The Chicks Get Space

The chicks moved into their full coop yesterday.  Cautious at first, they soon had left their brooder and were digging like lunatics in the fresh shavings.  They ran and flew, and enjoyed more space than they've ever had in their short lives.

Mike, from Wilderness Vagabonds, took some video from their first minutes out of the brooder.


It was a busy day.  I worked on the last quadrant of the garden.  I started onions from seed but they are still very small and I didn't want to take any chances, so the other day I bought some starter onions.  I prepared their space and planted them.   I measured out the last few beds and did a bit of digging.  Ended the day tired and sore.

I realized something that's obvious in retrospect:  I'm not going to be able to do everything this first year here. It's okay to stick to my priorities:  getting a garden established and chickens housed.  Next year, I won't be as pressed for time in the spring since the garden will already be tilled and fenced, and I'll be able to cut and preserve the rhubarb before it flowers,  pick fiddle head ferns, and make salads with dandelion greens.  This is me learning that moderation is good for the umpteenth time. 

 

Too late to eat the greens from these dandelions.  Pick the greens before they flower. 

 

My rhubarb beginning to bolt.  I removed the flower so the plant would put more attention into stalk and leaf production.  It also gives me more time to cut some stalks and preserve them. 

 

I missed picking fiddle heads entirely, though I did take pictures of them.