tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81288897258750580702024-02-18T20:02:33.285-08:00Little Patch o' GreenOur family's SFG (Square Foot Garden) blogMitzi Sato-Wiuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16077055576279541401noreply@blogger.comBlogger79125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128889725875058070.post-72387828217335585382016-05-26T18:50:00.001-07:002016-05-26T18:51:08.287-07:00Baby Tree in the Mail<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I've been wanting to replace our old Chinese elm tree with something more attractive and less of a nuisance (The confetti seeds in spring that get into every pot, garden boxes, and random open soil, and germinate are such a deal breaker...). The tree came with the house when we bought it. The legal address bears the name Elm Plaza for crying out loud! When the Grand Valley was first irrigated and houses were built, Chinese elms were popular shade tree choice. Now that the neighborhood is old and trees are mature, the number of seeds must be in the millions per tree, and the damage from fallen branches from high winds is no laughing matter. </div>
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I've looked online, doing my "research", and thought the "Empress Tree", Paulownia, was at the top of my list of candidates. Said to be the world's fastest growing tree with large leaves that gives a nice shade and lovely purple flowers in spring. That sounded so much more attractive than my scraggly old Chinese elm. I originally wanted to try growing it from seeds as I garden a lot and I have had success with most anything I've tried to grow in the past. Ordered seeds of <i>paulownia tomentosa</i> from an eBay seller (I couldn't believe the number of listings for paulownia seeds! Mind boggling...). In hind sight, I should have paid more and got the seeds from someone who paid a little closer attention to detail (or showed a pride of his goods...). I tried to germinate the seeds first on the soil (kept moist, with light, very closely monitored) and later when that didn't do anything after 5 weeks, tried the 'in the water' method, which, after 4 weeks, failed to do anything. I had to come to the conclusion that the seeds were bad. <br />
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Disappointed from the failure of both methods and from wasted time waiting for the seeds to germinate, I looked for listings of seedlings online. When I first looked for them, they were sold out, or rather pricey. But I was able to find a listing on Etsy shortly after I dumped the water from the jar of my second germination attempt. The seller had wonderful reviews, so I felt pretty good about ordering a live tree. It's been a hit or miss in my past experience - you just never know with so many variables involved. It's a bit of a gamble, but the stakes are low.<br />
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The package took four days from shipping notification to get to my house via USPS Priority Mail. The triangle tube box was left on my front porch in full sun when I found it. I carefully and eagerly opened the cardboard box and found this little guy taped to one of the walls. I have to say, this is pretty clever packaging. The seedling with root ball wrapped first in wet paper towel, then a plastic grocery bag, and then newspaper, was thus suspended with plenty of room under the root ball and above the top.</div>
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A piece of info with planting suggestion was included. The lowest leaf had something stuck on it, which washed off just fine in water - my son insisted it had to be a bird dropping. Anyhow, no wilting, no yellowing, no dropped leaves. This is better than expected!<br />
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The seller's recommendation for this tree (<i>paulownia elongata</i>) on the little piece of paper said I should plant it right into the ground, but I haven't had a chance to call the local utility company's help line to have someone come over and locate and mark any important spots like natural gas lines and water pipes. So I planted this little guy in a mix of local compost and commercial potting soil mix. This is a temporary arrangement until I can figure out where exactly in the backyard his permanent home will be. Although the root ball was rather small, like a 2-inch diameter plug, and a bit root bound, the plant looks healthy. The leaves might look droopy, but it's from conforming to the inner dimension of the shipping box. The leaves feel nice and strong, not wilting at all. Things should straighten up in a few days. I'm really looking forward to recording how this guy grows for me in the desert west of the Rockies. <br />
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Mitzi Sato-Wiuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16077055576279541401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128889725875058070.post-14935345583345794002015-09-13T12:11:00.000-07:002015-09-13T21:36:03.344-07:00Crab Apple Jelly<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I was watering my garden a few days ago and noticed how heavy the branches of my crab apple tree was with fruits. I've tried eating them fresh in the past at various stage of maturity (talking about the wee apples, not myself here) and found them extremely tart with strong astringency (like you would taste from certain berries like chokecherry, banana skin, or concord grape skin or over-steeped tea) that linger on and on. I had all but given up on eating, but kept coming across people mentioning crab apple jellies. The tree was so heavy with fruits and they are just dropping onto the ground, fermenting and enriching the soil... I finally had to look into how to make jellies with this stuff because this abundance surely should not be wasted! (Although I've read that bees and wasps like sucking the juice from the fermenting fruits, which can have alcohol from fermentation. :D )</div>
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This tree is the undisputed star of my front yard in spring. It gets covered with frothy pink flowers and burgundy buds before the tree leafs out. I planted this tree when it was just 3 1/2 feet tall and had to wait a few seasons before it finally flowered. Ever since, it's been unstoppable. <br />
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I asked Jr. to help me pick these baby apples. We filled a large popcorn bowl. Then cut the blossom end and removed the stem together in the kitchen. It was tedious, but we had fun. It felt good to be taking what nature provides and making something with the bounty.<br />
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We filled the pan with halved apples and filled with water to cook. At this point, we were still debating whether to make crab apple jelly or crab apple jam. We were leaning toward jam because we both like the texture (and the fiber content) of jam, and we did see a video on YouTube of someone actually making crab apple jam, but the apples in the video looked more like wild apple (just a smaller version of what you'd find in market, not like our crab apples - ours look almost like cherries). <br />
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Once I started heating the crab apples with water to cook, I kept tasting the juice and the solid at different stages. I soon came to the conclusion that it's the skin and pulp that contain so much tannin that if we tried to make a jam, it's going to taste just awful. ^^;<br />
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So I start looking up recipes online for Crab Apple Jelly for sure. So many slightly different versions, some with a lot of sugar, some with pectin added, some without. Confusing enough for a first time jelly maker. ^^; In the end, I went with the <a href="http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/7661/crab-apple-jelly" target="_blank">recipe I found on BBC Good Food site</a>. It was simple and straight forward.<br />
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I'm not a big sweets person, so wasn't sure if I'd be able to use much of what I was making, but I figured that if the jelly turns out well, I could share with friends and neighbors. :D How lovely would that be? I ended up doing a lot of tasting and jelly set tests during the boiling down stage after we added sugar to the juice we collected after the initial cook and then straining to separate all the solids. The juice was a lovely blush pink, but adding sugar changed the color of solution to deep rose. I was surprised, but still delighted by the beauty of the unexpected color.<br />
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I got Jr. to help me once again when the hot jelly was ready for pouring. We purchased these cute 4 oz. Ball jars and got them ready based on directions we read on how to can jelly. Isn't it such a pretty color? The exact shade is less orange and more of a rich rose, but it's so hard to capture. This photo was taken in the morning when they were still resting in the windowsill after being there overnight. Still waiting for the 24 to 48 hour set time to expire as I write this before I eagerly open one of these jars to take a look. I hope it turns out nicely, so we won't be discouraged from trying this again. Not to mention being able to share with friends and neighbors!</div>
Mitzi Sato-Wiuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16077055576279541401noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128889725875058070.post-40904501620681942322015-03-04T10:58:00.002-08:002015-09-13T11:33:42.564-07:00Boiling Driftwood and a New Betta<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I bought a piece of driftwood from a seller on eBay for my Angelfish tank and it arrived yesterday. It soaked in hot water all of yesterday with multiple water changes every time it got cold. It is leaching a lot of tannin, so I've decided to go ahead and boil for several hours this morning. My previous driftwood pieces (one Malaysian from LFS and one African root from a different eBay seller) discolored water, but nowhere near the extent of this new Mopani piece. ^^; I know some people soak the wood for weeks and months, but I do want a little bit of that tea color for the tank water, so I will not soak this for weeks on end. But I don't want my aruarium water to be so dark that I'd have to be changing water all the time, either. ^^;<br />
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Driftwood in water. This is after the first boiling resulted in coffee colored water - couldn't see the bottom of the pot. This was taken at the beginning of the second round of boiling. ^^;<br />
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In 45 minutes, the water was this color. You can see the reflection of the hanging plant on the water surface. XD I boiled it until it got even darker and I couldn't see the wood at all.<br />
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It's going through the third session of boiling as I write this. I'm hoping that it will start to slow down... Nope. Just checked the pot and the water is just as dark again. XD That's a total of 4 hours of boiling so far. I guess I'll continue some more during the afternoon.<br />
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I've bought some more of the African roots from the same seller I bought the piece that's in my 72-gallon tank to compliment that piece. His pieces are pre-soaked and scrubbed, so they don't leach nowhere near as much as this Mopani in the pictures today.<br />
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We have a new resident in our Marimo nursery tank. Meet our new baby, Cordelia!<br />
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She looks really bright in this picture. The red in her fins are a little darker in real life and her light body is more peach colored. Very pretty! And she has electric blue eyes. She was at the LFS in a partitioned tank. This 6-gallon is planted with Java Moss, Marimo, Cabomba (pulled from my 29-gallon tank where it was scattered by boisterous Emperor Tetras), Wisteria, and some floating Amazon Frog Bits. She's pretty small, but surprisingly 'interactive'. :D I hope to get a better picture to post soon.<br />
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Mitzi Sato-Wiuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16077055576279541401noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128889725875058070.post-34936894657675161532015-02-26T12:29:00.000-08:002015-02-26T12:29:12.223-08:00Shopping for Java Moss Online<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Since my local fish store doesn't stock Java Moss in their live plants section, I resorted to ordering it online from eBay sellers. I kind of cringed at the thought of ordering anything live online, but after checking feedback comments on two sellers, I decided to give them a try.<br /><br />Seller 1 (I'm not going to give out the user name though.) was located in Montana. He was selling a 'golf ball sized portion' for $4.99 with free shipping. You saw what I got the other day.<br />
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Mostly brown/ olive green with strands of vibrant green.<br />
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I put some on the driftwood in my 29G tank. <br />
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This batch was bought on Feb. 15, shipped on the 17th, arrived on the 21st. Arrived in a bubble mailer, carefully wrapped in a layer of newspaper, then aluminum foil, then some more newspaper. When I got the Java Moss in a Ziploc bag out. It frankly looked squished. The outer layer was mostly brown/olive green. I found the bright green bits mostly in the middle after carefully loosening them in a bucket of aquarium water.<br />
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And here's the second batch I just received from Seller #2 to the right of this 6-gallon baby Marimo tank.<br />
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To the left, of course, is the Java Moss from the first batch after being in this tank for 4 days or so. <br />
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To be fair, I'll show the close-ups. It's not entirely dead-looking. There are some strands of bright green in there.<br />
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You just have to look really closely. LOL<br /><br />And here's the interesting part. Seller #2 was offering 'grade A, baseball size clump of Java Moss' with free shipping for $12.99 (I know it's a lot, considering you can get them for free from fellow hobbyists ... if you know any in your area that is. ^^; ) It arrived in a regular basic white business size envelope with "security" printing on the inside, packed simply in a Ziploc bag with no additional wrapping whatsoever. The seller did put a slip of instruction explaining Java Moss and how to best take it out of the bag and place in your aquarium. <br />
