PENNY JULY 3RD

Penny sleeps a lot. This is to be expected as she is only nine weeks old and sleeps most of the day. We usually find her snuggled against our boots, a table and the wall or squeezed into the tiny space under our shelves. I think she likes having something up against her body.

She prefers to have her head elevated and since we don't have a "doggy pillow" she uses a stuffed toy to give her that comfortable position. Doesn't look that comfortable to me.

Today we cleaned out the chicken pool and Penny was there to help. In and out numerous times and...

checking to make sure we did it right. Mary feeds her at 12:30 and places her food inside the crate while Penny waits to be allowed in. Today we found her sitting in her crate, waiting for her lunch. We were so busy we forgot about the time but she didn't; she's so smart.

Now she's off in dreamland, content to let the day go by eating, sleeping and playing. It's a tough life being a dog.

Thanks for stopping by and stay safe everyone.

CARROTS and TOILET PAPER

Our carrots look like this; a massive bed of tops too thick to allow the roots to grow properly. This requires constant thinning as they grow which takes time.

Yesterday we experimented by placing the carrot seeds on toilette paper before planting. I placed a small dot of glue every 2 inches (5 cm) and Mary used a toothpick to place the seed on the glue.

 We first watered the area so the soil was completely soaked before we planted. Then the strips of toilet paper were placed in the garden bed and covered with a thin layer of soil.

The area was then watered again and covered with a board to protect the seeds from the rain. We learned later that carrot seeds do not germinate well when the temperature is above 20*C. Unfortunately we are in for some hot days and so we may need to do this again in September when the days are cooler. I'll keep you posted.

Our cucumbers are growing nicely and Mary is delighted with the crop she sees. This is the first year she has had success growing cucumbers up here. I think the little greenhouse has improved the growing conditions for these plants.

Our peas are also flourishing and should be ready to pick when Owen and Kate are here next week.

Penny has settled into her new home very well and prefers to sleep on our cool cement floors on these hot summer days. This is the way we found her yesterday afternoon; sound asleep hugging her little stuffed buddy.

HAPPY CANADA DAY EVERYONE!

Thanks for stopping by and keeping an eye on us. 

GUESS WHO CAME HOME?

Yesterday we picked up Penny. For the first eight weeks she was well loved by Peter and family but now she is ours and we couldn't be happier.

Last night went well. She slept five and a half hours before letting us know she needed to go outside. Once done back into her crate for another three hours; no problem, no fuss.

Mary makes sure Penny gets all the love, hugs and cuddles she needs. We are one happy family.

Life is extra busy these days, with chickens and a new puppy to look after. So far all has gone well and we are looking forward to having family and friends visit the next few weeks. I'm sure Owen and Kate are anxious to give Penny some hugs.

Stay safe everyone and thanks for stopping by.

CHICKS and CHIPS

Our chicks arrived yesterday in this cardboard box specifically designed for safe and easy transport from the hatchery to the co-op.

Once home we transferred them into this child's wading pool lined with newspaper and wood chips.

We soon learned that wood chips could pose a health hazard to the baby chicks as their digestive trac isn't able to digest the fiber yet.

Now their home is chip free and everyone is safe and happy. They slept huddled together under the heat lamp and now are busy running around bumping into one another and eating non-stop.

I'm sure there will be other lessons for us to learn, so if you see us doing something wrong please write and let us know.

Stay safe and healthy and thanks for stopping by.

BABY CHICKS

Our baby chicks arrived this morning. We ordered 30 and they sent 32 just in case two didn't make it.

The first thing Mary did was place their bills into the water trough. This was necessary so they would know where to go for water.

We have two water stations and three food stations for the baby chicks. 

Their food is spread out in this feeder so they have lots of room for eating.

We were originally going to keep the chicks on the porch for the first week or two but it has turned cool so we moved them indoors to the mechanical room. It's the warmest room in the house and they are well protected from any predators. In a few weeks we will move them outside to the chicken coop.

When we went to the co-op this morning there must have been over 100 boxes full of baby chicks.  If on average each box had 30+ chicks that works out to over 3,000 little baby chicks going out to new homes up here today. The guy at the co-op said they have never been this busy with baby chicks. Looks like more people are trying to be self-sufficient. 

Thanks for stopping by and keeping an eye on us.

CHICKEN COOP and TURTLE EGGS

First job this morning was to get the roof on the chicken coop.

Fortunately it was a very still morning, no breeze, and we could easily roll out the TYPAR on the north side. Mary was a big help securing one end and taking pictures while we nailed everything down.

WE then moved to the south side and started installing the plastic windows a friend gave us years ago.

Not quite done but very happy with the installation so far. This little modification has been a considerable upgrade to our chicken coop. Hope the chickens appreciate all the work when they arrive next week.

While we were busy down at the chicken coop, four large turtles came up by the house to lay their eggs. This is a yearly occurance and we never tire of watching these natural cycles right outside our windows.

Enjoy the day and thanks for stopping by.

SMALL STEPS

Yesterday we got the post support cut and fitted under the beam. The chicken coop is 24 feet long (7.3 meters) so the beam does need some support in the middle, especially during our winters.

We have enough of these plastic panels from an old greenhouse to cover the south side of the roof.

I think the panels will be perfect; allow some light but keep our chickens dry when it rains. There is a solid green panels that will fit across the bottom to complete the job.

Today I will cut the boards to length and fit them along the roof line. The north side I will cover with TYVEK and steel siding which should keep that side dry as well.

Another busy day and it's time to get started.

Thanks for stopping by.