Diving Hawk

I have been under the misunderstanding that my chickens were too big for the seemingly small Red Tail Hawks we have flying all around us. I've been letting my girls run around the yard for the past three years. I've only been letting them out in the center of the day where I've felt safer from the foxes. I have seen a fox in the middle of the day, but most often in the morning or evening. I'm always on the watch for coyotes but it's actually been a while since I've seen one of those mangy things running through the yard. They are my least favorite animal of all! Of all the things I feared for my hens I was just blind to the threat flying above us.

Perhaps it's because my cat has cleared out what ever field mice and moles there were in the open field next to us. Perhaps this hawk just woke up and felt like a change in diet and felt extremely bold. I do have to say that a Red Tail Hawk is a beautiful majestic looking creature. I admire them from my front window as I see them circle above. They always seem so small. It's hard for me to believe it could really pick up one of my hens. That didn't stop her from trying.

I was standing on the deck talking on the phone and admiring the zen-fullness of the clutch pecking around happily under the willow tree when from out of the tree dives the bold hawk. I screamed and got off my call to run down to protect my girls. As I was standing there the hawk took another dive right next to me! I always walked over and stood in the middle of my hens whenever I saw the flying predator before. I just assumed that my presence would deter any interest. I was wrong. This bird either didn't notice me standing there shooshing it or it was simply amused by my waving arms.

To make a long story short, I rounded up all my girls with my super duper pool noodle and got them back into the run in a flash before the attacker had a chance to take another dive. All is well, however, my girls complain to me when I refuse to open the run door. I'm going to leave them en the run or the tractor now. It's such a shame. They were loving those bugs in the ditch area. At least they are safe.

Tiny Tomatoes Everywhere

I couldn't believe how many tomatoes I got this year! My girls just loved going out to the garden and grazing at snack time. They picked about a hundred of these tiny tasty tomatoes. I grew too many and that really made harvest hard. I read that they grew well with strawberries. THEY DO! I had these started from seed and actually thought I got them in late when I lost a few weeks at the start of summer with back pain. I had replanted my strawberry bed and I had a slow year with them, but we did get enough for our daily grazing trip. It's our favorite time. I actually let some of my broccoli flower because my girls will stand there and pick and eat all the pretty yellow flowers...that's our favorite color around here so eating "yellow" is really cool:) I don't mind having a few plants mature like that when I have two little ones really enjoying eating raw broccoli! (and you can juice the entire broccoli plant) It makes a Mom's heart happy to see a 2 and 4 year old really caring if something is healthy or not. My boys....not so much:( Although my younger son is a vegetarian and aside from wanting the junk does care about what's good for you. He gets expensive with all the Boca burgers I buy.

So, these tiny kind of sad looking tomato seedlings went in late and I planted them way too close I think. I put them around the border of my strawberry bed thinking I was being smart. Wow! In a hot dry summer they still grew to such an extent that I thought they would take over my yard. I had to pull some to save my strawberries. Obviously I should have put them on a trellis, but I had never grown these before. I could have covered a wall with them. I've harvested at least 8 buckets of tomatoes from maybe 20 seeds and some biodome sponges. (I love/hate my biodome...more later on that) I was pretty good at watering twice a day and they had the moisture control from the strawberry plants at their base. The strawberries kept them from ever drying out. I planted a few bean plants in some bare spots within the bed thinking they would pull in some nitrogen. I don't know if I did it right, but I did cut up the bean plant and put it back into the soil. I'm learning as I go with this.

I was lucky enough to get a bunch of wonderful heirloom seeds from my friend and I'm so bad with names that now I don't know exactly what I planted. (Help Jen) I can't tell you right now what these were. I have to tell you that I'm not the most organized person. I know the one plant she gave me was a Crimson Black...?? ok, something like that. They are pictured in the corner of the tray. These are good, but I won't grow them again. This one in the picture is pretty, but the others grew like lobes and it made a good place for bugs to get in. I lost most to bugs or some I couldn't get off the vine without breaking because they grew around it. I grow totally organic so I don't know what I could do to protect tomatoes that grow like that from bugs.

