And then there were 22...

I'll get the sad news out of the way first - our Black Beauty has gone to that great flock in the sky. I kept her separated from the rest and tried to help her heal, but she was too sick. When she couldn't eat or walk well, we did what we had to do. The boys were upset, but they wanted to be part of the fire for her body. I didn't want dogs or foxes digging it up with her illness.

"She's going to Life 2 now," as Brent put it. Which, I thought was awesome!

Another rooster has found a new home with his very own pair of hens, so he's the luckiest of them, these days. A friend's rooster was killed, and her hens were so upset they wouldn't come out of the coop, and one even tried sadly to crow.

The rest are healthy and we have the best fun with them. We all, throughout the day, go out at different times just to sit and throw them a bite or two of food. It's like being hooked on a soap opera - watching all their different personalities and moods. Our Alpha male - Cloud (who has been recently upgraded to StormCloud) is fascinating to watch as he builds his dominance and takes on the role of protecting the flock.

They free-range right now over about an acre area, from morning until night. Sometimes I will put them back in for storms or if foxes are near. But lately they have decided they enjoy their freedom too much and I've only got a 50/50 shot of getting them all back in. So, they're making their own fate at that point.

We're not forcing them to be tame, and some I haven't touched in weeks. Cotton and Checkers still want to be held, but Checkers is coming into his rooster-hood I think and goes through spells where he bites me if I reach for him. Other days he jumps on my lap for snooze. And a few others don't mind crawling up on us for food or coming up to visit but just aren't keen on the touching part.

And it's not just the chickens - they're just a good excuse to grab some lawn chairs and water and sit in the shade when it's just too hot to do anything else. Of course, if you ever want to clear your yard of chickens, I highly recommend renting two 6-year olds with large water guns.

We've also been touring some local state parks and found a nearby lake beach with a kids section. A slide goes down into the shallow part, or you can ride the turtle fountain or climb on the big floating lily pads. More fun than a pool, and comes with fish and frogs!

The garden has its struggles and successes like mine tend to do. But I learn from each experience. I know organic gardening means different things to different people, but for me it means trying not to use any chemicals, whether they are labeled organic or not. I managed to deter the deer for a few weeks, but I eventually did have to buy spray for the beans and strawberries and tomatoes, after losing nearly everything. But the good news is that my garlic/cayenne pepper spray worked as well, it just needs reapplied after rain.

I'm also battling squash bugs, which got out of hand on me quickly. I'm trying to not bother any insects as long as there is minimal damage to the plant, because I'm studying them to learn more about the natural ecosystem here and how to use it to my benefit, with companion planting and natural insect/bird predators. But next year I'll be hunting down little red eggs on all my ground vine plants to keep them under control.

Some people have a perception that living in the country is boring and slow-paced. But for me, every day is busy and exciting, and there is always something beautiful right under your nose.

June

It has been an exciting few weeks - I've come face to face with a bear, battled a copperhead, and rescued a mouse in the mailbox. We also have a resident red fox, baby turkeys running around, and deer playing in the fields. The chickens have come to accept me, and one by one have come up to get some good pictures on file. Yesterday as I sat in my chair, I had Hawk above my shoulder, Cotton on one arm, Draco and Cocoa on the other, and Checkers watching from his roost on my armrest. I felt like a true chicken whisperer :)

The garden in my mind is taking shape, and with the rains holding off lately, I've been able to make some progress at last. I am most proud of my herb circle, with a smaller circle of dent corn, climbing pole and lima beans, and squash. I knew all these rocks would come in handy.

Growth

It has been a lot of hard work, but it's so good to see it all paying off. The chickens are healthy and happy in their permanent coop, and for the first time I get to really interact with them more. Bending over their brooding coop tended to scare them since I was coming at them from above and that seems to stimulate their fear response. Which I don't want them to lose with all the hawks prowling around.

But now I can visit them several times a day and sit while they scratch for bugs and charge each other and stretch their wings in the fenced in area. I still can't leave them out even during the day, since our tiny 4-lb predator kitty is always lurking (who has recently added a huge mole and a rabbit to her kill list).

Checkers on his ride to the garden.

Cotton - the first in line these days for some pats.

The trio of white, Cotton on the left, BellBottom in the middle, and Colonel Puff on the right. This is the view you normally get of Puff, since he can't see well with all the feathers and tends to keep his head down.

Checkers last week in the garden. Now he has lost almost all the fluff on his neck.

One of what I like to call The Ugly Twins, as they walk like a dinosaur and haven't filled out their feathers yet.

One of my favorites for her feathers.

Hawk keeping his eye on me as usual.

A rare peek into the eyes of Colonel Puff. He is so awkward to watch but is pretty gentle and is one of the few that doesn't mind being held.

