We have had some new additions to our little ‘farm’ here. My broody hen, though I should have chased her off the nest, is such a good mother, I couldn’t resist. As we have a rooster our eggs our fertilized, so I simply collected up a clutch and let her get to work. I love this photo I got of she and her little golden baby. This one, for some reason, really likes to snuggle in the wings of the hen. READ MORE
Here is mama and more of her babies. As I was not sure if her eggs would hatch (not sure why I doubted her so far she has hatched EVERY fertilized egg under her while my incubator hatches about 35-40%) I bought three new cochin chicks at our local feed store. She was still sitting on the eggs so I simply slipped them under her. She took to them straight away. And then over the past three days, her three eggs I had under her (and three duck eggs as well) hatched and now they are a happy little family. You can notice in this shot the bars of a cage. She is in a large rabbit cage that I am using for her Broody pen. Many people say to separate them from the flock, but what I found with my last hatched batch was that raising them with mama in a cage IN the chicken house is the best. The other chickens see and hear them and can walk up to the pen, yet they cannot bother the chicks or eat their food. What this resulted in, was when the last batch of chicks hatched and matured, the flock (including the rooster) took to them straight away and they were instantly integrated. Usually, when you introduce new chickens to one another, there is quite a tussle of pecking order. But I actually found that our Rooster (whom I love) was protective of the older chicks as they were abandoned from mother after they were older and he stood up for them. Now they are a happy flock. I really do love animal husbandry.
Here is my wire egg basket which goes with me to collect eggs each day and sits in my kitchen. I don’t actually refrigerate my eggs, I leave them on the counter in this open basket. I use so many eggs every day, I never worry of spoilage.
My tomato plants are doing very well and are getting big and strong. Next week they will go out to be planted in my little vegetable garden. This is the new variety I am trying. Here is the description of this variety, doesn’t it sound interesting and tasty?
She brought me some fry no bigger than a pin head and they grew to 5 inches in no time. But they were getting too big for the 30 gallon aquarium.
So, I decided to make a pond.It isn’t a huge affair. It took me one afternoon to dig it out. I made sure to dig the center deep enough so when it freezes in winter, the goldfish and koi can stay down there and go into their own form of hibernation for the cold season. You can see I have done rock work around it and planted up some lovely thyme and various mints and sedums. Mint, which you may or may not know, takes over and grows like a weed. This is good for a pond, as it lets its tendrils go into the water and will actually send out shoots into the pond itself, giving a very natural look. My goldfish and koi, though very friendly indoors, are now shy as they have only been in here two days. So, it was hard to get shots of them, but here is my big white goldfish. And here he is again with a large goldfish that started out life as a rescued feeder fish from the local pet store. I think I have a soft spot for animals, don’t you?
We have had SO much rain this Spring here on the Cape and in New England. So, this morning, between the heavy showers, I slipped out and got some shots of the flowers.
My favorite flower is the Lily of the Valley and it is so fleeting. Here is a bed on the side of the house. It stretches quite far and smells so lovely, oh it is heaven. Here is a close up of the rain droplets on the delicate little white blooms. Aren’t they breathtaking?
The lilacs are blooming outside my kitchen window as well. I just adore their scent and the color of this variety, which is quite old, is so fresh and full of Spring promise.
Well, I hope all of you are enjoying the coming Spring, except for those of you in the Southern Hemisphere are getting ready for Winter I suppose. Have a wonderful day all and Happy Homemaking.
Here is mama and more of her babies. As I was not sure if her eggs would hatch (not sure why I doubted her so far she has hatched EVERY fertilized egg under her while my incubator hatches about 35-40%) I bought three new cochin chicks at our local feed store. She was still sitting on the eggs so I simply slipped them under her. She took to them straight away. And then over the past three days, her three eggs I had under her (and three duck eggs as well) hatched and now they are a happy little family. You can notice in this shot the bars of a cage. She is in a large rabbit cage that I am using for her Broody pen. Many people say to separate them from the flock, but what I found with my last hatched batch was that raising them with mama in a cage IN the chicken house is the best. The other chickens see and hear them and can walk up to the pen, yet they cannot bother the chicks or eat their food. What this resulted in, was when the last batch of chicks hatched and matured, the flock (including the rooster) took to them straight away and they were instantly integrated. Usually, when you introduce new chickens to one another, there is quite a tussle of pecking order. But I actually found that our Rooster (whom I love) was protective of the older chicks as they were abandoned from mother after they were older and he stood up for them. Now they are a happy flock. I really do love animal husbandry.
