- Every chick deserves a mother: one man’s crazy dream for how chickens deserve to be raised.
Follow "A Man and His Hoe" via Email
Sections
- About My Chickens (550)
- Cooking-Roasting Tips (18)
- Happiness (127)
- How Things Grow (506)
- Purchasing Chickens (5)
- Raising Chicks (138)
- Recipes (19)
- Reflections (413)
-
Recent Posts
- Each Flower Has Its Own Strategy June 29, 2020
- Disaster Averted June 19, 2020
- Cool, Wet June June 10, 2020
- The End of May May 31, 2020
- Newer, Bigger, Better May 22, 2020
- Summer in May May 13, 2020
- Apple Blossoms and Magical Shoots May 2, 2020
- Where is Kaku 隠? April 27, 2020
- How Does a Bee Pick a Flower? April 21, 2020
- Dog or Bear? April 18, 2020
- What Sunshine and Warm Air Brings April 5, 2020
- Where Everyone Gathers March 29, 2020
- Enjoy Them Today March 21, 2020
- The Snow Geese Migration Is On March 18, 2020
- The World is Curvy March 7, 2020
- Little Known Connections – Japanese Curry and Vermont March 4, 2020
- Hello Again March 1, 2020
- Edison Chicken Parade 2020 February 24, 2020
- Apple Aged February 15, 2020
- Swan Heaven February 8, 2020
- Winter’s Last Day February 3, 2020
- Take a Shower for Six Months February 2, 2020
- How Does a Trumpeter Swan Wash Its Face? January 26, 2020
- Mystery Solved January 19, 2020
- One Last Wintery Dawn January 18, 2020
- Winter Interlude January 14, 2020
- Worries Away January 11, 2020
- A Mystery Rose January 3, 2020
- An Auspicious Start January 2, 2020
- December Blue and Green December 29, 2019
- Frosty December 28, 2019
- Too Wet for the Ducks December 22, 2019
- For Mid-December It May as Well Be a Sunny Day December 17, 2019
- OK, Boomer December 15, 2019
- Know Your Body – Know Your Feathers December 8, 2019
- Chaos Must Work December 1, 2019
- Not Ready to Grow Up November 26, 2019
- All Together Now November 16, 2019
- (no title) November 15, 2019
- All the Leaves are Gone November 5, 2019
- Indigo Fall October 29, 2019
- Snow Geese and the Last Dandelion October 23, 2019
- Autumn is Just as Colorful as Spring October 18, 2019
- First Frost October 9, 2019
- How Did I Get So Lucky? October 8, 2019
- Who Eats Apples? October 6, 2019
- October Sky October 1, 2019
- Still Alive September 27, 2019
- One of the Best! Or Not September 26, 2019
- What You Don’t Know May Kill You September 25, 2019
Recent Comments
amanandhishoe on Shimonita Onions – 15 Mo… Karen on Shimonita Onions – 15 Mo… Haveela Kunche on Apple Blossoms and Magical Sho… amanandhishoe on Dog or Bear? James Hays on Dog or Bear? Archives
- June 2020 (3)
- May 2020 (4)
- April 2020 (4)
- March 2020 (6)
- February 2020 (5)
- January 2020 (7)
- December 2019 (7)
- November 2019 (4)
- October 2019 (7)
- September 2019 (8)
- August 2019 (6)
- July 2019 (6)
- June 2019 (7)
- May 2019 (5)
- April 2019 (9)
- March 2019 (8)
- February 2019 (13)
- January 2019 (15)
- December 2018 (10)
- November 2018 (9)
- October 2018 (13)
- September 2018 (8)
- August 2018 (9)
- July 2018 (8)
- June 2018 (8)
- May 2018 (8)
- April 2018 (10)
- March 2018 (9)
- February 2018 (8)
- January 2018 (9)
- December 2017 (10)
- November 2017 (10)
- October 2017 (17)
- September 2017 (12)
- August 2017 (11)
- July 2017 (8)
- June 2017 (11)
- May 2017 (10)
- April 2017 (12)
- March 2017 (11)
- February 2017 (11)
- January 2017 (15)
- December 2016 (20)
- November 2016 (15)
- October 2016 (14)
- September 2016 (17)
- August 2016 (20)
- July 2016 (20)
- June 2016 (23)
- May 2016 (19)
- April 2016 (19)
- March 2016 (24)
- February 2016 (22)
- January 2016 (24)
- December 2015 (19)
- November 2015 (19)
- October 2015 (24)
- September 2015 (22)
- August 2015 (26)
- July 2015 (26)
- June 2015 (23)
- May 2015 (30)
- April 2015 (35)
- March 2015 (36)
- February 2015 (31)
- January 2015 (35)
- December 2014 (31)
- November 2014 (34)
- October 2014 (37)
- September 2014 (35)
- August 2014 (52)
- July 2014 (54)
- June 2014 (50)
- May 2014 (67)
- April 2014 (55)
- March 2014 (34)
- February 2014 (23)
- January 2014 (33)
- December 2013 (20)
- November 2013 (3)
Monthly Archives: October 2015
Who Made My …?
