Friday, July 30, 2010

New Man on Campus

Charlotte aka Charlie
The little Prince
This will be short on words and longer on pictures. We discovered that Charlotte our white Silkie is actually a Charlie. So because he was all boy and a real Casanova we decided to find him a new home. I also took on a new rooster. He is a Japanese Bantam and really small. I won't have to worry about him pestering the girls because he is so small but he is still a good look out and protector for the girls. We still have the blue (gray) Silkie rooster but I think that will work out OK. Our new boy and "Big Man on Campus" name is Prince so of course we call him the little Prince. He is very sweet and seems to like to be held and fed.

Also just for  grins I am posting some pictures of the garden, always a work in progress. The cedar box in the middle was built by the man (of course) so my youngest girl could have a rose garden. We will be filling that with soil and shopping for roses this next week. Hope we can still find some.

CORN
SQUASH
POTATOES
The Man true to his nature has installed a watering system of soaker hoses that meander through out the vegi beds. Note in the potato picture the timer in the back. This comes on every morning and waters the garden for an hour before I get out of bed and before the chicken door automatically opens for the day. Go figure.
A volunteer in the compost 
Ducks on a slug hunt
I will leave you with pictures of the garden and the ducks that are working tirelessly on eradicating all the slugs from the garden. Check out my other blog. It stars our oldest girl and follows her through her Senior year of high school and her freshman year of college. She is doing them simultaneously through Running Start and includes several exciting projects that she is taking on this year. You can find this at  http://breannesenioryear.blogspot.com/ and it follows her through scuba lessons, her quest to do the 3 day walk for cancer, and her first year at Orca at Everett Community College to name a few.

Friday, July 16, 2010

The Egg and I



It has been a busy summer so far but it's always busy around here. Our youngest has flown off to Boise for a visit and to have a little summer fun. Our oldest just got her first car. We have only been looking since January. The man is still working on his ever growing list. (Finish one, add two) I have been trying to establish the garden and play with the chickens and ducks. We have managed to grow lettuce and peas. The pumpkins came up on their own out of the (apparently) not cooked enough compost that I used in the garden. The zucchini and squash have blossoms and the hope of producing fruit sticking out all over and tomatoes! I went over board on the tomatoes. Apparently some women buy shoes and I buy tomato plants. I have about 17, two of each variety that I was interested in. Hope the family is ready for a lot of cheese and leaves. (basil and tomato, and mozzarella cheese).

The chickens and ducks have grown up. Yesterday we got our first egg, small and light brown and without a clue as to who laid it. Today I suspect it was the light Brahma bantam whom I have named Miss Daisy. I heard a huge commotion in the coop and went running out there only to find her standing in the middle squawking like she had just laid the biggest egg ever. No eggs today however.

The ducks have grown up and to my surprise both are female so I found them a boyfriend and a handsome guy he is too. The girls boss him around though but I guess that is better than the alternative.

I will be busy with my (human) girls this summer. The oldest is taking scuba lessons and doing the Susan Koman 3 day walk. I and my youngest will be helping with fund raising and we have been doing some brainstorming ideas for raising funds. Everything from a dog wash to advertising on our training tee shirts for businesses. My youngest got a nice camera for her birthday and is experimenting with photography. She is also a pretty good writer so I am hoping to surprise her with an activity that has to do with writing. Any way my chicken blog could become a photo gallery for the summer but keep checking back for updates. I am also going to do a blog for the oldest since this is her last year of high school and there is so much going on. Look for a link to her blog. It should be exciting!
A weeks worth of pullet
eggs. They're beautiful!