Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Garden, trees, and more critters

Well, the weekend was even more productive than I thought it would be.

Garden is tilled, and some plants in the ground. LJ got his potatoes and corn in. Big experiment, but he's happy. I got my onion sets in before the rain killed most of our outdoor activities.

LJ bought two more apple trees, 12 raspberries, and 4 currants on Saturday. The two apple trees are planted, but we still need to get the rest in the ground. He also planted the last of his blueberries in his wine cask planters with a mix of native soil and peat moss. We'll see how they do.

More additions... A couple friends would like to pitch in on the turkeys, so LJ bought three more, bringing the total to 8. We also got talked into some Cornish x chicks. I was thinking around 6 or so, as they are an experiment. LJ opted for 12... They are creepy little piggies, and are hefty even as couple day old chicks. Our mixed chicks didn't weigh much at all, but these little balls of fluff actually have a bit of weight to them already. They eat twice as much as the 8 2-week old turkeys (not joking). At least the new birds are temporary and living in the shop. I'm tired of birds in the house.

Speaking of birds in the house, the geese officially went outside for good on Friday and are doing great. They're up at all hours, though, which is weird. I flashed the spotlight out there at around 2am on Saturday morning, and Afro was floating in her goose bath with the others ranged around grazing. Is that normal? Anyhoo, I've extended their pen a bit to give them some new grass (their pen looks like a well groomed fairway) and they're happy.

Last but not least, LJ wasn't fibbing. The Welsummer really is limping, favoring his (her?) left leg. I caught him and checked it out, but couldn't find anything obviously wrong. He's eating, and was on a perch when I went out this morning to open the coop. So, perhaps it isn't anything serious. I'll check on him tonight and we'll see how it goes.

Gonna try and get some pics up this week. Got some cool pics of the funky spiders that are living in the lilac and apple blossoms. I know, first snakes, now spiders. I can't help it. They're cool. :)

5 comments:

Alex said...

Glad you folks were able to get the garden started. Here on the other end of the country we've had three days of temps of 100. Wow! Here's to a comfortable but productive spring for you!

Paula said...

It must be really nice to have someone as gung ho as you are to be homesteading. Steve is only gung ho about brewing, unfortunately. And pretzel and pizza making. I haven't even managed to give him the gardening bug with the hops plants. You'd think.

Glad your place is coming together. The blueberries should be fine. Mine are in a mixture of native clay and peat moss, and this year (only their second) they're covered in blooms or berries.

Miriam said...

"I'm tired of birds in the house." Oh, I can relate! We've been hatching chicks for sale and to expand our own flock for MONTHS! Yes, it's fascinating, and yes, they're cute - but I've had enough, too! The last batch is hatching as I speak, so another few weeks and we'll have our bathroom back...

Rae said...

Alex- 100 deg! Goodness, I miss the heat sometimes (got pretty warm back in CA). Thanks for the good wishes, and I hope you get a break in the heat. :)

Paula- Yeah, I'm blessed to have a guy that likes the outdoorsy gardening stuff. Now, I just need him to learn to make pretzels and beer as good as Steve's! :)

Miriam- I feel your pain! Lol! The babies were fun to have in the house, especially the geese, but I was so very relieved when they finally went out. I'm still dusting from having the chicks in the entryway, and they went out weeks ago. :) Congrats on the last batch!

Robin said...

There was swimming going on in the middle of the night? lol See this is why I was so excited to get our chicks outside. I really can't take all the midnight activity. Though every time I am out late in our hens coop they are all sleeping. Maybe because they don't have a coop light.