Chicken Tractor Awesomeness!!!

So last Sunday Dad and I spent most of the day building an extension to the chicken tractor. The following shots are what we got done that day. Dad had to finish it Monday and as you can see, there was still a lot to do.

And here it is. Note the tin roof, which includes a hook to hang a chained feeder on. I let the chickens out an hour before sunset or maybe two, to range while I am out and about. the rest of the time, they have a little bit more space without having to worry about foxes.

Robins Update

I went to check on the robins Wednesday night. They were a week old on the 18th. One robin though was looking pretty rough, He didn't have nearly the amount of feathers as his three nestmates and even though his eyes were open, them seemed to be opening and closing very slowly like he hardly had the energy to keep them open. I thought to myself. Uh-oh he's failing to thrive.Wouldn't you, I mean compare this little guy to his buddies.

I spent all day Thursday wondering if I would have to remove a dead chick from the nest, but coworkers reminded me they often get pushed out. Thursday evening, what did I see? But four little chicks perfectly healthy!

I dunno. Maybe he is a late feather-er. I felt a bit like a chump though. They should fledge out by Wednesday. I want to try to get some more pictures of them, but with it so cold, I don't know if they will stay in longer. I don't want to spook them off the nest like I did last year. So we will see. Notice in the pictures how you can still see the last of their dandelion fluff feathers on their heads.

Saturday Spa Night

Well Saturday was a bit of a bust. Andrew and Dad and I went out to breakfast and went down to the Lucasville Swap days in Scioto county. I was hoping to make contacts for heirloom breed chickens but I only saw the same 6 breeds over and over. It was crowded, cold, rainy, and not, I hate to say it, that interesting.

By the time we got home and settled and I took care of some things around the house it was 6 o clock. I almost started in on some baking, but realized I wanted to make some scrubs as gifts and have some of my favorite rosemary scrub on hand before the heavy duty gardening kicks in. So I grabbed some items from the herbal pantry (which is an absolute mess and I should have just spent the evening tidying it up.)

By the way, if some of the pictures ever seem out of order here, it's because I am hopeless at blogger...

Rosemary Spa Scrub

Here is rosemary from my own 2011 herb garden, some dead sea salt and sunflower oil make the rest. I add a little extra rosemary oil because I love it. This is a recipe adapted from an Herb Companion article.

This is what I use after a hard day of outdoor work. I'll be hitting this scrub, along with Rosemary Soap and Salve a LOT in may when I'm planting lavender. Check out the good folks at Elder Forrest, I highly recommend their soaps and salves. These are the folks I get the rosemary salve from, but I also like their lavender and we have several of their soaps on hand in our linen closet. www.elderforestsoap.com

You should never use a scrub more than once a week. Rosemary is excellent for sore muscles and circulation. After a hot shower using my rosemary line up, I crawl into bed warm, relaxed and fall right to sleep. I notice I'm not as stiff in the morning either. In the winter, I use this after a new yoga routine that's um, really stretched me out.

Herbal Facial Powder

Mix with water, milk or honey. Chamomile, calendula, rosemary, oats, and comfrey.

From Left to Right

Baking Soda for the bath in old apothecary bottles, herbal facial powder, rosemary salt scrub, bee sweet honey almond sugar scrub for the face, and bubble bath (not handmade) in hand blown bottles.

Robins Five Days Old

Look at all the feathers in just five days. Mom is very skittish and won't come near them at all if I'm mooching around the herb garden.

Robins Three Days Old

Robins Two Days Old

First Oregano Cut of the Year

Behold, the Chickens!

We got our four golden comets last Friday. We've had a few husbandry hiccups. We needed an extra food dish, and the self-filling water tray is a little less than stellar so we may have to upgrade it.

Unlike Dad's chickens, these have no problem perching inside the coop part. And in the morning, when I go to let them out, one is always peeking at me through the perch behind the little window.

Also unlike Dad's chickens, these girls are indifferent to scared of me. I've tried petting them, and the walk away. I've tried hand feeding them leftover dinner rolls and pancakes and the just look at me. I haven't had a whole lot of time to work with them, but can't help feeling that they're kinda jerks as Dad's chickens follow him around and come to him when he calls.

