The Persimmon Tree Flowers

The persimmon tree was a fairly new purchase last year so i had never seen it flower. I had not dared to think past hoping it survived the winter. But survive it did. Even though my new mulberry did not make it, the persimmon did. I realized i needed to purchase a “trader’s mulberry tree” …

The Carpenter Ants Move Colony

Its been raining off and on for two weeks. I noticed that the carpenter ants were using my chain link fence as a sort of highway for massive amounts of ants. I thought this was strange, as usually they prefer wood structures. I wondered where they were going but i was mostly just thrilled that …

The Baby Chickens Graduate

On this day the baby chickens officially turned 4 weeks old, at which point i could stop making my one room tiny house like the arctic to keep the heat lamp area at 95, 90, 85, or 80 degrees. I no longer had to walk around in sweatshirts and fleece pants, and i could cuddle …

Dead Field Mice

Every once in a while i find dead field mice in the chicken water outside. They get in, realize they cant get out, and drown. Some night critter took it. They always do. I lay the dead mouse on the ground near the front gate and by sunrise its gone. i try not to encourage …

The Chicks Arrive!

I had strategically scheduled my staycation to begin one day before my batch of 12 chocolate orpington chicks and 1 mystery chick were supposed to arrive at the post office in my small town. I had ordered from a hatchery id never used before and it had mixed reviews so i was nervous about whether …

Wild Turkeys

I have heard wild turkeys in my town but ive only ever seen them in the adjacent town, where theres less fox and coyotes. There, they roam around in peoples yards and walk down the driveway like they own the place. The day before my vacation, i arrived home to find a little band of …

A Friend Brings my Original Greenhouse Design to Fruition

When i first began the project of adding grow lights to the greenhouse, i very much didnt know where to start. I was overwhelmed with which lights to pick and where to get them from. There were so many options. How was i to know which would be good for what i needed them for? …

Hail and Tornados

I remember looking at the radar and seeing a green stretch with a big red blob in it with a purple circle in the middle of that and a black circle in the middle of the purple circle, meaning no rain there, just a see-through area that showed down to the color of the base …

Chicken Math

With the state of the world and the rate of inflation, it would probably be a smart thing to look into, raising my own chickens.  I’ll just purchase 2 to 12 books on chicken rearing and read up on whats involved.  Once i do my research i’ll know whether or not this life move is …