Lazy Weekend
With all the things that I want to get done, this was not the weekend to be lazy; however, both Oscar and I finished the work week exhausted and couldn’t rouse much energy. As a result, we didn’t get much done.
I purchased and planted basil and chamomile under the apple trees. I planted basil seeds last weekend but I didn’t want to wait for them to grow and work their pest-repelling magic as the bugs and caterpillers are already out in force. I also got some petunias and put them in the top level of the Greenstalk planter where the carrots were struggling. There is something to be said for the instant gratification of purchasing plant starts. This was all made possible by a Lowe’s gift card from my friend Susie. Thanks again, Susie!
I also went to Home Depot and purchased the handles and L-brackets needed for the door at other end of the run so we have them when we get around to that project again.
I did just a little freshing of the chicken area: I raked the run, put DE (diatomaceous earth) in the coop and dust bath to protect the chickens from pests, added fresh straw to the nest box, and added fresh bedding to the coop.
We dismantled the hoop over the raised bed. It was only put there while the weather was too wet and cold to plant spring seeds in that area. We added some more holes to the bottom of the potato planters as they were staying too wet. The last thing we did was to dismantle the chicken tunnel that we’d used over the winter. We managed to save most of frame work and chicken wire. We already know how we’ll recycle the wood and wire for other projects, which will save money.
These activities were interspersed with plenty of sitting, napping, and other non-active activities. Apparently we needed that though.
Bath Time for the Chickens
We got a lot of things done around here this weekend.
One of the Legbars had a dirty bum so, now that it’s warmer outside, we gave her a bath.
Yep, I mean a tub, warm water, soap … and a chicken.
She didn’t seem impressed at first but soon settled in and enjoyed the warm water.
Something that finishes with a dry towel and a massage can’t be all bad, right?
Since the water was ready, the rooster, Road Runner, was next.
He was Not impressed. Just look at that face!
Last one – this one actually seemed to enjoy herself.
Eager got out of it by sitting in the nest box. She usually lays her eggs on the coop floor so I did not want to create a connection between the nest box and a dunking in her chicken brain.
That was the most entertaining activity of the weekend.
The activity we were most proud of was building the door on the new run. It was level and square and it only took one trip to Home Depot to finish!
We still have more to do on the run but the temporary “door” we had was only supposed to be in use for a week and we had avoided doing it for four. I am really pleased with the results.
Yes, we put up with two pieces of plywood for a “door” for four weeks – isn’t that pitiful?
Over that four weeks, however, we had acquired some new tools. Oscar purchased a cordless power saw to add to his tool collection. It sure beats using the hand saw. I bought Ryobi cordless power shears. We have both declared this our new favorite tool. Cutting through hardware cloth and chicken wire is Nothing when using these. When you have chickens, you have to cut a lot of chicken wire and hardware cloth so this tool will be used often.
Garden Roll Call:
There’s lots of excitement in the garden, too.
The boysenberries sprouted!
The potatoes sprouted!
Everything except the carrots are doing great in the Greenstalk planter. The pea plants are growing so big I even had to attach the plant support so they’d have something to grow on.
I look forward to the day I can get the Greenstalk Mover so it doesn’t take both of us to rotate the planter so all sides get even sunlight.
The apple trees are doing great. I planted basil with them this weekend. It’s supposed to be a pest and deer deterrent.
There are lot of leaves on both trees!
The kale has sprouted
And, finally, it’s hard to tell in this picture so you’ll have to trust me, but, everything in the raised bed is sprouting.
Peas, carrots, lettuce, broccoli, radishes
It sure makes my heart happy to see the things I planted actually growing 💖
The Sticks Aren’t Dead!
A mystery was solved this weekend.
Since we planted our apple trees in November, they have looked like dead sticks. I have been watching them for weeks for signs of life. No more!
Hooray! They’re alive!
Day of Remembrance
Yesterday was the 57th anniversary of The Great Alaska Good Friday Earthquake.
This was probably the most profound event of my life and it has had life-long effects.
