happy girls

Admiring the hillbilly ramp on the hill billy coop :) The FREE ramp and coop too. I'm quite impressed with our scavenging skills. Actually getting hardware cloth to line a couple of holes cost $5 so not quite free. We had to invest in a bag of layer mash and the chicken wire for the run (total cost $50) so have spent $55 to date. In 10 days we have gotten 14 + eggs from displaced stressed out hens so we aren't doing too badly at all! Better than the $300 dollar egg somebody was celebrating on one of the boards :)

chook chook chook... hop hop hop

well the chickens (Buffy and Jodi now) are in the coop - made from TOTALLY recycled materials from the barn we have to tear down ... and an old counter top ...it's a bit rustic you might kindly call it but the girls like it
they have been out in the day pen the last 2 days - I'm too nervous to totally free range them quite yet (dogs, cars, hawks, etc) but they are loving the very rustic run .. with the bird netting over the top as I am pretty sure at least one of them can fly...
I had to pick Buffy up to put her into the coop last night - they were determined to party all night long ... was easier than I thought to scoop her up - and she settled right down as soon as I had her too.

Bunnies are settling in too - the tiny dwarf hasn't had her babies yet so maybe she won't now - she sure was nesting though..
the satin angora needs some serious grooming and dematting but is starting to trust me so I'm not going to rush her
I'm thinking Lola and Bebe might bond and be happy (Bebe is Pongo's partner but he is one fiesty bunny finding him a new buddy since Pongo died has proved impossible) I have them in seperate hutches in the dog run for now - will take turns letting them out in the run during the day then eventually let them out together .. fingers crossed they agree to cohabit as I hate having Bebe without a friend as he really is semi feral.

Veggies keep growing, as do weeds.. I got into the garden for half an hour today and made a difference though- bugs are starting to go after potatoes ... figures eh?

We also went for a LONG walk (this is supposed to be holidays after all - and all we've done is work). It was truly lovely - we've not had a chance to appreciate the land at this time of yeqr before. We found masses of wild strawberries - absolutely TINY but so so so so sweet.

Off for dinner with Big T 's folks today - it's his mother's birthday!

identified the breeds of the girls ...

Buff Orpington and Black Australorp ..how cool is that?

Coop is nearly built - chicken wire is ready for making a run .. hopefully they'll get to move out tomorrow. Big T has used all scavenged materials - amazing we have been able to just build around what we have. Bunny hutches need to be banged together too - hopefully tomorrow morning will be as nice as this morning was ...

weeding is on the to do list (of course) as the garden is a jungle but we'll get there when we can

dogs are loving it - we are loving it too

it smells SO GOOD to just stand outside the front door.

CHICKENS!! Is the sky falling??

In a weird confluence that is so often my life - just as I am getting ready to concentrate on Vareharri for the summer I got asked to take 2 chickens. Two already laying chickens ... what a weird, strange, wonderful world we live in sometimes. No names yet.... No clue of breeds ...but I snapped bad pictures as they emerged from the carrier ..

so they need housing, pen and goodness knows what else...

hey! hay! hay! hey! it's a wonderful day

vareharri hay lying on the field waiting to be baled ...

how cool eh?

I love the smell of fresh mown hay too

peas, lettuce, watermelon, cukes are coming up
tomatos look better, ground cherries and peppers still not happy
carrots got thinned today - beets still need to be done

weeding, weeding, weeding, weeding ...

shed

the shed is done - looks great :)

at least I think it looks great

went down to lake house with Mum - it was beautiful

weeded, weeded and weeded some more ...

corn is popping up - tiny but there ... tomatoes, peppers and ground cherries had a ROUGH week - onions, garlic and potatoes all look great though ...

flowers are starting to bloom in profusion so you can really appreciate them (and the weeds in the flower beds - which are NOT my priority!)

end of May update ...

shed is built - needs to be painted

transplants are all in ..

tomatos are ok, leeks and onions from seeds are weak
onions from sets look good, garlis is amazing
peppers seem small but very green
ground cherries are holding their own
potatoes have started popping leaves up
beets are TINY
no sign of corn, cosmos, marigolds, watermelon or cukes yet
mint is hardy and spreading too fast ...

peas are soaking to go in tomorrow - late but organizing it all is tough work - fingers crossed they take

raised herb bed ( in old wading pool) got planted today - still need parsley but Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano, and Basil (Basil is actually in with tomatos) are putting out roots

dogs are tired and life is good

planning chicken coop ... and trying to weed more ... cutting grass... never ends never ever ends

Two new souls have joined team VareHarri.(both are absolutely SOUND asleep in this hilarious photo)
Arley (means brave) is only about 8 months old and he is HUGE. He has a mild neurological impairment that makes him a little wobbly but he doesn't know there is anything slowing him down.
The tiny black and white girl remains nameless at the moment ..she has a heart murmur and is deemed unadoptable but oh my gosh you'd never know there was anything holding her back - she climbed onto the parrot cage last night - BRAT!

a long weekend approaches

and I've been remiss posting - blew the monitor on saturday morning when a storm tore through here - lucky not to get more damage I guess

we finished putting up the shed (just door hardware, shingling and painting left)

I planted potatoes, beets, carrots

cut the grass

we walked the dogs, put stones in the driveway and generally pretended it was nice out (it was freezing and rainy but we didn't let it stop it)

it's supposed to be a bit grim this weekend too - but we'll have fun anyhow - I hope I can get the transplants in - they need more room then the peat and they have been hardening off ok (I think) I have an agility trial on Sunday - YEAH! Big T 's parents are coming down - usually thats fun but there is family politics lurking around his large family so I hope all is smooth!

spring forward

wow - the amount of work is phenomenal in spring when you have 107 acres! the seedlings are getting leggy enough it had better warm up ..SOON .. they are hardening off but I have my doubts about the great planting - but I'd better get them in this weekend I think. The ground cherries crashed over the weekend a bit and so did a few peppers.. the tomatoes still look pretty good and the onions seem stronger than the leeks - we'll see what happens when they hit real soil ... preparing beds is hard work - especially as the house garden was so neglected last year - turn, weed, turn in compost, de-rock and turn again.. then rest an aching back (garden has onions, beets, carrots, garlic and potatoes planted already - lots more to go in)
here is the back wall up

building sheds is hard work but, it's done, apart from a little trim work and painting .. the Buck is in the shed safe and sound
I need to repaint the muskoka chairs, rehang the mailbox and much much more - and that isn't even considering the flower beds !