The big news today is that three (so far) baby chicks were hatched by our hens - there are still about 15 eggs in the nest so this may not be the end of the brooding season. This was what you might called unplanned as we think the 6 hens and one rooster we have is enough --- but the hens had other plans. They were fairly aggressive when we tried to pry the eggs loose three weeks ago so we decided to let nature take it's course. Now, after the 21 day incubation period, here are the chicks.
It was cool because Owen, one of our grandchildren from Greenville SC , was here and got to help us catch the chicks and move them to a box in the garage. He will always remember today and made three trips down to the chicken coop looking for more. So much for the classroom incubation process when the hen's God-given role is never mentioned. he saw the real thing as God designed it.
So here's how it went...we went down this morning to let the chickens out of the coop. There was one little chick walking around on top of the hen who was brooding in the basket. We scooped it up, listened for others, and brought it up to the house. Emma, Owen's sister, who had been here earlier in the week, had already prepared a box in the garage with paper towels, some food, and water.
We showed the chick to Owen and ate breakfast. Then Dwight and Owen headed down to the chicken yard for another "chick check". This time the hens were off their nest and walking around the chicken yard with two more baby chicks. Boy, were they protective! How they got off the nest with the chick, we're not sure. But they pecked Dwight and Owen on the feet before they could steal away two more chicks. They're all in the garage with a nice protective wire lid made by Dwight and my dad - to keep the cats away.
Owen checked for chicks one more time before he headed home this afternoon.
Oh, there is the matter of the BLT sandwich that Della decided to eat at lunch. Dwight was with Susan's Dad in the garage making a wire top for the chick box and Della sneaked into the kitchen and ate half of one of Dwight's prized sandwiches. He had bought a 1.5 pound tomato at the Hillsboro farmer's market on Saturday just for these sandwiches. The slices of tomato were so big that they hung off all 4 sides of the bread. He had prepared the sandwiches for our lunch just before Susan's dad needed help with the wire for the chick box. While we were in the garage on this important project, Della managed to find the sandwiches on the table. This was not like her at all but they must have smelled good. Dwight was torn between being very angry and bursting out laughing - the latter won the day.
On other fronts, the kitchen garden is going great - tomatoes, squash, beans, swiss chard are all prolific right now. Okra is slowly coming, and other kinds of squash plus more beans.
The original garden has gotten away from us with so many things going on - Susan's father and his wife Myra have been here since mid-June and a steady stream of family to be with us and visit with him - he's 86 and has hearing and vision issues but loves to see his family and friends. Susan has been so good about cooking for them and driving them on errands. Also the Seawell school animals are vacationing here for the summer. They're not too much of a burden but do add to the list -- keeping the yard presentable -- lots of new church friends to get to know and spend time with --- etc.
All in all, it's a delightful season - one that we rejoice in as we sit on the front porch in the evenings and watch the bats whiz by and the deer play in the meadow.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Monday, June 9, 2008
Wow, Time Flies
Well, so much is going on here in the beautiful countryside of Orange County NC.After the great spring, suddenly in early June, it is cooking HOT! Susan's outdoor hours are really down to 6:30 til about 10:30 or so on these days when the temperature reaches 100 degrees F. Seems like weeds grow much faster then non-weeds - I guess this is another impact of the Fall (of man ).
But the tomatoes are coming on strong in the kitchen garden, the lettuce is still here a few more days (we are praying for a little overlap for the lettuce/tomato sandwiches, the string beans are looking good, squash and okra are planted and beginning to show their heads. Today we saw a double-winged dragon fly land on out mosaic table that has in it double-winged dragon flies - amazing coincidence? Or what?
Yesterday, we watched a hummingbird slowly meander through 7 great lavenders about to burst forth with blooms. Two days ago, a deer showed up at our backyard pond looking majestic.
We seem to see more deer in the close up yard than ever and it is still exciting to watch them.
Our barnyard animals are doing fine - the goats are growing bigger, of course, but we like not having to bottle feed them twice daily. The chicken egg production averages about 3 a day which is still more than we can eat so we give them away when we can.
Della (the black lab) is mostly a house dog now and Daisy (the Great White Pyrenees/Newfoundland mix) is being slowly allowed to stay with Muffin, Heidi and Chloe (the goats). This Saturday, the Critter Corner from Seawall school in Chapel Hill will move out here for the summer - this will add two goats, three chickens and two ducks to the mix for the summer.
Susan is working on recovering the lower garden from massive weeds - I mean huge. Taller than she is. I'm helping but she's the main one. The weeds go to the chickens for composting and then to the gardens for mulch. God knew how to do it.
Oh well, that's all for now. We'll try to be more regular on this.
Dwight
But the tomatoes are coming on strong in the kitchen garden, the lettuce is still here a few more days (we are praying for a little overlap for the lettuce/tomato sandwiches, the string beans are looking good, squash and okra are planted and beginning to show their heads. Today we saw a double-winged dragon fly land on out mosaic table that has in it double-winged dragon flies - amazing coincidence? Or what?
Yesterday, we watched a hummingbird slowly meander through 7 great lavenders about to burst forth with blooms. Two days ago, a deer showed up at our backyard pond looking majestic.
We seem to see more deer in the close up yard than ever and it is still exciting to watch them.
Our barnyard animals are doing fine - the goats are growing bigger, of course, but we like not having to bottle feed them twice daily. The chicken egg production averages about 3 a day which is still more than we can eat so we give them away when we can.