This magnitude 9.2 megathrust earthquake, lasted four minutes and thirty-eight seconds. It was, and remains, the most powerful earthquake recorded in North American history, and the second most powerful recorded in world history. 115 lives were lost in Alaska. Effects were felt around the world. There was tsunami damage not only in Alaska but throughout the Pacific region, resulting in 16 lives lost in Oregon and California. Seiche waves (waves in an enclosed or partially enclosed body of water, like a boat harbor or swimming pool) were noted as far away as Louisiana, where a number of fishing boats were sunk. Oscillations in the height of water in wells were reported as far away as South Africa.
Click on this picture to watch a short video about the event:
The pieces in this picture used to be one building, an elementary school in Anchorage
I was an eight-year old child when the Earthquake hit. My teenaged brother was outside having a snowball fight with the neighbors; I was at the kitchen table mixing up some pancake batter to cook for a quick dinner so my brother and I could go to the movies. When the table first shook, I thought it was because of the electric mixer I was using. I turned it off and when I turned it back on all the dishes came flying out of the cupboards. My brother ran in, picked me up, carried me out of the house, and put me in the car. Then he went back for the dog. When she was in the car with me, I wailed at him to rescue my turtles, which he did. (Such a nice brother!)
Our house was not badly damaged. There were other houses, however, that were not just damaged or destroyed (my piano teacher’s house, just a block away, was snapped in two) — they were Gone. The ground under one particular neighborhood in Anchorage, Turnagain Heights, collapsed into Cook Inlet.
I think this may be when I, even though just a child, started understanding the absolute necessity that we must be as prepared and self-reliant as possible.
Only one hospital was left functioning and, naturally, it and first responders were immediately overwhelmed. Most of the time the first responders were whoever was nearby – like the people who rescued a woman from her car after a concrete slab from the JC Penney building crushed it.
Many roads were impassable. Though my brother and I were home at the time, my Mom was at work. She spent some frantic hours trying to get home to us. My dad was out of the state on business when the earthquake hit. Communications were down and he didn’t know if we were even alive for three days.
Help from Outside (Alaskans call the rest of the world “Outside”) was not easily obtained – not just because of the distance from the rest of the United States but because roads, airports, and seaports were damaged or destroyed. There were towns in Alaska that did not have their one road in and out of town repaired for months. I think it was a year before we could drive down the Seward Highway all the way from Anchorage through to the city of Seward. Even then, you could still see boats from the harbor and train cars from the railroad that had been thrown across to the opposite side of town. In many areas on that particular trip, the road was gravel – they just poured it in on top of where the road used to be.
Groceries? New supplies weren’t coming in a hurry. Bills due? My mom couldn’t go back to work for weeks because of the damage to her office. Less than a month later, my father had been killed in a plane crash after taking the governor with supplies and a survey team to Valdez – one of the towns that had been completely wiped out.
My memories of that day and the time after, although overwhelmed with visions of destruction of property and devastation of lives, also include that there were so many heroes and helpers and acts of service and communities working together. Some of these I witnessed, some I heard about, some will never be known. Like I said before, this event and it’s aftermath, affected me to my core.
For several years now, Alaska has recognized March 27th as a Remembrance Day for this historic event. Here is this year’s proclamation from Alaska’s Governor:
Great Alaska Good Friday Earthquake Remembrance Day
March 26, 2021
WHEREAS, emergency preparedness is extremely vital for survival in times of crisis; and
WHEREAS, as one of the world’s most seismically active regions, Alaska is highly vulnerable to earthquakes. Of the 20 largest earthquakes in United States history, 16 of them have occurred in Alaska; and
WHEREAS, on March 27, 1964, Alaska was devastated by the Great Alaska Good Friday Earthquake. With a magnitude of 9.2, it was the most powerful earthquake in United States history, the second most powerful recorded worldwide, and in its wake shattered numerous Alaskan communities; and
WHEREAS, the damage of resulting landslides, avalanches, and tsunamis was severe and devastating. In Alaska, Oregon, and California 131 lives were lost along with the damage and destruction of millions of dollars in infrastructure; and
WHEREAS, on this day, the 57th anniversary, we are reminded just how precious life is and we honor all those whose lives were lost or affected by this colossal force of nature, including the courageous first responders, servicemen, and volunteers who sacrificed their time, energy, and lives to assist rescue and relief efforts; and
WHEREAS, we celebrate and honor Alaskans supporting each other and collaborating to rebuild affected communities; providing us with inspiring examples of determination and sense of community; and
WHEREAS, although this day shattered many families, communities, and Alaska as a whole, it forged a safer path forward for our Great State and our nation by advancing our knowledge of earthquake preparedness and earthquake sciences. Planning, emergency kits, and regular practice drills are vital for all Alaskans to be better prepared for the next natural disaster or emergency.
