First Fire of the Year

It's just getting cold here in Alabama, so I lit a fire the first chance I got! Fisher (the new kitten) was totally enthralled by it, but Buddy just continued sleeping as usual.

Obie Andrew Langley, 1919-2009

Obie & Fisher

This is the wee kitten we're fostering from the Randolph County Animal Shelter in Wedowee.

Mmmm . . . the last taste of summer!

While building the new chicken run, Vince and I saw a mantis, who I'm hoping is one of the babies we hatched.

The new chicken run

Mr.s Vincent Pagniucci and R. Alex Ubeda helped construct a new fence for the old chicken run. Drenched in sweat, we worked hard for three days, pulling up the rusty wire and rotting wood from many years of patchwork fencing, digging holes and hammering nails. Luckily, there was cold beer at hand, warm meals a la Sarah, and the swimming wool shimmering in the fading evening light. The coop now contains a peacock, a peahen, a full-grown chicken (and our only egg-layer so far), six white broiler chicks who we've raised from babies (including Peep-Peep, aka Cheep-Cheep, and Busted Head), and two retarded hens who are recovering from life in a commercial chickenhouse, crammed in cages and pumped full of chemicals . . . they can hardly walk and are terribly pathetic. We've also found a tortoise in there who appears once in a while.

Scardy-Cat Chicken

We recently got a couple of chickens that had lived in a feed house for their whole lives. They are sweet, but scared of everything! One night I was trying to get all of the chickens into the coop from the yard and this one just hid its head and pretended it was invisible.

Swimmin' Weather!

All three boys (Obie, Kenny, and Buddy) have been enjoying the pool this summer! Obie has recently acquired a "pool noodle" to float around on and throw at people. He thinks he's very funny :)

Congratulations, Rivers!

Attempting to patch up the porch roof.

(. . . and failing. It still leaks miserably.)

Our new batch of chickens

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Crossing off the days . . .

Grillin' on the 4th of July

A Saturday morning's bounty.

New carpets!

Happy Independence Day!

keeping birds away from tomatoes

Theoretically, if you put up red Christmas ornaments prior to harvest time, the birds will come, peck around, and leave disappointed (since there's nothing good to eat) and hopefully keep away when the real tomatoes ripen. Or just plant way more than you need and share!

Obie's swimming again!

Baby mantis!!!

This is a wee hatchling from one of three egg cases (thanks Laura!) Kenny got for his birthday. They are TINY (about one and a half centimeters long) and very good at hiding. Let's hope they grow quickly, stick around, and eat everything we don't like.

Obie's weekly beard trim (he likes it!)

Our new worm farm/composter (thanks Mom!)

It's got several layers, which the worms move up, starting with a coconut coir bed and working their way through organic matter (which you put in, covered by wet newspaper), until they're at the top. Then you pull out the bottom layer, spread it over your crops/potted plants, and move it to the top. Meanwhile, it's got a reservoir at the bottom to catch any liquid and a tap to dispense it as compost 'tea'. Yay!

Our new ladybugs (ladybirds?) enjoying their new home

Praying Mantis Egg Sac!

This is a birthday present from Laura . . . mantis eggs to unleash in the garden as pest control! I'm still vigilantly waiting for them to hatch . . .

Kenny's Birthday Tart!

This was handmade beautifully by Sarah (strawberry tart is one of Kenny's favorites)

yay bumblebees!

Let's hear it for the bumblebees, making sure our blueberry crop comes in.

Baby figs!

Baby blueberries!

Baby pears!

Baby peaches!

Baby pea!

Baby asparagus!

Baby strawberries!

Baby mesclun!

Baby kale!

Baby radish!

Baby sunflower!

(subsequently eaten by slugs. Curses!)

Winter's definitely over now . . . right?

We had ANOTHER unexpected snow flurry, killing some potatoes, asparagus, and tomatoes (sigh) . . . hopefully we're done with that now! So, this is officially the last fire of the season. Show us your stuff, spring!