Fall is upon us!
It is joy to my soul!
The bright colored leaves! So beautiful!
I wish this season lasted longer.
It's the perfect time of year to get photos of the girls.
They are getting so grown up. Miss Emma is a freshman and Miss Sofia is a senior preparing for college! YIKES!! Where did the time go?? -sigh
Anyway...
The crunch of dried leaves under foot when I go for a walk! Does anyone else think that is the best sound EVER??
It makes me giddy!
And the crisp cool weather!
Time for hot cider and sweaters and bonfires and cozy mittens...
...which, by the way, you can purchase in my new etsy shop. They're handmade by me out of felted wool sweaters and cozy fleece. You can just click on the shop button to take a look. I add new ones regularly. Just sayin'. You know, in case you're in the market for mittens and need some new ones for yourself, or as a gift. Hope that didn't seem pushy, but this mama's got a girl heading to college before too long and college ain't cheap!
Eh hem. As I was saying...
Fall sunsets are spectacular!
Oooooh Aaaahhhh
What's not to love about fall.
Well, I'm gonna tell you!
This glorious riot of pink,
which is so spectacular in the springtime becomes the bane of our existence in the fall.
This season has been the worst!
Those gorgeous blossoms become these crabapples.
Because of these crabapples we cannot enjoy our back patio from the end of August until the end of October.
They cover everything!
They pelt you on the head as they fall from the tree!
They squish underfoot when you walk in the yard.
They are a NUISANCE!!
The Husband gathered seven -SEVEN!- wheelbarrows full of crab apples this year.
UGH!!!
Double UGH!!
Every fall we discuss removing this tree.
Every spring it does this!
Awwww
It's so beautiful!
We tell ourselves that it really does offer nice shade in the summer. That it's not so bad.
And we keep it.
Then, in the fall, it betrays us!
We're back to this! - SNORT
It's a vicious cycle! -BAH
I think I just need to put on my cozy mittens and go for a walk and crunch some leaves!
Happy Fall!
Christine
Our little flock of 4 chickens
dwindled to a much smaller flock of 2 chickens over this last year when, several months apart, we had two chickens die.
We lost Luna in the winter, I believe she was egg bound.
Then we lost Penny, our Easter Egger who laid the prettiest eggs, in the spring. I'm unsure as to the cause.
Though we enjoy the fresh eggs, the Family really sees these chickens as pets. We kind of love them. Losing them is very sad.
It was time to discuss adding new chicks to our dwindled flock. Knowing that wouldn't happen until spring, we were a little concerned about how the two remaining girls would fair through the winter. Would they be warm enough?
They also seemed a little lonely. Poor girls!
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| Jade |
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| Pookie |
Our concerns were relieved when I received an email from a friend asking if we would be willing to provide a good home for two of her chickens. These two were all that remained of her free range flock after a coyote discovered they were easy dinner. -sniff sniff
Our friend intends to start over next year with a new flock as well as an enclosed chicken run. No more free dinners for the coyotes!!
We were thrilled to provide a new home for her remaining girls!
I should clarify! By we, I mean the Family. The Family fell in love with and quickly named the new additions to our flock...
Hedwig
I believe she is an Easter Egger. She's gorgeous!
And Ginny
She's a Cuckoo Maran. She makes the most precious little cooing sounds.
And, yes, for those wondering, the kiddos chose the Harry Potter inspired names.
It took the four of them less than 15 minutes to decide and agree upon the names. The Husband and I didn't even get a vote! Oh well. The names actually fit quite nicely.
We are delighted with both of the "new" girls! And by we, again, I mean the Family. I specify is was the Family that was delighted because our sweet Pookie did NOT share our feelings. She had no intention of accepting the "new" girls into her coop. The stinker!
Our sweet Pookie suddenly became a mean girl. - Oh dear
We had done some research so we knew that introducing new chickens to your flock doesn't always go easily. It takes time.
We kept the "new" girls in the run attached to the coop where they were separated from the "old" girls, but all four could see each other and get used to each other. After several days they all seemed happy and content living in close proximity so we decide it was time to allow them an up close and personal meet and greet. (we placed them all together in one run) All of the girls were so sweet and wonderful, this was going to be easy peasy! We were so excited!!
HA! So much for that!
We were utterly flabbergasted when, only a few minutes into the meet and greet, Pookie took after the "new" girls with what seemed like murderous intent. We expected some normal pecking order issues but this was altogether different. The new girls were intruders in Pookie's eyes and it was her job to send them packing or take them out.
- YIKES
Our first thought was - the new girls have to go back! Time to call up my friend and tell her this wasn't going to work!! Then I realized that if this wasn't going to work, how would we ever introduce new chicks??
We were going to have to sort this out!
So, Pookie was separated from the rest of the flock. We moved her out of the coop and coop run into the separate run attached to the coop. She was all alone to think about what she had done!! I can tell you, she was not happy with the new accommodations. Especially on the couple of days it rained. Not happy at all!!