So far we've feed them potato peels, rolls, pancakes, and cauliflower and broccoli stems. As the season goes on they will get more plant based scrapes. We've also feed them lay mash, to help them lay. We should be getting four eggs a day shortly. Lately it's been more like two or three.

Blackbird Balancing Act

It's a little hard to see cause it was dark out and I was in the dining room, but the red wing has one foot wrapped around the pole and the other on the lip of the feeder. It was quite fun to watch him eat. I have some fun ideas for the bird bath so we'll be seeing this as the season gets warm and more birds stop by for a spa.

Male Robin, Mooching Around the Red Winged Blackbird's Willow Tree (much to the red-winged's annoyance)

Robin on Her Nest, Hatching Probably Friday

Tree Swallows

Nestbox Neighborhood (or, Avian Warfare for Resources)

So for the past couple years we had two bluebird boxes hanging from posts in Andrew's grapes. But last year, for some reason, Andrew grew less than fascinated by the constant dive bombing from bluebirds and tree swallows. I mean, they never even grazed him, but still.

So this year, I bought two new bluebird boxes, and we took the other two down and on Easter Sunday Dad and Andrew hung all four at intervals along our neighbors wooden fence. So far it's hard to tell which birds are in which boxes, I think they are still muscling each other. The other day there was a dazzling array of five swallows whizzing around like fighter jets, and two bluebirds, passively aggressively sitting on the fence by a nest box.

As the season wears on I'll talk more about tree swallows, which I like more than bluebirds. But for now, here are some pictures of nesting season in the early swing.

Cilantro and Dill

One of the goals for me this season, is to cut the herbs off before the seed, or flower or whatever and they become unmanageable. If I have to food process them into a pesto in freeze, dry them or compost them or feed them to the chickens, I will. It will keep them growing back with a vengeance and hopefully yield more in the long run.

With this plan, I cut off the cilantro and the dill. The dill was already starting to seed good grief! But the dill had no fragrance or taste being so early so I composted it. The Cilantro however, dries beautifully. I'll be cutting off the oregano probably this weekend as soon as the robins hatch as I don't want to spook the Mom in this cool weather.

Door Pull

When I unwrap the cord each morning, it will lower the red door/ramp and in the evening provide further protection.

Back door with the Egg/Nest box

Note the chicken wire underneath the mini coop, to provide shade, and the side window shutter that can be lifted and hung on a chain, these side windows have stiff wire in the frame to protect the hens.

In the Orchard, with our newest apple tree to the right.

Behold...the chicken tractor!

On St. Patrick’s Day, Andrew and I went up North of Bellefontaine with Mom and Dad to look at chicken tractors. If you google chicken tractors, you will find plans, kits, and ready to purchase units ranging from completely junkie to Martha Stewart-better-than-what-many-people-live-in luxury.

We bowled down the middle and got a serviceable, cute tractor that can hold six chickens. Mom and Dad got the same one so we got a deal on buying two. Dad dropped ours off Thursday and here it sits, waiting for chickens, and the actual chickens will be another post.

A chicken tractor is, as you can see, a mobile unit combo of coop and run. Every two days or so, we have to move the chicken tractor around so they can have fresh range. At dusk, they all trot into their coop and you can shut the door in on them to keep them safe from predators. Even though the run chicken wire top to bottom, a raccoon could easily tear through it, maybe even an enterprising mink, but with the door shut and the pull to open it from the outside, the chickens will be safe.

I’m excited at the prospect of taking care of animals again, I mean, yeah I take care of the cats, but you know, farm animals. Dad has raised chickens before, and I’m reading up on it, and my pal Jay is helping me too.

We’ll be keeping the chicken tractor in the orchard area, pointed towards Stowe’s field. On evenings when we’re home, I’ll let them out an hour or two before sunset so they can really free range. They will love Stowe’s field, getting clover, choice grasses and of course, lots and lots of bugs.

On Friday night, Andrew and I did see a fox run down our yard along the board fence. But unless the fox can snatch a hen during those dusky free ranges...they’ll be safe. Look for a post soon about the forthcoming chickens.

