by Susan | Jul 22, 2011 | Family
Dad’s birthday was on the 17th. I made this card for him featuring his chicken namesake, but couldn’t share it until I knew he had received it in the mail (I was a little late on the draw – as usual). Happy Birthday, Dad!
by Susan | Jul 20, 2011 | Ducks
Cute in a bucket. Enough said.
by Susan | Jul 20, 2011 | Family
My girl has flown the coop. Left the nest. Gone to summer camp. At eleven years old, this is only her second time away from home alone. The first was a one-night sleep over in town. This week she is on the Sunbeam, a 75’ long ship owned by the Maine Seacoast Mission....
by Susan | Jul 16, 2011 | On the Farm
I was sitting on the porch this afternoon getting snow peas ready to blanch and freeze when I heard a chitter. I looked up and saw these two in Hannah’s bird house watching me. It’s been so long since I last saw them that I thought they’d moved out....
by Susan | Jul 15, 2011 | Garden
These days when you step out onto the porch, you smell a burst of lavender. My lavender, both pink and purple, is in full bloom. It’s an old-fashioned smell that will always remind me of summer. More flower posts: 19 June 2011: In My Lavender Today 25 July 2010:...
by Susan | Jul 13, 2011 | Ducks
Our baby ducklings are one week old today! They are the silliest little things. When I stop by to take a peek at them they tend to huddle up together in the corner. They’re quite shy. Their favorite past time is chasing flies around their brooder. They have the...
by Susan | Jul 13, 2011 | Chickens
We’ve spent the last three nights since we introduced The Girls and The Colonel to their run chasing them to put them away for the night (read about that debacle here). Tonight, at about 8:30 we went outside and prepared for round four. I figured that I was...
by Susan | Jul 10, 2011 | On My Mind
It’s been 5 days since The Girls and The Colonel moved to their chicken coop. We read that it’s good to let them spend some time in the coop before letting them out into the yard so they realize it’s their new home. The truth is we just finished the...
by Susan | Jul 9, 2011 | Chickens
The sun was setting tonight as Paul and I finished putting the roofing on the chicken coop. The frogs were croaking, the crickets chirping and the mosquitoes were on the war path. Halfway up the ladder I peered through the coop window and saw that The Girls had...
by Susan | Jul 8, 2011 | Ducks
Look who moved in today! Four baby Pekin ducklings have taken up temporary residence in our garage. These little babies are all Paul’s doing. He tells me that duck eggs are beyond wonderful. Growing up he had two Pekin ducks – Oscar and Susan. We’re...
by Susan | Jul 7, 2011 | Chickens
My father is a U.S. Army Colonel (retired). Full-bird Colonel. Said Colonel thinks I’m off my rocker jumping into hobby farm life here in Maine. So in Dad’s honor, we’ve named our one and only rooster “The Colonel!” Love you, Dad!...
by Susan | Jul 5, 2011 | Chickens
The girls left home today. Left our mudroom and moved into their new hen house. The Girls and The Colonel looked very happy in their new digs, running around and pecking wildly at the clover and deadheaded viola flowers we tossed in. Paul finished off the inside today...
by Susan | Jul 4, 2011 | Out and About in Maine
A promised trip to the beach for the Fourth of July proved the resiliency of youth. While mom sat bundled up. Thank goodness for the emegency Pooh car blanket. The 63 degree foggy weather ensured us a bit of solitude. Happy Fourth of July from Downeast...
by Susan | Jul 2, 2011 | Chickens
Today was the big day for the Cornish Rock meat birds. They were evicted from the brooder in my mudroom. With only three to four more weeks before they see the freezer, they deserve a chance to enjoy the great...
by Susan | Jul 2, 2011 | Garden
I put my garlic loving Hannah to work today snipping the scapes off the garlic. She helped to plant this batch of garlic in the fall. I seem to recall plantint 97 cloves, but came up with only 91 scapes.
by Susan | Jul 1, 2011 | Garden
I planted my one year old asparagus crowns a month ago. When nothing happened right away I despaired that they would never sprout (they sat in the box for three weeks before the asparagus bed was ready). In fact, I was gearing up to plant some potatoes in their place...
by Susan | Jun 29, 2011 | Chickens
We’ve had the baby chicks for four weeks now. This has been quite an exciting experience for our family. We’ve all fallen in love with “The Girls.” The meat chickens are not quite so lovable. At least to me. And it has to stay that way if these...
by Susan | Jun 26, 2011 | On the Farm
Today’s project on the “farm” was digging ditches. Not my idea of fun, but I think Paul enjoyed himself. Boys and their toys. I am forever running three garden hoses strung together down to the raised bed gardens near the chicken coop –...
by Susan | Jun 25, 2011 | Chickens
Thursday was a dry day. We haven’t had many of those lately and Paul said that he was going to work on the chicken coop doors. I inquired about how he was going to do this. He said that he was going to use the siding the he’d cut out for the door opening...
by Susan | Jun 22, 2011 | Chickens
It’s been three weeks since the Peepsters came into our lives. “Peepsters” is my name for them or “The Girls.” They’re looking a bit scraggly at this point. They’re in this sort of adolescent stage. We’re pretty certain...
