A Good Day

View of Cairnwood Cottage from my Secret Garden--lots of work to do in those flower beds!

Today was very busy and very good. I woke up several hours earlier than I normally do when I'm on vacation, and went out to check the peeps first thing. They came charging out of The Peep House when I opened their little door, and immediately set about scratching, running, establishing the pecking order, flying about and doing all manner of peeply things. I was yet again dismayed to see that some pecking had occurred overnight...perhaps 8 peeps had bloodied tail feathers. I did leave the heat lamp on overnight, so perhaps that's part of the problem; they've got light all night long and are up and about getting bored all cooped up in their coop.

Here's a photo of the Duct tape solution that seems to work pretty well. Stylish, no?

Peep sporting its' Duct Tape Nether-Region-Protector!

Within 5 minutes of being let out of the coop, one little peeper found an earthworm and came running down from behind the coop just cheeping its little head off, carrying that worm which was so big it was dragging the ground. Of course this alerted all the other chicks to the tasty morsel and the chase was on! One of the golden sexlinks got the other end of the worm in its beak and a short tug-of-war ensued before the sexlink won out and ran off with the worm and a tasty breakfast. As cute as all this was, I still cringe at the thought of the poor earthworm being eaten alive...I like earthworms. I talk to them and apologize to them if I accidentally cut one in half when I'm digging a hole. I try not to run over them when they're crawling all over the road when it's raining. I still can't believe I used to impale them onto fishing hooks when I was a kid....shudder!

I checked the red raspberries that I transplanted into the berry patch. They were a bit droopy last night and I watered them in good before calling it a night. This morning they're all perky and look like they've been there for quite some time, so I think they'll all survive. I've got so many red raspberry shoots coming up all over the yard...I'd like to sell them for what they're selling for at some of the stores around here! I'd make a small fortune!

After breakfast I jumped right into digging up that rambling rose ("The Garland") growing beside the patio and transplanting it into my Secret Garden (more on the history of my Secret Garden in another post). Hubby Dean has always hated that rose being planted there because he was constantly getting tangled up in it and was constantly chopping it back with the loppers. I think he was secretly trying to kill it. When, during lunch, I mentioned that I hoped it would survive the transplant ordeal, Hubby Dean stated, and this is an exact quote, "that bush and the cockroaches will take over after the nuclear war."

While I was planting the rose into its new home, the UPS dude stopped and delivered a package (normally I bring packages home from work with me unless I'm on the motorcycle). My 3 clematis (Clematis Montana "Broughtan Star") and 1 "Chocolate Cosmos" (Cosmos astrosanguineus) have finally arrived! One of the clematis ended up being planted in the spot where the rambling rose once thrived...I wanted some sort of climbing thing there, and I figured Hubby Dean wouldn't complain about a clematis.

Look what the UPS man brought me! One "Chocolate Cosmos" and three "Broughton Star" clematis (yeah, those things that look like cigars!)

Besides the new clematis, which is a dusky rose color and will grow up to 20 feet, I also planted 5 Sparkle strawberry plants in that bed by the patio. I remember my grandfather growing Sparkle strawberries many, many years ago (at least 40!). They were amazing, at least in my memory. I ordered 5 plants via snail mail since I couldn't find them locally. I figured I could start new plants from these when they start doing that runner thing, thus enlarging my ever-growing number of strawberry plants. Plus these will be handy there by the back door. Pop open the back door and grab a handful!

Work in progress...5 Sparkle strawberries (one is hiding behind the far right pot) and a "Broughton Star" clematis will be planted in front of the trellis. Then the dirt will be swept up...

This past week I dug up some "wild" Pheasant Eye type daffodils that I'd seen growing along a little dirt road in the woods. I'm amazed they're still there because the road crew often goes through there and digs the ditch out, and they're growing in the ditch. I promised myself I'd "save" them at some point, but kept thinking of it too late. This year my timing was just right, and I dug up four pots worth of the little beauties. They'll get transplanted into my Secret Garden and my Woodland Garden. I love these little guys.

Three of four pots of the "Pheasant's Eye" daffodil that I dug up from a ditch

Close-up of the "Pheasant's Eye" type daffodil in the process of opening up

And finally, a NEWSFLASH! Pasty Butt has pooped! If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you'll have to read my previous post. I went upstairs to the brooder to check on Pasty Butt. I was actually looking at the other chick in the brooder when out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw PB go pooh, but I wasn't 100% sure. There was a little pile of chick pooh there. How to tell if PB did the deed, or was that already there? Temperature. Yes folks, I reached in there and actually touched the pooh, and it was warm! I'm so happy!

And yes, I did wash my hands, multiple times in fact, afterwards.

