Summer

This is the time of year that can make even the most mundane tasks fun. Hanging the laundry isn't a chore yet, it's just one more excuse to be outside enjoying everything. I love calculating how many dryer loads I save by doing this...and yes, those are some really sweet bus jammies you see hanging there. Some people get all the cool stuff.
Dave has begun building the permanent enclosure for the chickens. We've got posts set in concrete and the door framed, and there will be more to come. This former dog run is going to be a completely transformed garden room, with the grapes on one side (this is the view from inside), the new garden bed, and then the chickens' spot.

This photo is very "before", with the fencing materials all around, the rain barrels still waiting to be hooked up, and the chickens in their temporary setup. The bed looks better, too - this was taken right after I transplanted the broccoli, and everything is much happier and healthier now. But I think it's a good shot of the space. Soon, really, we will have a lovely "after" photo to share!And the birds. They are doing very well, no post-traumatic fence-encounter issues or anything. Two have combs, two do not yet. So I've named the ones with combs, who you can see lounging in the photograph below. The RIR is Nadine, and the Buff is Camilla. (The link has sound, just in case you aren't checking at home...) Here is Camilla with the RIR I haven't named yet. Hey, these things take time!

And here they are, enjoying the sun just like we did today.

Midnight thrills

This post has no pictures, because it took place in the dark and well, you'll see why.

Jonah and Dave were in bed and I was on the computer. The computer room has a window that looks out on the chicken coop, which is across the yard, too far to see in the dark. I was typing away and suddenly heard one of the chickens clucking loudly, clearly in distress. bockbockbockbock baGOCK! baGOCK!!

Oh no! Raccoons! Bad cats! Neighbor dogs!!

I ran to the room where our dogs were sleeping, opened the door, and for the first time ever told them to run over to the chickens. Zoe ran straight to the fence and started jumping, not her usual behavior. I peered out and saw nothing, and then because I am a bit chicken myself, ran to our room and told Dave, "Something's happening with the chickens!"

We both put on shoes and threw on sweatshirts. I got to the coop first. Dave luckily knew where the flashlight was living, and came out just a minute after me. And what did we find?

One of the Buffs had gotten herself wedged between the fencing and the lattice. She was completely stuck and scared and furious, and I'd made things that much worse by sending the dogs out to bother her. I tried to lift the fencing off of her from the outside, but it didn't work. Dave went in and moved it. She was still scolding and wouldn't budge, so he picked her up and plopped her back into the pen. Now she flapped and squawked and still refused to go anywhere. By now, the other chickens were starting to get a little agitated, and I suddenly wondered if something could be in the coop with them - did we have another dead chicken?

I put the dogs inside, and Dave opened the side door. As the door opened, one of the Reds fell out on the ground. What?! But in a second she got up, angry and flapping and clucking. She had been sleeping against the door, and when it opened, she lost her balance and plopped onto the ground (cushioned by hay). Luckily Dave caught her before she went anywhere - chasing a chicken through our backyard in the dark would have been a nightmare!

Turns out that by the time we opened the door, the Buff who'd been stuck had gotten herself into the coop in a pile with her chicken friends. Nobody was hurt, but everybody was a bit ruffled and offended by the whole ordeal.

So that was our excitement tonight. Big fat hen wedged in plastic-coated wire fencing, too scared to do anything but yell. I don't know how or why she got herself there. My guess is that she was checking out some tasty grass seed on the other side of the lattice, went too far, and didn't know how to get back.

I think it's time to get the real fence finished out there!

Anybody out there?

It hasn't been quite a month, so maybe there are at least a couple of you still checking the blog! Since our weather has been nice, work on the coop has been bumped down the priority list, and the chickens really don't need too much attention at this point besides a hello at morning and a good night in the evening.

Something new has happened, though: They cluck! They're real hens now! They're also getting nice combs and fancy tail feathers. Not rooster-fancy, but fancy enough.


They seem happy, eating the leaves off of our raspberry plant, scratching in the long grass, getting into kerfuffles with each other. Our dogs still hang out on the other side of the fence and watch them annoyingly, but the hens now know that they only need to back off a foot or two and they'll be fine. The other day we found Jonah under the coop, draped across Zoe on a pile of hay, just watching the birds. He loves them, although he's found that their beaks pinch when you try to feed them out of your hand. Youch!


Here is a shot of our fortress-garden. Those are potatoes in the foreground. They may look big, but they're nothing compared to the ones in our compost pile. I think the fact that they're there means that our compost isn't really composting, though. We've been eating spinach out of the garden, and have already harvested all of the bok choy! It's fun, but we realized if we want to get really serious about growing food for the family, we're going to need a lot more garden. We might turn the area behind the trellis into more garden space.

Jonah loves everything about the backyard, especially the pile of dirt next to the raised beds. He can be busy all afternoon...
Here he is, contemplating the future of the garden. Good thing we have him around!