Early Morning Sun, Morgan and Chickens

One of the things I love best about the forest is being out in it in the early morning and watching the sunlight make its way through the tree tops to light up patches of the forest floor.

After all the rain and snow the leaf layer on the ground is still wet and the moisture has made the moss very happy.

The chickens are digging up the layers of wet leaves to get down to dirt that they can scratch through to find some tasty grub.

I've noticed that the hens especially like to scratch around the base of the trees. There must be some really good thing to find.

Two more mostly sunny days and then we are back to rain and thunder storms. I am being very lazy and not doing much of anything and I blame it on the weather. I've got lots to do and I want sun and warm days.

Novel Tax

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy;

they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.

~ Marcel Proust

I'm thankful for friends past, present and future.

Doggies too.

Morgan is such a sweet dog.

Today and most of last night I spent reading the new Dan Brown book, Lost Symbol. Once I got started I couldn't put it down. Well, I finally did to get a little sleep and then started up reading again this morning and missed breakfast and lunch. This is a photo from yesterday's search for November photos. I like the play of light and shadows in the picture. Reading can be taxing!

[no eggs]

Smiles

~:>

My Treasures

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.

~ Thornton Wilder

This month I'm going to think of things I am grateful for and list one on the blog everyday.

Living in the forest is a treasure.

Today I walked around trying to find some November photos, but things haven't changed very much from October. More leaves have fallen and we got some rain, but things look much the same. I love the crisp cool air. I really enjoy Autumn.

This photo is for my brother and Sandy to show them how much the ivy has grown and covered the fence here in the front and pretty much all the way around the side. You planted a great ivy!

This is the broody Wyandotte. Sheesh! I wish she would give up her efforts to hatch eggs. Today when I checked under her I found two wooden eggs. I moved one over to the right for the photo where it belongs. She had moved it. Poor hen. No chicks.

This is the smaller planter box.

I took the day off and didn't work in the garden.

The bigger planter box.

I checked online for information about putting chicken wire down to keep out the gophers before I put in the dirt. That seems to be a good idea. While I was searching around I found a lot of information about squirrels tearing up planter boxes, either burying nuts and/or eating the vegetables. Some blame the squirrels interest on the type of soil put in the box because it is easy to dig holes in so the squirrels attack. I may have to build some kind of chicken wire cage if the squirrels become a problem. Kristine says not to worry. Let's just see what happens. Sounds good to me. But, I think I will line the bottom with small chicken wire.

Talked to Kathleen today! She said this is going to be a weekly call. How great is that!

And she said she is going to send me some photos

of Tristan, Rhiannon and Jaidan

in their Halloween costumes!

So I can post them.

[2 eggs today]

Now two Light Brahmas are molting!

Smiles

~:>

Egg In A Basket

Neat! I saw a Wyandotte hen sitting in the basket this morning. I think she was happy to get her basket back. I was happy just not to smell skunk anymore. There is one wooden egg and she left a light colored egg. Strange. I always thought the Wyandottes laid medium brown eggs. I just checked and they are supposed to lay large eggs from light to rich brown. That egg doesn't look particularlly large. Personally, I like the dark brown or rich brown eggs. They don't taste any different, but I just like them better because of the color. Just me.

This does look better today. Hard to believe, but the hens cleaned up a lot of the scratch grain off of the blue lid and they even cleaned up a bit off the the ground. Messy chickens. I guess I do have to take the blame for all this waste. After all, I'm the one who gave the girls all the grain. I'll keep the grain feeder away for a few more days and see if they will eat up any more of the waste.

Strange to report wind, but there actually was a little wind last night that caused a bit of leaf fall and lots of branches cracking and falling along with acorns landing with sharp reports like gunfire. It was quite noisy. Pretty soon all my raked areas will be covered with leaves, and I will be doing rain dances (not) hoping for rain to wet the leaves and earth so I can start my raking campaign. I hate raking this dry dirt. I end up standing in a cloud of dust and with a sore throat.

