freedom

Who made a bid for freedom this morning?  Who decided to scamper out through the sliver of door that was open, and between the legs of the gatekeeper? Who knew the gatekeeper would have her hands full while struggling with the key in one hand, and a bowl of chicken food in the other? Who nimbly hopped, clucked and fluttered about, enjoying the morning sunshine and breeze? Who had an unprecedented 15 minute free-range around the yard while everyone else watched from behind the chicken wire?

Thanks to my ahem, graceful speed, agility, and uncanny hunting abilities, Polka-dotty was finally caught, and unceremoniously dumped back into the coop. This is the story to which we’re sticking- or, at least, to which I’m sticking. If Polka-dotty could speak human, she’d tell you she decided it was time to go back home after a merry little jaunt involving fresh air, tasty grasses, a neglected peach, a handful of grapes, and pity on the red-faced, grabby-handed, panting girl that she keeps around as a pet…

harvesting

Just some photos of what we’ve been harvesting lately- usually we take a photo of the first vegetable/fruit off a season’s plantings…

japanese eggplant – I think the name of the variety is “ichiban”.

armenian cucumber – actually a variety of melon that tastes and can be used interchangeably with a cucumber- it does a lot better out here in the desert heat than a normal cucumber does. they are huge- this one is over 24 inches long…

heirloom tomato- costuolo genovese

heirloom tomatoes- black krim (left) and costuolo genovese (right)

genoa fig

egg!

Every day I have a new favorite chicken- it’s probably not fair, I know, but since each chicken is a favorite one day or another, they all get their turn. Sometimes its because of something one of them does- a funny dance, a long hug, a little sneeze, but other times, its for who they are- each separate personality quirk. But today, and probably tomorrow, and heck- maybe even for the whole week, the favorite is Polka-Dotty2. She laid the first egg out of the flock! And not only that, but she actually laid it in the nesting box! Chickens don’t just know that they’re supposed to lay their eggs in a storage-bin-from-Target-that’s-been-adapted-and- filled-with-straw! Usually, chickens have to be “encouraged” to lay somewhere specific- if they are new chickens in an existing flock, they’ll see where the older hens lay their eggs and follow suit, or sometimes a rooster will actually demonstrate where to lay, or, in the case of a new flock, you basically trick them- placing a golf ball, or fake egg in the nesting box will make them think that its a safe place to lay an egg. Otherwise, chickens will find their own places to lay their eggs- and you’ll have to hunt for them. But not Polka-Dotty2! We’ve always maintained that she’s the cleverest chicken out of the bunch, and yesterday she proclaimed it! (All afternoon, and loudly, at that)! “Bawk, bawk, Bawk, BAwk, BAWk, BAWK, BAWWK! BBBAAAAWWWWWWKKKK!!!”

spotlight on sweetie

Sweetie insisted on being in this photo- and she wanted it to be a close-up!

One of the things we’ve been most amazed by, in our duration as crazy-chicken-pet-people, is the amount of personality the chickies have. I don’t know what we were expecting- just some fluffy feathered cuteness, and quiet clucking? Instead, each chicken is her very own individual- quirky and endearing in a unique way. We’ve decided to highlight each of the girls in separate posts- to give them each a moment in the spotlight, so that you, dear reader, can get to know each chicken, up close and personal!

Sweetie is one of our two reds, and probably the smallest and sleekest chicken of the bunch. Physically, you can distinguish her from the other red, Tweety, by her size (smaller), and by the coloring of her beak (darker).

(See photo below- Sweetie is on the left).

Personality-wise, Sweetie is really a sweetie. Since she was little, she’s always liked to take naps- and she still does. Every afternoon, in the heat of the afternoon, when the chicks slow down, and find a nice cool spot in the shade (or rather, in front of the evaporative cooler (that’s another story for another post)), she’s the first one to start nodding off. She also loves picking at the seams of your clothing- when you’re sitting down, and you feel someone poking at the stitching on your back pocket, or the cuff of your pants, chances are its Sweetie. The good thing is that she doesn’t really do any damage, and she does seem to stop when instructed! As far as her place in the pecking order (which is still being determined), at first she seemed as though she was at the bottom but she seems to be moving her way up. She’s become more aggressive about getting treats (grapes and cherries), and has discovered tenacity as a means of keeping her place on the perch. (Basically, she chooses her place on the perch early on in the evening, and then holds on for dear life, while other chicks try to push her off, or shove past her towards the primo spots. She’s a little slow, always a little behind the other chicks- the other five will run off, and she’ll still be standing in the same place. Half a minute later, she’ll realize everyone’s gone, and she’ll go running after the others to catch up. But better slow and sweet, that quick and ornery, right?

