The entire weekend including Friday has been spent dealing with drainage issues around the barn, garden and basement. It was my plan to move all my seedlings from the greenhouse into the garden area in either pots or raised beds. However, strong winds and torrential downpours had other plans. My horses were sinking to their hocks in muck while getting in and out of their stalls and the goats were skirting around puddles and hiding from dripping rain water that seemed to come from everywhere. I had to do something. With pitchfork, shovel and pick I set out to move water. I dig ditches and trenches and moved muck and sludge. I closed off outside doors to horse stalls and fashioned a barricade inside the main entrance to the barn. My mother, God rest her soul, is I'm sure not happy... Horses in the middle of the barn as their place of refuge. As I sit finally after a 14 hour day, it is odd to see the front door of the barn wide open and horse faces peeking out.
Even though I did a fraction of what I set out to do, I feel as if I accomplished something. My garden in still a pool, my basement still has water, laundry and household chores are by no means complete, but my animals as safe, fed, and dry.
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Saturday, June 20, 2015
Rain, rain's changed my day
All this rain has my garden under water, along with my basement. I have made the decision to salvage as many of my vegetable starts as I can by adding more raised beds and adding containers to my garden space. I had anticipated more raised beds, but not necessarily at this time, however I have no choice.
Basically what this means to my loyal and dedicated customers is that I will NOT be at the market tomorrow. As I always tell my husband, our projects always take longer and cost more then we expect, this one is no execption and is eating into my baking day. However, it is a must if we want any fresh produce for the remainder of the season.
I will miss seeing you all and promise to come back strong on the 27th!
Basically what this means to my loyal and dedicated customers is that I will NOT be at the market tomorrow. As I always tell my husband, our projects always take longer and cost more then we expect, this one is no execption and is eating into my baking day. However, it is a must if we want any fresh produce for the remainder of the season.
I will miss seeing you all and promise to come back strong on the 27th!
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Gardening by the fire
Sunday evening
The snow is falling, the fire is blazing, there is no football, so my thoughts turn to the garden.
Who am I kidding? My thoughts are always in the garden, or the barn, or the greenhouse.
Gardening by the fire, my dad would say.
Last years accomplishments at Asparagus Annie's include the addition of a greenhouse in one corner of the pole barn, a new chicken house, and a hoop house that the chickens are loving this winter. Once the snow stops falling, I'll use the hoop house for plants once the weather warms up and the chickens don't need it. The first year when we only had 18 chickens, they were allowed to run loose in the barn on the days it was too cold to go outside. This year I knew there was no way I was going to let 41 chicks run amok in the barn.
I had originally wanted a lean to that would have served as a walkway area from the two stall in the barn that the chicks occupied, to the hoop house. It was suggested that building them their own home would be a more permanent solution. I'm all for growth and not having the chickens taking up two horse/goat stalls in the barn. The building phase seemed to take forever and then the hoop house had to undergo a few 'back to the drawing board' moments before it was complete. But finally, before any serious snow flew, they were both complete.
I was excited for the chickens to sleep in their new home. I was excited, they wanted no part of it. They loved to hang out with George while he was building. He would say they were wanted to help build the new house, but they can be quite curious. They are creatures of habit. Each night we would leave the new chicken house open, but as night fell, they would make their way out of the new house and back into the barn. We tried shutting the doors to the barn and just leaving the door open to the new chicken house, but they would all gather around the barn door, waiting for it to open. It was push and shove to be right up next to the door. Reminded me of the days of open seating at concerts. Eventually we would open the door to the barn and let them in. They would rush to their favorite roosting spot and settle down for the night.
I was beginning to think that no matter how often they went in the their new home, they would never see it as home. We moved their food and water into the new digs, didn't let them into the barn at all during the day, but they just would sit by the barn doors, pushing and shoving each other waiting for the doors to open. Every night, I gave in. However, one night I had an idea. What happens if I wait for them to roost in the barn and then move them into the new home? They wouldn't go out of the new chicken house into the dark, so they would have to stay in the new house.