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Both arrived flat and wet. But the second batch was VIBRANT GREEN and HEALTHY looking. I was amazed ... shocked almost to see it arrive in such an inconspicuous packaging and ended up looking so good! The seller #2 was located in Pennsylvania. The second batch was purchased on the 17th, shipped on the 20th, and arrived here in Colorado on the 26th. I have to say, I was impressed with Seller #2's Java Moss.<br />
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I'm usually a patient type, but looking at the two clumps, I can't say I like the look of the moss from my first purchase. So I pulled them out of my 29-gallon tank and placed small clumps from my new batch. :D<br />
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Yes, I think it looks much better now. XD I'm waiting on a piece of Mopani wood I won on eBay from a seller in Texas to put in my Angelfish tank. So I'm going to leave the good-looking moss in the baby Marimo tank for a little longer. ^_^ Meanwhile, I'm leaving the not-so-good-looking clump in there to see if it greens up more if I give it enough time. Well, it's been fun shopping online so far. Many hits with a few misses here and there. </div>
Mitzi Sato-Wiuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16077055576279541401noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128889725875058070.post-8040432852877482782015-02-25T11:12:00.003-08:002015-02-25T11:15:20.561-08:00Having Fun with Fish<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Since I mentioned that I'd post a pic of my 72-gallon tank in the previous post, here are some pictures. I only have a point-and-shoot camera, and am finding photographing aquarium and fish to be kind of tricky. I have yet to take a satisfactory photo let alone a great one. The tanks and fishes are way prettier in person... T_T<br />
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This one is located downstairs in our basement over an old wooden 'buffet' piece. The fit is pretty good and the furniture is definitely strong enough for the weight of this 72-gallon tank. I've had community of small fish to goldfish (not at the same time, though) over the years, but right now, since two years ago, this has been a community tank of tetras. The decor went through a fantasy "sunken city of Atlantis" to "mermaids with a sunken ship" to this rather bare-looking tank (work in progress). I've just recently put two Marimos and an African root piece I bought on eBay. I would like to change this tank over time to a more natural looking setup. (Well, my kid's older, and our tastes have changed, so...)<br />
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Another view of the same tank with the room lights off. My camera cannot seem to capture the gravel color accurately... I've tried so many shots and failed. XD The tank is "bow front". I took this one from the right side near the African root. You can see some Serpae Tetras and Red & Blue Columbian Tetra swimming in front of the wood. You can't really see them since they float in the front corners, but I also have some Amazon frog bits. The other floating plant to the upper right of this pic is the common house plant, Pothos. I had problems with my goldfish rearranging and eating all my live plants and they were the only thing left untouched. ^^;<br />
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This is our Angelfish tank upstairs. It's also a bow front. I'm in the process of putting some live plants in the tank, but there's more artificial plants at the moment. I also have my biggest Marimo in the family in this tank, which was purchased from an Etsy seller. Just one year ago, these angelfish were tiny babies about 1/2 inch long (not counting the tail). Today they are about 1 3/4 inches in body length. Seem pretty happy. The red plants look darker to my eyes though. This pic is so bright, it's downright Christmasy.<br />
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I have also set up an old small Eclipse tank, which used to be in my child's room many years ago. It's now being used as a Marimo nursery. :D The tiny marimo balls I talked about in the previous post now live there.<br />
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This morning, I ended up spending an hour looking for a missing fish in my 29-gallon tank. I had captured the Brilliant Rasboras from the tank and moved them downstairs for more room to swim yesterday. Since I didn't see this small Black Neon guy (still alive after all his school mates have died over the years), I panicked and even looked at the nets I used yesterday and checked downstairs tank as well. I thought maybe he was hiding because the Emperor Tetra boys have been acting territorial (= fighting among themselves), the poor guy got scared and was hiding somewhere. After looking for almost an hour, I finally lifted the Malaysian driftwood ever so gently to see if he managed to get himself wedged somehow (I have had a goldfish get himself stuck in a small ornament before...). Sure enough, there he was. Looking sideways and pale. He was probably stuck there since about 5 pm yesterday and missed out on this morning's feeding. As I write this, he's looking much better. There's a tiny tear in his tail, but other than that, the color is back and he's swimming like normal. ^^; Glad I found him and he was OK. :D<br />
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Mitzi Sato-Wiuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16077055576279541401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128889725875058070.post-10475452445817386592015-02-22T11:13:00.000-08:002015-02-26T12:39:46.872-08:00Late Winter Post<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's been a warmer than usual winter for us on the Western Slope of Colorado. This has been a nice break for us since we've previously experienced bitter cold inversions that lasted for weeks with grey sky, no snow, but arctic temperatures. This winter though, especially for January and early part of February, we've been enjoying daily highs in the 60s and 70s. Maybe too good to be true...<br />
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Nothing like warm sunny days to inspire us into gardening and spring cleaning around the house, is there? I decided to start by cleaning my 3 fish tanks - 29G, 39G, and 72G. Two of the smaller ones are on the ground floor, while the 72 gallon one sits downstairs in our basement (and I don't own those suction/vacuum device with a long hose...). It's good workout carrying my 2 gallon bucket up and down the stairs for water change! :D It's a pain in the rear when I have anything like foot injury. :(<br />
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Anyhow, the fish tanks needed serious cleaning on the inside glass as algae had obscured the view while I was too busy/too lazy to take care of them during the months leading up to the holidays. I did regular water changes, and these tanks are almost 10 years (fully mature), so things are stable and no fish died or even came down with any sign of illness. Just got unsightly. ^^;</div>
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It's kind of funny how I can be OK with green algae on the front glass for months, but once I got one tank cleaned, I just had to get the other two equally clean ... all in one day! :D It just looks so nice when they're clean. What really kicked me into action, though, was the busted pump downstairs. It started making noises and it got louder and so annoying that I was ready to dish out $70 to 80 for a new one. Once at the LFS (local fish store - in our case, an old friend of ours), the owner showed us I only needed to buy a replacement part for it for a fraction of the cost of a brand new unit. :D For less than $15, I was able to get it fixed and running like brand new. <br />
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With the downstairs tank getting plenty of air (I used to keep goldfish, but I only keep small tropicals.), I decided to replace the old sorry pump upstairs with the same model I have downstairs the next day. While getting a new pump, I had to go check out the fish tank area of the shop. Saw some healthy Emperor Tetras, so I got four for my 29 G, since it had all but 3 little fish living in it after most of my Diamond Tetras had died over the last few years (From what I can find, their longevity is about 5 years, so mine lived a full life.).</div>
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My camera was set on auto-flash when I took the pic above. ^^; But you can see the Emperor Tetras. Although I now have a lot more in this tank. </div>
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After adding the fish, I had to add some plants (I have both fake and live plants along with a marimo.). This tank was looking pretty sorry after not seeing much action for so long. I also picked up a nice Malaysian driftwood and put it in there as well. It was fun when hubby walked into the kitchen one day while I was boiling the driftwood. "What the heck are you cooking in here?" LOL</div>
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I've bought a marino last year on Etsy, and that one lives happily in my 39 G tank with 6 angel fish I bought from my LSF when they were 1/2 inch long. After a little over a year, they are all about 2.5 inches in body length (not counting the tail). Marimo was bought at about 2 and a 1/4 inch, and it's now about 2.5 inches across. Decided to buy 3 2.3 inchers from a seller on eBay. You can see one of them in the pic above.</div>
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I put the remaining two in the 72 G tank, but after looking at them for a while, it just seemed weird to have two green balls of the same size side by side. I took one of them that looked rather oblong out, along with some aquarium water, and cut away about a 1/3. Then trimmed the two large pieces to achieve a roundish shape, and gently rolled the trimmings into nano marino balls. Now instead of 1 large marimo, I have 1 largish, 1 medium, and 15 little ones ranging from 5 mm to 1 cm. :D I leave these guys under my desk lamp, and they start to photosynthesize, tiny pearls of bubbles appear on surface, and they float to the top of the water. :D Cute little moss balls. I might bring one of my unused tanks into action and use it as a marimo propagation tank. ^_^</div>
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So I buy the stuff I can't find at my LFS online. I like looking at stuff on eBay. Live stuff, I tend to stay away, but I've been looking to add Java Moss, and since my LFS does not stock it, I decided to buy online. This is what I received from the seller in Montana. I guess I should have looked more closely, especially about the location. It's been warm here in Colorado this winter, but in many parts of the US, it's bitter cold. It's winter after all. So my guess is that the moss started the trip in the USPS system, looking green and healthy. After 6 days in the mail, with no light, they just kind of lost their color. I gently took them out of the bag in a bucket of conditioned water and gently untangled them. Some bits of vibrant green are in there, but good 95% is dark green/almost brown. ^^; I keep seeing everywhere that these suckers are almost impossible to kill, so I'll give them some time to bounce back and see what happens. </div>
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Meanwhile, I've tucked some on the driftwood in the 29G tank. This pic was taken without the flash (on the same day as the previous aquarium pic at the top of this post), so you can see the brownish Java Moss sitting on the wood. You can also spot a little brownish spots on the marimo - I believe that is from getting blasted by direct sunlight the first morning after being put in the tank. Owner error. Not worried about it too much. As I write this (Day 2 of Java Moss), it looks maybe, just slightly, greener, but it could be my wishful thinking. XD</div>
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On the other hand, my African root driftwood purchase on eBay was exactly as expected. I'll take a pic of my 72 G tank in the coming weeks to show. It's a beautiful piece of wood with LOTS of character, but now I feel I need to buy more! ^_^ I also bought a Mopani wood (for my 39 G) on eBay from a seller that had a WYSIWYG listing. There are so many Mopani wood listings with stock photos where you don't get to pick nor get to see what you're getting. I think I'd go to Petco before I'd buy blind (for the fear of getting a totally boring wood by chance). Anyhow, the fish tank nerd is back in action! :D</div>
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The other news around the backyard. All five chickens are now laying!! :D</div>
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Since the winter was milder this season, I didn't use the heat lamp in the coop at all. Last year, though, we had it on once it got brutally cold - it's not fair to have temp lower than Alaska in Western Colorado! From what I've learned, chickens need 14 hours of daylight to produce eggs. Warmer temperature also helps. So no wonder our girls didn't lay much for the past 3 1/2 months or so! They went through molting in fall, which is also the time they stop egg production because generating feathers requires so much protein. Then the shorter days and colder temperature came, so no eggs! Vanilla, our young Easter Egger, kept laying light pink eggs pretty much all winter. I've noticed she's also the one that's up and out of the coop first - way before the rest of the ladies.<br />
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Now that all five are laying eggs, we know who lays what color of eggs. :D We knew that Fiona laid olive green eggs and Dorito laid brown eggs. And we also new Vanilla laid pink eggs. I'd also seen small light brown eggs from Sage. Imagine my excitement when I saw the blue green egg in the coop! Mocha, whose feathers are very similar to Fiona, but with more black, lays this beautiful color of eggs. That's got to be my favorite egg shell color. :D<br />
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We had to supplement by buying eggs at the grocery store during later fall and winter when girls weren't laying regularly. It looks like we'll be able to start sharing with neighbors again soon! Love spring~!!</div>
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Mitzi Sato-Wiuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16077055576279541401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128889725875058070.post-45951318841611074842014-08-15T07:39:00.000-07:002014-08-15T07:39:06.913-07:00Sage's First Egg<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I had some nice break from the watering duty in the past several days as the monsoonal moisture paid the desert a visit with a generous amount of precipitation. :D It's not fun for the kitties and chickens to be cooped up all day, and the amount of mud that gets tracked into the house is no joke. Still, rain in the desert is much more than just the much-needed water. It gives us relief at a much deeper, psychological ... probably spiritual level.<br />