NOW THEREFORE, I, Mike Dunleavy, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF ALASKA, do hereby proclaim March 27, 2021 as:
Great Alaska Good Friday Earthquake Remembrance Day
in Alaska, and on this 57th anniversary of the Great Alaska Earthquake, encourage all Alaskans to educate themselves on earthquake safety procedures, participate in commemorative activities, such as exhibits, conferences, and planned community emergency response exercises, and to remember those whose lives were lost that fateful day. I also order all State flags to be lowered to half-staff on March 27, 2021.
Source: Office of Governor Mike Dunleavy
Life and Death on the “Farm”
This weekend we had a little sun, after another week of cold and rain. I was concerned the seeds I planted last weekend would not survive. They did!
The arrows are lettuce sprouts! The circle is a pea sprout!
There was a disaster this weekend, too. Sunday, Oscar was holding Eager (the broody hen) and she jumped down and squished one of her eggs. The chick was cheeping for awhile but, while it’s pretty close to when it would have hatched, I really didn’t think it would make it. We left Eager alone on the nest for the rest of the day hoping for a little Mama Hen magic. The chick was still alive Sunday night but I still didn’t think it would live. I knew that when the mama gave up on it, though, she would chuck it out of the nest. Sure enough, when I came home from work Monday night, the body had been dumped from the nest and I disposed of it. The other brown egg disappeared without a trace more than a week ago. Last weekend, we found the blue egg buried in the bedding rather than right under mama hen so we don’t know it’s fate. Being a legbar egg, it will probably take another day or two to hatch if it is going to hatch. We’ll just have to wait and see.
In other news: we didn’t do much work outside this weekend but we did get the compost pile defined. Up to this point we’ve just had a pile of stuff. Now it has a well-deliniated place to belong. If all goes as it should, perhaps next year I won’t have to buy dirt.
I also got two more of the large planters I brought from Cheyenne cleaned out and ready to fill with something. I don’t know what I will plant in them yet. I was considering asparagus, but so much of this year’s garden is a “building” year with all the perennials I’ve been planting. I’m kind of wanting something to show for all our work this year. Perennials are an act of faith in the future with their growth following the pattern “first year sleeps, second year creeps, third year leaps.” We’ll just have to see what I decide.
I watched a virtual seminar presented by homesteaders from all over the US last week. It was organized by Drew and Lacey at The Schoolhouse Life. It was quite well done and, while I skipped a bunch of presentations on topics I’m not interested in or am not ready for, I learned plenty. One thing I was excited to learn was that I can use cedarwood, peppermint, and lemongrass essential oils in my plant water each week to repel a variety of garden pests. I ordered those oils right away! I hope it works because snails, slugs, moths, ants, and mosquitos, have been a real problem for me and if I can get rid of them with essential oils rather than pesticides, that’s a good thing.
Chicken Saddles
Road Runner, the nice rooster we kept, has been riding the hens too hard so we got them some chicken saddles.
See how he’s tearing up their backs and shredding their feathers?
The answer to that was to get the girls some chicken saddles, of course.
A chicken saddle is just a piece of cloth that covers the hen’s back. To put them on, you just slip the elastic bands around their wings and over their shoulders.
