Chicken compulsion?

I could not help myself. Ruby (my only chicken old enough to lay) went on a laying strike. Maybe she is molting, maybe it's the heat. But I found some pallets.. and scrap wood.. and missed using my circular saw and drill....

Next thing you know I've built a chicken run ("for when we go on vacation..") and have brought home two more bantams... After all, Ruby is the only mini amidst three amazonian teenagers, and I'm sure she wants company..

This is Blondie.. She's a bantam Catalana, a fairly obscure breed in the US that is apparently popular in Latin America. They do well in the heat and while the breed isn't apparently docile, this girl seems pretty mellow when I pick her up (though she likes to talk!)..

This girl is Iggy Pop- named because of her jutting chest and striking eyes (and swagger!). She's an Old English game bantam, (they used to be bred for fighting but now are bred to be pretty) and is teeny. The breed is apparently very fun and can be docile but I think I'll need to bribe this lady a bunch since she wiggles like crazy when I pick her up..

On their roost in the new aerie (and in quarantine for 10 days before I let them mingle with the other girls). Next crafty project is to decorate the run.. (after I hammer in all the staples holding the hardware cloth in..)

Not to be outdone, Ruby finally laid another egg today- it'd been three weeks! The big girls (due to lay soon!) clustered around her interestedly- maybe I'll be getting some eggs from them soon?

Happy weekend!

A trip to the Wildlife Rescue Center

I found my cat with a teeny white winged dove fledgeling in his mouth the other day. It hopped around and hid behind a tree stump when Toby dropped it, so I picked it up and took it to the Wildlife rescue Center on MLK. I think the fact that it couldn't fly saved it- it just wasn't that interesting to my feline.. It was pretty cute curled up in a crate in the car..

Unfortunately now I have Stevie Nick's song "White Winged Dove" in my head.. 

While at the Rescue Center I saw this interesting guy in a crate getting ready to be reintroduced to the wild..

He's a porcupine! I thought they lived in cooler climates, but there are some native to Texas- The yellow-haired porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) is found from the western half of the state east to Bosque County. It is adapted to a variety of habitats and, in recent years, has expanded into South Texas. Porcupines are expert at climbing trees but are as much at home in rocks as on the ground or in trees. The position of the quills can be a good indicator of the porcupine's mood. When the animal is relaxed and unafraid, the quills lie flat, hidden under a layer of long guard hairs. If the animal is disturbed or threatened in any way, the quills stand erect and the porcupine is ready for battle. The slightest touch on a single quill or guard hair also brings them erect, turning the creature into a living pincushion. This guy looked a bit wary, so I kept my distance!

Finally,  I found a fun late-bloomer in my native wildflower patch:

Chamaecrista fasciculata - Partridge pea is an annual wildflower that fixes nitrogen like other plants in the pea family. It’s flowers attract bees and butterflies. Seed pods are eaten by gamebirds and songbirds, and the plant provides excellent cover for gamebirds and browse for deer. Leaves collapse when touched, giving rise to the common name Sensitive-plant.

Happy gardening!

Wildlife Wednesday- watching for the little guys..

Another great idea- a meme focused on noticing the wildlife around us ("getting to know the neighbors" as someone aptly put it). It was started today by Tina at http://mygardenersays.wordpress.com and I've enjoying following everyone's posts!

I looked around on this (hot, sunny, mosquito filled) afternoon and found a few creatures (more on the small side than the great and small side..).  I think most of the wildlife had retreated into the shadows to stay cool!

This Gulf Fritillary caterpillar looked plump and happy as it chewed through a passionflower vine. His spikes are apparently not poisonous, but I don't plan on petting him..

A jumping spider turned around to wave it's tentacles at me (seriously!) as I took it's picture. He's smaller than my fingernail but walks with a healthy attitude..

The neighborhood doves, bluejays, cardinals and grackles love the chicken feeder (and water bowls)..

The other "wildlife" in the yard is acting pretty lazy...

