a man and his hoe

every day is a good day

Month: October 2014

  • On the 4th Day

    ChuckanutMtn

    On Japanese news today, the weather reporter pointed out that in the fall, mountains are said to get all dressed up, referring to the forests on the mountains turning brilliant with fall colors. In the winter they are said to go to sleep, when they are covered with snow.

    OutdoorsOnThe4thDayA
    OutdoorsOnThe4thDayB

    On the fourth day of her chicks hatching, Peach leads them out into the wild blue yonder, at least it must feel like that to the tiny chicks. They’ve traveled 125 feet from their nest. For a chick of just a few inches, it’s a long, long way. In human terms, that is like a half mile, quite a feat for a four day old chick.

    OutdoorsOnThe4thDayC
    OutdoorsOnThe4thDayD
    OutdoorsOnThe4thDayE

  • The Magic Number is Eight

    PeachAnd8-A

    The magic number is eight. Peach brought her chicks out into the chicken yard today. She has eight, fluffy, healthy, perky, excited chicks. The chicks started hatching on the 27th. Of the ten eggs she was sitting on, nine hatched. One of the eggs was infertile and did not develop. One chick did not make it.

    Even though it is a cool time of the year, she will keep them nice and warm.

    PeachAnd8-B
    PeachAnd8-C
    PeachAnd8-D
    PeachAnd8-E
    PeachAnd8-F
    PeachAnd8-G
    PeachAnd8-H

    She senses danger and fluffs up like a turkey. Hens can make themselves appear twice as large by spreading their feathers.

    PeachAnd8-I

  • How Many?

    FallLeaves141028

    Peach and her new chicks are doing fine. How many does she have? At least seven, maybe more. They started hatching yesterday, and she’s keeping them in the nest today. Another day, and they will be itching to explore.

    PeachAndChicks
    MotherDaughter141028

    Ruby’s daughter won’t leave her mother. She’s more than two months old now, and her mother is back to laying eggs. Her daughter follows her everywhere, even waiting patiently when Ruby is sitting on a nest to lay an egg.

  • New Life – Pure Joy

    NewChicks141027A

    New life! Chicks are hatching today. No matter how many times I see new chicks peaking out from under their mother’s feathers for the first time, it is pure joy.

    NewChicks141027B
    ExpectantMother

    And in about two weeks, if all goes well, a clutch of tiny chicks will be peaking out from under this hen.

  • The Last Of …

    TheLastOfTheApplesA

    We picked the last of the apples today. Once these and the other bucket of apples we picked recently are gone, that is the last of the fresh apples. These days, hardly anyone thinks about there being a first and a last picking of a fruit or a vegetable. No one expects to go to a store and see a sign saying, “No more apples until next fall.”

    Large growers can store apples in controlled atmosphere (CA) storage, keeping apples edible for many months. By reducing the amount of oxygen the apples have, it is possible to slow down their respiration and keep them relatively fresh.

    Still, no matter how they are stored, apples lose firmness over time. That just-off-the-tree crunch just isn’t there. On the other hand, since so few ever experience eating an apple picked off the tree, there are very few customers who demand such freshness. Though, once you enjoy a whole season of eating apples right off the tree, there is less joy biting into an apple that has come out of storage. You look forward to next fall, when you can once again, enjoy that just-off-the-tree crunch.

    TheLastOfTheApplesB
    TheLastOfTheApplesC