CAIRNWOOD TIP OF THE DAY: I tried a little trick that I'd read about on my organic gardening list; lavender essential oil drops placed on my hat really does keep gnats from flying around in my face!

Plowing Through "The List"

View from our roof overlooking the front yard and stream--we need to mow! Click the photo for an enlarged version and you can see the lamp post and bench in the front yard by the rhododendron. That's a bunch of daffodils snaking its way through the foreground, which actually sit atop a stone wall, which you can't see from this angle. The poor maple tree to the right needs to be cut down this year...it's mostly dead, thanks in part to the horrible way the road crew trimmed back all of its branches, I'm sure.

I'm a chronic list maker. Always have and probably always will be. I have so many things on my "to-do" list that it boggles the mind (at least it boggles my mind, thus the lists), so I dutifully write a list of things down that I think I can, or should, get accomplished on any given day. Normally a few items get checked off, but a good portion of them remain on the list, reminding me that I've failed once again to do everything I wanted to do.

Yesterday's list: 1. write the tripsheet (paperwork) for the EMS call I went on with the fire department. 2. finish filling the front window boxes. 3. transplant red raspberries, two rambling roses, and some iris. 4. plant more "stuff" in the garden. A small list by my standards, and easily do-able.

My problem...I get side-tracked. Big time. I'll begin one of my tasks, then see something that needs attention, and off I go to tend to whatever grabbed my attention, then I see something else I should do before I get the last thing done, and off I flit to another chore...and on it goes. I get stuff done, just not completely done a lot of the time.

What did I actually do yesterday (Thursday)??? I got three loads of laundry done--folded and put away (including sheets which were hung out on the line to dry since it was, finally, a sunny day). Made the bed with the fresh, clean sheets. Sat on the patio and had coffee with my dear sweet husband in the a.m. after breakfast. Watered my hanging baskets which do not benefit from the rains we get since they're hanging under overhangs. Pulled weeds. Watched the peeps play and chase bugs. Transplanted 10 red raspberry plants and watered them in (***an actual list task!) Helped Hubby Dean re-roof part of the house. Mowed the lawn around my garden and in the blueberry patch. Filled my window boxes (***another list task!). Went to the fire station and wrote my tripsheet (***yay! another lister!). Helped Hubby Dean stuff envelopes...he was talked into running for Township Supervisor and now needs to send out campaign materials. Fixed lunch and supper and did some dishes. Dealt with "Pasty Butt"....huh?!

One little peep that had its nether regions pecked to a bloody pulp the other day has developed the unfortunate condition known as "Pasty Butt". So now I'm spending the better part of each day with warm, wet paper towels cleaning stuck on pooh off the bum of this little peeper, and hoping and praying that it gets better soon. I hate to see little creatures in pain or suffering, or hurt...it just makes my heart ache. Apparently Pasty Butt can be fatal...it prevents the chick from going pooh because their "vent" gets crusted over with dried on...pooh. It's like the chick is constipated, but what I'm seeing is like something that looks like yogurt oozing out and drying on its little hiner. The chick is not pleased when I have to deal with it, but it does help him/her to go pooh, which he/she did yesterday (definately constipated!) while I was in the process of cleaning him/her. This made me happy because I knew he/she could at least go. I'd read that putting a bit of molasses in their drinking water can help as that acts as a laxative. So I did that as well as add some chick vitamins to the water. I'm keeping this little chick (one of the Welsummers) in an upstairs brooder with another Welsummer chick for company, until it gets better. I'm afraid that if this little chickie survies and thrives, that it will be forever known as Pasty Butt. Poor little peeper....

First Overnighter

Two Ameraucana peeps survey the great outdoors after spending their first night in the Peep House

Last night was the first night the peeps stayed overnight somewhere other than an upstairs bedroom in our house. I was a bit concerned about them staying out in their new Peep House...what if some critter tried to eat them? What if they got too cold? You'd think I was their mother or something.

Not too worry...I kept a heat lamp on out there and they stayed warm enough, though, like teenagers at a slumber party, I'm sure they were up most of the night. And Dean made the Peep House pretty snug against marauding critters even if they did manage to get into their fenced Peep Yard.

I was a bit dismayed this morning when I went to check the peeps, to find that three more had been pecked badly through the night. Geesh, I think that makes 13 of the 31 peeps that have been pecked to the point of bleeding, which of course prompts more pecking. So nearly half the peeps were once again back in the house this morning.

We'd been doing a bit of internet research on what we could possibly do to stop the current pecking situation and prevent future outbursts. There are a multitude of possible reasons for pecking: crowding, boredom, lack of protein, and parasites to name a few. I know these peeps weren't crowded. I've been feeding them a proper chick starter feed so theoretically they should be getting the right amount of everything. I've not seen parasites of any sort on them (but I suppose that doesn't mean they're not there). If I were a betting person, my money would go on boredom. OR, there might be a bully chick in the group starting all the pecking, but if there is, I haven't been able to pick him/her out.

