Chickens, Garden and Happy St. Patrick's Day

I didn't work on making planter boxes today because I had to figure out where they would fit in the area in front of the greenhouse.

I used scrap wood to lay out the planter box areas. I raked most of the leaves onto the places that will be the walkways.

The two green bushes are a Rosemary and a Thyme.

There were times today when the sun came out and the hens wanted to sun bathe.

Morgan noticed the chickens laying in the sun and must have thought it was a good idea because she laid down behind them.

Then I noticed Morgan noticing something...

Oh, another chicken.

Another sun bather?

Oh... it's Screamer.

What is she up to?

She is such a spoil sport!

No, No, don't run over them.

What a bad girl.

Screamer is a pill.

Oh, well, the Australorp and the Wyandotte are running off with Screamer.

But, the Buff Orpington knows how to relax.

She's not going to let Screamer ruin her time in the sun.

Morgan is not going to let Screamer boss her around either.

I got my time in the sun taking photos and trying to put a garden together. I tried to grow veggies in this area once but they didn't do well at all. This year I hope that using the planter boxes and better soil will mean that we will have a garden full of good things.

After I get everything ready to plant I will need seeds or starter plants. I will start looking around for seeds.

Sprout update: Some of the lentils are splitting, but I don't see any little roots. I'll keep waiting.

Peek at the Past

(March 17, 2009)

[6 eggs today]

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Smiles

Chickens Warming By Shed

The chickens are no dummies!

They know where the warmest spots are on the property.

They like the spot next to the green house best, but there is snow there.

I was up early with Kristine and got a photo of the snow in the planter boxes. I added some leaves and more snow later.

I read that Google is shutting down the Page Creator and this may cause some problems? Info here. One of my Pages above (Garden) has gone missing. I haven't seen a message on my Dashboard, so I don't know if this is going to affect my blog. Wait and see?

I have been searching around trying to find out more information about the change that affects the templates and links. It seems that this changeover has been going on for quite a while, but Page Creator is finally being shut down. I started this blog at the end of 2008, so I hope I am OK.

I did finally find this page that has more information than I want to know. But I guess I should check it out and see if I have any potential problems? I have the bury my head in the sand reaction to all this. Maybe I'll just wait and see what happens and hope for the best.

I know I'm chicken!

Peek at the Past

(March 11, 2009)

This photo will enlarge when you click on it.

That was a pretty morning!
Hard to capture, but the little branches were lit up by the sun.

[1 egg today]

The hens don't like snow evidently.

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Smiles

Hugelkultur? Skillets? Eggs?

Yesterday during a walk in the sunshine I took this photo of our poor empty planter boxes.

I'm going to use the Hugelkultur idea and put fallen branches, twigs and logs in the bottom of the planter boxes. This is a before photo to spur me into gardening action when it ever stops raining.

The plan is to put a layer of wood at the bottom of the boxes, then a layer of chicken pen stuff, then a layer of twigs, then a layer of leaves and then dirt. The wood is supposed to act as a sponge and hold water in the soil through the dry California months.

I'm good for everything but the dirt. Well, maybe I do have some good dirt? I have been raking and piling up leaves for ten years. I'll go check those piles of old leaves. It would be so great if there was beautiful composted dirt at the bottom.

While searching for info on hugelkulture I found info on permaculture, where I found info about building ponds, building sheds out of rocks, dirt and trees, etc., and then info on iron skillets.

I'm interested in all that stuff, but especially in iron skillets. This fellow wrote a big article about using iron skillets and then he made a video. He explained that in the '30's and before skillets used to be machined smooth. Not anymore. That's why grandma's skillet was so good.

Here is the video he made of his old skillets. More "how to cook an egg stuff," but I think he overcooks his eggs. Neat skillets.

Here is the page that got me sidetracked when I started clicking on all the links. 

Peek at the Past

(March 2, 2009)
I love my little chicken pot lid holders.
Last night the rains started up again,
so the chickens and Morgan won't be able to go outside this week.
Maybe there will be a break on Thursday?

[3 eggs today in the wood shavings)

I put some fake eggs in the nest boxes until we can get some straw. I took the eggs out of the nest boxes because some of the hens were going broody sitting on the fake eggs. I finally got the brilliant idea to take the fake eggs out of the nests when I collect eggs to keep the hens from going broody and then put the fake eggs back in the nest boxes when I lock up the coop at night. We'll try that and see what happens. 

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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

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Happy Halloween!

Some of the chickens came up on the porch in hopes

of getting some of the pumpkin brains and to watch Kristine.

But then just as I was going to take a lot of photos Morgan showed up.

And she shooed the chickens away. Morgan wants her dinner not pumpkin.

Cute!

This year Kristine made a smiley face pumpkin.

One year she made a dragon that went all around the pumpkin.

But we couldn't find a camera and there are no photos.

TaDa! And here they are in all their splintery wonder. My planter boxes are actually together. Well, to be truthful each board has only one nail on each end. Tomorrow I need to drill some more holes and use the power screw driver and put in a bunch of screws to hold the boxes together securely. Also, since there is still a lot of wood laying around I think I will look around and see if I can't build something else in the garden. Then I won't have to haul it away.

Kristine brought home pizza for dinner. Yea!

[3 eggs today]

Boo!

Smiles

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Kristine will carve the pumpkin when she gets home and I'll post a photo of it and a photo of how far I have gotten building planter boxes. The other night she carved the apple with her teeth. Pretty cute! An apple pumpkin. Well, the battery for the drill finally charged and I have no more excuses. Back to work.

Help! I'm Surrounded By Lumber!