Draco - who I am most glad is out in the coop now as he escaped daily from the other smaller one when I opened it. Luckily he would just wait on the edge for me to put him back usually.

BellBottom, Brent's favorite and such a small, beautiful and skittish hen.

Checkers eyeing my camera.

The rest are garden and nature shots I have been saving up for awhile. The garden has finally got to the point where I'm learning how to manage this rocky clay-filled soil, and so much is springing to life in spite of my shortcomings.

My first year for sage flowers.

Thyme

My first medicinal herb harvest - Calendula petals.

Each of my tomato tipis has four vines on it (one each in the center of the poles as well). Finally after months of starting and transplanting these seeds - and losing a few plants to frost and deer - they are all in the ground and doing well.

Tomatoes out in the main garden.

I spent a lot of time mixing in leaf compost and grass clippings to make some mounds for all of my ground vines. So far I've planted cucumbers, watermelon, 3 varieties of pumpkin, gourds, squash and zucchini. My aim was to mound them up about 6 inches using the topsoil from in between the mounds, and them create a little depression to maximize water usage. I started them all in the cold frame on the porch a week ago. And they have grown a third leaf already in the two days since I transplanted them.

The potatoes and onions were so rushed to be planted because of the weather that I didn't have the luxury of picking rocks out for hours. But they look good so far in spite of my lousy planting.

The peppers are trying to grow fruit already even though they are still recovering from their transplants. Some look great and others are not thriving at all, but a Miracle Gro treatment seems to have helped.

My june-bearing strawberries poised and ready.

The boys and I are getting creative to keep animals out of the garden, making assorted wind chimes out of old tin cans and lids. I am hoping that they will make the deer uncomfortable with the noise and reflections off the tin. Alex also put a pinwheel in one corner that is helping too. So far, no more losses. We're keeping our fingers crossed!

The boys are winding down their first year, with only about 13 more school days left. I still couldn't be prouder of the magnificent little men they are becoming each day. And then - I will have more recruits for picking rocks :)

Checkers

An exciting chicken development for the boys these days is "Checkers", our newly beloved pet. Three days ago he started letting me pick him up and snuggled down in my arms for warmth. Yesterday I played with him in the yard a few times in the sunshine and trained him to stay on my shoulder while I walk around. He only flew off once, and that was to do his business, which I was absolutely cool with.

Since I ordered a rare breed assortment of chicks of any sex, I have a limited idea of what their breeds are. I was guaranteed 10 different varieties from 15 different breeds. I spent a few hours one evening when they were a few days old trying to figure it out and decided to wait until their feathers grew in to give it another go. Checkers is almost certainly a Dominique, which turns out to be the oldest American breed. The first settlers brought them from England since they were cold hardy, good foragers, decent layers and meat birds, and very docile. Then they used to produce crosses like the Plymouth Rock and the Barred Rock, which became so popular that the original Dominiques became rare - down to only 50 breeding pairs at one point.

This morning he came over when I cleaned out their never-endingly-disgusting food and water, so I carried him out to the garden to hang out while I watered. Turns out he doesn't like me being more than 5 feet away, and will follow me around without any thought of escape. So he foraged for bugs and I taught him to drink from the hose. He's in training to be my new King of Insect Control, and I'm hoping he will recruit others as time goes on.

So now I'm on a quest to see how much I can teach a chicken, including potty training, which will consist of- I don't care where you go as long as it's not on me.

They're almost ready for their big move to the coop. And slowly the weather is allowing for more gardening so things are busy around here for all.

Checkers pics to come soon!

Hillbilly Zen

As we settle in for our first spring at the new homestead, nature is ramping up her beauty and I find it hard to keep on top of all the projects I have built up in my mind, much less take a leisurely stroll through the fields stopping every few feet for another photo opportunity. But today I made an exception, so enjoy the spring photos below!

The chickens are two weeks old today and already seem like adolescents. I try to spend a little time with them each day letting them eat out of my hand and get used to my voice. A few have gotten bolder each time and now don't mind me much, a few still go into spastic fits and fly into the walls. Today I annoyed some by catching them and inspecting them a little. They're getting a bit scraggly with tufts of down feathers mixed in between the larger true ones. But they're crazy and sweet at times and make lots of different cool noises. We've named about 5 - Captain Puffyhead (Brent's), Draco (Mike's), Hawk and Starlight (mine). And I know Alex had one but I can't remember it.

Last night I chased the deer out of the field again before they could wander too far into the garden. Today when I went out my tiller was upside down and one of the side grills dented. I don't know if one jumped into it when I hollered out there (I can't see the garden from the house), or if they came back in the night and just headbutted it just to send me a message. But in all fairness, they didn't eat my tomatoes!