Summer Storm Clouds Moving In

We seem to be having lots of storms this last part of of July.

You can see the clouds from the latest storm moving in here.

Clouds Moving Fast...and Downward

 A whopper of a wind and hard, fast rain took out the hops vine trellis and more.

Hops Trellis and Pots After Storm

Tonya’s trampoline took off and ended up in ON a pine tree.

Tonya's Trampoline On a Tree

And then almost as fast as it blew in, it was over. The sun came out and we were gifted with:

Rainbow After Summer Storm

Pretty isn’t it?

Can't...Scratch...

Because the herb garden is currently frozen, useless and pretty darn boring, in my last post I talked about my compost making chickens .

Someone emailed and asked me why I kept the chickens hostage in the barn and didn’t just turn them loose in the yard to scratch around.  Good question!

Answer:

When there is snow cover, there is nothing for them to scratch around in. Open the barn door to the snowy world outside and they just look at you like you are an idiot. They don’t want to go out in the snow. My chickens are wimps.

With temperatures in the low 30′s the snow has been melting off for two days, but the ground remains frozen solid.  Yesterday we had sleet and rain and now the chickens want to go out. They really aren’t that smart either.

Even thought they can see the ground there still isn’t anything to scratch around in, so I take pity and throw some scratch feed (mixed cracked corn and grains) around for them.  They peck at it, but cannot scratch around in it. They just slog around in icy cold water.

Frozen Ground, Sad Chickens

Poor confused chickens. I think they should go back to the barn and make more compost.

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chickens hard at work

Chickens are the best little compost helpers ever!

I love the way these silly birds peck and scratch…unless it’s in my newly planted plants. Then it’s not so cute.

In the winter when the weather is bad the chickens hang out in the barn. With no cable or internet they get pretty bored and just sit around with their feathers all puffed up to keep warm. It’s kind of sad.

Since I have been deep bedding my animals, these sad birds seem less lethargic and are much happier chickens. I think.

What?! I'm working!

Deep bedding is just a matter of laying more bedding down on top of the old, and as the underneath stuff composts it produces heat.

Did you know that you can even heat greenhouse grow beds with composting bedding?

Yep, it’s true and it works beautifully.

So the compost-making-chickens do their part by cheerfully scratching around in the bedding looking for seeds and…whatever.  When snow covers the ground, I pull some bedding out of the stalls  into the aisle every week to keep them happily scratching and out of the bunny/goat/horse feed. This drives daughter #2 mad. The aisle should be spotless.

Ummm, it’s a BARN.

Heidi Supervises the Chickens

If I rake the stall muck up into a pile in the morning, they’ll have it trashed and all over the place by late afternoon. Sort of like a dorm room filled with a bunch of partying college kids 4 minutes after finals.

The system really works well though! I keep fairly fit with obsessive compulsive raking, and the chickens stay busy and out of trouble. Best part? Each time they scratch it breaks down more material and they even lay eggs because they are so thrilled with the arrangement!

I love that the big pile of barn bedding becomes a mere wheelbarrow load of mixed garden composting goodness in a week, and I have to admit getting that one load out to the compost pile is easier than having to make a bunch of trips.

Go chickens!

It’s all white. I think winter has it’s own special kind of beauty in the garden. To the uninitiated it is boring and not worth mentioning….it’s just white.

I decided it was my duty to look beyond the seemingly peaceful, sleeping herb garden and take marvelous and fascinating (to me) pictures of whatever caught my eye in order to share them. I also want to prove to the naysayers that the winter garden is beautiful at rest. This plan takes full advantage of my short attention span as I tromp around (barring blizzards and ice storms) taking lots of random photos while trying not to freeze, or fall and break a leg on the ice.

Here are a few of this week’s pics-

Rambler Rose

Echinacea in the Snow

Hops Vine

Herbs Encased in Ice

Icicle Herbs...Herbcicles?

See? The sleepy old winter garden can be gorgeous all decked out in winter white!

Fog Hides the World

Things are quiet here this morning.

I woke to a sky that was grey, but slightly tinged with pink and realized that the sun was coming up.

It was just hiding behind a thick blanket of fog. It looks like the rest of the world has disappeared.

As the fog starts to lift you can see the bed of sage out in the medicinal herb garden.

How can you can tell it’s sage? It’s almost green!

Bed of Sage in the Herb Garden

The fog rolls back a bit more. It always makes everything look so peaceful.

View From The Herb Garden Gate

Just so you don’t think everything here is grey…

Splash of Color in the Garden

These are crab apples. I occasionally make crab apple jelly, but I always leave plenty on the trees for the wild birds to eat. Over the winter the birds will pick them off one by one, although this morning there is not a bird in sight…besides the chicken crew.

Peace to you, enjoying the quiet here~

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