Anniversary No. 14
Fourteen years ago, I married my best friend. This has not been an inconsequential partnership so far. Four ducks: $25 One gold fish: $28 Thirteen chickens: $77 Two cats: $1,153 Three dogs: $4,760 One half-grown child: $103,850 One home in the...
Weed and Feed
I love these afternoons when I finish work early enough to putter in the garden before dinner. This afternoon I did some weeding and deadheading and just enjoyed being outdoors - ducks looking on from their garden plot. Weed and feed at my house...
Ducks on the Run
One moment I'm refilling their bathing pool. The next I look up and see the ducks sitting in my garden - on the other side of the fence! Thankfully they seem to like traveling together so it wasn't too tough for the three of us to herd them back...
Ducklings in the Garden
Meet our ducklings! Today I harvested half of my garlic crop. In the empty space I erected a temporary enclosure for the ducks and covered it with deer netting so they would be safe from hawks. Now that they are out of the brooder we noticed that...
Saturday at the Farmer’s Market
Saturdays in the the summer we make a habit of visiting the Milbridge Farmers Market. There are so many things we enjoy purchasing at the market that we've set a $20 limit for our outings. Each week there is a drawing for a market basket - goodies...
Happy Birthday, Dad!
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!
Cute in a Bucket
Cute in a bucket. Enough said.
Summer Camp Woes
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...
Squirrel Family: The Sequel
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...
The Summer Scent of Lavender
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...
Shy Week Old Ducklings
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 Get It!
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...
Flying the Coop?
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...
Settling in for the Night
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...
Baby Ducklings!
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....
The Colonel
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!
Empty Nest!
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...
Happy Fourth of July!
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...
The Cornish Rocks Get Evicted
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 outdoors. http://youtu.be/GqkhCJ8ocnk
Working For Your Garlic
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.
Asparagus – finally!
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...
Chicks at Week Four
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...
Digging Ditches
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 - 150' away...
Paul has been busy…
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...
Week Three With the Chicks
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 we've figured out who the...