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After an overnight rain and cloudy morning, I went to open the chicken coop doors for the girls a little later than usual after the rain had stopped yesterday. Much to my surprise, there was a speckled brown egg inside the younger girls' coop! I knew it was Sage's first egg since she's the only brown egg layer of the three (Vanilla and Mocha are Easter Eggers, and their eggs will be green to blue.). For a first egg, it was not weird like "membrane without hard shell", "malformed", or "puny". Sage's first egg was maybe a little on the 'slim' egg shape, but evenly shaped with a nice hard shell! The pullets are roughly 14 & 1/2 weeks old right now, so it's rather early, but they get to free range all day, eating lots of greens and whatever bugs they catch. They seem happy and definitely healthy, so it's not surprising that they would start laying early. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pullets outside of their run, but staying close to their coop.</td></tr>
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We started letting the girls free range with supervision at first. Dorito was a little aggressive at first, followed by some challenges made by Fiona to Mocha (because Mocha is physically largest of the younguns). The establishing of the pecking order is natural and nothing was excessive. No aggressive pecking to cause any kind of injury. So we kept lengthening the amount of time the pullets stayed outside. In about 5 days, we were letting them out during daylight hours. Aggressive behavior by the two grownups have subsided. Now, on a good day, we see all five of them foraging in the same area of the yard. But for the most part, they are in two groups of two and three in different parts of the yard doing their own thing.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pullets venturing out in the grassy area of the backyard. Now they move around all over the backyard.</td></tr>
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The other day, I saw Sage catch a grasshopper. She immediately started running away from Vanilla and Mocha. Before Sage could make a getaway, the others started off running after her. There it was! The chicken football. LOL So much excitement and commotion. It's a delightful sight to watch these girls run as fast as they can. In the end, Sage successfully outran the other two (She has always been the most athletic, most curious, and most brave of the three.), and munched on the grasshopper happily.<br />
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Now the pics from the garden. :D<br />
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The fruits of the Goliath tomato plant have started maturing nicely. My first crop was used to make one of my favorite summer dishes of all time - tabbouleh. The tomato from the garden adds so much flavor to this all fresh, simple dish, I always feel it's the best thing ever. ^^;<br />
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Ichiban is my favorite eggplant. It's the skinny Japanese variety. I think the flavor is sweeter and smoother than the big fat Italian types that are prone to grow lots of seeds inside. This is one vegetable I grow year after year and never get tired of.<br />
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I've spotted dozen ore more LARGE fruits ripening on my German Queen tomato out back. The plant is over 4 feet tall now. ^_^<br />
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The sunflower fence is producing lots of blooms now. The tallest plants are probably somewhere between 9 1/2 to 10 feet tall now. It is at least as tall as the garage's eaves. The Mammoth Russian sunflowers are still growing and I finally see them forming buds, but no flowers yet. They're still growing. :D<br />
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Took this close-up of one of the blooms. Isn't it mesmerizing? It's almost like staring into a mandala...<br />
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August's Super Moon. I love full moon in the morning. I love the crisp cool air, the gently hazy sky with pastel tones... just so peaceful. ^_^</div>
Mitzi Sato-Wiuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16077055576279541401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128889725875058070.post-43886517477897772292014-07-23T08:59:00.001-07:002014-07-23T08:59:13.512-07:00Sunflower<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Fast growing plants are generally fun to watch (although the amount of water they require is not so fun...). Luckily, Colorado's desert west is not under restrictions this year. Even in official drought years, our city has never had to resort to any kind of watering restrictions. Though there is water available, I live in the part of the city that does not have access to "irrigation" water, so the water comes from the tap. I have noticed a lot of people's yards go completely neglected since the beginning of recession. Our area was slow to feel the impact at the beginning, but likewise slow to feel the recovery the media keeps talking about. ^^; Personally, I'm ready to switch to artificial grass for the front yard. I've never been a big lawn enthusiast (Hate to sound sexist or to overgeneralize, but that seems like a guy thing.), so I would have no problem having more water to use on flowers and edibles by not having live lawn.<br />
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This photo was taken on July 20th. Just about all of the sunflowers along the fence have reached the 4-foot-tall top railing of the fence. Now that they're getting drip irrigation throughout the day, they're growing fast.<br />
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The first sunflower along the fence to bloom was a red one. We planted a mixed row of 5 different packets of sunflower seeds at the end of May. Felt so behind our neighbors when we started seeing sunflowers blooming in June.<br />
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A lemon yellow one beginning to unfurl on July 20th.<br />
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The same one, fully open on July 23rd. 8 inches across. Bees seem to love sunflowers.<br />
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I measured the tallest sunflower this morning and it is now at 6 feet. 2 feet above the top railing of the fence. And officially taller than I am. LOL It looked kind of sparse when I thinned them out, but now they seem almost crowded again. Some of the varieties (the red ones and the lemon yellows shown above) have lots of buds setting, so we will be seeing a lot more flowers. The mammoth sunflowers still show no sign of buds. The leaves keep getting bigger and stems are growing thicker every day. :D I hope they get large this year. I've only had moderate success with those mammoth ones as our soil below 6 inches or so is stubborn clay - extremely poor gardening soil.<br />
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German Queen tomato (heirloom variety) is doing well alone in the backyard far away from the garden boxes. It is getting drip irrigation as an extended part of the sunflower fence. This plant is now over 4 feet tall. The protection of the chicken wire fence material is 4 feet tall here. <br />
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Looked closer at the plant and found these fruits growing. :D I can't wait to get fresh tomatoes from the garden!! I love making sandwiches with fresh, just-off-the-vine, sun-warmed tomatoes, lettuce, cukes, and mayo. None of my family members understand why this is such a big deal for me, but they're simply missing out on something truly special. Well, that's my humble opinion. :D<br />
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Meet my new fairy in the garden. This is Fiona. I didn't name her. She came named by the manufacturer. I found her on eBay and just had to have her. Here, she's lying in front of the fever few clusters. (I like moving her around...)<br />
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And this is Ilana. She's sitting on the frame of the garden box. She's surrounded by alyssum, pansies, and chocolate mint here. I see her accidentally fallen off the edge in the morning a lot. No doubt the works of the kitties... ^^; Anyhow, there are several more in the series, and I hope to add more to the collection.<br />
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Just to the right of Ilana in the garden box is this pink monarda. At first we saw purple blooms, but they're done blooming, and now we're seeing this light pink flowers from the same cluster of plants. I'd like to divide them later in the season and plant them elsewhere in the garden, too. These guys have really taken off this year and they're 4 feet tall... I think it's taller than the label said they were going to be.<br />
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I think this tomato is called Goliath, and it was supposed to be a good container/patio tomato. This one is in the summer veggies box with broccoli and eggplant. The fruits are finally getting bigger. Although with 100+ degrees heat now, I've noticed a sudden decrease in flowers. Getting too hot, maybe?<br />
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Also small in stature is my Indigo Rose tomato. My daughter asked me, "Are these grapes? What is up with this?" LOL Yes, the fruits on this tomato plant are about the color of the concord grapes! Once ripe, they begin to get the tomato red color on the bottom of the fruits, but they look prettier with purple/green combo. Fruits are cherry tomato size.<br /><br />We've begun free ranging the three young pullets two days ago. The little girls are almost 12 weeks old and fully feathered in, so we thought we'd supervise and see how things go. First day, we let them out about 30 minutes before dusk and they've successfully put themselves back in the coop. Second day, we let them out about an hour before dusk. We're gradually extending the amount of time. The first day, we saw some hostility from the older ladies, as expected. Fiona challenged Mocha (the largest of the three younguns), and they went into a brief chest-bumping match - nothing too excessive. Fiona's neck feathers were all ruffled. I didn't know she could do that. :D She seemed to be satisfied with the results and didn't bother the younguns afterwards. At least, they don't mingle closely enough (They are in two distinct groups out there, occupying different areas of the backyard.), so there's no pecking or constant harassing going on. I think they're off to a good start. At least, as good as we can reasonably expect from them. ^_^<br /><br /></div>
Mitzi Sato-Wiuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16077055576279541401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128889725875058070.post-26476447909677596752014-07-08T17:36:00.000-07:002014-07-08T17:36:32.374-07:00Late Update<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I take pics and then intend to sit and write up a post so many times before it actually happens. T_T Something, usually an e-mail from someone or a call, distracts me, and before I know it, days go by. I have to get better at keeping my garden and chicken journal up to date.<br />
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We're now seeing triple digit daily highs. Now, this is just plain uncomfortable at this point. I can only stand to work outside early in the morning (or if I feel so inclined, after sunset). Morning hours between 6 and 8 are very nice, especially before 7 when the temperature is still in the mid 60s. Once the sun comes up though, the dry air of the desert west heats up fast and sun is scorching hot. My skin hurts when I don't get myself into shade. No fun, and I've got plenty of pigments in my skin and don't usually burn, but tan really easily...<br />
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I actually managed to get some nice pics of the 4th of July fireworks for the first time. :D (I did get a lot of duds, too... ^^; )<br />
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Pretty much all the spring veggies in the one SFG has gone to bolt. Onion flowers are cool to look at... but they reek. The pretty blue daisy flowers belong to some of the greens that were in the salad mix. :D These plants are taller than I am now. Ridiculous. LOL<br />
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Still getting visits from many different kinds of bees. We see huge bumblebees out in the old part of the backyard where these wild larkspur plants are growing. They love the purple flowers.<br />
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English lavender in the Bees and Butterflies box is doing well. In fact, pretty much everything in that box is doing wonderfully. ^_^<br />
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Still demure in stature, the Indigo Rose tomato has a lot of fruits on the vine. A few of the ones that set early in the season have started changing the bottom color from green to red.<br />
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This Fever few clump was transplanted from north of the house to a summer veggies/herbs box last year. It was tiny and had a hard time getting going after transplant, but it's doing a lot better this year. I love the scent of this plant. This year, we have a much larger clump of it come back in the northern shaded area of the house where the soil is dry and poor.<br />
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Getting there slowly... :D<br />
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<br />Chickens at 7 weeks. Mostly feathered in and looking very much like pullets now. Still chirps like chicks, but every now and then, they make 'chicken' sounds. The sound vocabulary is expanding. Still haven't learned to stay out of the water bowl, though. XD<br />
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"German Queen" heirloom tomato on June 24th. <br />
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Same plant on July 1st. This tomato is growing fast and doing well in the barren lot that has not been used for many seasons. The soil was amended with some organic garden soil and compost, with handful of bone meal and blood meal, and a doze of Sea Magic. I don't use chemical fertilizer on our food stuff.<br />
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Forgot to insert this when I was talking about the Bees and Butterfly Garden Box! This bee balm clump is in there. Somehow got so tall this year ... like 4.5 feet. Looking a little out of control, but I love the scent of the leaves.<br />
