Took two days to make this one. Steps:
Here are some photos from steps 1-4 (in reverse order):
The guys finished installing our industrial-strength fence today. It may not be secure as Clayton and Anne’s outdoor fortress in Iowa, but we’re in the same ballpark. Our immediate goal is to let the chickens safely (we hope) stay outside at night. Well, it should at least keep the fox out. Not sure about the raccoons. We haven’t seen them here yet, but who knows what migrations the chickens might inspire? We’re hoping we don’t have to electrify the fence, although it’s set up to do that.
Although the little green herons seem to have left for the season, the great blue heron has come back for a visit and we’re especially enjoying the wood ducks’ paddle around the pond every morning.
We had five inches of badly needed rain yesterday. Driving back from DC, the wind was blowing hard and it felt like a monsoon. It was needed. The day before, our streams were almost dry.
Chicks in the coop! Anne gave them their first introduction to their new home yesterday. They were surprised by their new surroundings, and spent an hour or so huddled in the corner warning each other to be careful. But they gradually started scouting out the territory and picking at the bugs and seeds. They’re still spending the night in the house (the mud room, to be precise), but need to get acclimated to the outdoors soon. Winter is coming, as they say in Game of Thrones.
I managed to get a fuzzy photo of the wood ducks, but they flew when I tried to get closer. We need to build a bird blind! More construction projects, hurray!
Also, the turkeys left a souvenir down by the pond. Anne is showing it off.
John’s mom and dad came to spend a week with us in early September. Here we are dining on the front porch! Anne is tired of being photographed.
The little green herons seem to have absconded for the winter. The wood duck hen reappeared a couple of days ago, but with only three youngsters left. She lost about half of them.
We’ve tested the pond water a couple of times, with the same results. The good news is there are little to no phosphates, nitrites and ammonia in the water. The not so good news is that the pH is very high — about 9. According to the online extension services, this is too high for “high quality” fish like trout and bass. We definitely have some fish in the pond, probably sunnies and other critters known as “trash fish.”
We’re incubating week-old Buckeye chicks, which have apparently imprinted on the thermometer in their box (see photo below). We call it “momma thermometer” and it seems to provide the same comfort to the chicks as the biological sort. They like it really warm when they’re young, and Anne has set up a heat lamp that keeps them a comfortable 95 degrees Farenheit. This will be reduced by about 5 degrees per week until they’re ready for the great outdoors.
One of the little chicks is suffering problems in her tiny bowels and another is significantly smaller and less developed than the rest. We hope they all survive.
Meanwhile, Mom and Dad Ellis are visiting from Ohio, and helped us stabilize the coop by attaching treated lumber around the base. Everyone contributes labor around here! We plan to staple rat wire all around the base to try to keep out the raccoons and other chicken-eating critters. We’ll see how well that works.
Buckeye chicks, one week old.
After a couple of weeks of very dry weather, we got two inches of rain in the last two days. Then it cleared up and was beautiful today — sunny, temperature in the mid-80s (F), perfect. We spent most of the day installing new floors in the “historic cabin.” In separate news, Anne ordered some chickens, which will be arriving next week.
Here is our shy friend the little green heron. He wouldn’t stick his head out of the shade, but managed to show off his bright yellow legs. He normally hangs out on a log in the pond in the early morning, but a snapping turtle got there first today.
August 21, Kidwell pond.
Re-discovering that woodpeckers are easier to photograph than the bug eaters. And that while we’re looking up at the trees, the bugs are feasting on our ankles. Nature sets a price to see how much you value it. It’s a real bargain — at least as long as you’re not trying to start a fire in a sleet storm.
I think these red-bellied woodpeckers were feasting on cicadas.
As we reveled in the gorgeous scenery and drank in the fresh breeze this morning, Anne and I were taken aback at how lucky we are to be here. With all the random bad things that happen to so many good people, we worry that we don’t deserve all the beauty around us and there’s no reason to believe our luck shouldn’t turn. It’s funny how thoughts like that conspire to stain the good things that come to us in this life. “For no thought is contented. The better sort, As thoughts of things divine, are intermix’d With scruples, and do set the word itself Against the word …” (Shakespeare, Richard II).
This is no doubt why Jesus advised us not to dwell on our anxieties. We will do our best not to ruin things, to be properly appreciative, to create more beautiful things when we can, and to share the joy! And when bad things come, as they must, we will try to remember that that’s not all there is.
Kidwell Garden 