I just canned about 10 qts of salsa / sauce. I added toooooo much vinegar. I followed the directions, so I don't know if it was meant to taste like that or what I did wrong. Anyway, we aren't putting that batch on chips. I wanted to cry (maybe even did a bit) since it's the start of football season and nothing goes better with a Bronco's or Bills game then chips and salsa. To make lemonade out of lemons I used a good bit of it for some chili last night and my husband and son (the meat eating one) raved about it and told me to write down what I did. The joke around here is that they never get the same meal twice. Hey, at least I feed them:)

I need to go out and pull the rest of my tomatoes today. Something is getting them. They are getting brown spots..even the really green ones. I brought some in to see if they would rippen off the vine and be safe from the spots...but nope. I have a tray of tough green tomatoes. Sadly my chickens won't eat tomatoes and I hate to compost anything that could ruin my soil. I hate waste. It was 38 degrees when we got up today..so I'm thinking I need to pull in what I have. My Kale is very happy and I'm very glad I got about 20 plants going early enough to be established. Lots of juicing through the winter.

Fall is coming fast in upstate NY.....that means time for crafts and I'll be getting my knitting needles out soon.

Smiles,
Julie

Baby Eggs

"Hello....are you talking about me again?"

Momma, Pappa and Baby omelets

 This is Betty. She's a Dominique and is the softest, friendliest, sweetest, bravest, and all around fun young lady in the coop. I got her when she was a couple weeks old, so I'm not sure of her exact age. I keep forgetting to ask. Her cohorts are Yorkie the Barred Rock and Lemonade and Fifi the Salmon Favorollies.
She's the biggest of the group and she also has started hanging out with my older layers. It's like she's in the "in" crowd now. I wouldn't be shocked if it did turn out to be Yorkie, but we'll see.

My wonderful husband.

 My husband is pretty sure the newest egg belongs to Betty. Ever since he built them the new nest box he has taken to collecting the eggs. I leave them in there until he gets home so I don't take his fun away. I love that he's getting involved with the chickens. He sees now why I love them so much. He's always been so good about it..even letting me let them live in the garage a couple of cold winters...<3

I know my coop isn't fancy, but it's 4x8 with these old windows that I can slide to open or close in front of the hard wire that's over every opening in the coop. It's safe and I have two doors in back I can get right in there if I want to. I do need to pretty it up a bit. I have screen door windows over the fenced run right now to keep the rain off the back of the run. They hang out under it a lot when they aren't running around the yard. It's hardwired all the way around the back. I've had my share of scares..so I have enough fear in me to double check everything every day. Knock on wood..I've never lost a feathered friend..sure have come close though.

Reba - The best layer and dog-chicken

 Reba is now 2 years old and lays about every single day. My 3 1/2 year old Astrolorp also lays like 4-5 a week when she isn't broody....which drives me and all my hens nuts! My 3 1/2 year old Easter Egger is really not a great layer at all. She was hiding them at one time, so I can't say for sure. I do leave her in the run some days to see if she is laying. I think she holds them in until she can find a hiding spot though. She has such great personality that even if she doesn't lay I can't see letting go to someone else. She's the alarm bell and has saved the clutch in the past.

I wish they all layed like Reba! We run low on eggs with 6 of us and my husband likes to show off my deviled eggs. I haven't had enough to send to work with him. Now that Betty and her cohorts are going to start laying I'll have 7 layers. That will be good for us. It will be a while for Lilly to start and well....I'm thinking Dovie never will:( I'm not letting her/him go until there is absolutely no doubt and Lilly is big enough to cuddle with the bigger girls. They still haven't really accepted the little ones. They do let them hang out with them, but they won't let them on the big roost. They'll be big enough soon. Ahh..they grow up so fast.

