Chicken Coop Karma

I am one of those people that feels that karma will bite you.  And you never really know quite when it may until it has.  I don't know why my brain works that way.  When something "off" happens I will automatically think "it's because of this or that."  Well... Chicken Coop Karma has hit the farm. 

Since the big move, from behind the shop to in front of the shop, we have been letting the hens browse around outside the coop occasionally during the day and only when we are at home.  The first day I let them out was last Friday when I was up at the shop cleaning the kiddie slide that came from my Mom's for the DC.  I was a nervous wreck, making sure they didn't go far out of my sight, like a little mother hen myself.  Little did I know that there could have easily been a predator watching the whole time and probably was. 

Since then they have been out a couple of times in the evening.  Tuesday night I was sitting with Shaun in front of the shop and one of the Dominicks came running up to me wanting a snack.  So I gave her some bites of a tortilla and when I was turned talking to Shaun she jumped up in my lap!  Talk about chicken feet tickling your leg! 

Yesterday Shaun was here, working in the shop, and let the Spice Girls out.  Which is what I call them... the Spice Girls.  I knew better than to name something we may have to eat one day but I couldn't help it.  She gets in my lap for crying out loud!  How can you not name her?  We have Salt, Pepper, Nutmeg, Paprika, Cinnamon and Butt Rub (the lazy non-laying hen).  Anyway, Shaun came out of the shop and found a scattering of black and white checkered feathers next to the shop with no chicken in sight.  It is sad but either Salt or Pepper is gone.  And I immediately thought, we took one (the rooster) and now we lost one.  I know it really doesn't mean that, it was probably a hungry hawk or owl or coyote.  But I do miss her already.  She was sure a good laying hen.  Salt or Pepper... whichever one she was.  I am going to let the hens carouse this evening and I will know which one it was if she does or doesn't come running when she sees me.

I don't know if this was her or not.  They were almost identical!   

Bird Watching: Theme Day

Well I totally started off this post about Butterfly theme day and got the sucker half written and realized I had already posted butterfly day!  Goofball!  What I haven't posted is Bird Watching theme day.  This was a fun one.  Once again, I chose a couple of bird books from the library, a couple of coloring pages, and two crafts for table time.  It becomes a lot to squeeze into one day but I will get used to it once I have more kids at the day care and realize I can slow down a bit.  These themes can actually last all week and a topic such as bird watching would include an outing on Friday to actually bird watch.

Here is a bit about what I put together.

 These are bird feeders made from orange juice cartons. 

I tried painting them a solid color ahead of time but it didn't work. 

Due to the wax coating, the paint just scratched off. 

So I cut out and glued on card stock and painted just the tops.

You cut a square hole leaving enough space at the bottom to hold in bird seed.

 Decorate, then punch a hole in the top and string some yarn through for hanging.

 For the binoculars, I used toilet paper rolls glued together and punched holes on both outsides and strung yard and tied it so they would hang around your neck. 

We decorated them with craft paint and they were good to go.

Nothing fancy... just fun!

Discoveries at the Creek

I sewanee, if I don't visit the creek and woods on our farm at least once a week, I have seriously missed out on something.  There is so much going on down there that eyes never get to see.  I went for a walk the Sunday before last and then again this Wednesday.  The things that were blooming a week and a half ago were finished blooming and there were new things that had popped up everywhere. 

On this past trip, it took me halfway down the creek before I paid attention to my surroundings.  Too much on the brain.  Plus I was returned a wild orchid that I had found last fall and brought in.  It lived in a tiny glass bud vase on my kitchen window all winter.  It was loose in the fall and not knowing if it would die over the winter I thought it best that I take care of it.  So it went back to live with it's friends. 

The moral of this story is, if you don't take time to stop and see weird stuff in the woods, you're going to miss it.

Please do not ask me what the devil this is.  They were growing all around this one tree by the creek.

I can't even explain them.  Are those seeds?  Is it a conifer?  So odd.

 See what I mean.  This is blurry, I know, but even if it were a clear picture... I still wouldn't know what it was.

 I spotted these only in a certain area.  So pretty :)

 This is up close.  So cool.

 Tadpoles are starting to look like frogs.  Some of them. 

 Back with the other kids.  Awe.  Makes me want to go check on it right now.

But it's night... and dark down there.  Not that I haven't thought before that I couldn't find my way in the dark down there.  I know I could.  I tried it with my eyes closed.  But I'd have to have a flash light to see it.  I am rambling.  Must go to bed.

 Whoever saw a iddy, biddy flower growing on the end of a blade of grass like this? 

This flower is so tiny.  I am not even kidding.

How To: Plant in a Dump Truck

Not a BIG dump truck!  Just a Tonka one!  I got my dump truck at Trash and Treasures for under five dollars a few years ago.  It is an oldie and doesn't have near the paint on it as it once did, but it's a goodie and just precious with flowers and greenery trailing out of it's bed like it is ready to deliver the goods! 

Now, these toy dump trucks may sound simple to plant in, but if you have one or want one like this on,e you will notice that there are only three sides to the bed.  And the bed of the truck is where the plant goes.  So what is a dump truck driver to do?  I went to the woods and dug up two handfuls of moss.  You can find decent, usable moss growing in lots of areas like around a creek or in the woods and sometimes even around the base of a tree.  It is not at all difficult to dig up but you need to dig down a couple of inches just to where you bring a little earth with the moss. 

You also need a plant.  Virtually anything would be precious.  Vincas, petunias, portulaca.  This is the second time I have chosen this particular plant for my dump truck.  It is called Torenia or Wishbone Flower.  It can take some shade which is good for where I have it on our porch because it only gets morning sun.  This plant will bloom and bloom for the whole summer.  It just fills the back of that Tonka truck like no body's business! 

When it comes to watering your plant it will need to be done every day or two.  Just water it when you water everything else.  Depending on what kind of plant you use, it may require watering more often because of the size of the bed.  When you do water, the water will trickle down the bed and water the moss too before it drips out the end of the bed.  So cute.  OK here are the pics.  Holler if you have any questions.

 Dirty Shirty

 Just place the moss at the end... like so... to hold in the goods.

 Always use a layer of rock on the bottom for drainage. 

I chose smaller rock because of the lack of depth in the dump truck.

 I use a healthy mix of the good stuff and the cheap stuff when it comes to potting soil.

 Make a dent in the soil where your plant will live and tuck 'er in.

 Nuggets not only offer moisture retension, it makes it all purty.

This bag is under three dollars at Wal-Mart and it will last a long time!

 Awe!

 This gardener is holding a dump truck she seems very proud of!

 This pic is from two years ago when I got the purple flowers, but the same plant.  It really filled and spilled all around the dump truck and was very unique. 

Please pardon the Farm Bureau plug!