Daily Pickings

Snap peas, our first green beans, lettuce, Basil, Swiss chard (I already ate the duck egg!)

Summer lunch

After being outside in the sun all morning I was in the mood for a refreshing lunch.
Lettuce, apples, cucumbers, cherries, walnuts, almonds, and yogurt/apple cider vinegar/sugar dressing.

 

Full disclosure... my kids ate McDonald's for lunch on the way home from getting the ducks :P 

Our New Backyard Beauties: Welsh Harlequin Ducks

I am so excited to share pictures of our new livestock/pets/lawn ornaments!  (They are very shy right now, understandably, so I'll have nicer pictures in a week or so).

We took a little roadtrip 40 miles south to Conway, Washington to purchase a small breeding flock of Welsh Harlequin ducks. Yes - I said breeding flock!

Welsh Harlequins are an endangered breed of domesticated duck listed as "critical" by the Livestock Conservancy. I figured, if we want eggs and are already buying several females, why not go all the way and get a drake too?  This breed does fairly well with brooding (sitting on their eggs to hatch them- some domestic birds, like my quail,won't) and natural mothering, so if I create the right conditions I hope they will hatch and raise their own young.  I love the idea of contributing to a conservation effort and helping to preserve genetic diversity among domestic ducks.

And aren't they BEAUTIFUL!!

More about the ducks later... I'm sitting outside by their pen typing this on my phone. I just couldn't wait to share pictures!

Peace, love, and ducks,
Lauren

 

 

 

 

Our Newest Pen is Finished

We finished work on our newest pen this morning, and we're picking up the residents in a few hours! We are lucky to have been able to build/assemble this almost entirely out of things we already had: the shed attached to our garage, an animal pen I've had for years, bricks and a piece of plywood from around the house and yard, and I made a waterer out of an old plastic storage tub (picture coming later). The only newly purchased items were sand (and I still need a ton more) and the plastic edging.

What do you think is coming to the homestead?

Check back later!!
Lauren

Summer Dinner

Fettucine, basil, grape tomatoes, garlic, butter, squeeze of fresh lemon juice...YUM!

Big Day for the Birdies!

The quail have moved into their outdoor pen! They are fully feathered and almost fully grown at 4 weeks. They look so big to me now, but I know they have more filling out to do.

The boys are beginning to distinguish themselves by practicing their crowing. It is a hysterical and startling sound!  I'll try to get a video of it to share.

Here are the birds in their new digs. Nothing fancy, just a handmade run of reused materials and a coop made from a kitchen cabinet I purchased for $1 at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore.
I gathered bricks from around the yard to line the outside of the pen so raccoons can't dig underneath, a clever trick I found on Pinterest.

What's Growing in the Garden After 3 Months

A flourishing grouping of a tomato plant, calendula, marigolds, green beans, and red and green leaf lettuce

Snap peas growing up their trellis - we're harvesting them every morning now

Red basil and sweet basil and a cluster of green beans, just setting out flowers

Swiss chard peeking out from around the edges of the snap peas

The second row is only half dug

In the second row you see romaine lettuce, spinach, green beans, a bell pepper plant, more green beans, more spinach, two tomato plants, then a trellis for the cucumbers

Before (May)

After (July)

Yellow squash, just staked up to get the leaves off the ground.  They were beginning to get powdery mildew

Snap peas forming

One of the first tomatoes

Green bean flower

The lettuce that just keeps giving - it has been harvested half a dozen times already

My attempt at ornamental gardening!