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<br />Chickens at 8 weeks (Pic taken on July 1st). Clockwise from top left: Vanilla, Mocha, and Sage. Sage is still the smallest, but she's the head bird of these three. The two older chickens come by often and take sand bath right next to their run. I think they've gotten used to the idea of 'more chickens'... finally. I'm still not taking chances and won't be releasing them out until they're fully 16 weeks old. We're more than halfway there since they just turned 9 weeks old on the 6th of July. Vanilla is a wheaton Easter Egger. I don't know what Mocha's feathers are called, but she's black, gold, and brown. Very pretty. And Sage is a classic Barred Plymouth Rock with black & white wavy stripes appearance. She is till the most curious and the sweetest! These are special birds. <br />
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<br />The sunflower fence on the south end of the backyard. These guys got such a late start in the season, but they seem to be doing OK. I'm using some tumble weeds for mulch. This area has tumble weed infestation of gigantic magnitude on some properties - you'll see Christmas tree size tumble weeds on a regular basis. :(<br />
I'm actually allergic to the pollen of tumble weed flowers, so I pluck or cut them down whenever I see them.<br />
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Not a good comparison shot at all! LOL *mega fail* This was taken on July 1st. The tallest sunflower measured 37 inches. This is a mixed planting of at least 5 different varieties of sunflowers. Some were Russian Mammoth seeds, so I'm hoping to see some giants... eventually. ^_^</div>
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Mitzi Sato-Wiuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16077055576279541401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128889725875058070.post-17774038521979057652014-06-20T18:48:00.003-07:002014-06-21T14:26:08.212-07:00Backyard Update<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Chicks have turned 6 weeks old on Father's Day (June 15, 2014). Time flies. I have not been able to keep up with the blog. It's been almost 3 weeks since my last entry. ^^; Chicks are not the only thing that have grown in that time...</div>
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Here's a pic of Sage at 5+ weeks. They have outgrown the old watering bowl. I have bought the larger waterer. It is placed slightly raised above ground level, but it still gets dirty from the chicks bathing in the dirt, kicking it everywhere.</div>
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Mocha and Vanilla at 5+ weeks, with Chaba the cat photo bombing. LOL She and a couple of cats just can't get enough of the chicks. ^^;<br />
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Swiss Chard in the Spring Veggies Box looking beautiful. My salad greens have started bolting in the heat. Various flowers are about to bloom. I kind of have fun watching them grow flowers. Adds to the color.<br />
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Because it has gotten so hot, the broccolis have no time but form a rather small head before buds start to open. This is what you have to deal with when you have a rather short spring (and late start in the garden). ^^;<br />
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Because it is consistently in the 90s for mid-day high these days, I have a record short pea plants. At least they're producing. ^^;<br />
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I have some chrysanthemums interplanted in the Summer Veggies Box and found these baby ladybugs. They're good for eating aphids that are bothering the broccoli plants.<br />
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The "Indigo Rose" tomato plants have fruits forming. :D Purple on top and green at the bottom. More fruits are forming. The plant is still rather small...<br />
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The "German Queen" heirloom tomato that was planted way back in the old garden plot with plenty of room. We have the tomato support, and on the outside of it, chicken wire fencing to protect from our free-ranging chickens. Last year, we had a tomato plant grow wide in the SFG box and it was touching the fence. Chickens were pecking on the tomato fruits through the fence material. They do like tomatoes. At any rate, this tomato plant is doing well. Currently about 18 inches tall.<br />
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The sunflowers along the back fence line are doing well. Most are about 10 inches tall and have been thinned once. When they reach a foot tall, I will thin them again for 1 per spot. They are still so short, compared to the volunteer sunflowers that grew from last year's seeds. I have neighbors with sunflowers that are already blooming, too. ^^;<br />
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Hubby and I made an exciting addition to our baby coop - a chicken run! :D It's 8 feet long and 2 feet wide. Connects to the end access door of the coop we purchased. This is painted to match the coop. It's been a big hit with the babies. Sage was the first to come out past the threshold and venture out into the new run. I see the girls running back and forth. They do some funny hop-step-jump kind of stunts, and do a lot of chest bump with running starts. XD It seems Sage has established herself as the boss bird of the three. Brave and inquisitive, despite her small size. These last two photos were taken today.<br />
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Mocha is starting to develop a rather cool pattern. She also seems to be growing crest-like feathers on the sides of her head. After the run was set up and the babies were venturing out, Dorito, once again, acted all annoyed and upset, squawking like a rooster, trying to peck at the little ones through the wirecloth... The babies were just so curious about the big ladies that roam freely around them.<br />
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At the end of June, they will be 8 weeks old and we will be switching their food from 'chick starter' to the 'grower' type. Although they seem to have grown so much since they first arrived, they're still a fraction of the fully-mature chickens in size. But these babies will most likely start laying eggs at about 5 months, which will be end of September. :D<br />
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Mitzi Sato-Wiuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16077055576279541401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128889725875058070.post-37110343778849951602014-06-03T13:57:00.000-07:002014-06-04T10:50:19.618-07:00Update on the Garden<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The chicks have turned 4 weeks old on Sunday, and they're doing really well. Sage (Barred Plymouth Rock) is a sweetie and an adventurer, wanting to sneak out every time I open the door to change water and refill feed. ^^; Luckily, she's quite content to have a visit on Grandma's lap for a while. It's so unbelievably easy to scoop her up. The other two always have a bit of a shenanigan of running madly around before settling down. So I usually just spend extra time with Sage as I change the water multiple times a day. They are getting larger, with Vanilla still being the biggest and Sage being the smallest. But Sage definitely has a big attitude. LOL Will have their photos next time.</div>
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Today, I have mostly garden photos as things have really picked up the pace outside with high temperatures on a regular basis. With the high temperature, sometimes comes wind, which increases the frequency of watering for me. T_T As I'm still recuperating from my recent illness, I can't do things quite as quickly and as easily. Water feels heavy in a 2-gallon watering can, and the distance to the 'Sunflower Fence' seems longer... under my current condition. But I have good news. We have germination in every spot (20 along the fence).
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This spot was sown with two different kinds of sunflowers. Eventually, they will be thinned to one of each in a spot. I have successfully managed to keep the soil moist during germination, so it only took 5 to 7 days, and I have drip irrigation hose in place along the fence, so I will be able to start using it. The sad thing though, is that we have an old Elm tree that sheds so many seeds every spring. All the little seedlings are them in the photo. I'll be eliminating them in the coming days. T_T<br />
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Just on this side of the "Sunflower Fence" is the purple meadow. These are volunteer plants (originally larkspurs that I grew from a seed package of blue flowers). As long as we've been at this house, these guys have managed to self-seed and perpetuate in this somewhat sparse and bushy form for years. The bees love these purple flowers - in particular giant bumble bees. I've tried to capture in a photo at least one of the multiple giants that come to our backyard for the past three days, with no luck. As soon as I start to walk toward them, they seem to sense it and fly away, only to return later. ^^;<br />
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Walking towards the house, here's the summer veggies box. I've somewhat casually planted it this year with the broccoli plants making a semi-circle around an eggplant and tomato.</div>
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This morning, I noticed the beginning of a crown on 3 of the broccoli plants. :D<br />
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Right next to the Summer Veggies Box is the Bees & Butterflies Box filled with flowers both annual and perennial. Chocolate Mint proved to be extremely invasive last year, but the Bee Balm clump that didn't do much last year has come back with a vengeance, and they're about ready to start blooming. :D Even more bees. Speaking of bees, one got stuck in my hair right by the left temple. Initially, I felt a slight panic, but I just hoped the bee would manage to untangle himself and he did so rather quickly. :D I just stood still while he returned to freedom.<br />
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The onions are out of control! LOL The flower buds have formed and the stems have really shot up. They are doing some kind of contemporary art thing by twisting and bending. They're always changing. LOL<br />
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Next to the Spring Veggies Box is the Strawberry Box. This photo was taken May 30, 2014. <br />
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And this was taken today. Yum! :D :D :D Exciting~!!!</div>
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On Saturday, this arrived in the mail and I, like a garden nerd, was giddy. :D My favorite tomato food!<br />
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It's basically a powdered sea kelp from North Pacific, that provides micro-nutrients to the plant. The first time I used this, I had an heirloom tomato grow to 8 feet tall and out of control. It eventually got blown over on a windy day, support and all. Even though the main stem was damaged, it kept producing fruits like nothing happened until it got too cold. It was an amazing experience. :D So I'm hoping we can duplicate that kind of fun this year.<br />
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And, as I had hoped to show you one day, I cracked open one of our girls' eggs and one store-bought egg. The one on the left is Dorito's egg with richer orange color, perky yolk... generally so robust and wholesome. :D I let the girls eat a variety of greens in their diet, along with seeds and nuts, aside from their standard layer feed. They scratch and forage all day long in the backyard, and they are happy. I think it shows in their eggs. ^_^ (To think that the garden grub they find and eat with such glee is a protein that transforms into eggs... LOL)<br />
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Next time, I'll have chicks photos. ^_^
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Mitzi Sato-Wiuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16077055576279541401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128889725875058070.post-76023690719938846602014-05-27T11:09:00.000-07:002014-06-04T10:54:21.434-07:00Chicks at 3 Weeks<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Time flies when you're having fun! The chicks seem to grow so fast, too. Now they're 3 weeks old as of Sunday, May 25, 2014, and going through the awkward stage of half down/half feather look. Vanilla's 'chirp' is also starting to sound less like the chick and just 'oddly older'.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sage standing on the inverted glass inside the waterer. Feeling tall and adventurous as always.</td></tr>
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We haven't seen a lot of chest-bumping like we saw with the first flock 2 years ago. We have seen a little bit of that go on between Vanilla and Mocha, but it seems that the pecking order has already been established among these girls. Vanilla, being the biggest of the three, is the boss bird. And Sage, being the smallest, seems perfectly OK at the bottom of the pecking order. They don't peck at one another at all, even when a treat of fresh green is offered. Sage is the most fearless and friendly, so she gets to the treat first, while the larger, but more timid girls are perfectly happy checking to make sure everything is safe before jumping in.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vanilla and Mocha. Pretty feathers are coming in.</td></tr>
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Not only more of their feathers are coming in and they look more like chickens than chicks, a start of their comb is visible. Since they're still chicks, the beginning of their tiny combs look yellow like the beaks.<br />
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Here, you can see Sage's 'baby comb'. Of the three, Vanilla and Mocha are Easter Eggers, so they will have what they call 'pea combs' - just a much smaller, 'crumbled' kind of comb, and their wattles (these flappy things under the chins of the chickens) will be hidden with their feathers. Sage, on the other hand, will have visible comb and wattles.<br />
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The baby girls are healthy, active, and friendly. Chickens are such joy!! As I've said before, the eggs are just the bonus of keeping chickens as pets, I feel. ^_^ The little ones are quite good at "flying". They can go straight up from the ground level to the top of the ramp by flying. They sometimes do the same coming down. Having fun with shortcuts... just because!<br />
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Now, off to the garden pics. This season, I have minions of chamomile all around the herb box. They were the volunteer plants that germinated from seeds dropped from last year's cluster that I grew from seeds. I love the scent of this herb and I wouldn't mind if we end up with an even larger patch... :D<br />