It all started a few months ago when I purchased two teacups at my local Skagit Valley Food Co-op. I liked them so much that the next time I was at the co-op, I asked one of the staff if … Continue reading
Posted in Happiness, Reflections
Leave a comment
Intentions
My intention was to turn this pumpkin into several dishes: pumpkin pie, roast pumpkin, pumpkin miso-ni, etc. It’s decorating the gateway instead. Maybe after halloween I can cut it up and eat it. More pullets are laying now. For the … Continue reading
Posted in How Things Grow
Leave a comment
Worth Waking Up
Any day that starts like this is a day worth waking up for. It’s late October and there are almost no clouds in the sky. A cool mist blankets the neighbor’s horse pasture, and as soon as the sun rises, … Continue reading
Posted in Recipes
Leave a comment
What’s For Dinner?
What’s for dinner? It’s a timeless question. The answer is out in the garden until a killing frost lays waste to the greens still flourishing into mid autumn. Some of the white flower beans are blissfully unaware of frost’s impending … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens, How Things Grow
Leave a comment
Maybe, Maybe Not
There’s one last artemis melon left in the hoop house. Will it ripen? Maybe, maybe not, but I’ll let it stay on the vine as long as it wants. I found a berry flower in bloom today. It’s too late … Continue reading
Posted in How Things Grow
Leave a comment
Trees on Fire
The trees are on fire. When the sun is out, where is the heat coming from? The sun? Or the trees and their burning leaves? Every day there are more white flower beans to pick. I never tire of popping … Continue reading
Posted in Reflections
1 Comment
Is It Fall? Is It Spring?
The budding artichokes and morning sun make it look like spring. Artichokes are monumental plants. If you want your garden to make a bold statement, plant artichokes. How does something so magnificent sprout from such tiny seeds? The wheelbarrows of … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens
Leave a comment
Egg of Forest
Which new hen is laying this pale blue egg? I’d been wondering about it for a while. Now I know. It is shy, elegant Forest. She looks like a hen who would lay a blue eggs.
Posted in About My Chickens
Leave a comment
Drama by the Road
Why do you ride a bicycle? I get that question a lot. There are the obvious reasons like exercise and environment. I bicycle for those and other reasons, like being able to stop on a dime when I see something … Continue reading
Posted in How Things Grow, Reflections
1 Comment
Bamboo Harvest
It’s the great bamboo harvest of 2015. A massive pile of bamboo. If it weren’t for bamboo, civilization may never have started. Such a versatile plant. It doesn’t take a lot of bamboo to make a cozy, dry house. You … Continue reading
Posted in Reflections
Leave a comment
Leopard in the Woods
There’s an intriguing log at the edge of the woods, a fallen alder with leopard spots. I can’t decide what the spots are. A fungus perhaps? They’re curious. They’re on the log where the bark has peeled off. The other … Continue reading
Posted in Reflections
Leave a comment
Fall Goodness
Fall is not only the time for colorful leaves, it’s also the time for great salads. Many greens love the cool weather. Dill is remarkable this time of the year. Arugula’s peppery bite softens and becomes more nutty. Ruby streaks … Continue reading
Posted in Reflections
Leave a comment
Yuzu-hime Lays an Egg
More young hens are laying eggs now. This afternoon I spotted Yuzu-Hime on a nest. She and her sister have been eying the nests lately. Every few days, I find an egg I don’t recognize in one of the nests. … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens
2 Comments
Big Data – Small Data
There is a lot of talk about big data, about companies processing vast quantities of data to do whatever. Big data is nothing new, even to mice and chickens. They all do big data. Each of us has been doing … Continue reading
Posted in Happiness
Leave a comment
Fall’s Beauty Comes in Tiny Bits
It’s a crisp fall morning, mist rising off the cold ground. In the woods, fall’s beauty lies gently on soft blankets of moss. There’s so much wonder hidden in the woods, that you best forget about looking at the time. … Continue reading
Posted in Reflections
Leave a comment
Kindling
Kindling is a necessity this time of year. Maybe not for you, but for me it is. Quite a few years ago, my husband gave me this handy Swedish design log splitter. It’s called a Smart-Splitter and makes splitting logs … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens, Reflections
Leave a comment
Getting to the Other Side
This morning I found Hazel by herself, enjoying a quiet morning, drinking water alone after spending the night on the roost. None of her chicks were around. They were outdoors, on their own. Her mothering days are over. She was … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens
Leave a comment
Yeah! No Rain!
Yeah! No rain! Unlike the other day when Tangerine had to huddle her chicks out of the rain, there’s no rain, and she and her chicks can take their after lunch nap outdoors, where chickens would rather be. It doesn’t … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens
Leave a comment
Something so Sweet, so Unknown
Get a good husband. You’ll never regret it. My sweet husband was clearing piles of brush we had lying around way too long. He spent all day running the brush through our chipper. I’d mention the make and model, but … Continue reading
Out of the Rain
It’s a rainy day. There is always food and dry places to rest in the chicken yard, but most of the chickens want to be outdoors where they can see the raindrops falling and see all the action. For a … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens
Leave a comment