Della (the black lab) is mostly a house dog now and Daisy (the Great White Pyrenees/Newfoundland mix) is being slowly allowed to stay with Muffin, Heidi and Chloe (the goats). This Saturday, the Critter Corner from Seawall school in Chapel Hill will move out here for the summer - this will add two goats, three chickens and two ducks to the mix for the summer.
Susan is working on recovering the lower garden from massive weeds - I mean huge. Taller than she is. I'm helping but she's the main one. The weeds go to the chickens for composting and then to the gardens for mulch. God knew how to do it.
Oh well, that's all for now. We'll try to be more regular on this.
Dwight
Thursday, April 17, 2008
All 16 of us work
This is Dwight and I am doing today's news at the farm.
There are 16 of us not counting the wild things around that we cannot count, Each of us has a job which makes everything work well together here on the farm.
The 3 goats poop and create food (fly larva) for the 7 chickens who make compost and Susan puts it in the garden and plants grow without buying and using artificial fertilizer. Later the goats will give us milk. The chickens of course also give us eggs which are wonderful. Della, our black lab, is a guard dog and protects us if there are strange sounds or animals around, Daisy is a Landseer (mix of Great White Pyrenees and Newfoundland), weighs over 100 pounds at 10 months and her job is to live with the goats and protect them from harm.
My job is to fix things (like two gate latches today), help Susan as needed like tilling, be a friend to everyone and, of course, produce the income needed. Nothing we do here produces cash which is the way we like it, at least for now.
Susan is the head gardener, head researcher and thinker of the farm, and helps me in eating the bountiful garden produce. Tonight we had lettuce from the cold frame and from the time we cut it until the time we had eaten it was about 30 minutes. Fresh has a new meaning!
Oh, there are two black cats (Tom & Jerry) who help with mice control but also, unfortunately, get into the butterflies at times. Tom and Jerry also provide entertainment for the dogs as the dogs are penned in and the cats run loose and taunt them at times
So, we all work and really enjoy each day and the interesting things that seem to come our way.
There are 16 of us not counting the wild things around that we cannot count, Each of us has a job which makes everything work well together here on the farm.
The 3 goats poop and create food (fly larva) for the 7 chickens who make compost and Susan puts it in the garden and plants grow without buying and using artificial fertilizer. Later the goats will give us milk. The chickens of course also give us eggs which are wonderful. Della, our black lab, is a guard dog and protects us if there are strange sounds or animals around, Daisy is a Landseer (mix of Great White Pyrenees and Newfoundland), weighs over 100 pounds at 10 months and her job is to live with the goats and protect them from harm.
My job is to fix things (like two gate latches today), help Susan as needed like tilling, be a friend to everyone and, of course, produce the income needed. Nothing we do here produces cash which is the way we like it, at least for now.
Susan is the head gardener, head researcher and thinker of the farm, and helps me in eating the bountiful garden produce. Tonight we had lettuce from the cold frame and from the time we cut it until the time we had eaten it was about 30 minutes. Fresh has a new meaning!
Oh, there are two black cats (Tom & Jerry) who help with mice control but also, unfortunately, get into the butterflies at times. Tom and Jerry also provide entertainment for the dogs as the dogs are penned in and the cats run loose and taunt them at times
So, we all work and really enjoy each day and the interesting things that seem to come our way.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
We're doing it!
We finally have our goats! They're really sweet, and we love them. Right now we're having to bottle-feed them twice a day...but not for long. They're eating grain and hay as though they are starving.
Tonight we got to sit down to dinner before feeding the goats. Sometimes it is 8:30-9:00 before we can eat because of chores that need to be done "down at the barn". We have 6 hens and a rooster (Earl and the girls) in one fenced area. Adjacent to them we have our 2 dogs, a black lab and a Great White Pyrenees/Newfoundland (Della and Daisy). In the next fenced area live the Saanen goats (Chloe, Heidi, and Muffin).
We're enjoying the fresh eggs and the early spring vegetables that are just getting started. We have big plans for the gardens. So far we have lettuce, chard, cabbage, and peas growing and have started seeds for lots of tomatoes, more broccoli, pac choi, and some herbs. Asparagus are coming back from last year, but we can't cut them for another year.
This afternoon I pulled weeds to make more room to plant in our 'kitchen' garden. After he finished his Alcatel-Lucent job for the day, Dwight mended a feeding station for the chickens and took the trash and recycling to the dump.
It's been a good day, and we've gotten a lot done. We're ready for a good night's sleep so that we can get up early to care for the animals before Dwight starts work at 8.
Tonight we got to sit down to dinner before feeding the goats. Sometimes it is 8:30-9:00 before we can eat because of chores that need to be done "down at the barn". We have 6 hens and a rooster (Earl and the girls) in one fenced area. Adjacent to them we have our 2 dogs, a black lab and a Great White Pyrenees/Newfoundland (Della and Daisy). In the next fenced area live the Saanen goats (Chloe, Heidi, and Muffin).
We're enjoying the fresh eggs and the early spring vegetables that are just getting started. We have big plans for the gardens. So far we have lettuce, chard, cabbage, and peas growing and have started seeds for lots of tomatoes, more broccoli, pac choi, and some herbs. Asparagus are coming back from last year, but we can't cut them for another year.
This afternoon I pulled weeds to make more room to plant in our 'kitchen' garden. After he finished his Alcatel-Lucent job for the day, Dwight mended a feeding station for the chickens and took the trash and recycling to the dump.
It's been a good day, and we've gotten a lot done. We're ready for a good night's sleep so that we can get up early to care for the animals before Dwight starts work at 8.
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