Spring things

Our turkeys are laying eggs...in nest boxes, which is quite a coup. They tend to want to lay out in the field and then we loose them (the eggs and the turkey hens) until a raccoon finds them and that's not good for anyone.

Asparagus is poking up.

AND THE BARN IS BEING READIED FOR SHEEP AND GOATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

6 Southdown sheep (2 ewes and their 4 lambs) are arriving next weekend. At the end of May, we'll be adding two Nubian doelings that are terribly cute and hugable. There will be many, many pictures. Promise.

Green, green garden

Our garden is growing and being eaten - but not yet by us. A deer has been sleeping in our field. She seems to feel protected by the tall grass and our newly installed fence and in exchange for our hospitality, she's been munching on our peas, corn, and tomatoes.


We've attempted to make part of the garden deer-resistant with twine. (All the plants that have been enjoyed by deer in the past are grown inside a second fence, while the plants that were previously untouched (squash, corn, tomatoes) are in an unsecured patch in front of the barn.) At first, we made the 4 foot fence taller with the classy addition of saplings and twine, but the deer found a weak spot and got her second taste at our strawberries.

Now, we've made a nearly impenetrable maze of twine.


It keeps the deer out of the garden, but it's a big barrier to us too - hence the ever expanding weeds.

The beans have been protected though. There's three types of beans here:

In the foreground are Jacob's cattle beans. I don't know who Jacob is, but his red and white drying beans are speckled like little Holstein cows.

In the middle on the trellis are yard long beans (which I keep calling Mile-long beans. Bill is impressed with my optimism). I think we got the red noodle variety. They have developed a fuzzy orange fungus that is of mild concern. Fortunately, it does not seem to be affecting their vigor - yet - and, as these beans are a totally different genus than typical garden beans, it doesn't seem to be spreading to the others.

In the back, along the fence, are pole beans. Much adored by me and our chickens.

Our potatoes are growing too. We're making a box for them out of our old barn doors. Unfortunately, 2 of the 4 varieties may have blight.



Mulberries are growing in abundance too. They are a favorite of the chickens and Sugar Pie, who snorfs fallen berries up from the ground with great enthusiasm.


Though it's raining today (which means jam making!), we've had a lovely spring with some beautifully blue skies.

For the birds...

It is possible we have an addiction to mail order poultry.

Three times in the past 15 months, the nice lady at the post office called at 6:30 am to tell us there was a package of chicks waiting for us to pick up.

This morning, that nice lady actually gave our chicks to someone else by mistake, but Bill remedied the situation, and 29 new babies are now living in our barn.


We have 15 Dark Cornish chicks, which will eventually live in a chicken tractor. These are meat birds, but not icky meat birds. They're naturally growing birds that won't die of a heart attack at 7 weeks because they overate. Bill is very excited about the chicken tractor. It is possible that the only reason we are raising birds is so that Bill can have a chicken tractor.


Also included are 7 Partridge Cochin. They will hopefully be excellent setting hens. The problem with our current flock of Barred Rocks is that they refuse to go broody and hatch out some eggs. It is possible this is because Alby, our rooster is an ass and they don't want to raise babies in that environment.

Though, it is more likely because they are cruddy at brooding, despite my attempts to goad them into it - "hey there momma hen, you've got a big fat butt, how's about you go set on some eggs." Nothin. Cochins are known for their broodiness, so hopefully we'll get a good mama hen out of the batch.

We also have 6 Columbian Wyandottes, a pretty heritage laying breed.



And lastly, a free random rare breed chick, which will be a surprise. Right now, he's just a little black puffball.

But what about the turkeys, you ask??


They are doing well in their new home - The SR 71 Turkey Coop. This coop, which was built in our barn, is named in honor of Bill's dad (Bill, Sr) who assisted in its planning and building.




The 71 refers to some airplane(?), the SR 71, that boys like presumably because it is loud and fast. Ironic, because our turkeys really stink at flying. They are like adolescent drivers - wibbly wobbly and crashing into walls.


They're growing though!



And pretty soon, they'll be allowed out in this beautiful field to eat all our ticks. Yum!


Coming soon...garden update

Snow. Snow. Snow.

We've got about 8-10 inches on the ground and it c.o.l.d. here. While the snow is much prettier than brown fields, Sugar has decided she doesn't like it all that much.

Hay!

It's a two post evening! When it rains...

Our pasture was previously full of very tall grass, allowing the deers and coyotes to play together and resulting in a few grisly discoveries on our part and hyper-alertness when walking the dog at night.

Recently, a neighbor with horses hayed (?) our field and then it looked like this:


After that it rained, and rained and rained, making the hay "icky" and undesirable for horses. Fortunately, our neighbor has a friend with cows. Apparently cows aren't as picky about their hay and will eat nearly anything. Now our hay looks like this:


And it stinks. It smells, I imagine, like moldy, wet hay. Can't wait till it's gone.

Bonus photo of our still incomplete barn:

Barn progress

We worked on the important part of the barn this weekend (the front!) Saturday was pressure washing day and we spent all day yesterday painting.

The barn is not quiet ready for its close-up, but here is a preview...


This poppy, however, is ready to be viewed in all its glory.

Weekend o' paint

We're hoping this barn will be red by the end of the long weekend. Gotta cut down some trees and poison ivy (!) first.

Robin's nest

This, along with a swallow nest, is in our barn and is being tended to by birds that don't particularly like it when we are around.


Why, yes, this nest is built on an electrical box. But, there is no power running to it, so no scrambled eggs.

Manure contemplations

March 29, 2007
on the road in New Zealand

March 29, 2008
celebrating the building of a kickass work bench

Yesterday, I shoveled poo out of a barn for the first time in my life. There is something inherently contemplative about this activity - perhaps it's the idea that shoveling shit ranks low on life's ambition list.

Well, I got to tell you - I LOVED IT! Except, I was a bit concerned that the dry poo was kicking up a lot of dust. As I was inhaling it, I asked Bill if we should be worried about diseases - could I get bovine encephalitis from horse poo???

(before)

(after)

After getting silly questions and the need to say "bovine encephalitis" out of the way, I started thinking about how we got to be shoveling shit in our barn in Indiana on a weekend. A year ago we were in New Zealand, having just tried pâté for the first (and last) time.

Photos of March 29, 2007:

We were drinking lots of wine, eating fancy cheeses and trying not to worry about the jobs in DC that (for various political reasons) we were both very possibly going to lose - imminently. My job involved working on outreach materials - convincing people to get involved with an organization I hated...a different kind of shoveling shit.

Photos of March 29, 2008:

Working in our barn yesterday afternoon, I realised I felt infinitely better about how I spent that day than I ever did after a day of work in DC. Three cheers for literal poo shoveling!