George and I fed the horses and goats, made sure the chickens had food and water for the morning and we waited. The chickens soon calmed down on their roosts. I went in quietly and picked up one of the 2nd year girls and carried her out to George on the other side of the gate. He took the chick and sat her on the new roost in the new house. We did this over and over until all the ladies were transferred. I went to the house feeling proud of us.
Thinking a night in the new coop would do the trick, I was quite surprised to find the next night, the girls were clustered up against the barn again, awaiting the opportunity to get inside and roost. We had removed their roosts, but when we opened the barn doors, they rushed in. When they didn't find anything to roost on, they became a little confused. We swooshed them back out of the barn, grabbing a few chicks at a time and again moved them to the new coop. We did this for the next couple of nights until we were able to change their habit. Before the week was over, the chicks were going into the new coop on their own at dusk with no hesitation.
Well, it seems like I've done more reminiscing than planning tonight. Time to turn my thoughts back to the future plantings of Asparagus Annie's, and leave the story telling to another time.
The snow is falling, the fire is blazing, there is no football, so my thoughts turn to the garden.
Who am I kidding? My thoughts are always in the garden, or the barn, or the greenhouse.
Gardening by the fire, my dad would say.
Last years accomplishments at Asparagus Annie's include the addition of a greenhouse in one corner of the pole barn, a new chicken house, and a hoop house that the chickens are loving this winter. Once the snow stops falling, I'll use the hoop house for plants once the weather warms up and the chickens don't need it. The first year when we only had 18 chickens, they were allowed to run loose in the barn on the days it was too cold to go outside. This year I knew there was no way I was going to let 41 chicks run amok in the barn.
I had originally wanted a lean to that would have served as a walkway area from the two stall in the barn that the chicks occupied, to the hoop house. It was suggested that building them their own home would be a more permanent solution. I'm all for growth and not having the chickens taking up two horse/goat stalls in the barn. The building phase seemed to take forever and then the hoop house had to undergo a few 'back to the drawing board' moments before it was complete. But finally, before any serious snow flew, they were both complete.
I was excited for the chickens to sleep in their new home. I was excited, they wanted no part of it. They loved to hang out with George while he was building. He would say they were wanted to help build the new house, but they can be quite curious. They are creatures of habit. Each night we would leave the new chicken house open, but as night fell, they would make their way out of the new house and back into the barn. We tried shutting the doors to the barn and just leaving the door open to the new chicken house, but they would all gather around the barn door, waiting for it to open. It was push and shove to be right up next to the door. Reminded me of the days of open seating at concerts. Eventually we would open the door to the barn and let them in. They would rush to their favorite roosting spot and settle down for the night.
I was beginning to think that no matter how often they went in the their new home, they would never see it as home. We moved their food and water into the new digs, didn't let them into the barn at all during the day, but they just would sit by the barn doors, pushing and shoving each other waiting for the doors to open. Every night, I gave in. However, one night I had an idea. What happens if I wait for them to roost in the barn and then move them into the new home? They wouldn't go out of the new chicken house into the dark, so they would have to stay in the new house.
George and I fed the horses and goats, made sure the chickens had food and water for the morning and we waited. The chickens soon calmed down on their roosts. I went in quietly and picked up one of the 2nd year girls and carried her out to George on the other side of the gate. He took the chick and sat her on the new roost in the new house. We did this over and over until all the ladies were transferred. I went to the house feeling proud of us.
Thinking a night in the new coop would do the trick, I was quite surprised to find the next night, the girls were clustered up against the barn again, awaiting the opportunity to get inside and roost. We had removed their roosts, but when we opened the barn doors, they rushed in. When they didn't find anything to roost on, they became a little confused. We swooshed them back out of the barn, grabbing a few chicks at a time and again moved them to the new coop. We did this for the next couple of nights until we were able to change their habit. Before the week was over, the chicks were going into the new coop on their own at dusk with no hesitation.
Well, it seems like I've done more reminiscing than planning tonight. Time to turn my thoughts back to the future plantings of Asparagus Annie's, and leave the story telling to another time.
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