Now that I have a full time job, things around the property are not getting done at the rate they used to be. I have an old garden in which I am stacking firewood for next winter. I have not had the time to pull the weeds that keep threatening to overtake the pile and for that I am actually grateful! I was out with Dixie one morning and saw that one of the weeds I have pulling- because it looks like a prickler when it is small- is actually this beautiful poppy!
I am also shocked by the lushness of the undergrowth in areas I had previously cleared (ugh). We had no significant rain in weeks, yet the weeds are so green and lush and actually quite beautiful with all the different colours of wildflower. The wild roses smell divine and the wild blackberries (that my dad I can show battle scars from attempting to control last year) are so very heavy with berries! There is something appealing in a wild yard.
Chicken update. I have felt like the evil stepmom as I have resorted to placing two of the girls, Chickira and Monica in "jail". They had gone broody, would not get out of the nesting boxes but also become quite mean. After days of lifting them out, trying to distract them, following advise I have read, I gave up being nice and went drastic. There is an empty, drafty, coop which I have been thinking of tearing down. It has two roosts in it but no nesting boxes and only plywood on the floor. Nothing for them to get comfortable sitting in. With food and water, they were banished to jail during the day. At night I would return them to the coop to be with the other hens, but would board up the nesting boxes effectively prohibiting them from trying to sit on eggs. It took three days but finally they calmed down, stopped snapping at me and other chickens. They were venturing outside and grazing and staying clear of the nesting boxes. After a few days of loving, I think I am forgiven (maybe I have just forgiven myself!) and the coop has returned to its usual chaos.
I realize I underestimate each and every job that I plan to do. For example, today I wanted to weed the vegetable garden. load the metal on the truck to take it to the recyclers tomorrow, and move some wood to my "to be split" pile and branches to the burn pile. I thought that sounded reasonable. In reality I spent 6 hours weeding the vegetable garden - period! It looks great, but I have added a note to my garden journal to mulch in-between the rows and down the paths next year to try and reduce the weed growth!
I enjoyed some social time this week. Debara introduced me to our local Wine Kitz and we enjoyed bottling a delicious white wine. I was also invited to dinner at Bruce and Betty's where I was treated a barbecue and a delicious dessert! Here I got to meet Faye (finally) and her boys Navy and Keaton. In one of those twists of fate-my mom taught Faye, my daughter went to school with Navy, yet I had to move to Nova Scotia to meet them!
When I am contemplating a job I have never done before, I think, and think, and plan and measure and hesitate and then I finally pick up my tools, find some confidence and tackle the project.
Way back in May when the new chicks joined our farm I knew I wanted to create a safe outdoor space for them. The coop they are in has a covered porch at the door. I finally finished it today using bits and pieces from around the yard. I had wood left over from the barn, screening left over from the garden, a window that I framed to create a short door, and thanks to Diane and Joan, some framed screen to build walls with.
I had to entice the chickens outside using watermelon, but once out, they seemed to enjoy their new space. They were a little unsure of the "huge" chickens on the other side of the wire one of whom was our momma hen Sophia. I can't say for sure, but I think she was happy to see her babies again.
