Tag: Garden

Come see how they grow

 This is a busy time of year for anyone tending a farm, whether it’s a hobby farm or something on a much larger scale. There is always work to be done.. watering, weeding, tilling, fence mending, fertilizing…and then of course the harvesting.  My morning chores include all the animal tending, mucking, feeding, etc.. then over to the gardens to water.

We currently need rain, but everything is looking full and happy.

 
 
 

Let’s head over to the chicken coop.. currently overcrowded with the new chick population, now incorporated with the old.  It’s smart not to overcrowd your coop with too many chickens.. and I kinda fell in love with a few more chicks at the feed store than I had planned on. Then.. ALL of them lived, which doesn’t usually happen… and so, I have a few more than a real chicken knowledgable person would tell you is appropriate for this coop.  But.. I do let them free roam during the day, and so that will help the overcrowding.  I hope.

As I walk over to the coop, the older girls know I’m about to let them out and they are waiting impatiently for me to get there.  If I could give you a sound bite, you would hear them clucking.

Once they are let out of the coop yard, they usually head right over to the side of the house and rummage through my seaside real estate garden for bugs and worms. 

The youngsters aren’t old enough yet to free roam, and so they get the coop yard to themselves for a bit, something they like very much, because they are at the bottom of the pecking order right now as they are the new kids on the block.

Can you believe that just a few months ago they were fuzzy little chicks?

This is Bellatrix.. the little brown chick who sat on my son’s shoulder. She is a blue egg laying Auracana (Sp?) … and what an unusual feather color pattern she has!

This is Luna, a comet – very docile and curious hen.

 Up at the barn, Coady and Lacey sure wish they had more pasture time, but minis are hard to keep at a healthy body weight… they get fat on little more than air! and have to settle for the hay that is a little less rich than the green pasture grass just on the other side of the fence. 

 It seems unfair that the big boys get to spend their days coming and going…. and coming and going… and coming and going… from the barn to pasture as they please.   The constant in and out is because the flies drive them crazy after just so long and they come running back in for respite every hour or so.

  There is a lot of work involved in tending a farm, but it’s a good life and I feel so very blessed to be able to do this -for a living-.    For years my days were spent more often than not in an office punching numbers and letters into a computer. One of those offices had no exterior windows.  On the really cold or hot days when I’m outside working I remind myself of that windowless office and I thank the powers that be, once again, for letting me live this life with these animals and nature. 

For me.. that’s a beautiful thing.

Zero Gravity

  That’s what the sign said….. a “Zero Gravity”  chair…  and it was just $38,  which would lead me to believe it’s probably made out of crap.  However, I sat in it… and.. super comfortable. You sorta feel weightless.. I guess that was the point.  Felt very sturdy, even.  Easy to fold up and take with you! The headrest is easily adjustable too.

  So I got two for me and the Mr.

 

 My son and I sat out here this morning, weightless in our zero gravity chairs…… Perhaps for a little stretch  of time we were also weightless in other ways as we took in the rolling hay fields, the flowering pots, the water flowing in the fountain,  the vegetable plants, the dogs lazing beneath our seats,  admiring how very green and full and filled in the backyard now looks as opposed to  just a few years ago.   We were quiet for a while, and then he said… “you know what I love most about home?  Sitting out here is like being on vacation. “

 

 

That’s what it’s all about. Your outdoor space is another way to -feather your nest- make your home an oasis, and you know I chirp about that often on this blog.  It’s true the size of your budget can determine just how crazy you can or can’t  get with the feathers…   but as I’ve said before, you can create an oasis, a place of rest, on any budget.  Fill your home (and garden!) with things you love.   Perennials can be bought cheap as this season winds down, within a few years they double and fill out.  Invest in a few decent chairs – lounge, folding, whatever your style.. a few nice pots.. (I found some big ceramics at Ocean State Job lot for $12.00) ..fill them with colorful annuals or herbs or whatever appeals to you. No shade?  An umbrella then.  It’s so worth the effort to create those inviting spaces. Life is hectic. Make your space to unwind and let it go,  don’t be too busy to sit for a spell….and  become weightless for just a little.

Misty Morning on the Farm

 I am thankful every single day for the animals and farm that grace my life.  This morning I walked around with camera in hand and gratitude in my heart.   

… even for the  mouse family I discovered in a large bucket in the tack room, since relocated.



 
 
Opie looking for a peppermint treat

 
 
Lacey and Coady with morning hay

The Egg Plant
 
 
 
 
One of my originals and my favorite chicken, Rose.
She is the friendliest and lays light blue eggs –

 
The hens love to free roam and I allow it often.
Great bug control.
 


 
 
Andie is calling for her hen friend, Henrietta,  who is still in the nesting box
laying an egg… 
 
 
With Raven, apparently.
 
