The
birds are big!The house is finished (yet to be painted)
and the chickens are now officially free-ranging. In the
morning we open the chicken doors and they all flock out into the
sunshine, eating grass, dustbathing, and sunbathing. The pullets are
separated from the cockerels now, each on their own side of the house,
with their own yard. Tick Not Hen, one chosen rooster (named after the
Vietnamese peace activist Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh), is in with
the
pullets and for the other rooster, Blue (so marked to distinguish him
in the group), has proven to be one of the biggest of all the birds.
These are happy chickens.
First Day
Out!
Blue towers
over the pullets.
Wyatt and a
pullet get together while Tick looks on.
The greenhouse greens are growing...
Like the chickenhouse,the greenhouse has been a gradual act of
transformation. Before and halfway pictures:
How it
looked when we moved in in June...
Cleaned out
and partly painted reflective white
Now we have collards, kale, spinach, turnips, lettuce, and arugula and
as they get bigger and get transplanted into bigger containers, we're
looking for a way to make table beds in the greenhouse, ideally over
compost piles that will keep them warm. There are also ivy
cuttings growing for floral arrangements for spring.
Tractor Man! Stephen bought an almost new Kubota
compact tractor "with all the fixin's." About the only attachment we're
missing is a hay-baler. This replaces the 1950s vintage Farmall that
was left with the farm. It's been a great addition to Paradise Gardens
and Farm! So far he has:
Helped out the construction crew digging the foundation
for our new kitchen addition
Mowed the lower field
Tilled the field that is going into raised garden beds