Wednesday, May 09, 2012

just down on the farm

This past week we had what they were calling a "super moon". Which means the moon was close to the earth and being full it was quite spectacular...though I thought that the full moons we see in the winter time, with the moon shining across a snowy field might be just a tad better than this  one was. Either way, it was great to see and I got a few nice photos of it.

Sunday was a very pretty day. We went down to the old house to retrieve some boxwood shrubs that we had planted there. Kas and Nate wanted them moved so they could do a garden and before just hacking them off, asked if we wanted them. Boxwood is a favorite of ours, it reminds us of Colonial Williamsburg - where they have beaufutiful hedges of boxwoods.

They are muture plants, so I don't know if that means they will do better or worse with the move. But they already have more space than they did at the other house... so I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Today has been very grey and rainy, giving them a good drink of water.

The Guinea hens found  it all very interesting. They notice anything new on the farm. Too bad they don't notice the hawk and fox as quickly.. this week alone we have lost two. It's a dilemma for me, I like them to free range to eat all the bad buggies  and I know they are at risk. I'll probably end up buying more, which seems to be the routine each spring. But I will say, I have seen only one tick this season (on me!!!) so I know they are doing a good job.
We have opened up the little chicks "house" and are letting them roam around the stall that we keep these chickens in. They are so cute and are getting bigger each day.

Mama bird is doing a great job raising them and we are really enjoying watching them grown. I'm thinking their going to be colored like the mom.. but of course, I don't know if we have boys or girls yet.
This is our newest adventure. It's an incubator and inside... 21 guinea hen eggs. We found a nest of eggs that one hen seemed to be going into each day. The last time we had a clutch of eggs, I left them - upon advise of our "birdie friends" and sadly, a fox came and got all the eggs and the hen. So, this time, we took the eggs and will see if we can't hatch them out.

From what I read, unless your guineas are penned, they really aren't great moms. If they are free ranging, that is what they would rather do. And if they do nest, they are real victim to the wildlife (as we found out). So, we'll see if we have any better luck being guinea hen parents. We'll candle the eggs in about a week to see if we have any chicks inside, but right now, it's wait and see. It sure would be fun to hatch our own rather than buying them.

After a full day of running about looks like one little chick is ready to settle down and take a snooze... sounds like a plan to me....

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