No painting today. I'm giving that new paint I got at Home Depot (it's called Freshaire) a chance to dry a bit, at least one day, before I turn the doors over and paint the other side. I may decide to paint the cabinetry in the kitchen first, so I can hang the doors and won't have to leave them laying around where they can stick on something. But first I will have to complete the finish work. Tomorrow?

[5 eggs today]

I think the hens liked their new straw nests.

Smiles

~:>

Chicken In A Basket

A tisket, a tasket, a chicken in a basket. This Australorp hopped in the basket while I was looking for eggs. She looks pretty content in the basket. I put the feed in the barrel again tonight. I don't often find the basket occupied.

This is a a view of the house and garage under the hole in the trees.

See the dead tree? This happens in the summer mostly and then the trees fall over and usually don't make it to the ground. They usually get hung up in the branches of nearby trees and just hang there for years until they finally fall apart in pieces. You don't want to walk under these dead trees and get hit with a dead branch. Some of the branches are as big as small trees.

This is the area I am using to cut up the sheet rock. I would like to sheet rock these walls, or at least the area around the sliders.

[10 eggs today]

Smiles

~:>

Rain? You've Got To Be Kidding

Does this look like it rained last night? No. Not to me either. I was asleep and woke up to the sound of rain. Rain? It was almost 100 degrees yesterday, so how could that be rain? It must be wind, but it was rain. Great big rain drops, wind, and branches falling out of the trees.

My miter saw! I jumped out of bed and hurried out to cover the saw. I got my plastic paint drop and used that to cover the saw, which was not very wet. Then this morning I took the tarp off the chicken pen and used it to cover the saw and table. I had left the saw uncovered for awhile to dry out before I covered it up. It has been too hot for me to get anything done. I have been waiting for the temp to go down out of the 90's. The heat is oppressive and I melt and can't get anything done.

I still need to paint these shelves, but this is what I did with one of the baskets I painted. My kitchen is small with limited counter and shelf space. I'm still building in there. So, the spice basket works out well for me as a space saver. I took the doors off the cabinets to open the area up. I may paint them and put them back or not. I haven't decided.

The other basket is holding guest bath supplies: soap, bath scrubbies, shampoos, etc.

[8 eggs today]

I put the chicken feed in the barrel

tonight before I locked up the chickens.

Got to keep the feed dry

and I have to wonder how much feed

the forest critters eat?

I may save feed if I keep this up.

Smiles

~:>

Found Plants

Today I wandered around the property looking for plants I could transplant to my little green garden. I think the plants I found are all native plants. But who knows? This area was all gone over many times by gold miners, then settled and abandoned and found again. Except for the poison oak and the California Rose here I don't know what these plants are. The first plants I found were a large crop of poison oak. Lovely green stuff. But, no. Next I found a little round leafed plant. So I dug this up.

Then I found this little ferny plant next to some poison oak. Dug it up.

Not the poison oak.

Next I found this little wild california rose. The ground is very dry and hard and the root is hard to get out. Didn't get much of a root on any of these plants, so I don't have too much hope of them taking root. But nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Then I found this little plant with pointy tip leaves.

It was hard to dig up.

Doesn't look like much. The little plants are all planted in among the myrtle and ivy and some other volunteers. Morgan is eating grass. There are only a few grass plants, but she found them. Now all I have to do is remember to water this spot every day and twice on very hot days. I still want to get some flowers. I'll see if I ever get to the store. Tom does the shopping. He is not interested in buying flowers. Maybe I'll ask Kristine. Maybe we can go shopping?

[9 eggs today]

Smiles

~:>

Watch!

[6 eggs]

After I collected the eggs this morning,

I went looking for the chickens.

First, I found areas they had cleared

while looking for edibles

and making spots to dust bath.

Go watch your chickens, Morgan...

Then I heard Morgan

smashing through the leaves

as she was running

around her chickens.

The photos on this page will enlarge when clicked on!

The chickens don't pay very

much attention to Morgan

other than to get out of her way.

Morgan is laying down.

Smart dog!

She takes time out to rest.

If only those chickens would

stay together in one place,

Morgan would be much happier.

Smiles