 
 
 
 
These are a few of the youngsters, not yet grown enough
to join the other hens.

 
Now that breakfast grain is finished, Opie and Max have gone out to pasture. 

 
 
At 27 years of age, Max is still in great shape.
Max is not a big fan of grain and hay… often not finishing his meals in winter.
He always fills out so much nicer in summer, when the pasture is rich.
 


Down at the house, the perennial gardens are in their forth year and are filling out nicely.
 
 

 
The vegetable gardens are planted and beginning to thrive.
It’s been a slow start. Weird weather, etc. 

Zinnia and Tomatoes in this bed.
 

 
Lettuce, onions, shallots, garlic, parsley and basil in the other.


 
 
My potted “Stuff” is very happy….
mostly begonias, which are so easy to keep happy.

 
 

 
 
The knockout roses suffered a blow from green worms…
thanks to Connie at Hartwood Roses I got info on how to treat it and they are gone.
But, the foliage is tattered.


 
Have a good weekend, all –  we’ve got another adoption event coming up.
More on that in the next post.  If you’re local and looking for a new family
member, have we got the dog for you! 


The Trickle Down Effect

  No.. I’m not talking about politics or economics or wealth  distribution or lack thereof … I’m talking that trickling down I almost hear as I sit on the lounge chair and R.E.L.A.X as the water gently drip drips over the sides of the  newly installed  fountain, pitter pattering and rippling  in a way that soothes the soul.  

 Or so one would think.

Apparently…. this particular fountain… makes an -annoying- drip drip drip drip drip noise… if you’re asking  my significant other.

 Suck it up, buttercup.

  Seriously.. I was concerned that this item I lusted over for well over a year would arrive and we’d install it and I’d say  GOOD GAWD, that is GAUDY.    To avoid this if at all possible, I hauled rocks out of the woods and made a rock,shrub and perennial border in hopes that it would soften the look.  And I believe it has.  I absolutely love it.  I have always found water to be soothing and this fountain adds to the serenity I try to create in our living spaces.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

  The installation was not for sissies, however. chopping out the grass, complete with good ole Connecticut rocks,  for the mini garden and then assembling and leveling this sucker was no easy feat.

 Then *we* broke the pump while inspecting it, and discovered there were no stoppers in the drain holes.    Nothing worthwhile is ever easy, right?  I just keep whispering that very sentiment in the Mr.’s ear as he accustoms himself to that annoying – drip drip drip – in between trips to the hardware store.

     I’ve always been a huge fan of making a house a “home”.  No matter what kind of life you live, we can all count on things that will frustrate, frazzle, test our last nerve.  Home should be a haven where we can sit for a while and rest, relax, rejuvenate, recharge.   No matter what your budget, little touches can make a big difference.   Candles, sea shells, plants, pillows in vibrant colors, photos or a child’s artwork on a refrigerator with fun magnets, a new soap in the soap dish, a pot of geraniums or impatiens at the front door.  It doesn’t have to be BIG things like an ornate water fountain.  You know it’s true – sometimes the people with the biggest balance in their checkbook are the most unhappy.  Be good to yourself and feather YOUR nest with the things that bring you happiness, peace of mind, remind you of what you love, more importantly WHO you love. (and one of those people should be YOU.)

    In my best Forrest Gump impression –  That’s all I’m gonna say about that.

Tacky?

 Hmmmm… I often go back and forth over something I happen to be lusting after for This Old House.  For over a year now I have admired and coveted this particular fountain at the local garden center.  The guy and I were in there yesterday buying a few things for the vegetable garden and I stopped and goggled and maybe even begged a little in his general direction.

 
 
It’s about my height. 
Really. 

 
 
 We’ve pretty much decided we are not putting a pool in, too much work and the kids are grown and you know how everyone says… Oh, I’ll do the work! I’ll clean it! I’ll do the water testing!… and it doesn’t happen. We’ve been down that road  twice and I do not want to go back to pulling dead or almost dead frogs out of the skimmers….AND..  I’m the only one in this house willing to do so,      SO!… my logic is, and this was my sales pitch…. here’s our peaceful water without all the hassle! 
 
And since I knew it had been setting there in that greenhouse for over a year… I figured they might be willing to bargain a little to unload it.   They sure did!… and the husband without so much as an eye roll whipped out the card and said.. OK then… as long as it’s my fathers day gift and there will be no more purchases for that particular reason. 
 
How could a girl resist?!
 
 I do love Newport and all those impossible mansions with their ornateness and stonework and opulence… and this fountain and the small garden design I plan to put around it is just a touch of Newport here at This Old House.  I can just imaging the serenity of that cascading, gently rippling water.. if only I could hear it!
 
  I’ll keep you posted, don’t you know it.    It’s a new day all… I hope you have a good one.
 