Crows from the Coop

But "She's" just a baby.....We could be wrong, but Dovie was stretching her wings at the exact time we heard the crowing. She is so young so I was really surprised. The jury is still out because I've only heard this once. I'm holding out hope because I love this little bird and I'm not allowed to keep a rooster...I'm kind of not supposed to have any chickens but I told the town I'd fight them and never stop. I guess having chickens is a "hobby farm" and you have to have 5 acres. We have 2 1/2 and live in the middle of no where...really??? It's been a few years, so they aren't saying anything but I won't push it and get a rooster. That's just inviting trouble.

I'm holding out hope that the crowing was a fluke. Keep your fingers crossed for me. She's my only Buff Brahma and just look how beautiful she/he is. 


update...my son "thinks" she did it again today. I still don't want to believe it...since I didn't hear her..I'm not going to count it. She has gotten a tiny bit bitty with me though... (tears)

Our Lovelys

 Dove is a Buff Brahma and the sweetest little thing! We had 2 Lt. Brahmas for a while but they were crazy. Our favorite was a Lt. Brahma named Bunny and she was wonderful except she turned so mean on both sets of the babies and we thought she might actually kill someone. I really wanted to be able to put them all together and saw that if she was gone they get along without me having to keep the babies in the tractor or the rabbit hutch I use for "isolation". We gave her to our friend who had given us the babies. They love her so everyone is happy. She is a great pet and a great layer. I guess being in a new family brought the bossiness down a bit. The 2 little Lt. Brahmas were impossible to catch. We keep chickens as pets and they aren't good pets if you can't catch them! They were so flighty that the others would beat them up to try to calm them down. We see this with Reba who gets a bit crazy to get that coop window seat.

 Yorkie is a Barred Rock...named Yorkie because we thought she was the Dominique and that's an old American breed and we live in New York..my son choose the name..I went along with it. She is so soft, but not as soft as our Dominique Betty. OMG..Betty is the softest most cuddly girl. Beautiful..just beautiful! I never want to be without one. She is brave and friendly. Love:)

 This is one of our Faveorilles Lemonade inside the coop. I'm happy using the deep litter method. I use the DE and it never smells at all and they are happy all winter in upstate NY....it gets coooold up here.

 This is my baby. Lily is the one chicken I will have to take with us when we move next year. She is a Golden Laced Wyandotte and she is the only chick I've ever had that come running to me at this young age. We picked her because she jumped up on my husbands chair. She snuggles and I bring her inside to just sit with me. She is my favorite hen ever!

This is my daughters baby Lemonade. She has actually become a bit flighty now. She had sooo much love in the beginning but now she has lost a lot of that calmness. I think it might be that she is low in the pecking order and she does get chased a bit by the other hens. So sad, it seems like the best pets have a harder time dealing with the others.

NYC is AMAZING!

 I can see why people who live in NYC are said to live 3 years longer on average...the walking!

 I saw what I went to see.......look at dem boots ladies:)

This place was a few blocks from Central Park (the best place EVER) and we have never had such awesome pizza! Real olives...I've never had REAL olives on my pizza before. It was out of a coal oven and crispy..yumm.. You would think we live in a cave we were so excited. We even loved watching all the pigeons. They are such beautiful birds but they made me miss my chickens.

This trip was for my oldest son's 13th birthday. I can't believe I've been a Mom so long. I booked us bus tickets on MegaBus but I messed up so badly:( The web site was really confusing...really..our tickets ended up being for 9:25 PM not AM...So, we drove down to Suffern and took NJ Transit. It made things more confusing because we've never been on trains. We got used to the subway (though the fumes down there made me feel sick), and took the train back up without any problem once we knew what we were doing.

I have to say one very important thing about NYC... those people are SOOOOO nice! We kept having to ask for help, and a few times we weren't even asking..people just asked us if we needed help. They called us "family"..."after you Family" we heard getting off the train. Everything was served with a smile and a nice chat. I was so impressed. There was nothing scary at all about being there. Well, I didn't like the area down on Canal street at all. We took the subway down to see the site of the WTC and I wish we had stayed up by Times Square and Central Park. (don't buy ice cream down there..$24 and plastic tasting shells) You couldn't walk with all the handbags on blankets on the ground. They shouldn't be allowed to block so much of the walk. Speaking of that...I was very surprised by the complete lack of diversity of stuff for sale. I wanted to see some cool crafty stuff, but it was all the same..same scarves, same pictures, same sunglasses...the same at every table. And OMG wear a sign that says you don't want to ride a bike if you are near the entrances of Central Park. They were very nice about it, but we were asked like 100 times. My husband was getting a bit tired of that.

