Category Archives: About My Chickens

On a frosty morning, it’s hard to say, “This is the last frost.” And such was the case on Monday, April 12. It was 30ºF, -1ºC. But I feel safe to proclaim that April 12 was the last freeze of … Continue reading →

March is in its pink and yellow mood. Pink plum blossoms entice hummingbirds to visit. We watched one hover from one plum blossom to another. What does plum blossom nectar taste like? It’s be nice to have a hummingbird tongue … Continue reading →

2021 is here, the world over. It’s already January 2 in some places. Hopefully 2021 will be a year of recovery and by fall we can greet one another in person again. Here is a 2021 calendar you can download … Continue reading →

Just like children in their Sunday best can’t resist stomping in mud puddles, swans love troddling through muddy fields. How they stay pristine white is a mystery. True, they don’t roll around in the mud like swine. Having long necks … Continue reading →

Today is the first of November. In many years, the swans have flown in from Alaska and Siberia by now. On a number of years, I’ve seen them first flying on November 1, but not this year. Today’s blue skies … Continue reading →

We had our first frost yesterday. A very light frost. Just enough to dust the grass and fallen leaves. The forecast is for a freeze this weekend, maybe enough to make the wet ground crunch when you walk on it. … Continue reading →

The woods are too wet to burn. You could pour gasoline on them and they wouldn’t catch fire. But let there be a sliver of a break in the clouds at sunset, and the whole forest is ablaze. Against the … Continue reading →

I didn’t realize today’s date was so special until I sat down to write this. 20 20 10 10. Strung together, 20201010, it almost looks like code. I wonder if someone in the year 1010, on October 10, wrote down … Continue reading →

Will she or won’t she hatch those ducklings? That was what I was wondering about Kaku. She’d been sitting on a second clutch of eggs for a long time. This morning I had my answer. She was swimming in the … Continue reading →

Recent rains interrupted our August sun, but it is back. The chickens are happy. Very happy. The end of June chicks are over a month old. They no longer panic when they can’t see their mother. They can take a … Continue reading →

I’ve seen bamboo my whole life, but this is the first time I’ve seen a grove bloom. The grove of bamboo next to the cabin is blooming. The leaves are drying and falling. Bamboo can go decades before blooming, but … Continue reading →

Every year an ice shelf forms on one bank of the pond, an ice shelf of cherry blossoms. Wind blows the cherry blossom petals onto the pond and pushes them against one bank. It looks like an ice shelf to … Continue reading →

The Komatsuna 小松菜 survived the winter rather well. So well they are on the verge of blooming. With no other brassicas in bloom, I can let these bloom and go to seed. The nettles are up, a sure sign that … Continue reading →