Robin's Nest Update

Last night, after I finished putting natural fertilizer pellets on half the front lawn, I checked the robin's nest and there were three eggs! It was too dark to take a picture and I was hoping this morning when I left for work she would still be off the nest, but no, I peeked around the corner and she was sitting on the nest. So either there is just three eggs, or more likely, earlier this morning she laid a fourth and is sitting on it. Since she started on the nest today, then the babies will probably hatch out around the weekend after Easter. Learn more cool facts about robins at

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/american_robin/lifehistory

Also here are the other nest cam links that I promised earlier.

http://wdfw.wa.gov/wildwatch/heroncam/video_kiwanis2.html

Heron cam is wonderful. It has sound, and you can hear the herons making their strange calls, it starts out kinda like a chicken and ends up like a bull frog. Also, because of the sound, you can minimize it on your screen and when you hear activity pop it back up. Last spring I saw several instances of one heron giving the other sticks to refurbish the nest. It's crazy to see how much some of these trees sway in the wind, but the herons don't mind a bit.

I also love to follow the New York University Red tails. This year it is Bobby and Rosie. The first link is for the camera and the second link is to the blog that will tell you the whole story

http://www.nyu.edu/sustainability/hawks/

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/bobby-and-rosie/

Then we have the bald eagles in Norfolk Virgina, they actually fed all three of their eaglets last year. I was sure the third and smallest eaglet was going to bite it as they often do in a raptor's nest. But know, there was enough food to go around

http://www.wvec.com/eaglecam

And finally, our own Ohio peregrine falcon pair at Rhodes Tower. Last year Durand laid five eggs, but she was still too young and they either weren't fertile or she just didn't have the focus to sit on them. This year she is sitting on two and should do just fine.

http://ohiodnr.com/wildlife/dow/falcons/live_nestbox_video.aspx

Happy nest watching!

Herb Garden. Look for the robin's nest. Dragonfly will hold the hummingbird feeder later this spring.

From Top to Bottom: Chives, Lavender, Garlic Chives, Thyme and Evening Primrose in the upper left corner.

Cilantro on the bottom of the picture and oregano on top and parsley in the lower left corner

Vegetables Seedlings

Pictures from the Herb Garden Week of March 26th

Violets from last Easter's table setting.

Robin Pictures 2011

Robins!

Yesterday I was working in the herb bed, adding new soil and pulling up starts, when I noticed a robin hanging out around one of our pine trees. The robin had a long grass in its mouth and on a hunch, I turned to look at our front porch. There was a nest in progress on the top tier of a plant stand Dad got me a couple years ago.

This is especially heartening because of our robin experience last year.
Last year around this time, I was loading up recycling on my Friday off. It was a gray but warmish March day, when spring was still a promise rather than here in full force like this year. I noticed this robin, peeking up at me over the front of our walk way with several long grasses in its mouth. How neat, I thought, he's building a nest somewhere. Little did I know. When I got home hours later from errands, a nest was fully formed on one of our bird feeders, stored on the top tier of the plant stand. This was our first nest at the house.

I paid close attention to progress. So much so, that I could tell if the robin was sitting on her nest on a sunny evening as soon as I pulled into the driveway. When the eggs hatched in late April, I spent a whole day in the herb garden planting and potting. It wasn't long before I noticed little scratchy sounds. When I looked about I realized that the robin, her beak full of worms, was hopping/running all around me, trying to get to the nest unnoticed yet unwilling to turn her back on me to feed her young. She would peer at me from around the cone flowers, dance around the salvia, and skitter behind a pot.

I loved working with an ear cocked, listening to this quiet yet profound sound of the mama robin literally two, three, four feet away. Sometimes I wouldn't realize how close I was to her and be surprised by her within arm's length.

She refused to go on the porch though and feed her young while I was in the bed, so I began to work my gardening around her, spacing out my trips to the potting boxes or garage for supplies so every ten minutes or so, she got a window to feed them. I would have loved to watch her feed them, but I honestly believe she couldn't override her instincts to not turn her back on me.

I got annoyed, wishing she would get that I wasn't going to hurt her nest but you know, I can't talk Robin, so I just made sure to go get something or do something else every ten or fifteen minutes.

