An Autumn Sunday

It was warm enough today to hang the sheets on the line, but I didn't get into that. We had some kids swing by Saturday night and bash our mailbox in, along with a couple dozen others in the neighborhood, but other than that it was a pleasant Sunday. So what did I do, well, a few things. I finished painting the chicken pen, as it is framed up now. Andrew still has some framing to do, then some special features that will make this pen a cut above the rest, and of course there is still the chicken wire to put up but here is where we are at now.

The goldies ranged about in the grapes, bathing in the dirt and scratching around for bugs. I caught a giant grasshopper and fed it to them. That smartie Goldie, whenever I crouch down and call the hens, she always races over. I think she remembers the cutworm treats of earlier. Here are some goldie pictures, they are still molting. You can see here around pretty goldie's neck, where there are gaps in the feathers, that is where she is molting.

Molt is important because is allows chickens to grow new, fluffy feathers that help keep them warm for the winter. Here you can see where some of the wing feathers are patchy on Goldie.

I finished cleaning out the vegetable beds today, pulling out the last of the peppers and tomatillos, and as soon as I put them on the compost, the Goldies came over to investigate, plucking at the pepper plant leaves and scratching around for bugs.

And here is smartie goldie, looking for another grasshopper.

Speaking of cleaning out the garden, here are the last of the peppers.

And here is the herb garden in fall:

From left to right we have rosemary, lavender, parsley, and oregano. The parsley is doing especially well, and will need cut and dried soon. Below are the blooms from the garlic chives. The bees have been paying more attention to these than the lavender.

Overseeing my work in the garden were Molly and Maxwell, taking turns sunning themselves in the late afternoon sun. Maxwell

And Molly here, lounging.

Once the gardening was done, I went out and about to look for some deer, and I found some!

I'll keep you updated on the chicken pen and when I get back into the cookies. See answers to submitted questions below and you can always ask a question in the comments.