Well, our new little girls turned out to be 2 roosters and 2 hens. They are 8 weeks old and the little Roo's are practicing their crows. We needed to segregate them from all the Big Girls, as they are still eating the baby food. So using what we had, we converted an old dog house and some fencing into a little yard just for them. Now they can become adjusted to seeing and hearing the other big chickens, until they grow a little more. This is our first experience with roosters! We pulled up lawn chairs to watch for awhile, as the new babies got their first look at grass, dirt, and the big sky, along with watching other chickens run by. A whole new world has opened up!

Finally I have found my cord to download pictures! That is what I get for redoing the office. I hope you have all had a lovely Christmas! Here is a pictorial recap of our Fall and Christmas:

Japanese Maple October

Japanese Maple in front of porch

Oak leaves and more oak leaves

Making an RV out of a step van

Little boys and Christmas trains!

Christmas Eve sunset

I hope you will all have a wonderful New Year!

My day has been spent with canning 22 quarts of peaches,and 6 quarts of tomatoes. I intended to do up some green beans, but ran out of time. I know this doesn't sound like much, but I am glad to add these jars to the shelves in the garage. They look so pretty! I think I will try to can some winter squash, too. Of course, the past week, we have been picking blackberries and freezing them as we go, after a blackberry cobbler or so. I can't resist throwing some berries to the chickens as I pick, they are also excited to get the peach trimings and tomato skins! In Chicken news, I gave in and named the Baby Girls- the orange ones are Rosie, Roseanne and Bantina who is our only Banty Chick. The Barred Rock are The Three Barbara Sisters: Barb, Barbie and Barbara. They are identical, so you can't tell them apart.  The Barbara's are named after Barbara the Chicken , who's infamous tales are recounted on the Chicken Forum. http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=253158&p=1
Hope you are all enjoying the Harvest Days and counting your Blessings or Barbaras whichever the case may be!

First picking of cherries

summer baskets

Daisies , agastache, coreopsis

garden tool storage in mail box

Old oak overlooking the porch

rainy Saturday in Oregon

After yesterday's lovely sunny day, now it is in the 60's and raining most of the day! At this rate we will have a hard time getting the tomatoes to ripen.  Buckets of strawberries, and raspberries, lots of lettuce- but the corn is still not "knee high" and the beans are slow. However the potatoes are doing great, our first time growing potatoes. The cherry tree we planted last fall had a cupful or 2 of cherries - so tasty!
The Chickie Girls are doing well, the Baby Girls are making their way in with the Big  Girls with out too much chicken drama, altho I somehow left 2 out all night the other evening. However, they were there at the hen house the next morning, so I guess we don't have too many predators that can get thru the fence.
Such a blessing to be able to live out here in the country and smell the fir trees,honeysuckle and grassy fields. Hurt my bad knee and was "forced" to spend the day on the porch reading yesterday. After that lovely day, I feel much better!

yellow daylillies

pink peony

blue and white theme, white coneflowers will be blooming soon

the last rhodie to bloom

the Big Girls looking longingly thru the gate

 

As I was weeding out the iris bed, I wondered how the grass and dandilions can grow so fast and huge. It seems that I turn my back and here they are. The Iris have multiplied so that they need to be distributed around the five acres in a random manner. Maybe I will plant them down by the stream, along with the dogwood and daylillies. I can always use an new planting area. It rained most of the day today, altho not so chilly. Since it is almost July, I think our Oregon summer will be coming soon. I am almost sure of it!

Pink Bleeding heart

 Spring is in full swing here in the Mohawk Valley. Altho down in the forty's at night,and plenty of rain today, I have hopes of someday sunshine and pleasant days in the garden.

Hostas and white bleeding heart along the porch

Blue bird house with honeysuckle

The Big girls help eat all the slugs

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The new Baby Girls still in their enclosure

Finally some sunshine !

some day it will be warm enough to sit on the porch!

Our new chicks are old enough to go out to the hen house, altho we have them segregated from the Big Girls. They have their own door and chicken yard., and have figured how to go in at night. A big accomplishment! We have 3 Golden Sex Link, and 3 Barred Rock for our new girls. All 17 of the old girls are Americanas. One of the Big Girls did weasel her way into their yard and try to eat up all their baby food, but was quickly chased out by David.  We are getting 12 to 17 eggs a day now, and I have to remember to keep some for us, and not sell all of them at work. I have more buyers then eggs sometimes.

David has doubled the size of our vegetable garden, and had fenced it in for deer protection. He has a good amount of strawberries and raspberries thriving, but we hope to get the potatoes, beans, corn, tomatoes, ans squashes planted the first of June. It has been so wet and cold here. The garden shares a fence with the new chicken yard, the plan is to keep the compost pile on the chicken side and then open up the adjustable gate and aply it to tthe garden when ready. The girls do love to scratch thru the compost!
Have a wonderful and safe Memorial Day weekend!

We are still having chance of frost at night, lows in the low 30's, so just a few signs of spring- like chickens in the daffodils! The bees are not doing much either. But the new chicks are peeping away in the galvinized tub in the living room! Biscuit, our Springer Spanial would love to see them closer for a snack, but has been good so far. It would be nice to get the garden in, then I remember we are in Oregon, where it won't start warming up untill the end of May!  I want to plant the containers, like the rusty chair above, but am not quite brave enough to put in the geranium starts I have been babying all winter. I do usually get the 20 or so hanging baskets going abut this time, but not quite organized yet to get the plants. I think a green house is going on the DH list!