Looking at all this lumber I was feeling a little overwhelmed. Yikes! What have I got myself into. Maybe I should have started making a small planter box instead of this big thing. Well, one step at a time will hopefully get me there. That's what I tell myself anyway. First I measured and cut the corner posts. Then I measured and cut the rest of the wood.

Big box cut and ready to assemble.

All cut except for the corner posts for the small box.

Then I took a break and went to see where the chickens were and found them digging holes looking for good things to eat. When I started to take this photo the Wyandotte was scratching around in the hole to the left, but when she saw the Orpington eating something she scurried over to share in the goodness. Opportunist!

I did try to finish the box before I ran out of daylight, but I finally had to call it quits. Just two more boards on this side and then I can start putting the other box together. I should know and plan for everything taking longer than I think it will. I think I will cut some wood to cover the corner posts and I need to remember to find the level. I wonder if I should level the box or leave it on the slope. I'll have to measure and see what the difference looks like.

Kristine came home and told me to quit. Of course I did what she said. She even made dinner. When I came in, she had hot dogs and the fixings all ready. How 'bout that! Such a deal! She's a treasure! Called my brother and Sandy and wished them a Happy Birthday! Then I tried to talk them into making a blog. I'm so bad. They could make some awesome posts about life in the desert with some terrific photos. And Sandy could make wonderful posts about her stained glass work and her great recipes. She is a great cook!

[3 eggs today]

One in the morning for breakfast.

The other two were in time for dinner.

Smiles

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Tricky Chickens

Spent most of the day looking for and carrying wood. The wood I moved the other day and stacked under the tree turned out to be mostly too short. I finally found enough pieces to put together some boxes. By the time I got all the lumber assembled I decided to wait until tomorrow to do the measuring and cutting. I'll look around some more tomorrow and see if I can find anymore long boards. I'd like the sides to be higher. And I'll need the miter saw. I don't know how long my saber saw will hold out cutting this thick wood.

Ah ha! Those chickens were being sneaky and eating out the pumpkin from the back side. Every time I came to check I only saw the front and the little holes I made. This is a funny face. A one eyed smiley pumpkin. Silly chickens. They tricked me!

[3 eggs today]

Smiles

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Brick Puzzle

Setting the bricks is like putting together a big puzzle. To lay bricks correctly you are supposed to use builder sand and compact and level the surface, etc. I'm not going for perfect. This is an old place and I'm going for an old weathered uneven look. After the bricks are down, I shoveled some dirt on top and worked it into the spaces between the bricks by hand and with the broom. I would use sand if I had any. I found a break in the chicken wire in the corner and fixed it so the critter that ate my rose bushes can't get in that way again.

All done. I will need to repeat this dirt step several times after it rains until the cracks fill up. I moved that white brick around to mark where the sunshine stops. The sun is higher in the summer so I think the sun will shine on all the area in the box. The sun has to make its way through and past a lot of trees. Some of this area gets morning sun when the sun gets high enough to shine over the roof. The rest of the time it is shining through trees.

One planter box seems like a good idea, so why not two?

I dug up the green stuff and moved it to places that were bare. Tomorrow I can start the fun part and get out my power tools and start cutting wood. I enjoyed moving the bricks around.

[1 egg today]

The chickens haven't eaten hardly any of the pumpkin.

Kristine and I are going to get our hair cut tomorrow.

Smiles

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Wind and Water Advisory

Plans changed overnight because of a Wind Advisory (winds over 40 miles an hour) and that oak tree in the middle of the photo. We also got an Advisory that our water was going to be shut off for maintenance.

Yesterday I hauled and stacked scrap wood under that tall scraggly old oak. The problem is that the tree has lots of dead limbs that fall and I don't want to be in harms way, so I didn't build planter boxes today. I wish the wind would knock all the dead stuff down. I don't hear or pay much attention to the branches hitting the house in the daytime, but Kristine says the noise the stuff makes has been making it hard for her to sleep.

Instead I worked in the green garden and pulled up bricks that I had laid a few years ago and made a place to build a planter box. Morgan came by every now and then to eat grass, for ear rubs and to check on me. She would stay for a while and then she would be off to check on the chickens and squirrels and other doggie stuff.

When we moved here my brother had grass on either side of a path of bricks. I didn't want to care for the grass and bricked most of it over. I also built the little deck area out of scrap wood. It's not pretty, but it works as an entrance to a storage building we call the spa house. My brother built it to house a hot tub so the family could use it in the winter. We use the building to hold stuff. Stuff that needs to be sorted through and got rid of. That's another project.

I got this far and quit to make dinner. Morgan is curious about what I'm doing and sniffs around when I pull up the bricks. I think she thinks I'm looking for something. I'm going to lay the bricks in the area behind where they are stacked. I'll do that before I start on the planters. The windy conditions are supposed to ease up for sure by Thursday. I lost most of the day to a migraine. All my fault because I ate a steak covered in all kinds of spices. Bad me.

The water is going to be turned off tomorrow so they can work on the lines. I filled two containers with water and put them in the refrigerator. I filled a pot with water for the chicken's waterer. I filled the tea kettle. And then I filled the bathtub with water to use to fill the toilet tank, so we can flush the toilet.

Happiness is being able to flush the toilet! I remember when we were building a house and finally got the water hooked up to the toilet. Wow! I could flush the toilet. Before, I would have to run up and down the stairs to turn the hose on and off to fill the tank. I remember flushing the toilet a bunch of times just for fun. Simple things. Such a joy!

[4 eggs today]

The chickens ate a little bit on the pumpkin.

Smiles

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