Chicken-ready!

Look! My chicken coop is finally finished! My little barn no longer leans, has a new coat of paint and all the renovations necessary to provide comfortable and secure lodgings for my flock.

Here's a glimpse of the people doors into the coop, and my little office which sits atop the nesting boxes.

This is my view of the nesting boxes. There are six. The chickens can get in on the inside, and I can check for eggs from the outside via the sliding back panels.

Here's the chickens' view of the nest boxes.

The people doors straight ahead, the annex door to the left. Thanks to Nicci who came with her miter saw and built my doors. She also helped frame the interior. I was kind of baffled at the start, and she really helped me figure things out.

This is the view from the end of the chicken yard. I'm facing east. I'll add some shade cover when the chickens arrive.

The chicken door and chicken ramp.

Chicken's eye view from inside the chicken door.

It's taken waaaaaaay longer than I predicted to complete this project! There were many puzzles and challenges. And the fence panels really beat me up. My vocabulary became quite sailor-like during the fencing phase. There were chicken wire installation days when I was bleeding from nine of ten fingers. But it's done!

I'm thinking of writing a booked titled "Kay's Chicken Coop Diet and Workout Plan." I dropped a whole size since buying new Spring clothes at the end of April. I worked really long, hard days and didn't have time to hang out in the kitchen much.

The next challenge is acquiring my flock. I have two chicken dates this week. Raising from babies is easier in some ways. But I'm looking for chickens that are already laying. They are harder to find.
My gardens are mostly planted. I got to harvest my rhubarb!

I also pickled five jars of asparagus this week. I was overstocked!

My first snow peas are just setting on. So far, I've eaten all I've harvested on the way to the house. Maybe this week I'll have enough for an Oriental chicken salad.

In other garden news, this will not be a stellar fruit season in my yard. The cherry tree set about half as much fruit as last year, and I have exactly one peach. No apples on my new Granny Smith dwarf. I'll have lots of black currants and gooseberries, though. And the black raspberry vines are loaded!

Here's my pretty water lily. I had three blooms at once! Big accomplishment in my little pond!

This is the last of the peony blooms.

I hope you're all enjoying this pleasant Spring!

At long last, sandal weather!

Can't believe I've been away from my blog this long! So much to do around here that I've barely been indoors since finishing my school year at Butler on May 5.

The chicken coop is progressing nicely. I took an extra week to reset my little barn on its foundation. So now I'm looking forward to being chicken-ready by Memorial Day instead of Mother's Day. The interior is near completion. Now I have to dig some post holes and set up the chicken yard.


I found all these four leaf clovers back by the chicken coop. I think I'll have me some lucky chickens.


Look! My first radish! I already ate it in a salad with some fresh-picked lettuce and asparagus.

Bibb lettuce is sooooo photogenic!

The potatoes are growing like crazy!



This beautiful visitor stopped by to admire my poppies.


And some new neighbors took up residence above my downspout. I think they are ambitious sparrows. They built their nest out of last years Siberian iris fronds.


Here's my first peony. It's the fanciest variey in my yard, and always the first to bloom.


My mud shoes sit by the back door, ready for action.

Looks like the weather is finally going to cooperate with us farmers. Dry days and weekend temps in the 80's! Yahooey! I hope to wear sandals to Mike and Steve's Indy 500 party on Sunday, and Leanne's big birthday bash that night. It will be great to take a break from digging and construction to hang out with my pals.

And we're off!

Spring is springing around Kay's Leaning Tree Farm! When nightly low temperatures are in the 50's, my planting season kicks into high gear. The 10 Day Forecast (thanks Weather Channel!) has the lowest low at 49. So I'll be outdoors (and dirty) every daylight moment for at least the next ten days.

This is what my mother wanted in her Easter basket this year. No marshmallow peeps. No chocolate bunnies. A pick axe. This one is sort of the "ladies model." It's called a Matlock and it's a little shorter and lighter than your average pick axe. I'm glad the doctors fixed her heart, and she's feeling invincible again.

Surprise! As I was planting my potato patch I found a survivor from last year's crop! Isn't he a beauty?! For winning the reward challenge, he'll be served alongside a BIG steak and some fresh-picked asparagus.

My first tulip! Welcome to the sea of yellow and white daffodils!

Fresh cut flowers decorate my bathroom. A sure sign that the long winter has passed.

Updates: The chicken coop is progressing. Thanks to Nicci, it now has doors! People doors, that is. I'm working on the chicken door. I've had to take a break from construction to work on my gardens. The potato patch is nearly complete. I've selected Yukon Gold, Red Pontiac and fingerlings for this year's crop. Last year my potato garden was underwater several times. I replanted twice, and finally picked a spot with better drainage. I decided to dig a drainage ditch from the old potato patch to the big drainage ditch by the street. I'm about 2/3 of the way there. This will let me utilize two boggish spots for vegetable gardens. Yes, my back is stiff. Lots of digging around here!