My square foot garden has been renovated into a dust bath..

I re-did the driveway chicken fence and the girls are already plotting their next jail break..

Hopefully tomorrow I'll spot other pretties. I enjoy when they pop up unexpectedly, like these from earlier this spring:

Mini egg (what bird, where, how did they do?), crab spider lurking, spotted butterfly temporarily fluttering inside the chicken tractor, and the (thankfully) few juicy tomato hornworms I fed to the chickens...

Happy gardening everyone!

Wide view, end of the month and all that..

I've been enjoying taking the time to take wide-angle pics to see how the yard looks. The idea comes from Heather at http://xericstyle.wordpress.com, who has made a charming space out of a San Antonio suburban yard.. and Helen at http://patientgardener.wordpress.com/

It's wonderful to see what a few months (and a lot of needed rain) can do!

Now..

This past March..

Now.. (ignore the volunteer wisteria and grass that did not get mowed this weekend!)

This past March..

I'd like to think the chickens are the key to the St Augustine revival (after being decimated by trenches dug by the builders), but I think it's all about the rain. I plan to carve out more low-water beds, but will save my energy until winter since the grass is greedily reclaiming all the space it can..

In the back (behind the addition), the changes are startling!

Now..

This past March..

I think I will discourage the Maxmillian sunflowers next year since they overwhelm the space. That should let the buffalo grass and wildflowers blend in more. I'm happy a dry caliche-soil area with minimal watering (too lazy to drag the hose that far) has blossomed as well as it has!

Details..

Next on my to-do list is to turn this embarrasingly thrown together chicken fence into a pretty fence.. I have ideas on how to do this without digging fence holes.. Note the red rake aimed at the prime chicken-hopping over the short end zone!

Time to weed the nut sedge in the new bed.. The green santolina has been slow to fill in..

Baby eggplant!

The volunteer passion flower vine is healthier, and I wonder of this wasp has picked off the gulf frittilary caterpillars?

These bluebonnets still think it's spring!

The butterfly week is completely recovered from it's aphid infestation, all by itself!

I'd been pulling these guys up, but realized they are Texas betony! I'll leave them alone..

Bamboo barrier doing it's job (keeping the scraggler bamboo away from the Mexican plum roots). Will attack it in a day or so.. I've had about 4 shoots thus far, which isn't bad. I think most was dug up and the rest is isolated behind a concrete retaining wall.

Some type of sumac tree that pops up everywhere. My husband says he's allergic. I yank them out without any reaction but have even noted roots under the house. The lot must have had a whole slew of these trees when the house was built in 1950!

Hope everyone's garden is thriving!

Teenagers out past curfew...

Chicken adventures this week: Silverwing and Houdini wandered off yesterday morning. I found them pecking at the grass in our back neighbor's yard in the evening when I got back from work.  I scooped up Houdini fairly easily but Silverwing ran off for the night. Now, we live in an urban area, but we have foxes, raccoons and coyotes in nearby creeks, so I went to bed worried she'd become a tasty meal while roosting in a tree that night. Just yesterday morning we caught and released a grungy possum that wandered into our back yard (and trapped himself in a milk crate we used as a nesting box)..

We got up this morning and she was still gone. I poked my head over the fence and called but saw nothing.. I went home for lunch and spied Silverwing back in the neighbor's yard. I wound up climbing, cajoling and scrambling to catch her as she flew around- even roping in a nearby electrician into helping out! He ended up grabbing her by the wing 10 feet up a tree... When I brought her back to the yard she sauntered around like nothing had happened- teenagers!

I went back to work with grass stains in my khaki's and promptly bought extra chicken wire to make the driveway fence taller... No more escaping curfew for my girls!

Bits and pieces

Finally, a yellow pepper..

One view through the window- the girls like to huddle outside the back door and check us humans out..

A different window view. My youngest at the Thinkery getting ready to paint (and laugh and laugh as he blocks my view). So solemn here..