You'd Think We Were Killing Them

The past few evenings have seen temperatures in the mid- to low-20's F. The cold is nothing compared to what our compadres in the Northern and Eastern US are experiencing, but still cold enough to ice up the drinking bowls and Pools o' Woo by morning.

Earlier this week, before the worst of the evening cold temps hit, we received the coop heater and electric adapter that controls output by temperature sensing (it shuts off electricity when temps reach 45˚F). Got it rigged up in the coop, and then came the hard part: getting the girls INTO the coop at night.

You'd think we were trying to kill them.

They much prefer roosting in the cedar boughs. Can't say that I blame them; lots of room to spread out, and if they spread out far enough, nobody gets pooped on who might be roosting below. They roost pretty high up in the tree, however, so the trick is to get to them before they scoot up higher than our reach. It's a one-bird-at-a-time effort: grab one, shove into the coop, close the door quickly, all the while ignoring their scratching and squawking at the windows and doors while we attempt to grab the next one. They have no problem laying eggs in the coop during the day, mind you, but at night? Forgetaboutit. It's a veritable Chicken Chamber of Horrors! Not even chicken cryptonite - fresh corn on the cob - will lure them into that coop in the evening.

While doing the chicken grab, we also have to navigate around the geese. Godzilla does NOT like it when we manhandle the chickens, so he makes his displeasure known during the process. Once he starts squawking, the entire gaggle goes off, nipping at our heels and sounding like a pack of screaming chimpanzees. I wonder: is this why our new neighbors haven't introduced themselves yet?

I am SO looking forward to warmer weather...

[pic: chicken crossing the grass patch, Godzilla the Manly]

Destructo Dogs

Aww, don't they look so sweet, laying there and snoozing like that? This picture was taken just a few scant hours after they ate a raspberry plant that was awaiting transplant into the front garden beds. I caught them as they were going back for the second potted raspberry plant. The plant was thorny, people! And yet they still chewed it down to the nub! What the @#$!!, dogs?!!!

[pic: Bandit and Maggie, sleeping it off.]

First, You Rent A Hydraulic Post-Hole Digger

Texas Hill Country "soil" - if you wanna call it that - is well known for its rocky constitution. Spouse and I thought we could bypass some of the effort of digging out holes for the new trees by renting a hydraulic post-hole digger. We could drill a couple of holes in tight relation to each other, scoop out the original soil, put in the good stuff ($31.00 a cubic yard - ouch!), then plop the tree in. Here's Spouse on the digger - looks like it could do the job, right?



Here's what the soil looked like, barely a foot into the dig. Where the post-hole digger's progress was stopped cold. Notice how the darker soil gives way to rocks?



Below is what a jackhammer looks like. This is what I ran into town to get after the post-hole digger stopped. Here's a tip on using a jackhammer: don't press the weight of your upper-body onto the top of the jackhammer to put more pressure on the hammering. It will rattle your skull like a baby with a shaker toy. Note to self: It's okay to let the jackhammer do the work, honest!



Ahhh, but the wonderful end result of our toils and troubles? Our first planted apricot tree:



We planted both apricot trees fairly close to the house. Apricots do well with a bit of sheltering, and they're in a good space - not too much Winter north wind (blocked by the house), and not too much Summer south-east wind (broken by the cedars). The trees will also provide some much needed shade for our side yard, which will be enjoyed by critters and humans alike. Further down the hill, we planted two plum trees (different types for cross-pollination) and the two pomegranates that had been waiting for transplant since, oh, May? Two more holes were dug: one for the third fruiting cactus, and the other for the third fig.

[Speaking of critters: we've surrounded each tree/bush with a goose/deer/dog-resistant wire cage. I've already a story about the Destructo Dogs and this weekend's efforts waiting in the wings...]

Spouse later took the post-hole digger down to the big flat area of the property where the bulk of the orchard will end up being planted. He was able to dig a whoppin' six inches deep in some areas, and only up to a foot in others - again, rock. Next weekend's digging strategy: skip the post-hole digger/jackhammer combination, and rent a 48" trencher instead.

[By the way, I highly recommend Sunbelt Rentals. Great prices, and if you rent on a Saturday, they let you keep the equipment until Monday with only one day's rent charged (well, they do here - don't know if they do in other locations). They also deliver the heavy stuff!]

We'll be ordering another truckload of soil, and planting more trees as we can afford to bring them in. It'll be a variety of fruits and nuts. I've discovered the term for the type of farming I want to do: Market Farming. But this post has gone on long enough... more on that later.

Dowsing for Eggs?

Can a person dowse for eggs? Cinnamon and Nutmeg have found another away-from-coop spot, and I've yet to discover it. They've been hiding their eggs going on four weeks now...

[I'm not serious about the dowsing. But then again... Oh, and Chance: I do plan to get those ceramic eggs from Hobby Lobby that you recommended. The dogs found the prior wooden decoy egg, and chewed it up. Dogs. *sigh*]

Post on weekend tree planting coming up, around 6:00AM-ish.

I Don't Know Why It Works

See the slight discoloration on the base of my palm, encircled? I had forgotten that I no longer had Kung-Fu skills*, and palm-struck a rootball to loosen it up. The knots of roots on the rootball did not budge. My meaty palm, however, did. A huge bruise was starting to develop, purple-red and oh-so painful. I took some homeopathic arnica montana, and as of this morning, the bruise is faded to the almost nothing you see in the pic.

I don't know why homeopathic remedies work for me. They don't work for everyone. My rational mind still thinks that the whole thing is a bunch of hooey despite years of healing with this modality. I will not argue, however, with positive results.

More posts coming up this week with pics of our tree-planting efforts.

[actually, I never had Kung-Fu skills. Shhh, don't tell my ego.]