Happy Easter!

From me and my friends at the farmers market. I didn't dye these eggs. They came in pink, blue green and brown.

Happy Easter from the frog I snuck up on.

And happy Easter from Daddy Cat. He hopes you managed to work in some sunbathing and a good roll.

Comfort me!

Winter is back. My schedule is full. My to-do list is a mile long. I need some comfort food! I have already blog-whined about the serious shortage of snacks and desserts in my life. So I decided to check the fridge and the internet for something that might comfort me. Found it!

It's custard! Made from fresh brown eggs from the farmers market, local honey, and goat's milk - all legal ingredients for me!

Kay's Honey Custard

4 eggs
1 1/2 C goat milk
1/2 C honey
scrapings from 1/2 a vanilla bean
pinch of salt
cinnamon for sprinkling

Beat the eggs. Add milk and honey to the eggs in the top of a double boiler. (I sat my small pan in a larger pan of water.) Stir constantly over medium heat until the mixture thickens. Add the salt and vanilla scrapings. Taste. Yum! Pour into custard cups and sprinkle with cinnamon. Chill. Indulge!

Make yourself some custard, and come back to see what's popping up in my yard.

And . . .

Look! It's my first asparagus spear!

I hope we all feel better now!

Awakenings

Earth Hour comes before Earth Day. The whole world goes dark for an hour to bring attention to earthly issues - like power consumption, and the resulting global warming.




I decided to spend Earth Hour enjoying a candlelight dinner. It was yummy! I rather liked the darkness and the quiet. The auto flash on my camera kicked on, so my photo doesn't quite convey the warm ambience.

It was nice to have one quiet hour. Since the temperatue hit 70 a couple of weeks ago, I've been behind on everything. Every Spring feels this way. The gardens, the upcoming chickens, the worm farms, my future crops in the basement greenhouse . . . they all need work. During the growing season, I never get done with my chores. Don't get me wrong - I love summertime! I love growing vegetables! But once the season starts, it takes off like Tony Stewart. Okay, maybe Jimmy Johnson. (Sorry, Tony! Win one for the hometown fans!)

I've made some progress since my last post. I've gathered most of the materials I need for my chicken coop and yard. My radishes and lettuce are popping up in the very first garden. The tomato plants in the basement greenhouse are outgrowing their little pots. I own the peat moss I'll add to the potato patch. I've won a few small battles against the fruit flies that seem to like the kitchen scraps I'm feeding the worms and night crawlers. I'm learning!

Rewards of the season abound! Here's one, er, two:

Look closely. It's like a seek n find picture. There are two small frogs between the rocks! One is in the water. They're shy. This is as close as I could get.

On the Last Day of Winter

It's cold again. A cold front passed through last night, bringing a temporary end to my twice-yearly seasonal wardrobe crisis. I can wear my heavy jeans and ski socks again, after several warm days of digging around for long forgotten lightweight clothing.

Tomorrow I will celebrate the equinox with its promise of new beginnings.

In the spirit of the season, I decided to test drive a new product. Living Harvest Hemp Oil is a naturally gluten free oil. I've had some reactions to olive oil that I suspect was cut with soy oil, so I've been using mostly canola oil. Hemp oil is a nutty flavored finishing oil that offers a wealth of healthy Omega 3 and Omega 6. After talking with Living Harvest, I trust that their oil contains no fillers. And the Omegas might help revive my winter skin!


To appreciate its flavor, I decided to drizzle it on some sauteed halibut that my brother caught on a fishing trip to Alaska. And I invited my mom over for dinner. She'd had a heart procedure earlier in the week, and was feeling good enough for a field trip. (*Note: She had a baffling heart attack last Fall. Previous tests failed to illuminate the cause. The problem was found and fixed. We're jubilant!)


I seasoned my saute pan with some spring onions. Then sauteed the halibut with just a little salt and some of Penzey's shallot salt. Topped it with a drizzle of hemp oil and fresh green onions. The hemp oil added a delightful nutty flavor. It was a fine compliment to the fish. I think this oil would work well in a spinach pesto, which would also be great on halibut. And my spinach seedlings will soon offer me some big savoy leaves to work with. I look forward to trying this oil with some of my spring crops.

Springtime is fickle. Warm yesterday. Cold today. Sun and rain and strong winds. It's an entertaining season for weather radar (my favorite show!)

I've been busy laying the framework for my gardens. I've spent a lot of quality time hauling unmentionables to the compost bin. The little sprouts in the basement greenhouse are starting to look like real vegetable plants. And I planted radish, lettuce and snow pea seeds in the garden over my spring break! It was great to get my hands into the dirt again. It's been a long winter!

My flower gardens have started without any help from me. I love that! Here's a taste of Spring beauty at Kay's Leaning Tree Farm:










Hope you enjoy your first tastes of Spring! It starts tomorrow!