This weekend, Poppy, our red chicken, finally started laying eggs! It’s been so fun to go out to the nest and find TWO eggs each day. One green (from Mayzie) and one brown. And they are both laying regular size eggs too…. not any smaller than a store bought egg anymore. And they are tasty too boot!
Autumn is almost here! It’s my favorite time of year, and I’m especially looking forward to it this year. My dad always called this time of year Indian Summer. When the days were still hot, but the nights were cool. My senses are just itching for the fall.
Monday Rick and I spent some time harvesting about two thirds of our sunflowers and all the Indian corn we grew. I was surprised at the variety of colors the corn had, and the sunflowers… well what can I say? WOW!
I planted the sunflowers thinking it would be cool to have ten foot tall flowers, but the seeds… what a bonus! I had no idea! Some of the flowers got taller than the garage… they had to be over 15 feet tall. And the heads on them! Well you can see that one above was a foot across, and it was not alone.
We also had some sunflowers that had all black seeds… they are gorgeous! We are going to have so many seeds from all of them…. plenty to share! Don’t be surprised if you get a package full for Christmas… I hope you like them!
I wish I had taken a picture of the corn in the sun. I had them lying in the shade, and you can’t really see the colors as well as I would have hoped. The harvest was small, but since I grew them purely for decoration, it is sufficient. I’m not disappointed!
I’ve only seen one pumpkin in the garden, but there are so many acorn squash that I can’t keep count. I’m really looking forward to the acorn squash… I’ve grown tired of the summer squashes. The garden has done especially well this year, but as usual, Rick and I can’t help but plan and scheme for next year’s already. The other day, Rick shredded and froze enough zucchini for something like 32 loaves of zucchini bread! Yikes! He has big plans for me this winter I guess!
Hunting season is around the corner and Rick’s been binocular shopping. We really need him to get an animal this year. The freezer’s been empty for a while now, and it really would save us a lot of money if he brought home a deer or an elk. I’m especially hoping for an elk, but would be happy with either. Please be praying for him to get one!!
It’s funny, but until we finished off Rick’s last deer, I didn’t realize how much money it saved us not to have to buy meat. And I am surprised at how much pride I took in feeding my family from meat that he killed and vegetables we grew. If only we had a cow to get our own dairy products…. 😉
I was just thinking about how the last few years, my cousins have come out to visit. Either Kelly or Michelle or both, and a couple times my aunt & uncle came too. I realized that I associate fall with their visiting, and am really going to miss seeing them this year! I did get to see Chelbert in July when she was on her way home from Iraq, but the visit was far too short… just a couple of hours while she waited for her next flight. I wish Rick and I could have afforded a visit to Tennessee to see everyone this year. Maybe it will be in the cards next year… I want to try to plan it.
A few pictures of our first egg ever (pictured next to a store bought egg for size and color comparison)!
It’s from our Aruacana… the green egg layer! The egg is dirty because, she had quite a lot of trouble with it, she got egg-bound. It’s something that can sometimes happen to young hens when they first start laying eggs. We actually had to put her in some warm water and “help” it out. I felt so bad for her! I am actually a little worried about her. I keep watching her, and trying to keep her from getting infected…. not an easy feat with a dirty bird like a chicken.
We decided not to eat the egg either… we weren’t sure how long it was stuck, so we fed it to Josie. But I am excited to try the next one!
The eggs will get bigger over time… it may take a couple months, but they should get as big as the eggs you can get at the store. I think the color is so cool though!
Well almost two weeks ago, we found a new home for our Susan the Terrible… he now lives up in Longmont at Roan Oak Farm. It’s a horse farm, but the lady there has a ton of chickens, all free ranging, so Susan will have his pick of the ladies. We put Susan on Craigslist, and she was the person we liked best. Rick, H and I dropped him off and enjoyed watching the other farm animals there as well. H was fascinated with a noisy goat that stood on top of his little house. It was too funny.