Here is my wire egg basket which goes with me to collect eggs each day and sits in my kitchen. I don’t actually refrigerate my eggs, I leave them on the counter in this open basket. I use so many eggs every day, I never worry of spoilage.
My tomato plants are doing very well and are getting big and strong. Next week they will go out to be planted in my little vegetable garden. This is the new variety I am trying. Here is the description of this variety, doesn’t it sound interesting and tasty?
“The Tomato Pole Black Krim. ‘Lycopersicon Lycopersicum’, is an early, rich flavored old heirloom from the Crimean peninsula of Russia. Black Krim sets well in the heat and is a heavy producer. It is a “novelty” that does not sacrifice taste.”As you all know, I like to keep busy. Since my 1955 excursion into the world of homemaking, I realized the only thing stopping you from doing more things was simply organizing and making lists of your life. So, this past week I decided I wanted to get rid of my aquarium of gold fish in the house. I had some koi as well, that Gussie had brought me as fry from the farm she works on. They have hydroponics and grow some veg with water and in that water, they raise koi to provide the waste that fertilizes the plants. So they are always overrun with them.
She brought me some fry no bigger than a pin head and they grew to 5 inches in no time. But they were getting too big for the 30 gallon aquarium.
So, I decided to make a pond.It isn’t a huge affair. It took me one afternoon to dig it out. I made sure to dig the center deep enough so when it freezes in winter, the goldfish and koi can stay down there and go into their own form of hibernation for the cold season. You can see I have done rock work around it and planted up some lovely thyme and various mints and sedums. Mint, which you may or may not know, takes over and grows like a weed. This is good for a pond, as it lets its tendrils go into the water and will actually send out shoots into the pond itself, giving a very natural look. My goldfish and koi, though very friendly indoors, are now shy as they have only been in here two days. So, it was hard to get shots of them, but here is my big white goldfish. And here he is again with a large goldfish that started out life as a rescued feeder fish from the local pet store. I think I have a soft spot for animals, don’t you?
We have had SO much rain this Spring here on the Cape and in New England. So, this morning, between the heavy showers, I slipped out and got some shots of the flowers.
My favorite flower is the Lily of the Valley and it is so fleeting. Here is a bed on the side of the house. It stretches quite far and smells so lovely, oh it is heaven. Here is a close up of the rain droplets on the delicate little white blooms. Aren’t they breathtaking?
The lilacs are blooming outside my kitchen window as well. I just adore their scent and the color of this variety, which is quite old, is so fresh and full of Spring promise.
Well, I hope all of you are enjoying the coming Spring, except for those of you in the Southern Hemisphere are getting ready for Winter I suppose. Have a wonderful day all and Happy Homemaking.
Nothing was more fascinating to me as a child when on my Grandma Irene`s farm I could watch the eggs hatch in the incubator. She raised goats, bunnies, calves, ducks and chickens.
ReplyDeleteShe had an egg route, and I remember the eggs going down the conveyor belt to be sterilized and put into the cardboard cartons. The room had a distinct smell to it.
I look back to the days playing in her abundant gardens, amongst the apple trees and veggie garden she lovingly attended.
Thanks for bringing this back to me, I needed a smile today my 15 year old Shizu (sp) Gizmo has an eye infection and I needed cheering up with your lovely pictures.
Mom in Canada
And speaking of lilacs mine are the same colour as yours, she plucked the trees out of the garden for me to take home five years ago, and every spring I have the pleasure of watching these two trees bloom.
ReplyDeleteBy far, they are my favourite flowers :)
Mom in Canada
A beautiful pond.