 
 
 
 
 


Rain kissed

 
 

 
 
 
Two baby blue eggs and a pink..my chickens gift to me last night.
 
 

 
 
..and a quick chick update…
can you believe how fast they’ve grown from fuzzy little chicks
to more than doubled in size and feathered?
It’s been just four weeks.
 
Bellatrix and Hermoine seen here.

 
 
I went to the feed and lumber store yesterday for wheels for the livestock gates.
They didn’t have any… so I brought home one more chick..
because sometimes that’s how I roll… 
 
See that little black head sticking out in the rear on the right?
She’s a Black Star, an excellent egg layer and a pretty chicken.
A leftover from the feedstore’s -Chick Day -,
 I had to give her a home, you see. 
 
She snuggled right in with the rest.  Who wants to give her a name? 

Learning as we Grow

 It’s a glorious spring weekend and I sure hope you’re able to get out there and enjoy it… stick your hands in the dirt, go for a walk , a bike, a hike.. breathe it all in, soak it up, the earth is alive again!

 The men moved our little apple grove  yesterday.  A few years ago we planted apple trees down in the low areas near the house, garage and chicken coop, at the base of the hill where the horses live.  They have not thrived, the reason being they don’t like a whole lot of WET.  Where we originally planted them is a water shed area of sorts, not a great location for a small grove of apple trees.  We finally figured out that when we visit other thriving apple orchards, they are located on hills.  The trees are now planted up on the hill behind the house.  – learning as we grow!

 
 


 
 
Old boy Max grazing…

 
 
Opie feeling good in this fine weather…  

 
 
Vegetable seedlings sprouting.. begonias waiting for
a little milder weather before they are planted outside
 

The chickens favorite dust bath spot next to the garage. 
We gave up on a decent flower bed.

 
 
 
The new chicks with even more feathers just a few days after
their last photo shoot. 

 
 
This is our big purchase from the garden center a few weeks back…
a lovely garden trellis made of giant old blueberry bush vines.
It was made by an artist and located on a Newport, RI Estate
until recently.  We found it at Balleks Garden center and it
now resides between our two raised garden beds. I’ll show you a better
photo when it has some greenery around it and the braces have been removed.  

 
Neighbors across the street have some beautiful ducks… who are not happy
with a new construction project going on over there.  So, they’ve decided
HERE is a more peaceful place to hang out.  I sure hope the coyotes don’t get
them, as I don’t have a duck house and the chicken coop is already full. 
They are happy in this particular spot because it has a waterway running  through it…
This is where the apple tries TRIED to live.
 
 
 

It’s a new day, all – make it a good one! 

Glorious

 Oh, what a beautiful morning.. .oh what a beautiful day….

Seriously, we’ve had some incredible weather this weekend, and we took full advantage by cleaning up and planting and mucking and brushing horses and walking and talking, etc…

My son picked his favorite chick and has been spending quality time with her….

 

Driving down Route 1 Saturday night, we spotted this Cupola type vent at the thrift store and Mike is probably going back today to make an offer. This is the same place that I found my Mobo Bronco metal horse, and the man who runs the place isn’t big on -making a deal-. 
 
 
 
 


 The side porch has been scrubbed with bleach and Ben is happily sunning himself once again. Danes don’t have much of a coat, so the winter months are hard on a big boy like this… he’s had to be indoors most of the time this winter with brief runs out to the yard to do his business. 

 
 
 
I had forgotten all the bulbs we planted last fall around the fenceline in the backyard. They’re coming up in full force, atleast sixty or so tulips, should be a pretty show in a few weeks time.


 

I got the pansies I bought at Balleks last week in the ground and bought this blue ceramic birdbath for $35 at Ocean State Job lot.  It’s huge, a great  deal for such a big piece of pottery.  I’ve also cleaned up my “seaside real estate garden” and had to dig out some large clumps of grass that were threatening to take it over.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Once the perennials fill in, this  area will look much more abundant with blooms
and greenery.
 

 
 

 The zinnia seeds have sprouted, veggies still under the dirt.

 

Last summers geraniums have been brought out to the greenhouse after wintering on a sunny window sill inside….

 
 
 …and dear Opie was a bit incredulous yesterday as he realized he was going BACK TO WORK!  I’m not much of  a winter rider with the ground frozen hard and my tolerance for cold weather at ZERO once I’ve spent an hour mucking and breaking up ice buckets .  Indeed, I am a fair weather rider, and so Opie gets months of off-duty living.  Today he gets front shoes back on and we are set to go!   All of the horses are shedding their winter coats. Quite often I return from the barn wearing what they shed off. 
 
 
 
 


 
We’ve got some busy weeks ahead… an eighteen birthday,  Senior Prom, first horse show of the season for K and Max, Easter Dinner here at this old house with the extended family –
 
It’s all good –  and.. it’s a new day, people.  Make it a good one.