Cultivating our own garden and such

We (mostly Sarah) have been seeing some beautiful birds on the hill this spring, to include Baltimore Orioles, Eastern Bluebirds, and Indigo Buntings. We looked up the Indigo and found that the male of the species is actually black, and it is the diffraction produced in the feathers that results in such rich shades of blue and purple. Neat. Sarah managed to nab this picture of one on our rotten log pile. (Sarah's note: It was the first time I have ever seen one, but Mick and his family talk a lot about them. I saw a blue brighter than a bluebird, and thought, that's gotta be it, amazing!)


Dad, you'll appreciate how different this looks now. I've cut some smaller trees down and cleared a few limbs, and then used the brush hog to sort of push back the forest.



What a help that thing has been. We put in 25 hybrid poplars this morning, and three chokecherry trees. With the kubota we just went down the line and filled the bucket with the rocks all that digging produced.

We started putting in our annual garden as well. This time last year our tomatoes were about 2 inches high, we're expecting more from them this year.



We did a raised bed with onions and garlic, and boy have the onions really taken off!



Along with the other trees we put in today, we had two Carmine Jewel Dwarf Cherries. They are cold hardy all the way up to zone 2b! Also, they are naturally dwarfing. Gurney's sells them for 30 bucks, but they had a special and sold 'em for seven. We bought two, and mulched them heavily.



All of that mulch has to come from somewhere, and we sure as heck aren't buying it! That rotten log pile that the Indigo Bunting was on, we've been chopping those up with shovels and using it as mulch.



And we've been using the mulch for just about everything we've planted so far. The next picture is taken from on top of the rotting log pile, and it shows the site of our future orchards, with a bunch of mounds and raised beds in between what we already have established.



And now for one of my favourite things, the vineyard. I ordered 11 grapes from Red Dog Vineyard and I'm reasonably happy. Their prices were very cheap, though the root systems on the Frontenac Grapes were very poorly developed. The other varietals were great, though. So I think I've lost one Frontenac and one Sabrevois (great root system, no idea what happened), so thus far I'm pretty happy. The new grapes look great, and with a distinctive look to the leaves that might mean I'm far more accustomed to older, more american grape hybrids.



I had three Elvira grape vines that I nurtured and kept away from freezing weather all spring (I got 'em from Tractor Supply and they had already leafed out), and I planted them...gosh, when was that horrible wind storm with all the snow? Well, right before that happened I planted them, and all the new green growth died. My reliance, concords, and niagaras had begun leaf flush as well, and they lost their primary buds also. Everything but one Elvira is budding out again, and I'm so excited about the poor Elviras that I've got to include some pictures:





Life is just amazing!

A little bit of Spring and Gerard the Hunter

It's really starting to feel like spring, even though it keeps frosting (or snowing) at night. Our Cornish Rocks are doing very well, we can't believe how fast they're growing! In addition to the feeder and waterer, we put in a saucer filled with either water or feed (they don't get to eat at night, so it's filled with water at night and feed during the day...Cornish Rocks can only eat for 12 hours a day or they suffer from fatal heart attacks...we lost three before we figured that out) because we had something of a runt who always got pushed out when he tried to eat. We weren't sure what the problem was, though we think he didn't figure out where the water was when we first put the new waterer in. I tried to dip all their beaks in water but I can't tell them apart. It was acting lethargic and kept falling asleep on his feet, wouldn't eat even if we separated him with feed. So I dipped his beak in water twice (to make it stick!) and he drank, then drank three or four times on his own. Now he's doing great, but as part of his recovery effort we put in that extra saucer so there would be plenty of room for all the chicks to be at a feeder. After he started eating and drinking, the problem became his little size. Every time he wanted a bite to eat, it would give the other chicks the idea that it was time to eat and he got forced out, as the other chicks are larger. So we keep the saucer in just in case.

This is our brooder, it's 9 feet square and we keep it out of drafty areas so it can be open like that. [Doesn't Mick do amazing work? I think the brooder looks outstanding! and he just whipped it together in an afternoon. -Sarah's edit] They're growing so fast I think I'm going to try to have the chicken tractor planned and built within two weeks.

Gerard finally started paying attention to the chicks.

Yes, that's really his paw IN the brooder...

We also changed some things around outside. We finally moved aside the landing thing, and are just using the stairs. It feels like it gives us more room, and we're using the landing as a sort of potting bench/gardening area.

Here are a few of the potted plants we have going.

From left to right, those are blueberries, the earthbox is spinach, broccoli, and celery seedlings, then two elvira grapes, and the flat has some peppers, tomatoes, more celery, and a few experimental onions.

On the East side of the trailer we have a bed of kale growing, and soon I think we'll be putting in some lettuce and other greens.

On the south side of the trailer we put in two cold frames, and we have some chard and radishes coming up. My uncle John says radishes and beer make an unexpected and delicious companionship, we'll soon find out.

And here is what might be Sarah's favourite part of spring, clotheslines!

Gerard has finally found an animal he might be able to catch someday...bumblebees.

Well, maybe someday.