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The clusters of Sweet Williams (Dianthus) by the goldfish pond are doing well, too. We had more rain than usual this spring and everything in the backyard is really enjoying it (although we had a much later start of spring growing season due to harsh winter and late cold snaps well into May).<br />
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Our goldfish pond is small, but we have a waterlily, which seems to be spreading just fine. After a ho-hum performance last year, it's coming back with vigor this spring. We've already had 5 blooms and more are on the way.<br />
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Had a terribly late start on the peas. I almost gave up on the idea of spring veggies altogether. By the time it was finally starting to warm up, it was already April, and we still had multiple killing frosts after that. These guys were planted in April, and just now starting to really take off. But now the temperature is expected to reach 90 degrees for daily highs... I'll probably get some shade cloth for these.<br />
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After not planting window boxes for 2 seasons, finally got some new boxes for my birthday at the end of April. Got a little crazy shopping for flowers and the extra flowers found their way into pots in the backyard. I have them inside the fenced-in area for now to keep them safe from the older chickens that free range.<br />
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In the front yard, on both sides of the walkway, we have bachelor's buttons that I don't remember planting. Not only do I not remember planting the seeds, these guys have managed to get 3 1/2 to 4 feet in height. I've never seen them grow quite so tall. The bees love these flowers and there's a hum of them all day long in the front yard near these clumps. Spring is such a beautiful time of the year~!!<br />
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The vegetables (3 tomatoes, 2 eggplants, 1 sweet bell pepper) have been planted this weekend. I've decided to plant "German Queen" alone in the old garden area way back by herself since it's an heirloom and heirlooms have done rather poorly in the past in SFG boxes in my backyard. The other hybrid tomatoes are in the SFG boxes with different veggies. <br />
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Almost finished with the planting for the season, with the roses and delphinium finally in the bed in the front, annual bed has been planted, and the sunflower fence in the back has also been sown. Now we have two large pots and a dedicated flower SFG to plant. My husband is building another SFG box, which will also require protection from our free-ranging chickens (fence time!), so I still don't have all the details figured out yet. It's a work-in-progress. :D</div>
Mitzi Sato-Wiuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16077055576279541401noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128889725875058070.post-65942233134797306172014-05-19T18:34:00.003-07:002014-05-19T18:48:19.002-07:00Chicks Are Two Weeks Old<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Time flies! Our babies are already 2 weeks old (Today is Day 15 to be precise.). They are starting to have more feathers coming in with downy fluff disappearing little by little. T_T But they're still so fun to watch. This past week, the weather has warmed up considerably (above seasonal average), so we have decided to let them try the run by opening the access to the ramp.<br />
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This pic was taken on Thursday, May 15, 2014. They would only take a few steps onto the ramp, so Jr. helped the chicks out of the coop and into the run for the first time. They had so much fun with more space!<br />
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They forage quite well, scratching with their legs and picking stuff up. Their eyes are quite keen, and ants and other small insects don't stand a chance.<br />
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At first, they stayed close to one another while they explored the run.<br />
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This crossbar posed a bit of a challenge at first. It's interesting to see the different styles of problem solving among the chicks. Sage (black and light yellow) hopped right over the obstacle like no big deal. She is the smallest of the group, but by far, the most agile. The other two walked under the crossbar limbo-style. They did that for a day, then started hopping right over on Friday.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Mocha: "I'm getting the hang of this ramp thing! Why walk all the way down when you can fly off?"</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Vanilla - light yellow with light brown and grey markings.</span></span></td></tr>
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They didn't figure out how to get back into the coop until Saturday, which was also the first time they came down the ramp on their own. Sometimes two chicks would be in the coop while one got left behind in the run. Whenever that happened, the one that got lonely would chirp quite loudly, calling for help. (But the other two were usually quite oblivious...) So we did a little bit of intervening whenever this happened.<br />
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Fiona, one of our mature hens, seemed to like the chicks right away. She would come by the little ones' run and check them out without causing a stir or making any threatening gesture. Dorito, on the other hand, studied the chicks on Thursday, while they were still in the coop at the top of the ramp, and started squawking like mad and wouldn't stop until I gave her treat to eat to distract her. This lasted for 2 1/2 days. I've never heard her vocalize quite this loudly - ever! She finally calmed down about the little ones on Saturday afternoon. Complained just slightly on Sunday, and finally settled down on Monday. *sigh of relief* Now both Fiona and Dorito would walk around the younguns' run calmly without the drama.<br />
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This afternoon, I found Vanilla (light yellow and brown) taking a dust bath... right next to the water bowl. LOL I had to move the water bowl away from the hole she had made for herself for dust bath. It's so fun to watch the chicks do this. Some start this a lot earlier than the others. They look completely dirty with dry dirt all over their feathers, but they seem utterly content. Our older girls do this all over the backyard side by side. Some of the holes get rather deep. ^^;<br />
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We have our Square Foot Garden boxes sectioned off with chicken wire fencing to keep the girls out. They're quite destructive with their strong feet (and their appetite for greens). Some of the new purchases I made yesterday at the garden center includes this gorgeous delphinium plant. :D The sky blue gets deeper as the blooms mature. Just gorgeous! I'm going to be planting this in the front flower bed along with irises and roses.</div>
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Also bought yesterday was this "German Queen" tomato (heirloom). Supposed to grow quite tall and bushy so I'm thinking of taking her out into the far back and giving her a plenty of room to grow with staking. I've never tried growing this variety before. In 2012, another heirloom was planted, but did poorly in the box, so I'm going to take her out back to my old gardening plot with plenty of room.<br />
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"Indigo Rose" hybrid tomato. Fruits go from 'purple and green' to 'purple and red'. Something I have never seen at the local garden center before, so I thought I'd give it a try. :D I'm excited about this one.</div>
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"White Eggplant". I've always grown the slender Japanese "Ichiban", but been bitten by the 'try something new' bug this season. ^_^ <br />
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Zebra Iris from our back yard near our tiny 'goldfish pond'. The girls were eating the leaves when they were first coming up about a month ago, so these poor plants were delayed somewhat. Still blooming beautifully now. (And the pond area has been sectioned off with chicken wire fencing once again.)<br />
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Strawberry patch (One of our SFG boxes is dedicated entirely to strawberries.) is looking strong after an application of blood meal and bone meal earlier in the season. Look at these tiny fruits already! :D<br />
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I found this yesterday. After a disappointing late frost killed all the tender flower clusters in April (We've been denied a full show for the 3 seasons in a row... T_T ), I saw these two clusters blooming beautifully. You can see the remains of the dead flower clusters all over in the background. It would have been quite a show had all of these survived. Better luck next year!<br />
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Found this yesterday in the front yard, also. A luscious pink peony~!! Love the ruffles of petals. Just so pretty!! We have deep burgundy, pink, and white peonies. The pink ones are my favorite. ^_^ <br />
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I'm still behind with the planting project around the house. Hopefully, I'll get it all done eventually, and get to take photos of pretty flowers and robust vegetables all season long. </div>
Mitzi Sato-Wiuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16077055576279541401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128889725875058070.post-64136259024208294532014-05-14T09:20:00.003-07:002014-05-14T09:20:51.824-07:00Day 10 of Baby Chicks<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Since the hatch date written on the sheet that came with the shipment said "hatch date: May 5", that's their birthday, and it's already Day 10 for these little ones. We had Lavender (the smallest of the four) come down with 'pasty butt' on Saturday afternoon, which I cleaned up carefully with warm water and put her back in the brooder. But then on Sunday morning, I found her trampled on by her sisters and unable to stand on her own. Although she no longer had 'pasty butt' at that point, being unable to fend for herself from her active sisters, I made a decision to separate her from the flock and made a make shift home for her with an unused aquarium with a wirecloth cover, a heat lamp, and a thermometer. She required assistance drinking and eating. Her strength seems to come and go. Within the few days, she was so far behind in size. On Tuesday morning, when I got up for feeding, I found her unresponsive. Although I was not surprised (Each time I checked on her hourly, I was relieved to see her alive and amazed at her spirit.), I felt sad that she didn't make it. It's amazing how quickly we get attached to these little babies. So Vendie is no longer with us. I will always think of her whenever I look at the remaining healthy sisters, though... Rest in peace, Lavender.</div>
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It's funny how 'dead' they can look when sleeping. They are so relaxed. I remember when I first saw one of the chicks sleeping like this with my first flock, I thought it was dead. They do look like they just fell onto the floor, exhausted, don't they? This was taken on Day 9.<br />
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Look how much their wing feathers have grown! Chicks grow so fast. I'm really excited that Vanilla is looking a lot like Coco (from my previous flock). She looks like she'll be the 'wheaten' coloration. :D She's also the biggest - which worries me a little bit... "What if she turns out to be a roo?"</div>
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They're suspicious of the camera, and won't look at it much. So this shot is just plain amazing to me. XD Got them just as they were waking up from a nap. Clockwise from upper left, Sage, Mocha, and Vanilla. Look how cute their little tail feathers are!</div>
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Vanilla is the big sis, the boss chick of this trio. So far, she's the largest, and seems to have the feistiest attitude. The others seem to cuddle up to her when scared. You can see Mocha's pretty wing feather patterns starting to form in this photo.<br />
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Eventually, they all go into the farthest corner from where I'm trying to take the photo and act like the people in an elevator - looking at nothing on the walls.<br />
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<br />And they pretend that I'm not here. "Just stay quiet and don't look at her. If we can't see her, she can't see us." XD<br /><br />Well, the weather is supposed to warm up nicely toward this weekend and beyond, although we just had record cold overnight low with a freeze warning this morning. If it's 85 degrees during the day like the weatherman says, they might be able to venture out off the ramp and into the run for a little bit of fresh air and dirt! I think my last babies also ventured out at about 2 weeks of age (and it was hours of entertainment for our kitties to watch them LOL).<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div>
Mitzi Sato-Wiuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16077055576279541401noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128889725875058070.post-14079854044371492292014-05-10T14:06:00.001-07:002014-05-10T18:14:15.071-07:00Chicks and a Mega Egg<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This has been a strange, uncharacteristic spring. It did the typical "hurry up and get super hot fast", and it certainly had a few late killing frosts that we've come to expect after decades in the Grand Valley, but we just might set a record for the latest killing frost, coming this Tuesday. We are expecting a fairly nasty storm on Mother's Day Sunday, and it has been unseasonably cold for the past two days. I am having to monitor the new chicks's brooder temperature on a regular basis. I do change their water regularly (3 times a day, or more, if necessary), and naturally check on them, but the fluctuation in outdoor temperature has made this a little tricky. After all, our setup is not a science lab, but a rather old-fashioned, basic stuff. When the outdoor temperature during the day, in the sun, gets to be 85 degrees, which it was just a few days ago, the brooder only requires a small bulb in the heat lamp. But then, if the morning low is around 40 degrees, we definitely want to adjust that. This is one thing that's more difficult with a smaller brooder area this time around. Just like fish aquarium, small space changes its environmental conditions a lot faster than a larger space. ^^;<br />