ReplyDeleteMom in Canada-I am glad I could make you smile. I hope Gizmo gets better. And don't you love that shade of lilac.
ReplyDeleteBlackerry-thank you, I was rather proud of it. I just love design, gardening, animals just a fun mix.
Your photos are gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteHere in the northcountry we finally have green grass and the trees are getting leaves. It has been a hard winter. Our area got about 188 percent of average moisture and Glacier Park got about 400 percent. It will be interesting to see when the Park will open. Could be tough on their tourist season.
We live in semi-arid country though, so too much moisture is better than too little.
Have a wonderful week.........Denise
I always love seeing pictures of your chickens. Those are beautiful flowers as well. We are in the middle of building a patio and are considering placing a pond close by. I am impressed you were able to do it in a day and it looks fantastic!
ReplyDeleteAhhh Spring! Love the chickens. :) Wish we had some.
ReplyDeleteToday I went with my mom to a local resteraunt that has been around since 1957. HAd a good old fashioned breakfast of country fried steak, grits (we ARE in GA!!), fried eggs and big ol biscuit! Very yum. The best part was the atmosphere though. Not McDonalds or Applebees. :)
We also went to the only locally owned grocery store I know of in our town and it has been here for many years as well.
It was so nice because this was an outing that could have happened in 1957 or 1977 and hopefull will still be happening in 2017! :)
Thanks 50s gal`,
ReplyDeleteAs you know my Grandma Irene died last August, but her trees live on. She used to live in a small village where the very same lilac trees grow wild on the hilltop by the old cemetary. In the early spring, one can smell and see the beauty of these lilacs in full bloom. It really is something. I used to make small bouquets as a little girl as I would wander up that hill top and visit that cemetary.
Funny how such things are etched in one`s mind. Love your beautiful pictures and thank you again :)
Mom in Canada
Oh and my parent`s have a pond as well, they have an old handpump from the late 1800`s that belonged to my great,great, Aunt Daisy`s farm, I remember my father driving down to the site to pick it up, anyway they rigged the pump to a pipe so that it continuously has water flowing from it like a waterfall. The pipe of which is hooked behind the pump, but it looks like the water is coming from the pump.
ReplyDeleteAt this point, this pond must have at least 8 fish to it, some lilypads and some wild grasses growing in it, you would love it :)
Mom in Canada
RMH-it has been very wet this year. It is raining again ,as I type this. We are suppose to have a solid week of rain, of course the plants are loving it,
ReplyDeleteAmy M-Maybe you will have some one day, the best thing ever. I think if more people kept a few chickens we'd have less stress. You are lucky in your grocery store. And I LOVED the cheese grits we had when in Savannah. They were so wonderful.
MominCanada-it is nice when we can have a connection like that, with the flowers, to help us remember fondly those who have gone. I am sure she is smiling down on you and the lilacs.
I love water and ponds. I have made many ponds, large and small. One day, hopefully, I can have a river on property to build a large pond that is continually feed. That pond could be stocked with edible fish, that's for sure, and good for swimming. I love swimming in the ocean, of course, but a good dunk a swimming hole also does a body good.
Fabulous. Just do not have any water around they can get into.
ReplyDeleteI love grits like crazy.
We used to tease my husband that in my mom`s pond he could actually catch the big one for once (actually has a chance to get a fish) Many years ago, he snuck out of my parents house with an old fishing rod (no hook at the bottom of it) and pretended to go fishing, the look on my mom`s face was priceless LOL. My parent`s Koi must be huge by now and is such a pretty fish :)
ReplyDeleteI told hubby no matter where we move those lilac trees are coming.
Mom in Canada
Thank you for sharing all those lovely photos. I love lily of the valley and lilacs too, unfortunately lily of the valley will not grow in my garden – I’ve tried for 15 years now, with no result. But my double lilac bush (I planted a dark purple and pure with close together, I could not decide, and both are scented), grows very well. It is quite big now and blooming these days. SO beautiful. :)
ReplyDelete