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Sunday, August 24, 2008

Why our garden should have a fence




The chickens have won the battle for who gets to eat the most tomatoes. The blasted things took forever to start bearing, because, of course, the bok-boks ate all the blooms off the bottom half of the plants! Then when they finally started getting some fruit on them, they picked off all the ones they could jump up and reach. Yum! Tasty treat. Oh, yeah, not to mention all the lovely cucumbers, peppers and pumpkins they devoured. Number one on the To-Do List for Fall: build the damn fence!

It seems we can now trust Lucy around the chickens. Of course we can! They're like a walking, squawking smorgasbord. She just follows them around waiting for snacks to pop out their butts! Why would she ever want to limit the amount of chicken poop she can eat in a day!

David left for Germany today and will be gone all week. No cooking for me! I'm planning to reduce the amount of leftovers that threaten to take over my fridge. This evening I've already dined on the remains of Thursday's dinner. Scallops with linguine in tomato-cream sauce. Yum! Awaiting me in the days ahead are spaghetti with portobello marinara, some pork loin that I smoked yesterday with added BBQ sauce and pork fried rice. I love using leftovers creatively.

Goldie is getting vewwwy interested in the nesting boxes. I found her sitting in there this morning after all the others were outside. She was the first one to investigate them. I checked her vent this afternoon and it's nice and moist and seems to be a little swollen, so that's a good sign that it won't be long! Maybe I will win The First Egg contest between Amy, Don, Ron and me.

So, Henry, the champion crowing machine (45 times in a row, dare to compare), is going to live with my mother-in-law, Phyllis. She has been wanting him for a while and I just can't take the incessant crowing anymore. I'm afraid the neighbors will lynch him some day when I'm out. And what's worse, he tried to flog one of the grandkids a couple of days ago. Nathan was chasing Kaitlyn in the yard and she was screaming like a two-year-old is wont to do and Henry flew up at Nathan with his feet going for his face. Thank goodness he doesn't have his spurs yet and he didn't quite have the hang of it, so he was unsuccessful, but it was a little scary when you realize the damage he could do in the future. One more reason to ship him off. If we didn't have that option, he would be Sunday dinner.

And, last but not least, just wanted to add a few cute pics I've taken in the past few days.




5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yep, your garden needs a fence! I'm toying with the idea of starting a garden next year. If I do the whole darned thing will have to be fenced.

Lucy likes chickie poo? Hmmm, I guess there's no accounting for taste! Yuck-O! Enjoy your week to yourself. It sounds like you've got better grub in your fridge than I do, no fair! Your chickens are so nice looking. How do you like your Speckled Sussex? That's one of the breeds I want to try next year. I've heard they're very nice, good layers and not too flighty. Yes, I do think you're going to win the first egg contest. You have a Golden Comet, so you've got the advantage! I had a talk with my girls tonight and the Australorps said they are going to start laying very soon. The Barred Rocks just laughed at me and demanded more food! The nerve!

Henry is a handsome boy and I know he's going to be one spoiled roo at your MIL's. I'm so glad he wasn't able to do any damage when he attacked your grandson. That would be really scary. I think I would have killed him on the spot!

Love the grandkids photos. The one little girl looks so sweet talking with the chickies. They're half her height! She must be one petite little girl!

Susan said...

Amy, don't even bother having a garden unless it's completely fenced. They won't leave anything alone, except jalapeno peppers! Apparently, they can taste spicy heat and don't like it!

Oh, yes, Lucy loves the poop. It's a doggy diner delight! And mine isn't the only one. Most of the BYC people w/dogs say the same thing.

I love the SS hens. They both have Native American names, sorta kinda. Lauren named the friendly one Little Feather, so I named the other one Little Sparrow. They're just kind of quiet and go about their business. Great foragers and not flighty at all. Their plumage is just gorgeous in the sun. The brown feathers have that teal green sheen when the light hits them. It doesn't show up that well in a picture, or at least I haven't been able to capture it.

Yes, that was scary when Henry attacked Nathan. Luckily, Nathan didn't realize what was going on so it didn't frighten him. I think Henry was just trying to protect Kaitlyn, but for whatever reason it happened, it can't happen again. Probably if I could have caught Henry, he would have been one dead son-of-a-gun!

Kaitlyn is petite, but if she stays that way, it will be because she takes after her dad's side of the family. Her mommy, Aimee, is 5'9", as I am. David is 6'2", Jaye is 6'4", and Josh was 6'6". I'll tell you about Josh someday.

JackeeG4glamorous said...

Susan,
Can I come stay with you for a week or weekend every year? I'm no bother really, I do dishes and windows,and maybe I can even clean out the chicken coop. Your home sounds lively and fun!
I like your blog. It's like a weekend vacation for me.

Cute grandbabes, keep Lucy away from thier diapers!

JackeeG4glamorous said...

Oh, and Susan, when you get a chance, pick up The Time Traveler's Wife. Not like Diana Gabaldon, but really wierd and interesting. And a love story of sorts.
-Jackee

Susan said...

Hey, Jackee, sure, come on down! It's pretty much like a comedy club inside an insane asylum, but there's always room for one more lunatic! But only if you can make me laugh!

I think I have The Time Traveler's Wife around here somewhere, or maybe I loaned it to my MIL before I had a chance to read it. She's coming for a visit tomorrow. I'll call and have her bring it home.

Thanks for your nice comments. I love your blog, too. Makes me laugh and sometimes cry.