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That said, we've had a chance to observe our chicks and decide on their names. :D I wish I could take pictures of them all looking at me and holding still, but they just won't do that. LOL If anything, they're always looking away just as I think I'm ready to take a great shot...<br />
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From left, Vanilla (light yellow Easter Egger chick), Mocha (dark brown Easter Egger), Lavender and Sage (Barred Plymouth Rocks). Mocha is a spaz. She runs around the other three in circles or between two making figure 8. Hard to believe she was looking really tired and wobbly upon arrival and I worried she may not make it. She's a tough little chicky.</div>
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Unfortunately though, overnight, Lavender has developed a Pasty Butt, and she was weak this morning. I carefully removed the crusty poop from her vent with warm water and cotton balls. She was able to poop shortly afterwards and ate a little bit, but mostly sleeping. Hope she's going to be OK.<br />
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So hard to take cute pics of chicks! Frustrating... XD<br />
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But so much easier to take pics of the ever-so-cooperative eggs! Check out the Mega Egg Fiona laid on Friday morning!! This has got to be a two-yolker, I think. The one on the left is the egg she laid just a day before. That's about the regular grocery store's "large" egg. The colors are very pretty, aren't they? Love Easter Eggers for their green eggs. Jr. thinks Fiona's eggs have a nicer flavor than Dorito's. Their eggs definitely have perkier yolks, and the yolk colors are more orange than yellow. When I cracked a store-bought egg next to one of our girls' eggs, the difference was noticeable. I'll have to take a pic of that sometime and post. *Edit: Just weighed the Mega Egg on my digital scale and it said 3.5 oz! </div>
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Now that our ladies have come out of the molting phase, their feathers are just fresh and gorgeous! Look how beautiful Fiona is with her gold and black neck feathers!!<br />
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Dorito, pecking on the treat cube. They love the 25-lb cube of various seeds and grains. They come out of the coop in the morining, and usually run straight to the cube. Dorito has also finished molting and looking quite beauitful these days. I love her red feathers, too. :D</div>
Mitzi Sato-Wiuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16077055576279541401noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128889725875058070.post-44811112919485677132014-05-07T09:31:00.000-07:002014-05-07T09:31:22.048-07:00Chicks Have Arrived!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
For the second time, I was picking up the supplies for the chicken brooder at Walmart (thermometer, water bowl, heat lamp bulb, etc.) when my phone rang and it was the local post office letting me know that my chicks have arrived and they're ready to be picked up. :D The most exciting kind of phone call! It's also kind of fun to go to the back of the post office and ring the service bell and get to go into the receiving and sorting area. I saw a double boxed package with round holes and heard it chirping~!! It's always a good sign when they sound strong and demanding in the box. LOL<br />
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I hurried home and set up the brooder in a hurry. Put the light bulb in the fixture, put the pine shavings on the floor, place the thermometer, put the feed and water out. Always last minute. I don't know how this is always the case... ^^;<br /><br />I tried to open to box inside the house to take a peek, but as soon as I got to the inner box's lid, I could see the little one trying to jump out. And of course, the cats started to congregate as soon as they heard the chirping, I had to bring the box outside to the coop and open it inside there. <br /><br />I was thrilled to see one Easter Egger chick that was light yellow with patches of grey on top. Looks a lot like how Coco looked as a chick! :D And the other Easter Egger chick is brown and black, so I'm guessing that she'll look like Fiona. :D The dark girl already has the fluffy cheeks!! So adorable~!! This one was not as sure-footed as the other girls, so I was a bit worried, but she found water right away, and perked up very quickly after a drink and pecking on the crumbs. All good!<br /><br />The two Barred Plymouth Rock girls are tiny, but full of engergy. They look practically egg-size. So cute! Frigglish was our first Barred Plymouth Rock chicken and she was exceptionally sweet and smart, so we're hoping the new girls will have similar temperament. (Our previous Easter Egger, Coco, had a wonderfully sweet personality, too. Always jumping on me and talking to me. ^_^)<br />
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The morning sun was behind me and I could only open the door a crack, so it was a little hard to get good pictures, but I'll keep trying. To the left are the two Easter Egger girls, that will lay green or blue-green eggs, and the black with light yellow chicks are the Barred Plymouth Rock babies, that will lay brown eggs. It's always amazing to see how active these chicks are. Running and jumping at such young age. ^_^</div>
Mitzi Sato-Wiuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16077055576279541401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128889725875058070.post-49994853017337875552014-05-06T15:56:00.002-07:002014-05-06T15:56:32.049-07:00New Coop Update<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This coop was the easiest thing to put together. The sets of screws were marked clearly (You'd have to be really careless to miss the label...) and the instructions easy peasy (Once again, you'd have to be in such a hurry to mess things up...) Everything matched up nicely and we didn't encounter any problem. :D All done in less than 30 minutes. Painting the parts took a LOT longer. lol<br /><br />We'll be doing a few small reinforcement modifications based on the reviews this coop got at Tractor Supply Co web site. I don't think a lot of reviewers painted this either. There were some reviewers who complained about the wood swelling up and the coop coming apart in a short time, so we've decided to give it a nice coat of paint. Besides, it was nice to match the colors of the existing coop.<br /><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loki, one of our cats, inspects the new coop.</td></tr>
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I'm going to close the opening that connects to the ramp and set up a brooding area in the coop and nesting box section while the chicks are little. Once they are a few weeks old, I'm sure they'd be wanting to come out off the ramp and into the run. :D They also sell a matching extended run kit, that connects to the door on the end. That might be nice once the chicks get a little bigger. :D<br /><br />We're done for now, except for deciding on a definite location for this new coop. We need to set it up on the wood frame off the ground to further protect from moisture. ^_^</div>
Mitzi Sato-Wiuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16077055576279541401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128889725875058070.post-65582482817428913292014-05-06T07:20:00.000-07:002014-06-04T11:02:16.975-07:00Geting Ready to Assemble the Coop<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It took me seemingly forever to paint the sections of the new coop. Well, the small trims and hardware definitely slowed me down. But the pieces are painted and ready to be assembled. :D Got a notice from the chicken company that our chicks have shipped yesterday afternoon. So we really need to get this coop done and a brooding area set up for the new babies. (Still more shopping to do at the farming supply store...)<br />
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The older ladies (my hens) are curious duo as all chickens are. They also seem to think that the white paint I am applying to the chicken coop is yogurt and they insist on getting to my paint tray! It was a little rough to be painting in the sun when it was 85 degrees, breezy, dust and elm seeds flying everywhere, and having to fend off the chickens. ^^; Thank goodness I'm done painting! </div>
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I love the classic barn colors for our chicken coop. ^_^ We even have a neighbor whose garage is painted in this color scheme. It was also handy that the local Walmart sells "Barn and Fence" paint in white and barn red. :D This little coop (meant to house 4 bantams or 2 regular size chickens -- We're only going to keep our new chicks in there until they're 16 weeks and can be moved to the large coop.) came pre-assembled into panels and sections in a big box. I was expecting the typical furniture where you have to read hard-to-understand instruction (in English but clearly written by a non-native English speaker in ... most likely China), so I was happy to see the panels. :D<br />
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The pieces are dry now. Our cat Twinky (the smallest in our family) inspects the paint job on one of the panels as Dorito challenges. Dori-chan is actually larger and heavier than Twinky. Our chickens free-range in the backyard now and the cats don't bother them.<br />
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Fiona (Easter Egger) has her feathers back! :D Isn't she beautiful? Gold, brown, and black. Quite a beauty! Her eggs are a pretty shade of green.<br />
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Looks like Dorito has found a flaw in my paint job... LOL It really is a lot of FUN to work in the backyard with the girls checking on you from time to time. I love chickens. I never knew that they were such inquisitive and social birds. I'm so looking forward to the new chicks!! I'll be able to spend a lot of time with them and hand-tame them. ^_^</div>
Mitzi Sato-Wiuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16077055576279541401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128889725875058070.post-34070989919753809432014-05-03T16:05:00.000-07:002014-05-03T16:09:31.649-07:00Getting Ready for the Chicks<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Since we lost 4 of our birds last summer, and we didn't have much luck obtaining birds from local chicken owners (and didn't like just how long it takes for them to become hand-tamed...), we've decided to buy four chicks. We're mail ordering them again because of the wider variety of breeds available and the small minimum. (Local farm supply places do sell chicks in spring, but they were rather limited in the variety of breeds they offered and the minimum purchase they imposed were too high for backyard chicken enthusiasts within the city limits. Too bad. )<br />
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So my daughter and I went over the breeds and decided on 2 Barred Plymouth Rock chicks and 2 Easter Egger chicks, mainly because the previous ones we owned were so sweet in temperament and smart, too -- just a joy to have as pets! But these breeds were smaller than some of the others and tend to get bullied, so we got two of each... hoping that at least the Barred Plymouth Rocks will look similar enough to avoid being too heavily picked on. ^^;<br />
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Since our two birds are already 1 1/2-years-old, we're building the new girls a smaller coop where they can grow until they reach about 16 weeks old and fully feathered in. Chicks won't stand a chance against a big bully Dorito, who asserts her superior ranking to Fiona every chance she gets. ^^; <br />
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We bought a chicken coop kit from Tractor Supply Co. this time, rather than try to figure out an extension to the existing coop. It's already pre-assembled into panels and sections, so it shouldn't take very long to assemble. We read the customer reviews and some people were complaining about how the wood swelled after a rain and things fell apart. So I'm painting the coop to match the big girls' coop (barn red with white trims). We'll most likely reinforce some sections, too, based on what some of the customers said on the review. We will also give the coop a base of pre-treated timber so that it won't be sitting on the ground directly.<br />
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Painting turned out to be rather tedious with lots of trims and hardware to go around. ^^; But hey, better safe than sorry. And even after the new girls can join the main coop, this smaller one will be handy as a quarantine co0p for new aquisitions in the future. ^_^<br />
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While I was painting the 'fence white' paint on the trims, I had to chase away Dorito because she tried to eat the paint, thinking it's her favorite Greek yogurt I feed the girls often. ^^; Sometimes I marvel at how smart these birds are, and there are times when I just go, "Really?" when they try to eat paint or packing peanuts... You've got to watch these babies. They seem to think everything is food. LOL<br />
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Got a real late start on this year's boxes. We've had freezing temperatures throughout April and on the first days of May! Planting has been postponed for a lot of tender varieties. Here in this photo, you see some onions carried over from last year, new pea seedlings, and some salad mix that self-seeded from last year's plants.<br />
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Violas I bought in April. They're pretty hardy and survived multiple frosts and doing well in our Bees and Butterflies Flower Box. :D Nice to see some colors.<br />
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The flowers on strawberry plants in the Strawberry Box. Some got killed by the frosts, but more are coming. This is these plants' 3rd season. They're looking really strong and I'm hopeful that they will have a fantastic year. ^_^<br />
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That's it for today. Will have more shots of the chicken coop in progress in the next few days.<br />
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Mitzi Sato-Wiuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16077055576279541401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128889725875058070.post-2810054430524000882014-04-10T16:18:00.000-07:002014-04-10T16:18:30.770-07:00Getting a Late Start for the 2014 Season<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The weather has finally warmed up on the Western Slope of Colorado. We have not had bad frost this spring. But we are still not out of danger. Technically, we are not out of danger until the end of April or the first week of May. But in a typical Western Colorado fashion, this spring is warming up fast. It's nice after a rather nasty winter (2 years in a row with some terrible inversion that kept cold air in the valley for an extended period). It always feels like we go from late winter to late spring so fast... Oh, and the gusty wind and rain also routinely shortens the show of early ornamentals and fruit trees like plums and apricots. <br />
