Winding down Six-'Thirteen

The air quality has been terrible here due to the smoke from forest fires. Playing outside has been short if at all the last few days of June. Everyone is getting cabin fever in the 80 degree, smoky weather.








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...baby fever...

On an adventure today we came across a cow with two twins. We sat and watched them for a long time!




















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We pop bubbles not tags

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Paying rent

A couple of the chickens are showing signs that they will be laying eggs soon, therefore paying their rent! One girl is particularly occupied with nesting and constantly going back and forth. Hopefully she uses one of the boxes I built for that purpose!






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The Good Dirt is On Sale!

Most of our poor veggies didn't make it outside. Our winter lasted until mid-May, it was freezing at night up until Memorial Day weekend. It's too late in the season to try and start fresh, so I am rolling with what we have left: pumpkins, summer squash, kale, strawberries, basil, mint and catnip. We can live off those for the winter, right?!

 

Yesterday I was able to use some pallet wood to configure a small raised garden bed.  Enough for what we have this year anyway.  This morning, Jack and I were up and at 'em early and made it to Home Depot by 9:30 to buy some dirt.  To my extreme delight, the good dirt is on sale.  A comment my friend Rob made was, "It's amazing what old people get excited about."  (although he is about 3 years my senior, and his wife was excited about it too...).  I almost bought enough to fill up the bed, what I did come home with we will make do, I'm not driving into "town" again.  Hopefully the pumpkins, squash and strawberries appreciate my efforts and thrive in their new digs.

My friend Heather and I were conversing yesterday while at the "beach" about how terrible we feel after a stranger talks to us, and during the entire time they are, internally our big city snob is inside us thinking, "why are they speaking to me?".  While I was unloading the dirt from the cart, a nice older gentleman and his wife offered to help me, I was almost finished, and was thankful for the offer, but again, the city bitch inside me was thinking uh, wtf old man? 

Chickens & Pearls

Lately I refuse to take off my pearls when it's not work hours.  Or my flip-flops.  I've been sawing, hammering, building coops, chicken runs, raised garden beds, foraging in the woods for logs suitable for use, all in that atire.  (Please don't tell our cousin Sam, who is an OSHA safety inspector.)  Blogging hasn't been my first priority, with 24 hours of daylight I'm having still a hard time finding enough of it.  Here is an update of our urban 1 acre arctic farm:

 

Grandpa Russ came on the 7th of June and helped us build a coop

Dad left before I was able to get the yard fenced for the girls (and two boys, aye yie yie) but I was able to get that finished quickly this past Friday night. 

 

Still lots of finishing touches, like roofing material, siding, and some roosts inside.  My pallet gate needs some work also, the most unfriendly rooster likes to escape when I have it open.  Luckily my trusty canine will keep him at bay until I am able to herd him back in.  For right now, the chickens are enjoying a "shabby chic" or "chick" home.  I've made them a promise that all will be completed by winter.