by Susan | Jun 11, 2011 | Critter Care and Housing
Paul spent a good bit of this last week pre-building the walls for the chicken coop. He did this in the garage where he could be out of the elements, had a flat surface and was close to his tools. We took advantage of the beautiful day and started putting things...
by Susan | Jun 11, 2011 | Garden
I became sidetracked during coop construction today when I saw this beautiful butterfly fluttering about my lilacs. Turns out that it is a Canadian Tiger Swallowtail. The lupine I planted last fall is in bloom; it’s the most beautiful peachy-pink shade....
by Susan | Jun 9, 2011 | Chickens
We have had the baby chicks for one week today. It’s amazing how much they’ve grown in this short time! They’re developing their wing feathers and have just sprouted the beginnings of their tail feathers. What is really wild is how much bigger the...
by Susan | Jun 4, 2011 | Chickens
The baby chicks seem to have settled in and are feeling their...
by Susan | Jun 3, 2011 | Critter Care and Housing
Since the introduction of our chicken coop design last week we made a trip to Home Depot. Said trip inspired us to make a few modifications (cost saving measures) to the coop plan. 1) Rather than purchasing shingles we’re going to use green steel roofing left...
by Susan | Jun 2, 2011 | Chickens
We received notice on Tuesday that our baby chicks had been shipped. Today is Thursday and the telephone rang at 6:45 a.m. It was the post office calling to say that we had chicks waiting and to come on down and get them. Only in a small town will they tell you that...
by Susan | May 30, 2011 | Garden
Today’s project was building a hybrid raised bed for my garden. A couple of years ago Paul made a cold frame out of pvc for me. Using the last bit of our miscellaneous wood, we built a raised bed the perfect size to go with that cold frame. Thankfully we had the...
by Susan | May 29, 2011 | Garden
It’s been a very productive weekend here. Last week, Paul finished fixing the tractor. This is a project that started in the fall – it needed a new clutch. The whole thing had to be split in two – twice! Of course things are never as simple as they...
by Susan | May 28, 2011 | Chickens
Paul and I have finally settled on a chicken coop design and layout. This resolution did not come without a bit of frustration. We each had our own idea of how it ought to be built and where it should go. Turns out that we were pretty much on the same page all along,...
by Susan | May 22, 2011 | Garden
Today is Paul’s birthday. I told him that I was gifting him with a sunny day. The overcast morning did not show a lot of promise of obliging me. However, living along the Maine coast means a lot of fog, so I was hopeful. I puttered in the garden a bit and...
by Susan | May 21, 2011 | Garden
My garden has only one cluster of tulips – these lovely Angeliques by the front door. They opened only a couple of days ago and are almost spent with this incessant rain we’ve had. Still, they are the most amazing delicate pink color. Worthy of a photo or...
by Susan | May 17, 2011 | Garden
It seems that we have been inundated with rain lately. Despite the wet weather, the early spring veggies we planted a couple of weeks ago are doing okay – and the snow peas are thriving! I think our raised beds might help – their feet don’t sit in...
by Susan | May 9, 2011 | Chickens
For about three years we have threatened to start a backyard flock of chickens. Paul took a class two summers ago where he learned how to butcher a chicken. It turns out that this is the year! Paul is finishing up a chick brooder and I have just placed an order for 25...
by Susan | May 7, 2011 | Garden
I found this BIG bumble bee in my violas this morning. “A bee is never as busy as it seems; it’s just that it can’t buzz any slower.” ~Kin Hubbard
by Susan | May 1, 2011 | 2011 Garden Journal
Last Sunday, on April 24 I started three trays of seedlings in my little Burpee greenhouse. Each tray has twelve cells. Burpee Pepper Carnival Mix Burpee’s Big boy Hybrid Tomato Burpee Tomato Roma This morning, the tomato sprouts were just breaking through the...
by Susan | May 1, 2011 | 2011 Garden Journal
May 1st seemed like a good time to start my outdoors vegetable garden. I’m really not certain what “early spring” means when it comes to planting – especially for Maine. I guess we’ll find out in a few weeks when we see how what...
by Susan | May 1, 2011 | Garden
Today is May 1st and it’s a glorious spring day with temperatures in the upper 50s. My hyacinths and daffodils are in full bloom. I’ve got a volunteer viola that’s taken root. The wild flower seed I threw over my septic field last summer has some new...
by Susan | Apr 30, 2011 | On the Farm
Every day the kitties take up their post at the dining room window where they have a great view of the porch and yard beyond. Today they became very anxious and alerted me to a little thief on the porch. For more than a year I’ve kept my bird seed bucket on the...
by Susan | Mar 20, 2011 | On the Farm
It was a beautiful first day of Spring today. A prelude to the predicted 4-8 inches of snow coming tomorrow. I took a stroll up to where the logging company is stacking the logs they are harvesting off of our property. The stack on the right represents about 10 truck...
by Susan | Feb 19, 2011 | On the Farm
Work by the lumber company recommenced today. We could hear the rumble of the tree cutting machine running in the background for the better part of the morning. When things quieted down we went for a stroll to see what they had been up to. We found a path leading from...