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The winter of 2012 seriously damaged our Red Bud tree in the front yard. Top 2/3 of the tree was killed. Late in the season in 2013, amazingly enough, the tree started growing shoots and leaves. I thought we'd have to cut it all the way down, but we didn't. Still sad, but not a total loss. ^_^ Cherry tree in the backyard (Somei Yoshino) didn't get so lucky. As far as I can tell, only a sucker shoot that came from the root have blossoms and the rest of the tree looks dead and dry... T_T I'm not having much luck with cherry trees in the backyard. And this happened after 7 years or so of growing just fine. (Doubly sad...)<br />
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The Benishidare cherry in the front has definitely suffered somewhat. There are a lot of dead branches that require pruning, and the bud count is way down. We'll spike the trees with fertilizer spikes on all the ornamentals and see if they can pick up the pace.<br />
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The good news is that we've managed to warm up quickly without having frosty mornings so far. The wisteria in the front yard, for the first time in 3 seasons, is looking promising with some of the flower clusters already starting to bloom. This vine always look loaded with bud clusters in mid-spring, but for the last two years, they were all wiped out when the temperature dipped too low. We were treated to a much diminished show in August. Still pretty, but you had to look real close to find the flower clusters among all these leaves. LOL<br /><br />One of my top performers every year is my crabapple tree "Hopa". This tree has been here as long as we've owned the house, so we go way back. I originally mail ordered this tree as a four-foot youngun. It has done wonderfully well. It now towers over the roof.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crabapple "Hopa" - just started opening 2 days ago and it's already putting on quite a show!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFN3fQp0Cll-LKHSyasogWL3m8X7tqcWXS2Cf3aOG330WYS9p9nr4UrM349Z-UsB_X4kwDinGn_Fg3K5pNvBlOh4Aj6RlF7vTC37dC18c63ay0UX5Ae0u6QhChNJUCRtAO2yy1QBsiEu1v/s1600/Honeybee_04_2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFN3fQp0Cll-LKHSyasogWL3m8X7tqcWXS2Cf3aOG330WYS9p9nr4UrM349Z-UsB_X4kwDinGn_Fg3K5pNvBlOh4Aj6RlF7vTC37dC18c63ay0UX5Ae0u6QhChNJUCRtAO2yy1QBsiEu1v/s1600/Honeybee_04_2014.jpg" height="310" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can you spot a honey bee? This tree is a popular place for bees.</td></tr>
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I love listening to the collective hum of the honey bees that come to the crabapple blooms. It gives me the good feeling knowing that spring is finally here and the bees are doing well, even after a nasty winter.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN4BOHhQipD-sZS6EiZWkI3ra3ddMNHk7ht6L7OrbZlEricAbWOvhjLPLOU-sKUwJ4X0J_0ZGqgKVITBAd7roq_hb6VOAleKuC4SpXlQBwvqk8aH_uYj-hpCw-QD4ahZfEnFjj5WS5in9H/s1600/GrapeHyacinth_04_2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN4BOHhQipD-sZS6EiZWkI3ra3ddMNHk7ht6L7OrbZlEricAbWOvhjLPLOU-sKUwJ4X0J_0ZGqgKVITBAd7roq_hb6VOAleKuC4SpXlQBwvqk8aH_uYj-hpCw-QD4ahZfEnFjj5WS5in9H/s1600/GrapeHyacinth_04_2014.jpg" height="310" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grape Hyacinth</td></tr>
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Fun little guys that also come back year after year with no special care from me. I like these Grape Hyacinth bulbs. Planted by the previous owners, they were here the first spring after we bought the house, and they've always popped up every spring. ^_^<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Double-flower lilac</td></tr>
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This lilac started out as a 2-gallon pot of "purple lilac" from Wal-Mart several years back. It was a Mother's Day gift one year. For 2 seasons, it didn't do anything but just sit by the house. It then finally occurred to me that there may have been some planting issues (gardener error) here. I did a search online and suspected that I had planted the lilac shrub too shallow. I added a little bit of soil to the foot of the shrub and the following spring ... bam! Flower clusters everywhere. XD I was doubly delighted when I saw the flowers were in fact 'double' on this variety.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bradford Pear tree</td></tr>
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One of the trees we got for free from the city. Our city has been designated as the Tree City USA for having a certain number of trees in public places like parks and also having an active planting program for the streetside. The watering and general maintenance are the property owner's responsibility, but the city crew will come and plant your trees in the front yard free of charge. We originally had two matching Bradford Pear trees, but one year, some idiot backed up into one of them with a truck and completely knocked the young gree off at the ground level. I called the city's tree program division and they came on the same day with a replacement tree. ^_^ Didn't match the other tree, but who cares? (The replacement is a white crabapple, which is doing well.)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A cluster of purple tulips</td></tr>
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I used to have two rows of tulips in upwards of 650 in numbers at their peak on both sides of the winding walkway from the sidewalk to the front of the house. Well, it started out with 150 bulbs, so they multiplied over the years. After so many years though, they were rather crowded and their performance has diminished. It really is time for replanting. I may lift and keep some of the bigger bulbs, but the whole area needs revamping pretty badly. ^^; These tulips are 2 years older than my dauaghter, so they've been here for nearly 2 decades. No wonder they're getting tired...<br />
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So that's the good part of the front yard's show so far. Wisteria photos should be coming soon. I am working on the backyard's SFG boxes right now, removing debri from last season (I always fail at cleaning at the end of the season!) and amending the soil with compost from our county's organic waste composting facility. I bought 10 bags about a week ago, wiping out the last of the 'fine' compost bags in the warehouse. *grins* Last year, by the time we went there, only the 'medium' compost (particle sizes) was available and some of the pieces were rather large... definitely bigger than 1/2 inch specified on the bag. ^^;<br /><br />Let the fun begin!<br /><br />
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Mitzi Sato-Wiuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16077055576279541401noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128889725875058070.post-1307973116486796382013-10-21T10:27:00.000-07:002013-10-21T10:27:22.206-07:00RIP Lulu and the Frost Has Come<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In hind sight, it was a warning sign that Lulu's eggs were always wonky in shape. They generally had the overall egg shape, but they were uneven and no eggs were ever remotely the same. We lost Lulu to Egg Yolk Peritonitis. It's a condition that can progress fast in some cases and can often be deadly.<br /><br />The day after I posted the last entry on this blog, I noticed that Lulu had bloody rump with some egg yolk dripping. I bathed her in warm saline water to remove the yolk and blood to find that she seemed to have a prolapsed cloaca (hemorrhoid of the egg chute). I looked up as much information as I could find on the internet and followed the emergency care instructions carefully and the cloaca stayed in. We put her in a separate cage to protect her from possible attack from our other birds although they were not pecking on her. One weird thing I was noticing was a farting sound frequently coming from Lulu's behind. It almost sounded as if air she was breathing in was blowing right through her rear. I couldn't find any info on that anywhere online. :(<br />
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The next morning, the prolapse was back and larger although we kept her dark and warm to keep her from laying (and she didn't lay an egg). I bathed and examined her once again and that was when I noticed that I could feel a spongy chest (generally a sign that fluid buildup is taking place in the lungs), wheezing, and what seemed like a ruptured intestine hanging out next to her prolapsed cloaca. Things were not looking good for poor Lulu. Took her to the vet, expecting to hear the worst, and sure enough, we had to put her down. When a hen has the egg yolk peritonitis, an egg has been broken inside the oviduct, and the yolk, having inflammatory quality out of a shell causes inflammation of the tissues, and seepage into the intestinal tract also allows for bacteria to grow rapidly in the yolk to cause toxic build up in the bloodstream, fluid buildup ,and subsequent breathing difficulty among other things. T_T <br />
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Dorito seemed upset for days. She would come running up to me and vocalize as if to demand to know where I took Lulu to. She didn't like Fiona from the start and she would boss her around especially near the food or inside the coop. Fiona is the first to retire when it starts to get dark, but Dorito would later go in and chase her off the roost. Things went on like this for about 2 weeks.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Frosted mum in sunlight.</span></div>
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Lately though, something changed. Fiona is finally back laying eggs regularly after molting (hens don't produce eggs during molt), and she's also looking much better with all her feathers in place. I've noticed that Dorito was no longer pecking or threatening to peck Fiona when they get treats from me. And they walk and run side by side (with their bodies touching even), and they both sleep on the roost now. I think Dorito finally got over the loss of Lulu and accepted Fiona as her sister. After all, there are only two of them now. I feel very sad. It will be months before chicks will become available (whether through the original web site where I purchased the first flock or at farm supply stores), and then we'll have to keep them separated until the new flock reach the same size as the older sisters.<br /><br />We're experiencing a serious drop in egg production. ^^; I wouldn't mind just looking for a layer hen or two from farms in the area, but I also terribly miss Frigglish and Coco. They were so tame and friendly. I miss the contact and connection. I'm feeling more and more towards waiting till spring and get the chicks to start over. Use the winter months to build additional space for the possible new chicks. Fiona is finally letting me pet and eat from my hands, but I still have not held her yet. ^^; Although both Dorito and Fiona have really warmed up to me in recent weeks.<br /><br />The first killing frost came last week. The tender plants were killed overnight. It was an early frost for our area. We usually don't get it until late October or beginning of November. I am still harvesting tomatoes from the dead vines. ^^; Some of the hardy herbs are still looking good and strong, too. And my chickens' favorite, broccoli, still have lots of leaves to pluck and feed. ^_^</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Frosted Mexican Sunflowers in morning sunlight. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Frosted marigolds.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Strawberry leaves with frost.</span></div>
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It's always disheartening to see the leaves turning dark and droop after the killing frost. I'm never prepared for the good-bye to the fresh garden vegetables. It's always a shock to the system. Thank goodness for the hardier plants to prolong the harvest season and soften the shock. ^^;<br />
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Mitzi Sato-Wiuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16077055576279541401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128889725875058070.post-40971688407948985022013-10-02T10:34:00.001-07:002013-10-02T10:34:55.666-07:00Meet New Chickens and Photos of Garden<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Goodness me! I didn't realize it's been this long since my last blog entry. First one since June. XD I guess I was busy with work all summer long...<br /><br />Something bad happened in late August. 4 of my chickens went missing without a trace. I was left with Dorito, the Golden Comet hen only. Maybe they were taken by wild animals... or somebody stole them... after all, they were pretty tame and used to people because I spent a lot of time with them, feeding, talking to, and handling. T_T I miss my girls.<br /><br />Well, it bummed us out to see poor Dorito all alone and sulking/moping in the corner of a backyard for a few days after the others went missing. I wanted to get her new sisters -- although I knew it wasn't quite the same as "sisters from chickhood". Still, it's better than a relatively social animal being left alone for the first time in her life. I started looking at classified ads online and checked the local Craigslist. After a dozen calls and e-mails, I got a call back from a lady who had a half a dozen 1-year-old laying hens for sale. Well, the girls were just a week short of their first birthday, so I thought, "This is perfect!". After talking to her, I also found out that she had some Ameraucana and Easter Eggers who lay green and blue eggs. (Most of the classified ads only had Buff Orpingtons or roosters.) We made arrangement shortly afterwards to go visit the farm and pick out the chickens for purchase. :D<br /><br />She was selling her birds for only $8 each, which is a bargain, really. The chicks I bought were more than half that, plus the Priority Mail shipping with special packaging costs a lot, although the joy of raising chicks was well worth the cost, I feel. <br /><br />The only trepidation I had was how the 1-year-old chickens from a large flock (I mean, she had 6 or so for sale, but the rest of the flock was a large family of maybe 50 in her very large coop/run set up.) would warm up to Dorito, and to me and my family, if at all. I had a faith that these birds are smart enough to associate food with the feeder, so if I spent enough time talking and feeding them various treats (by this, I mean, healthy treats like rolled oats, garden greens, yogurt, etc.), they'd eventually get used to me and be as friendly as the first flock.<br /><br />Well, it took about 3 weeks before they finally warmed up to me enough to eat greens from my hand and another week to come running to me when I go out the backdoor and when I come through the gate after errands. I love it! It's so sweet to see them come running to me. They may be just wanting food, but they look as sweet as a dog that is so happy to see you. ^_^<br />
