checking off the weeks

My planting calendar starts in March (although Bobby had some helpers prep one of my garden areas in Feb). I spaced the pole beans out and planted one kind each week, in hopes that will stagger some of the heavier harvest times. And I'm excited that things are beginning to sprout and grow, and the planting is still on-going.

Pole Beans - Kentucky Wonder. They're large, flat green beans. Not Bobby's favorite but I love them because they are easy to grow and I think they taste good. I only have a small row of these this year. (This is what my geese kept eating last year.)

Pole Beans - Green Limas  I've never tried these before, and I'm excited at how they keep popping up. (See the small speck of green peaking through in the center top of the pic?) I guess I planted some seeds deeper than others as they're coming up in bunches every 3-4 days.

Pole Beans - blue lake stringless. Another green bean that is new to me but should be smaller than the Kentucky Wonder. Hoping Bobby will like this a little bit better.

Tomatoes (seedlings purchased from Ken's Produce) are now up to the lower rung. (Yes, I know I need to weed.)
 I only have 8 tomato plants this year.

Dwarf sugar snaps...the first thing that went in the ground...a "cool weather" crop.

Our helpers Josh and Jake assisted in putting up the fence to keep the chickens and geese out of this area. I can't till or dig down in this area because of the dog's underground fence and an electrical wire running through this area. So I'm using wheat straw. Since I didn't have it out all winter, I'm having to water it every day for 2 weeks to prep it for planting. I've used this method on a small scale twice before and was very pleased with the results (or until the baby chicks entered and scratched the straw apart!!!)

And my other cool weather crop - red potatoes - has been started and stopped 3x now thanks to geese and chickens. They are now in the fence area and at least 2 plants for every planter have survived the previous excavations.

Eggplants should start sprouting this week. Okra and some zipper peas went in the ground Saturday. Cantalopue and red peppers also went in their straw bales, and we started prep on the area where we'll plant corn Saturday as well. That area will not be fenced in, and I fear the deer and raccoons will totally ravish the crops, but I want to try. Next week I'll plant more zipper peas and the last week in April will be bush butterbeans (grey and green). And that will be all I can handle, if everything makes it to harvest.

goose

Geese only lay eggs in the spring. And I use the term spring as in the time frame from Feb- April. And then they're done for the year. But for the last several years, we've not had a gander, so all their eggs are unfertilized. But the geese are unaware of that. So we spend the first few months gathering their eggs when they're not around (the first month or so they lay one egg a day until they have about 10+ and then they'll start setting).  And then they start to set on unfertilized eggs...which means they sit their until the eggs rot and literally explode in the summer heat. And that stinks...mightily. This year a goose has built her nest between the little shed and the old dog pen/my garden area. They're now in panic mode, as between us, the dogs, the fox, and we think a raccoon...something is getting all their eggs. And they're mostly setting on their nest (they head to the pond for the night), which means they're being very aggressive towards us. Just hissing and tongue wagging for now; no actual charging. It helps that I put the garden door/gate between us when I enter. Last year we sold their eggs to a local produce man (Bobby's uncle), but too many other critters have been in the egg business this year to really have much to offer. I seriously considered bringing her some goslings this weekend (a local hardware store had some for sale), but with the fox , turtles, and hawk around I wasn't sure how long they would last, nor that she would adopt them.  I'm still considering it, as goslings are much cheaper than full grown geese. On the flip side, I know how much poop the generate and I've not forgotten them eating half of my green bean vines last year. Do we really want more of such creatures, even if they do follow you in a straight line or fly directly at you at feed time?

life

Last fall I started looking for a smallish (as big as me) bookcase or china cabinet to hold finished quilts. We've had many discussions and jokes at the house about cramming "one more thing" into my sewing room, but yesterday it actually became a reality. The family who sold it were carpenters from NY, and they acquired the piece from a home they were renovating (the family gave them several pieces they didn't want anymore). It made the trip with them to NC, and they've finally decided to pass it on. I'm beyond thrilled with it, both in looks, function, and size. And as a crazy side note, I recently learned a new quilting acronym: PIG - projects in grocerybags. :) As you can see from the two machines on either side of the cabinets...I have a few of those (although some are in shoe boxes).