It was pretty easy to get the saddles on the two Legbar hens but, we needed a bit of drama, so the hen we put the green saddle on started attacking the one with the purple spirals. We tried changing it to the reverse side, which is plain black fabric but there was enough purple showing that the twit kept beating up the sweetie. So, we swapped saddles and put the purple spirals on the one, who we now call Pecky, and no more drama. Apparently she was jealous and wanted the purple swirls. At least now we can tell the difference between the two.
Then, we put one on Eager (the broody hen). She was not impressed and started pecking at the wing straps and flinging herself on the ground to try to get it off. We relented and removed it. We’ll work on her in stages until it’s acceptable attire.
Road Runner has chewed off much of Eager’s comb so I guess I’ll have to get chicken bonnets next.
What do you think?
Spring Weather
While my friends in Wyoming and Colorado are being pummeled by a snow storm this weekend, we have enjoyed temperatures in the 70’s and 80’s.
I do not miss the spring storms in Wyoming. Just about the time you’re done with Winter, Wyoming says, “Wait, I forgot the snow.” Most years more snow falls March through May than the entire rest of winter. Even worse, it teases you. You get to experience a week or two or several of glorious weather, and about the time you are lured into thinking winter’s done, it dumps another two or more feet on you in a weekend. Then it does it again – lovely weather, massive snow storm – over and over through May.
This was what their weekend looked like.
We took advantage of North Carolina’s fine weather to get things done outside. After all, with the return of Spring in the South, you get the return of bugs. So, we’re trying to get our big outdoor tasks done early in the season before we get overrun.
One project was completed that has been on the list for nearly 10 years. The previous owners had tossed an old porch and deck into the back woods. Last weekend, we finally cleared it out of there and loaded it into Old Yeller, the truck. This weekend, Oscar took the wood to the dump. It definitely took longer to get around to than it should have, but, it’s done.
Last weekend, I assembled and filled my Greenstalk vertical planter with dirt. Each level takes about 1 liter of dirt – that’s a whole bag per level! I wasn’t willing to spend the price for potting soil, so I made my own by combining my bags of significantly less expensive garden soil, with peat moss and perlite. I got the “recipe” off the internet. I saved a lot of money doing it that way and it was only a little extra work. This weekend, after thoroughly soaking the dirt in each level and topping each off with a scoop or two of soil, I planted some of the seeds for my spring vegetables.
I planted carrots on the top level, followed by peas, then broccoli, then mixed lettuces, and finally, on the bottom level, Easter Egg radishes. Grow, little seeds, grow!
I cleared out more of the unwanted growth from the raised bed we covered a couple weeks ago. It’s not quite ready to plant yet though. I also scrubbed out a large planter I brought from Cheyenne (I have used it for everything but planting since I’ve been here, smh). I hope to plant both with more spring vegetables next weekend.
The big project I wanted to get done, though, didn’t get done. We were supposed to build the extended run. It was one of those comedy of errors that leaves you trying to decide if you should kick yourself or laugh.
Last year, after finally finishing the chicken coop, I discovered the “hoop coop” while watching a You Tube episode by Living Traditions Homestead. It is much easier and less expensive to build than the coop we built, which was less expensive than anything else we had found up to that point. I decided back then that we would build a hoop coop for the extended run.
We’d collected almost all the necessary supplies over the past few weeks so after one last trip to Home Depot for some L-brackets and screws, we got started on what should have been a couple hour project.
The first complication came when we ripped the Chunnel off the coop but couldn’t let the chickens out to free range because a hawk was hanging out. (I think it got one of the Three Amigos as I haven’t seen the white hen for a couple of days.) So, they had to stay in the coop while we worked.
By the time it got dark, after making the fourth trip to Home Depot for the day, this is all we had accomplished.
Isn’t that just pitiful?
The unfortunate thing was that we couldn’t leave it until next weekend. Since we’d removed the Chunnel the coop was not secure and the chickens could not be left in the itty bitty run of the original coop for a week. So, we continued working the next day.
The idiocy continued the next day when our extra-spiffy metal zip ties disappeared. The annoying thing was, we had them the day before. We looked everywhere (including the freezer; you know, just in case) but they were no where to be found. These ties had been recommended by our friends at Wilding Acres Farm because they are better to use on cattle panels than plastic zip ties. Under the circumstances, we had to revert to using the plastic ones but, naturally, we didn’t have very many of them.
