Babies, Babies, Everywhere
Each summer I try to only let one variety of fowl hatch out little ones. This year, I had a turkey mama that hid a nest in the woods until it was too late to break her off. Luckily she wasn’t sitting on very many eggs. She hatched out 6 turkey cutlets, there are four that have survived (two were nabbed by a raccoon one night).
Earlier in the summer we let two different muscovies sit on a few eggs each. We ended up with eight ducklings in two different clutches, they’re almost adults now and the same size as the adult ducks in the flock. Since the turkeys and ducks more than doubled the amount of birds we had in the coop, it seems like there are birds everywhere.
Add to these the 25 chicks that are now miniature chickens and we have quick the flock living in the one of the coops. All these birds are very entertaining and provide fertilizer for the garden, eggs for our table, and entertainment for us.
What new life are you enjoying this summer/fall?
Share this:
Friday Favorite: The Old Sugar Maple
We have an old sugar maple across the driveway, no doubt it was tapped for syrup by the original homesteaders back in the late 1890’s. It’s huge, it provides us with lots of maple syrup, and it’s a stunner in the fall. The other day, we had a storm roll through right at sunset. As it moved through and the skies cleared, the golden sun was highlighting the tree.
It was a fleeting moment, it was only highlighted for a few moments before it was gone. I’m glad I got a photo of the wonderful moment.
What are you enjoying this season?
Share this:
Fall Beauties
The New England asters are really putting on a show this year and the pollinators are loving them. I’m not a huge fan of these flowers in a border, but in native areas around the gardens I find them quite attractive. For me, they’re a bit floppy and weedy looking in the border.
I like that they come in varying shades of purple, lavender, and pink. This time of year they provide a burst of much needed color right before the landscape becomes dominated by brown.
What are loving in the fall garden?
Share this:
A Stunner…
This past summer, I got a few new dahlia bulbs at the farmers market. I’m not sure of the name of this beauty, I forgot to look at the tag and I can’t seem to find the photo of when I purchased it (I always take photos of new plants with their tags to keep track).
It’s a short plant, which I really like, not growing over two feet. So many of the dahlias I’ve grown in the past blow over in my very windy garden. This one is perfect because of its short stature. My dahlias suffered from the drought and heat this year, they haven’t been as pretty as they have been in the past. In fact, two of mine haven’t even bloomed yet and I’m not sure if they will before frost.
What flowers are you particularly loving this summer?
Share this:
Falling for Verbena Bonariensis
I remember the first time I noticed verbena bonariensis, it was in the Nearing garden at The Good Life Center in Maine. It was stunning in the late October garden.
I bought seeds and tried growing in my Ohio garden, which it didn’t really like it. Then I remembered this beautiful and beneficial plant a few years ago. I started seed and it grew beautifully, providing a much needed late food source for pollinators.
I no longer have to start seed, seedlings pop up around the main garden in June. These are transplanted all around the garden, every year I grow more and more. At the moment, the monarchs are loving them. Next year I’m thinking of doing a mass planting of this beauty surrounded by lamb’s ears. The two colors and textures should work beautifully together.
What flowers are you loving right now?
