Our little Inky chick is growing up! DH let the Girls and Mr.Roo out of the Chick Yard for a time, very rare since I drew the line at so many destroyed flower beds. Mama Hen has been taking good care of Inky in the Chicken Yard, where there is lots of cover and places to hide. (We do have a hawk in the area.) Meanwhile the 6 Babies we purchased, were finally ready to go to the outside Baby Chick yard. It will be interesting to see how the Hen raised Chick and the other chicks get along once we combine the groups. Also, I am sure that one of the new Red leghorn chicks is a rooster! No crowing yet, but has distinctive comb and wattle going on :) Well, we shall see. Not sure if I want another rooster... may go in the stew pot!

Applesauce! (these pics are not in order of process)

Almost November!

The wind and rain are blowing down lots of limbs and leaves from the big oaks, a good inside day-so thought I had better update the blog!  We finally had a chick hatch under a broody Hen, so cute. She hatched her inside the Hen House, so is caring for the chick in the flock. All of the other Hens and Mr.Roo keep a wide berth as Mama Hen is very protective! I need to fix up a brooder area in the old hen house which has it's own little yard, but this time they seem to be doing OK.
Got fifty more daffodil bulbs planted, love them in the spring. Also picked all the acorn and winter squashes, and our 2 pumpkins. Also our walnut tree finally bore fruit this year and we have a crate of walnuts to dry, very happy about that! Also I have been cooking pumpkin cookies, apple pie and need to can applesauce as the apple tree is bearing heavily this year. Love this Fall season!

June in the garden.....

April showers bring May flowers...

The garden is starting to fill in, so glad for color and the promise of more to come!

March Storms are coming in one after the other. I thought it would be a good time to use up those raspberries that have been in the freezer. Usually I make freezer jam out of fresh berries, but decided to try cooked jam. A messy process, but worked out fairly well. I did have a few jars which did not seal, but will just put those in the freezer. All it takes is 6 cups of berries and 8 1/2 cups of sugar and 1 box of pectin per batch. Three batches made 27 jars of jam!

Raining,then sun, raining,then sun! I found a planting project, tho. I took an old 3 tier kitchen wire basket, lined with moss and ferns from the oak limb that DH cut up, then filled,with soil,ivy and blue violas. The daffodils are blooming also, so that is encouraging! The Chickie Girls just love to get in the flower bed in the sun, then when it rains,they run under the big tree.

snowy days in Mohawk Valley

Snowing all day, at least 6 to 8 inches today. Stew in the crock pot, banana bread baking, good book by the fire! The Old Chickie Girls are not too crazy about the snow, but the Baby Girls think this is the way life is! We did get 2 sweet small eggs today from the Baby Girls, they must be about 17 or 18 weeks old by now. They have been huddled up in the old chicken coop watching the snow, but the rooster made a drive for the big chicken house, and most of the girls went in with him.