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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
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Category Archives: About My Chickens
Summer in May
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
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Where is Kaku 隠?
We only saw four of the ducks this morning on our way out this morning. I searched through the garden but there was no sign of Kaku 隠. But this afternoon she showed up with the others, so I followed … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens, How Things Grow
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How Does a Bee Pick a Flower?
The fruiting cherry trees are in full bloom, attracting bees by the hundreds. From late March into early May some cherry tree or another is in bloom. It takes thousands of flowers to feed all the bees. Watching them fly … Continue reading
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The World is Curvy
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
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Mystery Solved
I was gathering eggs at the right time this morning to discover who is laying the rose colored egg. And here she is below. She came squawking out of a nest just as I was about to reach inside, and … Continue reading
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A Mystery Rose
The new year starts with a mystery. One of the hens is laying a rose colored egg, but which one? This is when it would come in handy to be able to talk with them and ask, “Which one of … Continue reading
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For Mid-December It May as Well Be a Sunny Day
There is sunshine filling the horizon, pouring through an opening in the distant clouds. It’s not raining and for a mid December day in the Pacific Northwest, this counts as a sunny winter day. Mynah, like many of the other … Continue reading
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Not Ready to Grow Up
The first snow of the season has adorned the surrounding foothills. I could see it yesterday through the clouds hiding the mountains. Today with the clouds gone, the snow covered hills glistened in the bright sun. Two nights ago, Buttercup … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens, Raising Chicks
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All Together Now
Not the clearest of pictures, but you get the idea how Buttercup and her brood bed down for the night, in a tight spot between a screen and the wall. Her chicks are two months old now and she still … Continue reading
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After making a tofu delivery this morning, we ran into a flock of swans on the outskirts of Mount Vernon. Swans and snow geese have arrived in large numbers and are settling in for the winter. Both birds are very … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens, Raising Chicks
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Learning to Share
I love the blue of the sky this time of year. The billowing clouds make you think you’re driving through a Dutch Masterpiece from the 17th century. I went out to gather the last of the grapes only to discover … Continue reading
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Barefoot Gardening
The clouds and rain come nearly every day now. The rain held off for yesterday’s farmers market. When I checked the forecast for next week’s Saturday market, it showed rain all week except Wednesday, and rain on into the following … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens, How Things Grow, Reflections
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Life Without Rhubarb is No Life At All
Hard to believe that last spring, the lush row or rhubarb didn’t exist, and were just small, round seeds I pushed into the soil. Life without rhubarb is no life at all. Sunday night when I went out to the … Continue reading
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All the Good There Is
Watching tofu cooling in clear, cold water is so soothing. It’s an opportunity to reflect on all the good there is. The marjoram has gone to bloom, dainty pink flowers decorate the path out to the tofu cabin. The chickens … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens, Reflections
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Too Far to Go
I found a bee sleeping on a daisy yesterday morning. It’s a common sight in the summer, to find a bee who decided to spend the night on a flower instead of returning to the hive. I suppose if you’ve … Continue reading
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A Dewy Web
It’s a cool, July morning. During the night, a spider spun a dewy web in the grass. The Barred Rocks are fully grown. I haven’t spotted one on a nest yet, but I am finding pullet eggs so I’m sure … Continue reading
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Lap of Luxury
An unexpected surprise were the falling flowers from this morning’s bouquet. Within minutes of bringing in fresh flowers for the table, some of the flowers rained down on my keyboard and the table. And this is the definition of luxury. … Continue reading
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Babies Galore
There are four hens raising nearly 50 chicks. Three of the hens are raising chicks I purchased from a hatchery. A broody hen is a chance to rear a new variety of hen to increase the variety of eggs. I … Continue reading
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One More Day?
Happy and his consorts are always happy to devour any leftover tofu or okara when I am in the cabin making tofu. One more day? The cherry trees are full of cherries this year. The birds are leaving them alone … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens, How Things Grow
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When Potatoes Bloom
It’s a special time when pototoes bloom. I look forward to their gentle flowers every year. With flowers this lovely, it would be easy to deceive those who have no ideas potatoes develop in the ground, that potatoes are the … Continue reading
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