Weather: A front is approaching and it's supposed to rain for the next three or four days. Temperatures will remain in the low to mid 60's because of the rain, but will hopefully rise into the 70's this weekend. In spite of the fact that we've had a lot of rain recently, the ground seems bone dry. The little boys come in every night covered in a layer of dust that builds up in the bottom of the bathtub.
In bloom: Those darn peonies are STILL not blooming. Pip and Pop have been picking the buds to give to me. If they take any longer to become flowers, there just aren't going to be flowers, period. Our cinquefoil bush erupted into flower today, though, and the rose bush's buds are swelling. The irises are in full bloom, and I am thinking that I might need to divide them this year.
Oh, and the wild strawberries that dot the lawn are just about ripe!
Birds: I left a cardboard box from a plant delivery on the outside table, and a wren has been filling it with sticks. I had seen (and heard) the wren perched on the chair next to the table, but Katydid (of course) was the one who had seen it bringing sticks. I peeked in the box today and sure enough, the corner of the box is full of twigs. I was confused because it wasn't a nest, per se, and Katydid told me that wrens often fill a spot they want to use next nesting season with sticks to prevent other birds from nesting in it. Considering the fact that the wrens also destroy the young of other species so they can take over their nests, I find that rather uppity. But I still like to hear the wrens sing.
A phoebe is nesting in the eaves of the outer garage and every time we open the door to check on the chicks and turkeys, it buzzes us. Scares me half to death, even when I'm expecting it.
Wildlife: None to report but mice in the house. I caught one of them last week, but another has already taken its place. Ah, the joys of life in the country. Usually we don't see any this time of year, though, so I wonder what's going on.
In the garden: None of the corn we planted came up. Zero. We think the crows got it. This weekend we scrambled out to buy new corn seed to replant. Replanting is a big deal in this climate; we went ahead and planted Kandy Korn again (our favorite), but with 89 days to harvest... we're pushing first frost here.
On the positive side: the little boys pulled the rest of the radishes for me, and I was able to positively ID which radishes Pip had actually planted. French Breakfast. So we can plant them again. The spinach and lettuce are now big enough that we can make salad from the thinnings, and my tiny little tomato plants are just getting blossoms.
In the barnyard: Otherwise known as "the outer garage". Last Wednesday, the kids and I were called to the post office to pick up 50+ chicks. One of the Ameracaunas died en route -- it was in the corner and looked as if it had probably been suffocated -- and two of the Delawares (which we will be raising for meat and eggs) died in the first few days. But overall, chickens are definitely hardier than turkeys. (We lost yet another turkey last week, bringing our count down to 9, and one of those has a leg problem.) All 10 of Katydid's bantams made it through all right, though. She took pictures on the first day:
We ordered 30 meat chickens (Delaware, White Rock -- the little yellow fuzzballs) and 12 layers (Speckled Sussex, Ameracauna -- the "Easter Egg" chicken, and Black Jersey Giant).
Black and Barred Old English bantams.
A closer look at the bantams, which were really teeny-tiny a week ago.
Speckled Sussex...
Black Jersey Giant...
Ameracauna...
One of the few remaining Blue Slate turkeys...
This is a Naragansett turkey, which seem to be far hardier than the Blue Slates and Bourbon Reds. We've only lost one of them, but we've lost three of each of the other kinds.
Here are the turkeys all together. They've still got a few weeks left in the brooder.
Of course, I'm not telling the whole story. Andy was out of town when the chicks arrived, and we couldn't get the heat lamps set up right (they were the clamp-on kind, but kept falling off... not exactly fire-safe... so we had to hang them), and it got cold that night, and that was the reason another turkey died. Fortunately, there is Katydid. She has really been doing most of the chicken care. Andy and I check to make sure everything is okay, and we fiddle with the heat lamps, but Katydid does most of the work. (And those first couple days, it was a lot of work!)
Around the house:
So much cleaning needs to be done, especially since our Little Flowers/Blue Knights group is gathering here this coming weekend to help work in a garden we're growing for the Little Sisters of the Poor. I did manage to put my file crate back together, though, so at least we can eat on the dining room table now.
What I'm Reading: Lots of rural-related magazines: Hobby Farm Home, Hobby Farm, Backyard Poultry, Acres USA. We went to Tractor Supply this weekend. That's my only explanation.
Funny story. I was chatting with a rather patronizing public school mom earlier this week. She was so worried that poor homeschoolers would miss out on awesome school projects like raising chicks.
I love hearing about your turkeys.
Posted by: Jennifer | June 10, 2009 at 09:54 AM
That Katydid is *quite* the poultry girl! We enjoy hearing about all her care for the birds (both wild and domestic) and look forward to updates as the chicks grow.
Posted by: Kathy | June 10, 2009 at 08:44 PM