Planting Begins...

Kev and I returned from a wonderful trip to South Carolina (Charleston, Daniel Island, Lady's Island, St. Helena Island, and Beaufort) and Savannah, Georgia yesterday. Many of the seeds we planted not only sprouted, but were so large that we risked planting them outside.

We planted the rest of the sunflowers, most of the squash (Sweet Sugar Pie Pumpkin, Marina di Chioggia Squash, Sweet Dumpling Squash, and Spaghetti Squash), watermelon, peas, green beans, and put in two rows of peanuts.

New Additions to Our Flock

We brought home 6 Barred Rock chicks to add to our remaining 5 White Leghorn hens. We're hoping to add another 6 chicks in two weeks when Agway gets in some Long Island Red chicks.

Seed Starting on the Windowsill

Kev and I started to fill the seed trays with soil and watered them down in preparation for planting all the heirloom seeds we've been collecting the last few months.

Finished Quilt Project

Halloween Table Runner

Quilt Blocks

"Heart Block"

A variation of the log cabin block - Happy Valentine's Day!

"Log Cabin"

"Pinwheel"

"Friendship Star"

"Birds in the Air"

Failed attempt at an "Ohio Star"

"Hole in the Barn Door"

Chicken's First Snow Fall

Perched...not really wanting to go out in the snow
Tentative Steps

Braving the snow...

This past January was "the girls'" first snowfall. The weren't impressed and refused to even put a toe in it. Gradually, they were out walking in a big group.

Planning for our 2012 Gardens

Kev had cleared away some more land in the fall so we could expand our gardening this spring and summer. We decided on heirloom seeds and bought most of our seeds through Bakers Creek Heirloom seed catalog. They had some wonderful stuff. We're hoping to plant some more fruit this year. Our yellow strawberries were planted late last year so they didn't produce at all.

We're currently looking for some deals on seed trays/starters. It looks like unless we buy in bulk that we'll be spending about $5 a tray. Maybe dixie cups might be the answer?

Chicken Troubles

We're now down to 12 birds. We lost one to a hawk and two others to some other preditor. One just disappeared last week. It looks like she may have walked away or was picked up and pulled off by something. We thought we lost "Lucky". She survived two attacks so far and we thought she was lost. But, she got caught behind the old hen house for two days without food and water. Our dog, Sonny, found her. She was very glad to see us and ran straight for the water.

Lately, "Lucky" has missing feathers. We were thinking that it must have been another animal. But, now I think it was the other birds. I saw today that she had been pecked by the other birds around her head. The other birds had blood on their beaks and feathers. Kev and I took her in the house to get her cleaned up a little, but we weren't able to do too much for her.

Then we had to rescue another chicken who somehow made her way into a room attached to the old barn and was throwing herself against a window in an attempt to get out. I got her out without her breaking through the window.

We put "the girls" to bed about three hours ago. We did the head count and there were still 12. I'm hoping that tomorrow there will still be 12 very alive chickens in the morning. Geez.