And, yeah, I'm sorry for leaving you hanging for so long, but I totally have a good excuse. I swear.
Darragh is our newest little urban farmer. He hasn't learned too much about composting, permaculture, or succession planting, but he totally understands what tastes yummy. He was born in December, so we've been very busy learning how to be parents between now and then. The garden is a little weedier than usual, but things are still growing, producing, and going to seed when we miscalculate how much time we have to wash diapers, clean bottles, fold laundry, get the dog hair out of the baby's mouth, and harvest bok choy.
In both the sad and happy news side of things, our flock of laying ladies has gone through much change. Of our original group, only Ellen remains. She still mourns Portia daily. Of the second group, only Dark Meat remains. And she has taken up the torch of Resident Mean Bird (though she could never surpass Raquel in that role). Winnie and Ingrid are buried between the pear trees in the back. We miss their antics and crowing (more on that later). To replace our losses, five new girls have come home to roost with us. Three New Hampshires, one Brahma, and one Cornish Game hen are now nicely settled in and laying pretty pullet eggs. They remain unnamed as part of our layer-to-meat-bird program. After having to "put down" Winona, I am finding that personality, individuality, familiarity, and compassion combine into a disabling force for the hand holding the axe.
We have also gone through some changes around the yard. Our contractor friend built two new cedar decks for us, so we will be redesigning the back and side yards to coordinate. We also have plans to expand the chicken run since the ladies are now confined all the time. With winter around the corner, our seedlings for the cold months are already in and thriving, and cover crop will be planted in the other beds soon. A few more beds will be added before the worst of the autumn weather hits, and we already know what will live in those next year. Garlic should show up in the post any day now, onions will need to be ordered, new carrot seed will be picked out of a catalog, and a possible deal for more space will be struck with a neighbor.
This will also be my last year of college classes. Hurrah!
As the next season approaches, what are your plans?
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Shout out to the peeps.