Crazy Chicken
Two nights ago when I went out the chicken coop to count the birds, our Buff Orpington chicken (aka Big Ginger) was nowhere to be found. It’s really strange for Big Ginger not to be in the coop, she’s always the first one to roost up in the evening, sometimes she’s in the coop roosting at three in the afternoon. We looked and looked everywhere and she couldn’t be found. There was no evidence of foul play and I had spent most of the day outside so I would have heard any commotion from a predator attack. Plus Tara would have barked or alerted.
The next morning, she was standing out in a wooded area behind the house. Then I came up with a theory about what had happened. She ventured over the hard snow in the morning but then didn’t want to walk on the soft snow in the afternoon. So she roosted in a pine tree on her little island of earth surrounded by snow. The following night she was in the coop at three.
It was just a theory until yesterday when the same thing happened again. She got stuck on the little island once again. I had to go out and chase her over the snow so she could head back to the coop for the night. I’m glad she wasn’t nabbed by a predator, but it would be nice if she was a little smarter!
Anything funny happening in your garden this week?
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The Final Product
People keep asking to see photos of the quilt I’ve been working on. Now that it’s finished I can finally let you see it. I wanted this quilt to have a really old feel, which it ended up having because the fabric is old. Each piece was cut out by hand with scissors, no rotary cutter involved. Precision was not in the game plan for this quilt, I wanted it to be imperfect.
This quilt is made out of old pjs. Some of them are very old, old enough that I wore them in college 18 years ago, some of them are mine, some belonged to Mr Chiots. In fact he still has a pair of flannel pants that are a different color but the same pattern as one of the fabrics used in the quilt and I kept threatening to steal his pants to incorporate the fabric in the quilt. In end, I let him keep his comfy pants, they will make it into another quilt in the future. The fabric in this quilt is a mix of cotton flannel and regular cotton, which gives it a great textural quality.
I used an old flannel sheet as the batting and an old duvet cover for the back. This type of quilt is my favorite, I’m not a fan of the thick cotton batting, I much prefer the weight and thinness of a flannel sheet. I have a few quilts made by my great grandmother and a few other family friends that are like this and they are always my favorites to have on the bed. The only thing I had to purchase for the quilt was thread and a half yard of blue fabric for the binding; now that’s what I call a deal!
The only thing I purchased for this quilt was a lovely variegated thread for the hand quilting, I love how the colors show through on the red background but isn’t really obvious on the front. The entire quilt was quilted during the winter Olympics, which you know is a big deal for us around here.
All-in-all, I’m very happy with this quilt. It’s exactly what I was hoping it would be. It will live on one of the twin beds in our guest bedroom, which Dexter found right away. We don’t let the cats in that room, so I’m not quite sure how he managed to get in there! Leave it to the cats to find the best new sleeping spot in the house.
Now on to the next quilt for the other bed!
Do you save old clothing for future sewing projects?
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Quote of the Day: Garden Structures
Organizational structure is essential to the garden’s functional and aesthetic success. The paths, arbors, hedges, and other elements that create it are the garden’s bones. They hold the garden up, define it’s form, expand it’s possibilities and bring it to life. They are the framework on which the garden grows.
Linda Joan Smith (Smith & Hawken Garden Structures)
My previous garden waiting 6 years before pathways and hedges started to form a framework. I was hoping to get things going sooner here, but I’m still trying to figure out exactly where everything will be. This isn’t something you want to rush either since many of the features that add form to the garden are rather difficult and expensive to change.
Defining the form in a garden, it’s something I think about all winter as I look at the garden around me. Not only is it a good time to do it because there aren’t any plants to distract you, it’s also a good time because you have time.
What kind of framework do you have in your garden? Is it something you notice & appreciate in winter? Do you need to add features that add framework to your garden?
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Drip, Drip, Drip….
Yesterday was beautiful and it felt like maple sugaring season. When we got home from running errands I grabbed my spiles, drill and got to work setting a few maples taps.
I set 10 taps yesterday and hope to head out and put in at least 10 or 15 more. The maples closest to the house and on my route to the coop and on dog walks got first priority. They’ll be the easiest to monitor and empty.
Maple sugaring season is one of my favorites – I love heading outside to check all the collection jars, gathering sap and boiling it down into a tasty treat. There’s something so exciting about the process. For me it’s the official end of winter and the beginning of spring.
As soon as I set the taps most of them started dripping, one tree is already proving to be a champ, giving a quart of sap in only a few hours. My goal is to get at least 3 gallons of finished syrup this year, that means I need 12-15 taps. As we have found out in the past, some trees produce a bounty of sap and others not quite as much. I’d rather have more syrup than I need than not enough, so I’ll shoot on setting 20 taps.
Is there a specific thing that signals the end of winter and beginning of spring for you?
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Friday Favorite: Clean Boots
It won’t be long until the snow is all gone, though thankfully we still have some around. Snow makes a fantastic book cleaner, seriously, it’s amazing stuff. After walking in the muddy driveway, hitting the chicken coop and being in other dirty places, a few steps in the snow and voilà super clean tread!
I’m certainly going to miss my boot cleaner when it’s gone. After the snow leave mud season arrives and it’s mess, my boots won’t be this clean until the snow falls once again this fall.
Have things started to get muddy in your garden yet?
