both hens left the nest with the chicks. The eggs were still barely warm when I found them and put them in the incubator. A couple more made it and I put them in with the others. 

And some baby Silkies. These guys are just too cute. 

#appreciation

Today I appreciate the abundance in my life. 

Sunday 4/26/2020

This week I’ve been working on clearing up the patio and getting some things planted.  Like a couple cherry tomatoes in an old chest freezer. 

Little apples

A friend brought me a huge amount of used potting soil. 

My son came by and cut out some weed trees for me and even bought me lunch. I sent him home with seeds, starts and potting soil for my youngest grand daughter. 

Well this is a fine mess the goats have made of their hoophouse. I spent some time this morning taking these cattle panels down and putting them in front of the fence where the goats have been pushing out the weld wire. 

I covered the other hoop house with a new tarp and some shade cloth. 

This plum tree is loaded. 

I’ve been excited to see a lot of ladybugs this year. There haven’t been any the past couple of years. 

This bed beside the house got a Chilicoyote squash and a couple of loofahs. 

Yay the gladioli are up. 

#appreciation

Today I celebrate my wonderful children and good friends 

Spring is Here 4/21/2020

Spring is here. Babies all over including my new grand son Noah Dakota. 

The goats are settling in. I try to cut them fresh greens every coupe days. 

But sometimes the goats are naughty jumping on the hoop house. 

I threw out some poppy seed about 30 years ago. The winter rain has really brought them on. 

The desert is blooming too. 

The potatoes are doing well. 

Loads of eggs every day. Occasionally a broken one.  

The red locust tree is blooming. 

Chicks hatching in the incubator. 

I moved some hens out to another pen. 

I cleaned out their space, made a new brooder pen and moved the chicks from the house.  

Transplanted some seedlings into bigger pots. 

More babies hatched over the weekend. Getting ready to put more eggs in the incubator with a hatch due every week. 

I love all the different eggs I’m getting this year. 

Posie’s cute little udder. I’ll probably be able to breed her this fall. 

#appreciation

Just loving that I usually have enough of everything on hand that I am not having shortage of anything. 

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Wednesday 4/1/2020

The cats have decided this is their new napping spot. 

This cutie came into work yesterday. 

This. Morning the goats got some green feed. 

I added this board to the slope to help keep the soil in place. 

Two Silkies hatched under a broody. 

I worked some on the shed today. 

I just didn’t get a lot done, trying to not hurt myself again. 

The lilacs are blooming. 

#appreciation

Today I’m appreciating the beautiful weather, the flowers and new life bursting forth. 

Sunday 3/29/2020

Eggs going into the incubator. Boy I was super busy today but apparently never stopped to take pictures! I retrieved the commercial style brooder from storage so I could get those little Nankin chicks out of the incubator. That meant having to move and sort and clean out some space to put it.  Then swept the hay barn at the feed store. Managed a couple loads of laundry. Planted out some Tatsoi starts and planted some radish seed. Gave all the hens some oyster shell. Filled up all the waterers. Sifted compost and made potting soil. Made 4 trays of soil blocks. Planted 2 trays of beets and 2 trays of zinnias. Pulled some weeds for the chickens. Candled all the eggs in the incubator and pulled the quitters and infertile. Sorted and marked all the ones going in tonight. Visited a few minutes with a friend that stopped by. Chatted online with my daughter in England, she wondered if anyone had heard from her dad. Later her dad called me, worried because he hadn’t been able to reach her. I called my dad today too and talked a long time. Whew! No wonder I’m tired!

#appreciation

Today I appreciate unexpected goodness coming my way. 

Saturday 3/28/2020

I had a nice morning visiting with customers as they picked up their orders in Superior. Came home for lunch then got busy and got some stuff planted. Mizuna, radish, turnip, spinach, Aztec spinach and arugula. Most of these will be ready in about 30-45 days. 

The apple trees are booming. 

I had a few purple sprouting broccoli which I cut for dinner. The goats enjoyed the the tougher stems and extra leaves. 

The broody Nankin hatched 2 chicks Thursday and stayed tight on the nest on Friday. Today she came out with the babies. But when I checked the nest there was a 3rd chick, very cold and almost dead. So I popped it into the incubator to warm up. It was doing much better when I checked on it. 

BUT when I checked on the broody after dark I found she’d left her babies on the ground and went upstairs to roost. Poor things were laying cold on their backs so into the incubator they went. My incubator hatch isn’t due until April 5 so I don’t have a brooder set up yet. Guess I should fix that tomorrow.  All 3 babies seem to be doing ok now.