So, after reading that a good thing to do for a chick's bloody bum or wing or wherever...in our case it's the bum that's been pecked on 99% of the peeps...is to put none other than good ol' Duct Tape on the wound, I proceeded to tape the wounded nether regions of The Unfortunate 13. The tape doesn't stick to the skin, but will stick to the feathers, and will fall off within a couple weeks, all the while protecting the delicate rears from further pecking. I will definitely have to take a photo of our latest Peep Fashion here at Cairnwood. It's rather stunning. The peeps aren't too thrilled about having tape stuck across the tail feather region, but they soon get over it and act like it's not even there.

In an attempt to alleviate their boredom, we decided to go ahead and let the little peepers out into their fenced yard. It's not entirely chick-proof which is one reason I didn't let them out yesterday. Plus it's still chilly...in the 50's, and they're not quite a month old yet.

You go first! No, YOU go first!

I opened their little hatch, which caused quite a stir. Many of them came and stood on the threshold and looked out, but that was it.

Hey look! She's on the gangplank and hasn't been eaten yet! It must be safe!

Eventually a brave peep would walk down the temporary gangplank, then hustle back up into the Peep House.

Awesome!

Once one peep finally went all the way out and down to the feeders, they all decided it was OK. They were having a blast chasing bugs around, scratching, flapping their wings, getting "lost" behind the Peep House, doing "chicken fights" where they'd stretch their necks out and jump up and down in front of each other. Cute.

Once it warmed up into the 60's outside, I turned their heat lamp off. It stayed nice and warm in The House so they could go back inside if they got too chilly while out exploring.

Now it's evening and they're all cooped up for the night. Keeping my fingers crossed there will be no more pecking tonight!

What a Day!

Today started out awesomely, then just got progessively worse....

As you know, if you read my previous post, I got the peeps moved into their new Peep House first thing this morning. Within 10 minutes of moving all 31 peeps into their new roomy abode, the pecking started. Huh?! Here's what's really weird; I noticed them pecking each other every single time I took them out of the house and out into the outdoors where they had more room to roam, grass and bugs to keep them happy. They never pecked each other while inside in their brooders, under a heat lamp and in tighter quarters than outside. As soon as they entered natural light, blam! They started pecking each other and making their little bums bleed. I'd take the wounded peeps back into the house and they'd be fine.

Today's first pecking victim I took back into one of the indoor brooders with another peep for company. They were fine. So I went about my chores...burning trash, taking out compost, pulling some weeds, then lunch.

After lunch I drove over to the place with the bamboo, and dug up 11 clumps of bamboo. If I'd have been counting, I would have dug up one more just to make it an even dozen. When I returned home, I unloaded the bamboo, then checked the peeps.

ARGH! They were at it again! More peeps with bloody bums and being chased around and being pecked by other peeps! What the heck?! I'd catch the main peep being chased by the others, and by the time I got back from taking that one back inside, another one was being terrorized. Then things would calm down, and I had time to plant a couple bamboo plants, then have to rescue more peeps, then I had a chance to start supper (BBQ ribs for Hubby Dean), then rescue more peeps, then plant some more bamboo, then dash off to a 911 call for chest pains less than a mile up the road.

When I got back from the 911 call, I had to rescue a couple more peeps and continue working on supper. I did eventually finish planting the bamboo, but by now supper was just a little over-cooked. Drats!

The peeps I've been bringing inside have been placed back into their old brooders with a red light burning instead of their normal heat lamp. Supposedly red lights help prevent them from pecking each other. But what I find really weird is the fact that they started pecking each other as soon as they got outside. More room. Fresh air. Bugs. Grass and weeds. What more could a peep want?

Now it's almost 10 p.m., we just finished supper about an hour ago. I got some of the dishes done...the rest can wait until tomorrow! Right now I think I need a big glass of wine. Or, maybe I should give the wine to the peeps...perhaps that would calm them down a bit!

New Digs for the Peeps!

Dean adding the Plexiglas windows to the new Peep House

Moving day for the peeps! We pretty much finished the new little Peep House last night. It needs paint and a few minor additions to finish it up, but it's habitable now. I'm even going to hang two hanging baskets of flowers from the front corner overhangs...I'm sure the peeps will be proud to live in such a stylish abode.

Dean working on the new Peep House

The peeps were overjoyed to be in such roomy quarters! I'm overjoyed to get them out of the house and out of five separate brooders from one of the upstairs bedrooms. What a pain it's been to clean five brooders, clean and fill five waterers, and clean and fill five feeders.

Check out all this room in our new digs!!

