Same house (post minor remodel), same children, same spouse, some different chickens. I finally installed a drip irrigation system for my veggies and I wanted to document and track the results. And so- voila- a new post.
A few weeks ago with the chickens free ranging, before our fire pit was found to be completely rusted out
Mandarin flowers
I got 4 pullets in January from Bird and Bee Farm, which is a wonderful place. The four I got were FluffFluff, a Brahma, Jersey May, a Jersey Giant (she might get up to 10 lbs!), Quicksilver, a Blue Star Sapphire Gem, and Almond Joy, an Ameraucana
Back up to 6 chickens. The black and white dotted hen in the bottom photo is Dottie, my cockoo Maran who is 8 years old and still laying eggs. Next to her is HazelPeanut, a 2 year old Buff Orpington. They are the older ones and boss the younger hens around.
View from a few weeks ago with winter grass (not seeded on purpose). We lucked out and lost small limbs in the ice storm but nothing significant.
I worked for a week after this picture of my Mexican plum, and while I walked back and enjoyed the burst of bloom this was the only pic I got.
New raised bed. I was so proud of laying everything out- then my cat rolled around it all. I've changed things around since.
The old raised bed a few weeks ago. I kept planting chard only to see it devoured and have found the culprits- not cabbage loppers but birds! Local lesser goldfinches have taken to my chard like a salad bar.
Sasha in the sun
Hard to see- but on the chicken wire guard is a lesser goldfinch getting ready to snack
Holey chard
Garden helper- lady bug
Biergarden sage coming back steadily for years
A decade ago I tossed starter asparagus into a bed and it always sends up just few enough spears for me to feel bad and never eat it
New soil in the raised bed to try to avoid the wilt that I was having in the old beds. I have 6 types this year- Roma, Green Zebra, Carmello, Black Krim, Early Girl and Indigo Berries
The birds ignore the arugula and curly parsley. I'm about to harvest the arugula before it gets too strong-tasting in the heat and bolts.
Mexican plum close-up after flowering. I'm going to try to baby it (ie actually give it some fertilizer and water instead of complete neglect) to see if I can get some plums.
Xeric area with yuccas, self seeded Englemann daisy, gopher plants, santolina in the front, lantanas and tropical milkweed in the back. My Color Guard yucca didn't handle the chickens well but I've protected the surviving few leaves with rocks and am waiting to see if it comes back. I had a globe mallow plant that was gorgeous for many years but it doesn't seem to be coming back after the freezes this year- I planted a replacement near it. Everything seems so small and I have to remind myself to be patient since in a month or two everything will fill in.
Handful of arugula for lunch
Self seeded wild violets. They are edible and a good source of Vit C- though I hear you should eat them in moderation because they can be a mild laxative
They spread everywhere so I moved them to a damp shady spot
Newly moved violets