It only takes a robin like, five seconds to find a worm though, so, I had an afternoon filled with hearing a robin rattle around the garden. I'm looking forward to this again this year.

When Andrew and I got back from a vacation, the chicks had went from feathered fluff balls to fledglings, each day, one left the nest to join Papa Robin under one of our pine trees. Until I came home one night to the last one in the nest. The urge to get a picture was too much, but I scared the fledge and he jumped down from the plant stand, chirping his indignation as he raced across the front porch and took a kamikaze dive off the other end, racing for all he was worth towards the pine trees where I saw an adult robin waiting.

In less than a week, the robin was on another set of eggs. I was thrilled. Between these and Mom and Dad's nests, there was going to be a ton of robins hatched out that I could track that year. Then. Disaster struck.

On May 23rd of last year, tornado strength winds pushed through the neighborhood, I remember coming home, and seeing mama robin on top of her nest. As I looked at the debris around me and though of our roof I wondered...did she sit on the nest the whole time the storm raged past, and if so, what must that have been like through her eyes. Over the next two weeks as the bulk of the remodeling and re-roofing were done, I realized with a sinking heart that the eggs were not likely to hatch as there was just too much activity for her to sit on them. Having me putter about the herb garden was one thing, but the numerous trucks, noises, and crew heck, just the sound of roofing, kept her away, and in some ways, this seemed to magnify the sadness of the whole storm event for me.

After a three weeks, I tossed the eggs, I checked and they were already light as air from everything inside them evaporating...and I tossed the nest. I really wish I hadn't because robins can easily clutch three times in a summer. It wasn't long before I noticed robins hopping around with long grasses in their mouths. I'm not sure if this pair was a different pair or the same pair who had had enough of the front porch, but, now they were building a nest on our meter box on the south end of the house. I worried the eggs wouldn't hatch, that the metal would just fry them in the hotter hours, and Andrew worried it was a fire hazard. Well, there was no fire, and the eggs didn't hatch. I tried not to be too depressed.

And here we are in a new year and the robins are back on the front porch. Let's hope nothing disrupts them this year and I'm telling you, I'm leaving the nest up until labor day. Are they the same pair? Could be. Is it just a great spot for robins to nest...you bet. You can look for robin shelf plans on the internet or order a robin shelf from a place like Amazon, who knows maybe Wild Bird too.

I'm interested to see if any robins reuse nesting spots at Mom and Dad's house. They had a robin's nest in a set of antlers Dad had on the hunting cabin, and an old bird feeder Mom had at the pond. When the antler nest fledged, Dad took it away to power wash the cabin and as soon as he finished the wash, a new nest was built. Each site of Mom and Dad's fledged twice, with out one, a total of 14 robins hatched out to take their chances in the great wild yonder. I have no idea how many would survive statistically, let's say one...that's probably generous.

Below are pictures of the front porch nest and the chicks/fledglings,the antler and bird feeder nests. I will keep photo documenting the new construction of the nest and add it later.

Nests are one of those things, that once you start looking for them, you see them everywhere. Yesterday at Lowe's I saw a sparrow fly into the nursery as I was at the register. With a grass in it's mouth I watched it hop from perch to perch until it swooped up to an eve and I saw it arrange it nest. One of the best things about fall for me, is seeing all the birds and squirrels' nests in the trees once the leaves have dropped off. When I post next, I will post some links to some of my favorite live bird cams...

One of the best things in Life...

is line dried sheets. From April, or, for this year, from March, to October I line dry our sheets. There is nothing like stretching out flat on sweet smelling sheets after a hard day of (in rough chronological order)
Watering the herb garden and vegetable beds
Going to the Farmer's Market
Harvesting herbs and vegetables
Mowing the lawn
Hanging out by the pond, reading under a tree during the hottest hours of the day.
Enjoying a nice grill out on my parent's back porch
Walking one of the dogs at the club
Sitting on our front porch, with Andrew beside me and writing in my journal.
Taking a nice long shower or bath using a line up of favorite homemade scrubs, facials, soaps and shampoos.
If weather permits and I can crawl into bed with the window open, even better.