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Dorito, on the right, is so bossy. She does look more like a small rooster with her well-developed comb and wattles, and even bumps on the back of her legs where roosters would have spurs. She used to mount on one of the sisters even. ^^; One on the left is our new girl, Fiona.<br /><br />
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Fiona came to us in early stage of molting. She also had a big bald spot on her back where she was being mounted by an overzealous rooster frequently. ^^; The back feathers have grown back, but she is missing all of her pretty black tail feathers. She is also growing her muffs back. Once all the feathers are back, she'll be beautiful! She lays green eggs.<br />
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<br />This is Lulu, the blue wheaten Ameraucana. She is the smallest, but she has established herself as the sidekick of Dorito and number 2 of the flock. She lays lovely pale blue eggs, but they're always a little bit wonky in shape. XD <br />
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<br />Super lush and over-grown! And protected by chicken wire fencing. XD The six Square Foot Garden boxes had to be protected from the girls who treat them like the all-you-can-eat buffet. Every now and then, I see one of the hens looking lost and stuck inside the fenced garden area. They can fly if they wanted to. But they don't feel very secure when they're all alone. It seems that the lone bird does not seem to cause much damage to the crop. When they find something as a group though, they can eat an entire mature broccoli plant in one feeding frenzy.<br />
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The overflowing herb box. I have chamomile, flat-leaf parsley, basil, dill, thyme, orange mint, and more in this box. Endless supply for cooking and for making the chicken cook smelling nice and sweet. :D<br />
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I got the bird bath for mother's day. I have been putting some cut plants in there to give bees some place to perch. All the marigolds are volunteer plants from last season. I love the way they keep blooming!<br />
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From slightly different angle, showing the spring veggies box up front. The Swiss chard is so productive I have an endless supply for my cooking and the chicken's treat. They get so much fresh veggies in their diet their eggs have beautiful bright orange yolks. I should dry some herbs, greens, and tomatoes for winter treats. ^_^<br />
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The last photo today is that of my volunteer morning glory vines. They are so prolific. We finally had a year with decent amount of rain throughout that leaves are extremely lush and dense. These vines completely cover a section of the fence. I love morning glory vines.<br />
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Mitzi Sato-Wiuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16077055576279541401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128889725875058070.post-54528630756090387072013-06-20T16:07:00.000-07:002013-06-20T16:07:00.902-07:00Garden Update<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Well, it's been hot and dry! Colorado is experiencing a very dry, hot (and often windy) summer yet again. We already have a lot of fires going. One in particular has been devastating... Luckily, our area is relatively untouched by the fire, just occasional smoke from shifts in wind direction causing hazy skies.<br />
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We have started free ranging our chickens. At first, under strict supervision (because of our cats). Now that the cats don't show as much interest after nearly being pecked from getting too close, we are now letting them do some free ranging on their own. <br />
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For the most part, the girls leave the garden boxes alone. But the corn box was hit hard one afternoon, and this Summer Veggies Box is showing some damage by the birds. Look closer at the cauliflower plant.<br />
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At first glance, it looks like cabbage worm or grass hopper damage, but no, this is all by our girls within a very short time period while they were unsupervised... T_T At least, they left the cauliflower head for us. :D They like Swiss chard, lettuce, anything in the cabbage family (cauliflower and broccoli), and corn! Our corn plants have been severely set back. T_T<br />
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But they leave the Herb Box completely alone. They seem to not like anything with strong scents. They don't mess with the tomato plants or the mint plants, either. :) By the way, the herbs have grown to fairly decent size now. I can enjoy them in my cooking on a daily basis, which is wonderful!<br />
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Here's a look at our dill plant. Very tall already and flowering. Chickens leave this plant alone. I like the way it looks. Reminds me of fireworks. :)<br />
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Banana Pepper plant is showing a baby fruit growing on a not-so-tall plant in my Summer Veggies Box. I loved the ones I got from our neighbor last year, I decided to grow my own.<br />
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Eggplant, a Japanese variety called Ichiban. It's my favorite. One of the local nurseries always offer seedlings. I make my trip out of the way to get them. ^^ Since I didn't have enough for myself last year from a single plant, I planted two this year.<br />
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Beefmaster tomato plant is starting to bear fruits. This plant was slow to get going, so I was worried, but I am now seeing baby fruits. This year, I am not growing any heirloom tomatoes, although I love them very much. Last year, they were off to a great start, and they were hit by some disease, and it was heartbreaking to see them slowly die or barely surviving with small fruits on the vine. I am growing disease-resistant hybrids this time around. I have three different types in my backyard this year.<br />
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Here's another tomato plant. It was supposed to be "Pink Girl", but judging from the pear-shape of this baby fruit, I'm suspecting either yellow pear or something similar... Swapped ID tags!</div>
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<br />And here's a beautiful globe of onion flowers! :D I grew this one from seeds (planted last spring). This one overwintered in the box in the backyard and now has a bloom cluster atop a 3-ft stem. How it's been surviving the mischievous cats and the high winds is a mystery to me. ^^<br /></div>
Mitzi Sato-Wiuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16077055576279541401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128889725875058070.post-72496870266256803692013-06-08T12:39:00.001-07:002013-06-08T12:39:53.844-07:00Garden Update<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We are now consistently hitting lower to mid 90s for daily high. With the high temperature, comes explosive growth. :D<br />
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Here's a look at the SFG boxes in the backyard. We now have 6. I got a bird bath for my birthday to make water available to the bees and other insects that come to the backyard (And to entertain my cats...).<br />
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The Spring Veggies Box is overflowing with fresh goodness! :D The peas in the back are really productive right now, and some of the greens are already bolting. You can see the yellow flowers of Bok Choy, and pale pink flowers from Radish. ^^;<br />
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These pretty yellow flowers belong to Bok Choy. I guess it's already too warm for them. They look like rape flowers. The bees seem to love the flowers though. I also like the cheerful lemon yellow flowers. :)<br />
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And here's a look at the Bee Garden Box. The Pansy, Snapdragon, and Lobelia I planted fairly early in the season have really taken off and are blooming profusely. I love the fresh colors! :D I see different types of bees in this section of the backyard.<br />
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A close-up view. I really should have pulled those "cat deterrent" sticks out. XD They're ruining the otherwise lovely view. T_T I really love the watercolor-like hues!<br />
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I put fresh blooms and sprigs of mint in the bird bath to make it look pretty as well as giving bees places to land. :D<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW2TYHwCQGEeg6kdO_gqCcDtBzaG8oYNmoeoIZUlriwE-7acb132cv6kRMiKlu2xeE89LBHRmBwSKDENbGBRs3_lOeeNPUMysApgT_bHEzj4veh_qTuZfDE3GMbVVe0QDynPO1DC1PE13x/s1600/WaspDrinkingWater.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW2TYHwCQGEeg6kdO_gqCcDtBzaG8oYNmoeoIZUlriwE-7acb132cv6kRMiKlu2xeE89LBHRmBwSKDENbGBRs3_lOeeNPUMysApgT_bHEzj4veh_qTuZfDE3GMbVVe0QDynPO1DC1PE13x/s400/WaspDrinkingWater.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I know this is not a bee, but a wasp, but you get the idea. :) The insects (bees, wasps, butterflies, lady bugs, flies, etc.) come to drink from the bird bath. I don't mind wasps at all. I see them in my garden every season, and they are good pest control (They hunt for caterpillars and carry them away.).<br />
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Cornflower (or Bachelor's Buttons) in blue, purple, and lavender. The deep magenta color is from the Sweet Williams. The bees love these flowers.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGDlmtfiFkFMHYYli9OMLVTTL9df_HAicVzmXj7VWVNQCzUWF7Z9dCQFDzkLtsCr5q8t5ktb_o4_vfTq605Esf95b7473FwvWbeLs08X4Sz71sQKz-LgrAfgQmideFmcCmBVvIpI1Jl9Sf/s1600/SummerVeggiesBox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGDlmtfiFkFMHYYli9OMLVTTL9df_HAicVzmXj7VWVNQCzUWF7Z9dCQFDzkLtsCr5q8t5ktb_o4_vfTq605Esf95b7473FwvWbeLs08X4Sz71sQKz-LgrAfgQmideFmcCmBVvIpI1Jl9Sf/s400/SummerVeggiesBox.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Summer Veggies Box. Cabbage plants are taking up good amount of space up front. You can see tomato plants, eggplants, banana pepper, and an ornamental pepper plant. The overgrown radishes are going crazy in the front as well. ^^;<br />
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And this is one of the two newly added boxes. This one is planted as my Herb Garden (Although I did put a cherry tomato plant in the middle. ^^; ). I have Sweet Basil, Flat-leaf Parsley, Thyme, Orange Mint, Dill, and Cilantro. Too small to see just yet are seedlings of Garlic Chives and German Chamomile. They sprouted up very quickly in this soil mix and are doing very well. I love having fresh herbs for cooking. :D<br />
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The other addition this year is dedicated as a Corn Box. There's nothing much going on just yet, so I will add the photo of the Corn Box in my next update. <br /><br />
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Mitzi Sato-Wiuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16077055576279541401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128889725875058070.post-44277535151448572682013-05-19T11:05:00.000-07:002013-05-19T11:05:26.692-07:00Pics from the Garden<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We had a nice stormy day yesterday with scattered rain showers and even some lightning and thunder. Here in the desert west, this kind of weather is rare, and it seems to have a profound psychological effect on people's mood in a good way. Moisture in the atmosphere is very soothing to us. And since this region has been in a state of drought for many years now, every bit of precipitation is gratefully received. :)<br />
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As promised, I'm posting some photos of the other boxes that I didn't get to take pictures of yesterday (At some point, it was starting to rain a little too hard for me to continue gardening, and eventually got rather cold...).<br />
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This box is dedicated to the flowers for insects in our neighborhood. I have it planted with pansy, lobelia, snapdragon, lavender, bee balm, bachelor's button, pineapple sage, echinacea, Mexican sunflower, Mexican cosmos, and chocolate mint. Some were planted as seeds, so you don't see them popping up yet. Bachelor's button plants are getting huge. They were the volunteer plants from my pots in the porch that I transplanted early in spring. The snapdragon plants were planted early, but got hit by frost a few times and they are now starting to bloom again. ^^;<br />
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This is our 5th SFG box that I just planted yesterday. Mostly herbs except for the cherry tomato plant in the center. I have sweet basil, orange mint, flat leaf parsley, dill, cilantro, and thyme. I've just sown German chamomile and garlic chive seeds this morning. We have the 6th box in progress, which will be planted with corn.<br />
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One of my favorite plants in spring is the pea. I love the particular green which is slightly grey-ish and the tendrils that add to the delicate look, plus the white flowers that look like bonnets. I think they are such feminine plants. The peas straight off the vines are so tender and sweet!<br />
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The strawberry box is overflowing with leaves that are much bigger than last year. These plants are so vigorous and each is loaded with fruits. They are still blooming a lot, but I got this shot this morning by looking under the leaves. You can see the small fruits developing. :D<br />
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Because it was a nice rainy day yesterday, we had dew drops form on the strawberry's serrated leaf edges this morning. I took many photos of the sparkly dew drops, but this is my favorite. These are very small, young leaves (note the lighter green color), and just looked precious with sparkling beads!!</div>
Mitzi Sato-Wiuffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16077055576279541401noreply@blogger.com0