Last weekend I went to my friend Nora’s baby shower. The shower was beautiful, and Nora looked great. I got visit with my friend Amy, who I worked with at the Sports Authority too. I had a great time, despite the realization that I really am that weird hippy girl…. I was promoting natural birth and natural soap, and my gift to Nora… a breast feeding support kit. Oy! Hehehe… oh well. At least Nora is going for a Natural birth too… yay! She will do awesome!
Today I met my friends, Kim and Genny, at the park with our kiddos to let them play together. It was a really nice time, and we didn’t do much but sit and visit… but now I am pooped! They were talking about the farmer’s markets they’ve been going to, and now I have a craving for peaches…. yum! I’m going to have to hunt some down this weekend. And Kim kidded me about Rick and I having our own farmers market with our garden and chickens (if they’d ever lay an egg!). Wouldn’t that just be great! I would love it!
I promised Kim a picture of the garden, so I’ll post one tomorrow morning. It always looks best in the morning. By this time of day (2:15pm) the squash plants are all droopy from the hot sun.
I’m so glad I married someone with such a green thumb! And he has totally passed his love of gardening on to me. I love it!
Ok, so I’ve been neglecting the blog…. nothing since May!?!
Do you love the curious close up of Mayzie & Lavender…. funny little hens.
One of our flock, Susan, started to take on some very roosterish traits. She got a very red, prominent comb & wattle, which sometimes the hens in her breed do, and she was always the most aggressive and had the sharpest claws, which earned her the nickname “Susan the Terrible.” But then, last week, she started to sprout the most beautiful green-black tail feathers that just flowed over her tail, and I started to realize that I had been in denial… Susan was a boy. All week, Rick and I have been commiserating over what we are going to do with him. And of course the most practical solution is to off him and invite the neighbor over for roast chicken.
Rick’s been holding out on the hope that he’ll be a quiet rooster, never crow, and we can keep him… he is so pretty after all. And Susan has spunk! And why can’t we have a rooster, again? We’ve talked about finding a 4-Her to give him to so they can show him off at the county fair. But the fair started this week… too late. And we’ve joked about re-christening him “Stew” or “Kenny” (think South Park). But this morning, I think poor Susan sealed his fate. I let the chickens out of the coop, as usual, and Susan ran across the yard to his favorite spot under the lilacs, stretched his wings and crowed three times, as clear as day. **sigh** He’s so pretty, it’s sort of a shame, but it is the fate of most barn yard creatures, and what God intended them for. I guess chicken will be on the menu soon.
I’ll try not to wait so long between posts next time.
Well, it’s almost 100% complete! Below are a few pictures of the process:
Still to do: Build the fenced-in run with gate, install coop window, add the ramp for the chicken door, and add just a little charm (paint, maybe an old tin “fresh eggs” sign, etc.).
Many, many thanks go to our awesome neighbor, Doug. He gave us some old tin from his garage for the roof and a left over piece of plywood when we came up short! Yay!!! Thanks Doug! You saved us a bundle!!
Henhouse Henery
This is what happens when you have the chickens outside and Josie on the chain. Too Funny! Check back for pictures later of Rick building the hen house… our project this weekend.
Yesterday we spent the morning planning and scheming for this year’s garden. Then we went to a new -to us- garden center called Arapahoe Acres down on Santa Fe. We picked up a bunch of seeds in preparation for today!
This morning we dusted off the shovels and got the garden started. We planted the peas, lettuce, spinach, kale, carrots, radishes and onions. OH! And brussel sprouts! (I know, I’m crazy to be excited about brussel sprouts). And we had a little help in the garden:
The peepers came and explored the dirt and H looked on while we planted the rows.
Then it was off to Murdoch’s again to pick up the rest of our flock… I was planning on two Rhode Island Reds, but, again, they did not have any. So I got a New Hampshire Red, a Golden Laced Wyandotte AND a Blue Andalusian. I know, that’s three more, not two. I just couldn’t resist the cuteness. Here they all are:
Isn’t the size difference between 1 day and 1 week amazing!
I think I need to go live on a farm.
From gardens, bees and backyard chickens in the heart of Denver to starting from scratch in San Antonio. Our family of five is striving to find the simple life - the easy way.
The Lazy Homesteader 