Tuesday, July 16, 2013

From The Barn





















About time for a Farm Report, I think. As you may have surmised, there are new chicks at the Bird House.  We stuck to our plan to bring in fresh new faces this summer.  Funny thing, I still think of Lil Debbie and Penny as new girls, but they're more than two years old, and now it makes sense that we rarely have any eggs at all these days.  Shebot and Kamen, dear girls, are three years old.  The golden years for our chicas.  

On our  first visit to the feed store we found older chicks.  Not the little puff balls that are so darling, but the breeds we were looking for, so we jumped in, and came home with a Buff Orpington... A nod to our favorite Lady.  And we got two Ameracaunas, which are a breed I adore since our first flock, when Gracie would sit like a cat, on my lap, and take her nap.  She was such a sweetheart!

Three chicks was just a start.  Geoff continued to research and debate, and yesterday he sent me back to the feed store, where a newly hatched batch of cuckoo Marans, and Ameracaunas were ready to be adopted. 

I still have not learned... Chicks are so tiny that it seems perfectly reasonable to bring home four or twenty!  Why, they hardly seem like a handful, at this stage.  Somehow I settled on six, plus the three from last week, plus our four golden girls!  Math is not my strong suit, but I'm pretty sure this adds up to a lot!  On the other hand, even though we were choosing from pullets, there are bound to be some cocky little dudes in the mix!  Those fellows will have to return to the feed store, eventually.  

Extra fun... sharing the feed store visit with friends. Maria and I invited Janece and Amira to join us. The drive was all the better for the company, and it was almost like a trip to a zoo. Bunny babies, and the turkey, that goose, koi, a turtle, and chicks, of course.  

I'm posting from the barn!  It's cool and peaceful.  The tiny keypad on my phone means there are going to be typos, but this is too lovely to resist.  

I was watering the garden, visiting the goats and bunnies, giving the chicas a refreshing spray from the spigot... They like it when the ground gets damp and cool, then get to scratching and pecking anew.  Sometimes they dash around in the spray.  The goats don't find that appealing in the least!

Our pumpkins are happy for a deep soak.  The tomatoes are full of fruit.  A few more sunny days and we will be in Tomato Roasting season!  Cucumbers, beets, melons, squash, and those wild goat horn tomatoes are all doing well, and nary a sign of the Harlequin beetles... Where did they go!?

I am tempted to grab a book from the shelf, and just luxuriate in the cool breeze blowing through the open barn doors.  But first, I think I'll go sit with those sweet new chicas. 

5 comments:

Miriam said...

The views from the barn, through the fluttering curtains, out to the light and the green of the garden are amazing - never mind the comfortable lounging space! I can see why you would want to hang out there all day.

judy in ky said...

Your place is downright heavenly!

Alison said...

You have compiled an amazing library of children's classics. And the books are wonderful, too! ;)

Natalie T. said...

Fun! We love our cuckoo marans. Beautiful eggs! And can you ever have too many chickens, really? We think, no. :)

ArtyZen said...

I know you've had a wonderful holiday but I sense such a pleasure in being home again. Axxx