Mid-April (notice the sides of the chicken coop are still not painted. I did end up painting them a few weeks ago, though- success! (Just don't walk to the back side of it.)
The garden was a mess.
I started to add some new mulch between the raised beds.
I moved the chicks to the outside coop (with a perpetual heat lamp) when they were about two weeks old. I was having to move them around every morning and night due to Maple not leaving them alone and/or them being too loud at night. But mostly, twenty chicks is too many for a single brooder, and they were starting to fly up and perch on the side of it. Time to gooooooo.
Have any of my chickens ever played with their chicken xylophone? Not to my knowledge, but it adds color and happiness to their coop (for me).
Our gentleman Nigerian dwarf caller was here from Nov. 25-Dec. 23, so their window of kidding would be the end of April to the end of May. So far, no kids, but two of our four does
look to be pregnant. I can never really tell until like the day before, as that's when their udders enlarge, and they start showing "signs."
I love beautiful spring runs. You can see our house up on the hill. I'll always think we got a million dollar view.
We spent late April days pulling weeds and prepping garden beds.
I love when helpers join me... these three have consistently been out with me this year, even if it's just keeping me company.
I've had to guard this volunteer milkweed from my voracious weeders.
A couple of days ago- mid-May, we finally looked to be past the last frost warning, so we planted some seedlings. So far, we've planted tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, cucumbers, zucchinis, melons, some herbs, cabbage, kale, lettuce, collard greens, and we have raspberries, rhubarb, some herbs, and onions growing from previous years. I wish I could grow sweet corn. I've tried filling to beds with it before, but I haven't had success with that- or broccoli, or asparagus- or carrots since we moved here, for that matter. Our Pittsburgh soil was gobs better than the rocky mess we have here (though I've brought in a lot from elsewhere for the beds). I do not have a green thumb, but I do have tenacity (at least when I'm not too tired). I'll keep trying.
I still have a little more plastic and mulch to put down. My strawberries spread and I just let them take over the walkways, so that's what a lot of that non-mulched area is on the bottom left.