We enjoyed this trip so much that it won't be long before we go again...I'll just make sure I get the right MegaBus tickets! It's a bit of a trip for us...it takes us 1 1/2 hours to Albany and the bus trip is 3 hours. That will give me some knitting time though. I can't wait to go again.

Too busy with Chicks for Crafts

I hate to admit that I'm waiting for a rainy day so we can get back to crafting. It seems I ripped my rotatee cup or something like that...I meet with an orthopedic surgeon soon. That leaves me out of gardening for a bit. I must have done it throwing rocks. My girls are too captivated with the baby chicks to want to come inside. We only got 4 from a friend this year, but two of them are Faverolle chicks. I have never in my life seen such easy going holdable chicks!
Luna will put her "Lemonade" on her lap and she will just sit there nicely and go to sleep. I would half think a panic coma, but the little bird lets her catch her and gets carried around for hours. I have to tell them both to put the chicks down enough to let them eat. These are some very very well chicks!
The other two are a Dominique and a Barred Rock. Both are very sweet, but a bit flighty and nothing like the two Faverolle chicks. I think we are hooked.
Look how cute these chicks are!

Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Sticks-A Tasty Project

 There's not a lot I need to say about Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Sticks...except...yummmm.
We had cousins and friends come over for a craft party around Christmas time to make gifts for their Moms and just to play. All the girls really loved this...so did my sons. (My oldest son loved the clean up...ie..eating the left overs)

I melt my chocolate in my double boiler and pour it into separate cups for each dipper. I know you can melt it in the microwave, but I'm older and set in my ways. Besides, it might be in my head, but I really think it stays melted longer when you do it over a burner. That's my thought.

Of course you can get as fancy as you like. The younger girls really enjoyed just the process. The older girls really liked trying to make them look pretty. When the chocolate was still warm we rolled them in different kinds of sprinkles. We placed them on cookie sheets with wax paper on them. After they were all dry some of the older girls came in with melted white chocolate. I bought a bag of the Wilton that I used to LOVE to work with when I had time. They drizzled a bit of the white chocolate to make lines on them. We put them all in tall gift bags for them to take home at the end of the party.

I'll add more about hosting a kids craft party later. It's a great way to really get them creating:)
Aren't these girls adorable!

New Chicken Blog

 I've decided that I needed to separate my thoughts and I started a new blog only about my chickens...because if you know me, you know I love my chickens. I've only begun, but I have a couple of posts so far. One is my introduction and today was about coop safety. I think I'll be moving back over to this site, but I'm still learning what I'm doing...in case you can't tell:)

Here is The Yellow Hen House blog site:                  http://yellowhenhouse.wordpress.com


update.....ok, so if you've been there you know that I haven't been.... I mean well..really I do.

That picture is of my dear Bunny. She was so mean to the baby chicks I thought she might actually kill one. I gave her to a friend and they are all very happy together...I miss my Bunny:(

Just paper....just fun

Sometimes all you need is paper and paint...pink paper is even better when you have lots of little girls:)

I try not to get too fancy and just put basic supplies on the table and leave the rest to them. My girls love arts and craft so much that even when the cousins or friends come over it's the first thing they want to share.

I keep a container full of cut construction paper. The favorite is when I cut flower shapes. My 4 year old will play for half an hour just positioning the flower petals without any glue. My 2 year old is more interested in the glue stick still...but she likes putting the glue on the paper. That's a step in the right direction:)
The important thing to me is that the girls have craft time every day. Some days I need to keep it simple. I was able to clean the kitchen and prepare dinner before they ever got tired of playing with cut out shapes. Wonderful!