The Ducks Love Rainy Days.

Woke to a rainy morning. At 6:00 it was downpouring so I waited awhile to let the birds out. By 7:00 the rain had settled down and I fed, watered and let out the birds. The chickens don't much like rainy days while the ducks LOVE rainy days. They all gathered 'round a newly filled pool to swim and dabble in nearby puddles.

Hmmm only 8, where is Rocky, she is busy laying an egg.

Most days we get 5 or 6 eggs in the coop first thing and one or two we have to play hide and seek to find in the yard. Today Rocky decided to hide her egg but I found her pretty easily. The outdoor laying ducks tend to keep to the same spots for while. When they change to a new laying spot after a week or two we play hide and seek all over again!

Hummingbird Garden and Obnoxious Squirrel

We get quite a few hummingbirds that come back to us every summer. We put out feeders for them and also have a lot of wild flowers that they like. I decided to make a hummingbird garden right near the feeders to make it nicer for the hummers and make the area look nicer in general.

Before I went out shopping for the plants for this garden I was out doing some weeding in the nearby veg. garden. I noticed a squirrel acting suspiciously so I decided to watch him or her. Much to my surprise the squirrel jumped up onto the hummingbird feeders, pulled one of the plastic flowers off of the feeder then ran onto the chickens fence with it's treasure. The squirrel chewed on the plastic flower a bit and then spit it out into the chicken yard!

Silly Squirrel hanging upside down on hummingbird feeder.

Squirrel took its prize away from the feeder and onto the chicken yard gate.

I guess squirrel was disappointed with its find he/she chewed on the plastic  flower a but then spit it out. 

The plastic flower landed in the chicken yard, clearly the chickens are smarter than the squirrel since they weren't the least bit interested in the plastic flower. 

One plastic flower removed from hummingbird feeder.

I was quite surprised at the silly squirrel and thought it was a one off case of mistaken food source identity. We've had the same two hummingbird feeders for years and nothing has ever taken on e of the plastic flowers. Off I went to get some plants including some for my hummingbirds garden and when I returned I found that all three plastic flowers had been removed from the hummingbird feeder! The were on the ground underneath. I'm thinking this may not be a very smart squirrel I mean fool you once that can happen to anyone but to try again and again only to find that yes indeed the identical plastic flowers were all non-edible...well it makes one wonder about that squirrel!

Later- all three plastic flowers removed from hummingbird feeder!

Silly squirrel!

He or she, whichever that squirrel might be, was around again while I planed m new flowers for the hummingbird garden, I wonder if it plans to remove the plastic flowers from the second hummingbird feeder?

Start of my hummingbird garden

Hummingbird (and butterfly) garden is off to a good start. I found some nice plants today including butterfly bush and hummingbird mint.

Fence expansion, more room for birds and protect the fruit trees.

The time has come for me to start this summer's main project. This project is partly why I'm annoyed with the ever expanding thorny berry bushes, they're in my way! The area that I'm fencing this year will double the space the chickens and ducks have for limited free range. This will also protect more fruit trees from larger fruit predators. For instance last year a deer ate the top right off of a young apple tree! He or she didn't just take the apples but ate a foot of branches off the top of the tree.

I started right away after morning animal chores. The first stage was to put up the 10 new t-posts that I bought. This will be one side of three that need to be fenced. As this area will join up with the current chicken fence the 4th side is already done.

First t-post in!

An extra helper?

KitKat and Rufus both joined me as I hammered in the t-posts. This is typically one of my least favorite jobs around the farm. I don't have great arm strength and I'm short. The t-posts are 6 feet and need to be whacked very hard to get them into the ground good and deep. I had a much easier time getting these 10 t-posts into the ground than any previous group of posts I've done. I was thinking I may not get them all in today but most went in fairly easily, I was so happy about that!

Rufus seems to be supervising this time.

KitKat just wants to play with the tape measure!

Gonna get it....

Caught it. I guess life shouldn't be all work and no play even for KitKat. 

Once my 10 posts were in I ran what fence was left from the present chicken yard along the first little bit. The chickens have of course been watching me all through this process. The original flock especially knows that when I'm banging posts and moving fences it will mean more room for them. The thing is that today was not planned to be that day. I still have to t-post 2 more sides and then run the fencing. I haven't even bought the rest of the materials yet. But those birds have me wrapped right around their...um...claws? They had been watching and anticipating. But I was kind  of tired....yet there is more spare fence on the remaining side and I could give them some more room, even though it means more work for me as moving out the fence will in no way place this fence where it's final destination will be. Also there are thorns, berry plants everywhere that want to scratch me!

Buffy Puffy seems to be saying PLEASE give us more green space!

I gave in to the birds and took another hour to move the back side of their fence out some more so they can get at some nice greenery. I had to place the fence and posts in a very off shape to accomplish this due to the expanse of thorny bushes and some long, downed tree trunks which haven't been cut up yet. I did it though and the birds are very, very happy.

Bye bye haskaps (honey berries), this was the first thing the birds went for. They have to be moved anyway due to a peach tree shading them too much.

No turning back now.

KitKat has returned to supervisory duty.

Happy birds.

In between cooking lunch I went out to make sure I had no escapees but all was good. I think this was a good days work done in just the first 5 hours so I may just take the afternoon off and enjoy some reading time. I'm very please with this progress so far hopefully it won't take me too long to complete the whole project. I'm guessing 3 weeks since I can't buy all the remaining materials that are needed right away. The new bonus area the birds have should keep them happy for awhile and soon I will have the whole project done.

Happy Ducks.

A Bountiful Mess!

Raspberries, blackberries, black raspberries, we've got 'em. Sometimes I think the blackberry/raspberry patch is a monsterous being trying to take over the world, or at least our fruit orchard. They are armed and dangerous, covered in thorns that seem to reach out and attack when one walks nearby. Quite a few years ago we cleared some heavily wooded land to make way for fruit trees.

Woodland behind the swingset around 2006.

The swingset became a grape arbor once the kids outgrew it, the woods beyond have been cleared and fruit trees planted there over last 6 years. 

BUT..... The prickly, thorny, mean spirited blackberries and raspberries have take over!

There were SOME blackberry and raspberry plants even when the area was wooded but once the area was cleared of most trees the berries took off, literally. They spread more each year even though I pull some up and dig some up and chop some down and try to give some away. Last year I cleared all that were close to the fruit trees thinking they may be robbing the trees of resources. This year of course the berries are back so I'm thinking I will leave them around the fruit trees to see if their thorns will keep away woodland critters that like to eat from the fruit trees.

There is a fruit tree in there with 6' and 7' tall berry bushes surrounding it. 

The berries are tasty and make great jam and food is a good thing but how to limit them? It's hard to tell by the picture but the whole area, a very big area is like a giant wave of berry plants,  a sea of green and later red and black when the berries ripen, they are all through the area.  How to have just the right amount or have the hoards in a better area, how can I solve this issue?

Peach tree surrounded by Raspberry and Blackberry plants.

The chicken yard fence seems to be holding back the mountain of berry plants. The chickens and ducks will gain a lot more room once we extend out there but will they even want to deal with the berry bushes?

For now we will let them fruit and possibly they will protect the fruit trees a bit? This area has the younger fruit trees in it. I will be transplanting some of the canes that will fruit next year. I'm in the process of extending the chicken and ducks fenced area through this part of the orchard. Maybe they will help keep the berry plants down but they tend to avoid the ones currently in their yard, I guess they don't want to get pricked any more than I do! Since I have to work regularly in this area I might as well get used to being all scratched up!  I will keep trying to find the solution for this bountiful mess.

Thorny berry plants everywhere!