If you have never line dried sheets outside, I recommend it. Yes, they are a little scratchy, but it's the good kind of scratchy, that's the only way I can explain it. The smell of sunshine and fresh air can lighten up my soul in ways nothing else can. Hang the sheets out on a day you know you will be doing lots of stuff outside and once you finally pull the covers up, stretch your toes toward the end of the bed and sigh with the satisfaction of a great day. That's what I do anyway.

Some Tips:
Always wet some paper towels or a cleaning rag with water and wrap around the whole line and walk up and down the line to clean off any residual dirt/dust.

Take the sheets down while the sun is still fairly well up from the horizon before the dew sets in on the sheets.

Don't worry about a bird bombing your sheets, in all the years I've done this, I just had that happen once, and my parents clothesline is surrounded by lots of trees birds hang out in.

For extra indulgence:
Be on the hunt for vintage pillowcases at antique shops, auctions, and online (etsy is a great source) vintage embroidered pillowcases are like little pieces of art with flowers, kittens and other natural elements. The cotton used in vintage pillowcases is much thicker, I don't know if it's thread count per se, or just how they used to make them, but you'll notice that vintage pillowcases in good condition are incredibly more luxurious than store bought. AND you are reusing instead of new-consuming. Here is a sample of some vintage cases I have.

An evening last spring

Okay folks, I promise that I'll let up on the cat blogging, but I couldn't resist posting this picture as I watch wet snow blanket the yard. It's been a long hard week with the weather, so here's a treat.

I took this last spring, May, in the evening during one of those perfect times where the hard spring thunderstorm had passed and the setting sun shone from the west. This was a night that there was a rainbow, and looking out the back door revealed that bruised blue black on the storm wending it's way towards Columbus.

Huh, apparently falling wet snow brings out the bad poet in me as well.

Anyway, I was running around the newly planted herb garden trying to get nice pictures of some flowers, none of which turned out. the ones of Maxwell and Molly watching my antics however, turned out nicely. That gerber daisy was in a pot, and is not actually growing out of Maxwell's head.

maybe a non cat pic next time, J

the infamous mo mo

As I was flipping through many a spring-taunting photo for this week's blog, I came across this shot of a still kitten-ish Molly. Since I haven't posted about her specifically yet, I figured I would post about her tonight.

Molly is the third cat Andrew and I have shared since we have been married. We got her June 2nd, 2007 after realizing that Tweeker was desperately lonely. Andrew wanted a tortoiseshell. I don't know why, he's never had one before and he kept saying "I want a tortie kitten and I want to name her Molly." So we trundled to the Union County Humane Society and they only had two kittens, a tiger and a tortie. So Andrew asked for them to bring the tortie out and here came this tiny 8 week old kitten who had been thrown out of a passing truck.

The lady said her name was Molly (coincidence right?) And as soon as she was placed in Andrew's hand she snuggled up against his shirt, like her back to the wall, warily eying the world.

So we brought her home crying all the way and introduced her to Tweek. We put her on the ground, and she immediately shot, tail shaking like a skinny flag, under the entertainment center. This induced completely unfounded panic, and not trusting that she would come out on her own, we enticed her with canned food.

For about two weeks we kept her in the guest room. She was only 8 weeks old when we got her, and brought her out morning and night for play dates with Tweeker on our bed. Molly immediately laid out who was boss, swatting at Tweek, and demanding to be groomed.

Molly has grown more affectionate with age, partially I think because after Tweek passed away she became the dominant cat and partially because she just became more loving. She sleeps with us most every night, and demands loves to be cuddled on a sleep in morning. She is the most predatory of our cats so far, the most entranced by bugs in the house, the most alert to birds outside. She likes toys, but seems to be a bit bored by them, like she knows they aren't the real thing. And has always retained some wild spirit.

She greets me at the door now, and stands up on her hind legs, stretching her body long to be petted. She loves to run around the house with or without Maxwell and she chirps more than meows.

A favorite spot is over the cabinets above the refrigerator where she will cry for Andrew to reach up and pet her, letting out a little meow as she yawns.

When she's really cranked up she likes to run halfway up the stairs, point her butt towards the front door, and put her head on the stair, peeking at us like she's about to do a headstand.

They say torties have their own personality and that's true of our little mo mo. She's not affectionate the strangers and she's no dope. But she's our little treasure.