I'm not Mark Antony who came "not to praise Caesar, but to bury him". Here on the Ides of March, I've come to both praise and bury. Not Caesars but onions. For the past 20 years, we have started off the outdoor garden season on March 15th by planting onion sets. I realize that in the big picture, this is a meager start, but the psyche relishes the act of faith that it takes to put something into the soil and then expect the earth to provide nourishment. These onions will be ready to harvest as scallions even before the tomatoes and green beans are planted. It's sort of the garden version of instant gratification.
The future outdoor enclosure for the guineas is underway and should be completed by the weekend. The small coop that will be placed inside the chain link kennel is being constructed inside the barn close by and will be moved into position before the chain link is wrapped around the outside of the steel framework. This coop and enclosure will serve as a place for the guineas to come to in the evening so they can get a good nights rest and not worry about predators such as owls, coyotes, or raccoons. This will help them to be clear eyed and alert for their job of eliminating ticks and other nasties and also acting as an alarm system for anything out of the ordinary taking place in the barnyard.
An update on the outlaw chickens shows that they are growing quickly! As it turns out, we have 2 roosters and 1 hen, which is what we expected. One of the roos is starting to get his 'big boy voice'. Whenever our Golden Campine rooster, Carmine, crows in the morning, he tries to answer. He really does try, but the best he can manage is something that sounds more like a door creaking! The other rooster has developed this habit of riding on my arm and biting my hand, even after warnings that I might bite back. I'm not sure he believes me... we'll see. The pullet is a real sweetie! She'll make a great addition to the layer flock as she matures.
I'm not Mark Antony who came "not to praise Caesar, but to bury him". Here on the Ides of March, I've come to both praise and bury. Not Caesars but onions. For the past 20 years, we have started off the outdoor garden season on March 15th by planting onion sets. I realize that in the big picture, this is a meager start, but the psyche relishes the act of faith that it takes to put something into the soil and then expect the earth to provide nourishment. These onions will be ready to harvest as scallions even before the tomatoes and green beans are planted. It's sort of the garden version of instant gratification. 
The future outdoor enclosure for the guineas is underway and should be completed by the weekend. The small coop that will be placed inside the chain link kennel is being constructed inside the barn close by and will be moved into position before the chain link is wrapped around the outside of the steel framework. This coop and enclosure will serve as a place for the guineas to come to in the evening so they can get a good nights rest and not worry about predators such as owls, coyotes, or raccoons. This will help them to be clear eyed and alert for their job of eliminating ticks and other nasties and also acting as an alarm system for anything out of the ordinary taking place in the barnyard.
An update on the outlaw chickens shows that they are growing quickly! As it turns out, we have 2 roosters and 1 hen, which is what we expected. One of the roos is starting to get his 'big boy voice'. Whenever our Golden Campine rooster, Carmine, crows in the morning, he tries to answer. He really does try, but the best he can manage is something that sounds more like a door creaking! The other rooster has developed this habit of riding on my arm and biting my hand, even after warnings that I might bite back. I'm not sure he believes me... we'll see. The pullet is a real sweetie! She'll make a great addition to the layer flock as she matures.
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