And last night we went outside to this sight:

This is the "little house" that Josh and I rebuilt (still waiting on the front door and to me to pain the pen), but the rooster is on top of the pen and the two hens we have left are standing beside it, staring in at the 12 biddies inside. (How's that for a run-on sentence?) It made us laugh. It was the first time any of these 3 "older ones" have gotten near the little house.

Garden-wise: sugar snaps and pole limas are coming up; already time to weed, and I'm waiting for next week to plant the remainder of April's crops.

our new alarm clock

Last week I woke up around 5:30am to a chicken making strange noises not far from our bedroom window. I said something to Bobby about it, and he replied, "No, that's a goose." So I'm trying to distinguish exactly what I'm hearing when Freckles races down the ramp, barking full force. Then we distinctly hear the cry of a chicken. So I get up, head to the bathroom window as quickly as I can, and see a fox standing on TOP of the privacy fence, over the chicken pen. I went outside in my pajamas and the fox went off the other side of the fence. I quickly let the one hen in the pen out, and started looking for the second one. I couldn't find her. And then I saw the feathers...two huge piles all around the little hen house. I felt sick, but there was nothing I could do. So about an hour later, I heard the cries of a chicken, and run back outside thinking we're losing our last hen. Instead, the rooster is trying to mate a nearly bald hen. She was alive!!! Evidently Freckles interrupted the fox's attack. So since that night, both hens have been roosting in the garage (we have an open garage), refusing to go into the hen house, and the last few nights the rooster has joined them there. And when he crows in the morning, it reverberates.  Last night, something made him crow not long after they made their perch. I went outside to see what was going on, and the dumb thing was responding to its own echo. (Ever since they cleared the woods for the elementary school, there's been a very distinct echo on our curve of the road.) We do have some friends who will be helping us make a roof for the pen before we gut the house and rebuild. I will be glad when that day gets here!

pollen week

Well, the first week of pollen season is here. I remember as a child, the first time I saw pollen on the car. I was horrified and didn't know what was happening in the world. Mother laughed at me and seemed incredulous that I was shocked. I have no clue how old I was, I just remember my horror at coming out of the store to a yellow car.

Today in the store, I heard three different ladies from NY saying this was their first spring in NC, and they had never seen anything like it. A part of me wanted to say "Welcome to the South. It only lasts about 3 week" but I remembered my shock when I first saw it and figured I'd let them continue to marvel at this strange and yucky stuff.

It's supposed to rain today - storm, actually. So I hustled to get the last of my pole beans into the ground, and planted some eggplant in my one and only planter's box. I'm excited and a tad baffled by my graden this year, even though I'm the one who plotted it out. There's still bush beans, peppers, corn, and okra to go into the ground, though we're still pondering the corn. I'm pondering whether or not to put up a fence; Bobby's pondering why on earth I'd consider planting corn without a fence. The fact we saw 5 deer in one of the areas I'm contemplating the other night has only increased those thoughts.

We've lost two hens this week. One was taken about 5am in the morning (the dogs and geese put up an outrageous protest),  and the other was simply a pile of feathers the next morning. I repaired a hole in the pen's fence yesterday. I'm not overly pleased with the end result, but our two remaining hens were still alive this morning so I suppose it did it's job. Hopefully I can repair the electric fence this week and give them an extra layer of protection as well.