what’s growing in the garden right now – June

So, besides the usual list of what’s ready to eat, and what’s growing, we’ve decided to add another list: what the chickens are eating in the garden- since it’s become their favorite place to free-range (sigh…)

ready to eat right now:

beets, bull’s blood

beets, dutch baby balls

brussel sprouts

cabbage, savoy

carrots, scarlet nantes

leeks

lettuce, frisee

scallions

strawberries

swiss chard, rainbow

tomatoes, stupice (heirloom)

tomatoes, early girl

tomatoes, yellow pear (heirloom)

tomatoes, yellow boy,

tomatoes, sungold (cherry)

herbs: basil (italian sweet, spicy globe), burnet, chives, garlic chives, cilantro, dill, english thyme, espazote, garlic chives, lemon thyme, marjoram, mint (spearamint), oregano (greek), parsley (italian flat-leaf), rosemary (barbeque), sage, tarragon (french), lemongrass

growing, but not ready to be eaten yet:

asparagus

cucumbers, armenian

cucumbers, english

cucumbers, pickling

eggplant, japanese (ichiban)

figs, genoa

figs, kudota

grapes, red flame

grapes, thompson seedless

horseradish

melon, charentais

melon, canteloupe

melon, minnesota midget

peppers, hungarian

peppers, spicy thai

pumpkin, sugar

rhubarb

squash, butternut (winter)

squash, zucchini (summer)

tomatillo, verde

tomatoes, black cherokee

tomatoes, black krim

tomatoes, crimson carmello

tomatoes, costuolo

what the chickens are eating in the garden:

note the “nibbled” edges of all of the cabbage…

caught in the act!

asparagus seeds

burnet (the cucumber flavored herb that they love)

broccoli (last one of the season, plus the leaves)

brussel sprouts (mostly the leaves off the plant- they haven’t yet figured out how to get to the sprouts, or that perhaps those are the tastiest bits…)

cabbage, savoy

cauliflower (last one of the season, plus the leaves + the aphids that are also enjoying the fine fruits of our harvest…)

cucumbers, any blossoms they can find…

figs, mostly the leaves

grapes, every single one they can reach before we “shoo” them away…

peppers, blossoms, and one developing jalapeno- afterwards a lot of hasty beak wiping…

swiss chard, rainbow (one of their favorites)

tomatillos, all the blossoms…

tomatoes, early girl

tomatoes, stupice

tomatoes, yellow boy

chicken spa 2

These days the chickies prefer a different sort of spa- a dirt bath right next to the patio- here’s an action-packed video of Brownie, Blondie, Sweetie and Spotty-Dotty cleaning themselves…

that face

Spotty-dotty looking up at the camera, five weeks old.

Spotty-dotty at 12 weeks.

B saw some of our friends tonight at a birthday party, while I was at my ceramics class. One friend (you know who you are!) said that our chickens are no longer cute (the nerve!). They might not be as photogenic as they were at 2 weeks, or even, say 6 weeks, but the thing that the camera can’t capture, is that Spots at 12 weeks still looks at us with the same shy little upward glance that she did at 6 weeks. And there’s no way you could see that look and not think that she’s the cutest thing since sliced bread!

free range

So, a lot has happened since the chickens last made an appearance on the blog, other than the photos from yesterday’s entry. The biggest event, was about two weeks ago, or rather, 17 days (6 hours, and 32 minutes) ago, (but who’s counting?) the chickens left home, moved into their coop, and we officially became “empty nesters”. And who was scared and lonely? And couldn’t sleep? And worried about all the strange noises outside? And had to keep sneaking out and checking on everybody? Obviously, not the chicks, when they had each other, although they did their fair share of squawking when the lights went out… It was pretty traumatic. However, now everyone is fully adjusted- the chickens have a spacious, spankin’ new abode, fully insulated, with huge windows (both operable, and screened), a good view, running water, and an endless supply of food, and B + I are back to a quieter, cleaner (ahem, at least less feathered and smelly) existence in our small, fifty-eight year old, less-than-fully-insulated, with windows not-entirely-operable-or-screened, home…

No pictures of the coop yet- B’s still finishing it up, along with their chicken run- but hopefully soon!

Since we don’t currently have a chicken run yet, one of us has to be outside, whenever the chickens are out of their coop, free-ranging. Everyday, their comfort level increases, and so does the area in which they want to explore- we’ve now chased them off the driveway, the west garden, the east garden, the side yard, and the parking lot of the church next door!

we’re back…

Spotty-dotty’s most winsome look…

Sweety’s patrician gaze…

Blondie (Chirpy) ’s level stare…

Did you miss us?

first + last

This past week, a number of “firsts” of the season:

peas (snow, english, + snap):

beets:

also, leeks.

Last of

broccoli:

You can’t tell from the photo, but this head was 11″ in diameter…