Jade, who had no problem with Ginny and Hedwig, lived happily and peacefully with the new girls.
Slowly, as the days went on, we allowed short periods of time where all of the girls were in one run together. We would monitor their interactions and separate them again if things began to seem tense. We could always tell things were getting tense because Pookie would begin to growl -oh yeah, growl (mean girl mode!) - before she took after one of the "new" girls. We tried to end their time together on a happy note, separating them again "while it was all good" before bad behavior began, hoping that would leave them with a better attitude toward one another.
I'm happy to report that, after several weeks, several long weeks, there is finally peace in our coop!! YAY!!
"Old" and "new" girls are getting along! No one needs to be separated any longer!
While we have some normal pecking order behavior, both Pookie and Jade are older and have lived here longer and make sure Ginny and Hedwig respect that, especially when treats like cucumber or yogurt are involved, there is, finally, an accord! Whoop whoop!!
Our little flock is back to 4 and we are now much more prepared if we ever decide to add more "new" girls.
And once everyone stops molting, we'll start getting an abundance of fresh eggs again!
Christine
The last few days we have been enjoying some warm sunny weather with wonderful cool breezes. Perfect summer weather.
Ideal days for making refrigerator pickles.
A friend gave me this recipe for refrigerator pickles that are a little spicy and a little sweet. So delicious! I have a hard time waiting the two weeks it takes for them to really soak up all the flavors of the spices before I dig into them.
Also, ideal days for working in the garden.
Which, I'm gonna tell you was long overdue!
Oh were there weeds to be pulled!
It was very exciting, as I worked, to see how well my vegetable garden is coming along.
I'm going to have so many tomatoes!! -squeal-
And if I had a clothesline, these would be ideal days for hanging our clothing out to dry. I love the idea of hanging clothing out to dry in a lovely summer breeze. Plus it uses no electricity!
Unfortunately I don't have a clothesline. Which might actually be for the best as hanging clothing out to dry on top of subjecting the neighbors to our backyard chickens, which some only reluctantly agreed to, might be asking them to tolerate a little too much. Especially when Pookie has taken to the occasional loud, song of loneliness when the other ladies are in nesting boxes and she's all alone in the yard. Oh Lord help us!
Yep, definitely not the time to add a billowing, flapping parade of laundry drying in the backyard, no matter how much I love the idea.
Instead, to reduce some of our electricity usage, and to get rid of unnecessary chemicals in the home, I have begun to use wool dryer balls.
They're pretty, and functional! Love it!!
And they are the newest product in my online store! Click the link to check them out!
Wool dryer balls are made of 100% wool that has been felted into a ball.
Toss 2 to 4 dryer balls into your dryer, depending on the size of your laundry load - 2 for a small load, up to 4 for larger loads - with washed, wet laundry. The dryer balls will reduce drying time by efficiently circulating the air in your dryer. Saves on energy!
They are reusable for hundreds of drying cycles. Get 2 wool dryer balls for $15 plus shipping and handling at the Unexpected Daisies Shop vs repeatedly purchasing chemical fabric softeners. Never buy fabric softeners again! And since wool dryer balls are scent and chemical free they are perfect for those who have sensitive skin.
For those who prefer to add scent to their laundry, 2 to 4 drops of a favorite essential oil can be added directly on to each dryer ball before they are placed in the dryer.
I found that a few drops of lemon essential oil very effectively removed a musty smell from some fabric I purchased from a garage sale. Whoop whoop!
Wool dryer balls absorb moisture from the wet clothes then slowly release the moisture during the drying cycle helping to reduce static electricity, remove wrinkles and soften clothes.
And they look a lot cuter sitting in a basket in the laundry room than that box or bottle of chemical fabric softener! Who doesn't want a cuter option when we can get one??
The dryers balls pictured below are the ones I have been using for months. They've gathered a little pilling along the way, but are still as pretty as the first time used them!
These wool dryer balls have quickly become one of my favorite things! I'll never by a dryer sheet or liquid fabric softener again!
Purchase your own felted wool dryer balls today by clicking here!
Christine
For the last few years we have had the good pleasure of being included in a friend's Independence Day celebration. With good food, laughter, and games, it's always a great time.
Can you get over this little cutie-pie in her red, white and blue?? LOVE IT!!
The weather this year was so wonderful!
In between all of the fun and games, I was completely drawn to the garden.
The roses were stunning!
Oh the purples,
and pinks,
and reds!
Is there anything more exciting than a bud on the verge of bursting forth??
Wandering through a garden makes my heart rejoice!
So lovely!
And of course no 4th of July celebration is complete without...
Okay, the kids would say glow in the dark, neon bracelets.
But we all know it's really the fireworks that make it a celebration!
OOOH
AAHH
More OOHS!
Lots more AAHS!
And we love a big finish!
You gotta love a good 4th of July celebration!
Helps take your mind off of the fact that stores have already begun to stock back to school supplies. WHAT??
Christine