We did just enough to keep the chickens safe for the week. We got the hoops up. We got the gaps covered with chicken wire. We put a tarp over it for protection from sun and rain. But we didn’t build the entrance. We worked a temporary solution with some plywood that let’s us go in but, hopefully, keeps the boogie men out.
It sure looks stupid
Oh, and yes, when we were putting things away, we found the darn metal zip ties.
Chickens Down the Road
A few weeks ago, the neighbors down the road started letting their chickens free range during the day. Well, actually, they might have started before that, so maybe I should say that’s when the chickens decided to leave their yard.
Usually it’s just three particular chickens from his flock. The rest stay in their own yard. The ones that tend to wander are a bantam rooster, a white hen, and a black and white hen. I’ve started calling them the Three Amigos.
It’s been funny to watch as first they got up as far as the roadside. Then they crossed the road and were digging around across from their yard. After a couple of weeks I noticed them slowly working their way up the road. Two weeks ago, they wandered up the neighbors driveway. A few days later they were trotting down the middle of the road in front of my house.
At first I thought the rooster was trying to figure out where the other crowing was coming from (my house). Upon closer observation, though, it appeared he might actually be the voice of reason in the group. I would see the hens wander into a wooded area as he’d frantically try to round them up and head them toward home.
Finally, on Sunday they came up my driveway and spent an hour enjoying themselves in the leaves along the driveway and scratching around in the front yard.
I wonder if the neighbor has figured out how far they’ve been roaming?
Growlie Chicken
Eager is broody. She wants to raise babies and has created a nesting spot. When we approach, she growls. It’s hysterical to hear! I took a video to insert here but haven’t figured out how to do that, so just think miniature Chewbacca.
The thing with Eager as a broody hen is that, unless we force her off the nest, she stays put. So, everyday we don our gloves (in case she decides to peck us) and lift her off the nest and out of the coop where she sits on the ground like a lump, growling at us. We give her a little time to get over herself then force her to stand up and walk around. We have to shut the coop door, though, or she’ll run right back to her nest. After awhile, she gets impatient and starts flinging herself against the door as if she can magic herself through it. We don’t torture her for long though. Once we see her eat, drink, and poop we let her back in.
I ordered my batch of chicks to arrive in June and wasn’t expecting this development. Nevertheless, I decided to let her keep a few eggs to see what happens. I am letting her set on three eggs: two of her own eggs and one that a Legbar hen snuck into the nest. (I would have liked to have seen that bit of drama!)
This newest, though unexpected, adventure will show 1) if she’s a good mother, and, 2) if we kept the right rooster (aka, is Road Runner doing his job?). It will also be interesting to see what a Blue Belle/Legbar cross looks like (the blue egg).
As a result of the “Eager Development”, the building schedule for the hoop house and chicken coop changes has to be adjusted from April/May to the next two weekends.
In other Spring news: on Friday, after three days without rain, I noticed the nearby farm fields have sprouted and are that lovely shade of Spring green that lifts the spirits. Then Saturday, I noticed leaves have opened on my azalea bushes. Winter is on it’s way out!
The boysenberries stayed hung up in Greensboro, so I called Gurney’s. Their boysenberries are out of stock so they issued me a credit rather than replacing them. No! I Want My Boysenberries!
Not to be outwitted, I immediately got online and ordered some from Burpee’s. Naturally, the Gurney’s order arrived a few days later. Now I need to call them back and have them cancel part of the credit. Only part because one was green and the other appears to be a dead stick. I planted both, however, because I really don’t know how to tell when bare root stock is alive or dead. Once the Burpee’s order arrives, I will plant them and we can see which ones work best.
You have to look really closely to see the sticks!
I also filled my Greenstalk planter with soil. I didn’t plant it yet though. I ran out of time and energy this weekend so that task has been pushed to next weekend.
I really should have bought the rolling base when it was on sale
I’m looking forward to Spring 😊
Two Chickens Homestead 
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