The biddies are doing well, feathering and growing like crazy. So I guess technically they're now pullets. One of the oldest (a leghorn) hopped up onto the smaller perch post Josh and I added to the pen today (a first!), making me think all that time and energy to insert it was well worth it. We have the small house located between the house and the garden area, which is inside the dogs' fence line.I thought that might help protect them a little more, and so far I think that's been a wise move. Freckles especially is keeping a close eye on them and is very curious about their movements, especially when they chase each other when one has a bug. It's not uncommon to see her sitting beside the pen with her head tilted and a puzzled expression on her face. I've yet to capture a pic of her in that position as she moves when she sees me, but I've seen the scene a lot since we've moved the biddies outside.

And if my brain was refusing to accept the fact that spring was here, the trees and shrubs filling out  with greenery and colors tells me we are quickly moving on through this year. (Hello! It is April already!!!)

So I'm still two projects behind for the year (replacing the big hen house and redoing the small flower garden), and we won't even discuss quilting projects, but I am pleased with some of the clean-up and the reproduction of the small hen house. (and no, I still don't have all the finishing touches completed on it!) 

Hopefully when I sit down the next time I will have pictures to post. Springward ho!

waving as I go...

There are times when life seems like a parade route with slow moving floats that never want to go anywhere. And then there are times when it seems like something from a movie where the floats take off in fast motion and the people are waving frantically as they whiz past the crowds.

Spring is always one of those crazy times when things pick up the pace faster than should be allowed, but there's not a lot that can be done about it.  But there are some really good things happening among that craziness.

The two teens who help us out some assisted me in putting up the fencing around the garden area yesterday. It made a world of difference having two extra sets of hands. One rotated the roll of wire, one pulled the wiring taut, while one of us attached the wires to the posts. We rotated positions some throughout the procedure, and hopefully that made it a little easier on everyone. I think it looks so much better than the first section of the garden I did a few years ago.  I've planted most of my pole beans (though not all!), and everything else will be slowly planted over the next 6 weeks, depending on when the seed should be planted. I'm excited, but also a little sunburned and wondering what on earth I've gotten myself into this year. :) And in the midst of cleaning out the garage to get the brooder box outside where it belongs, the rain water barrel we bought almost 10 years ago is finally outside near the shed where I should have put it years ago. :) Finally!!!

I swept all the dust (much of it coming from having the biddies and the brooder box inside the house the last three weeks) last night, then mopped the living room a few minutes ago, and it STILL looks dusty in some spots to me. The rain last night washed a yellow line of polled against the dam, and I can't help but wonder if some of this is pollen we've tracked inside and not actually dust. I've been off my allergy meds since January, and I've noticed an increase in congestion and pressure, but am holding off on taking anything as long as possible. And despite the complaints of many people, I am THANKFUL for the rain coming when it is, both for staving off a summer drought AND for hopefully making some of the next 3 pollen weeks less miserable.

And this weekend is the kids Easter party at church. Due to a lot of changes and transitions in how things are done, this is a last minute planned event, and I've got a LOT of stuff to do between now and tomorrow at 2pm. So starting in a few hours, our schedule from now through Monday week is way busier than I care for it to be. I'm trying to keep my focus on one thing at a time and what IS being accomplished and not what is waiting by the wayside. So far that's resulted in a few mistakes (typing in our address backwards on an order, etc) but so far nothing that is so drastic that life is truly messed up.

And with that, I'm signing off to make my Wal-mart list.

95% done

From the side, everything looks just like the old one. :)

Still need to make and add the front door. There's no decoration in the top like on the old one,
 but we added handles on each side to help with moving the house. :) That's worth way more than any decoration!

My boards on the back don't line up quite right, but we'll be adding the last pieces the end of this week,
and for the top open spaces, I think I'm just going to make a hen house sign to cover it. :)

Managed to get the posts in for the wire fencing for the garden area before the rain started,
 but will have to wait until my helpers are back to unroll and secure the wire. 

On the rooster front, Old Poppa is slowly healing, though we are having to be very careful to make sure his son, who his now the dominant rooster, does not come in contact with him. The hens have almost totally switched their allegiance, so I think the only thing we can do at this point is find a new home for Old Poppa. I never dreamed I would feel sad about losing a rooster.