Angled view of the inside of the Peep House showing their snazzy windows, which will let in winter sun. The overhang will shade them from the sun in summer

When I first released the peeps into the Peep House, they ran and flew and jumped and just went nuts! It was fun to watch them have such a blast and explore their new digs.

Dudes! There's someone peekin' into our house!

What are you lookin' at!?

I got the old brooders cleaned out and the contents (lots of poop, some wood shavings and newspaper plus bits of chick feed) deposited into one of my black plastic compost bins. Liberal quantities of weeds were added, stirred, and now I'll sit back and wait for the magic to happen. I love compost.

On the agenda for today, which is still overcast and threatens rain: dig up some bamboo from a family a couple miles away who have a lovely stand of it. Yeah, I know...it can be invasive. This will form a barrier between us and the neighbors and will hopefully replace our thinning, aging Douglas Fir row that is now our privacy fence...well, mostly private but rapidly declining to the point of screaming out, "hey everybody, look over here and see what's going on in this yard!" The plus side of using bamboo: I'll have lots of bamboo poles to use in the garden! It's also nice knowing I'm getting some bamboo that thrives in our area....and it's free!

Raindrops this morning on a newly planted strawberry plant

Assuming that keeping my fingers crossed will indeed hold the rain at bay, I'm also planning to dig up some black raspberry canes from a friend and plant those in the berry patch. I want to fill the kitchen window boxes and prepare those for planting, gather some leaves from the ditch just down the road to use as mulch and compost ingredients, plant more lettuce, peas, spinach, etc. etc. The list goes on and on and on...maybe I could clone myself?

Rainy Day Chores

Rain on the redbud tree

Today was a chilly 54 degrees F., drizzly and overcast most of the day. I felt like I was back in Ireland, which is not a bad thing at all. The first thing I did when I got up this a.m. (I'm off work for the week), was to tackle Mount Washmore...I had several loads of laundry to get done and folded, and was happy to check that off my to-do list.

After breakfast and coffee, I potted up 30 strawberry plants, utilizing the dining room table covered with newspapers. I had planned to use the picnic table out under the apple trees, but the drizzle was a bit heavy at the time. These pots are temporary arrangements for the berries until I can finish the strawberry bed where they will go; I just didn't want the poor little dears to languish and die while they waited on me--I can be slow sometimes at getting plants in the ground.

Apple blossoms covering the picnic table and trays of seedlings

The drizzle continued, but was light at times, and that is when Hubby Dean and I went out to work on what Dean calls "the chicken box"...a glorified brooder. It's not quite a chicken coop, but far larger than what they've got at the moment.

Toodie waiting at the patio gate with her ball, oblivious to the rain that came down all day today

Next came lunch of stuffed mushrooms and some leftover vegetarian chili. After lunch it was back out to work on the "chicken box". Hopefully this will be finished by this evening so I can move the peeps out there tomorrow and get them out of the house!

Wet plants in my Secret Garden, loving today's rain

Once the rain started coming down in buckets, we decided to call it quits on the construction project. Dean ran into town to grab a few things at the store, and I planted some late arriving seeds into peat pellets and finished making two kinds of yogurt. Well, the yogurt isn't actually finished, I just got it mixed up and it should be ready by tomorrow after "brewing" overnight.

Now it's dark and getting late, the "chicken box" is mostly finished, the peeps have been bedded down for the night and I'm ready to sit and veg. It's nice to know that, in spite of the rain, we can still get quite a bit accomplished around here!

Asparagus Beetles Revisited

Back to the topic of asparagus beetles, the above photo shows what I found on several of the spears that I cut for lunch today: a multitude of eggs and obvious snacking damage. I garden organically, so there are only so many options for me to pursue in eradicating these vile creatures. My peeps just aren't to the point yet of letting them free-range about the asparagus patch, but beetles beware when they reach that stage!

For now I hand pick all the beetles I can find. Before I had the peeps I'd drop the beetles into a cup of soapy water. Now, I can feed the peeps a snack of beetles. Litter clean-up in the fall is important so the beetles don't overwinter in great numbers, and I must admit, I'm guilty of not cleaning up the asparagus patch like I should.

I've read that planting petunias within the asparagus patch will help deter asparagus beetles, as will planting tomatoes nearby. In the past I've tried the petunia idea, and it seemed to work for a while, but then the beetles appeared. At least the asparagus patch was pretty, all decked out with flowers. This year I'll have to give the tomato idea a whirl.

Close-up of Asparagus Beetle Eggs

Asparagus beetle eggs are disgusting sticking all over the spears, but at least they can be scraped off of what is otherwise a perfectly good spear. I'm going to have to do some homework on raising organic asparagus and see if I can't conquer the beetles! Surely there is something besides hand picking that really works. In the meantime, I'm still enjoying daily meals of nothing but asparagus!