a man and his hoe

every day is a good day

  • Independent Chicks

    SkunkyAndSiblingsA

    Skunky and its siblings are just over a month old now … and see, no mother. They’ve found a soft spot on a garden path and are enjoying the afternoon sun, not worried that their mother is off foraging on her own. They are old enough now to be on their own. A month is on the short side of chick rearing. More of the hens raise their chicks closer to two months than just one, but a month is not unusual. I’ll see if their mother is still spending the night with them. Chicks are completely independent when they no longer spend the nights with their mother.

    SkunkyAndSiblingsB
    SkunkyAndSiblingsC

  • It’s a Dog Eat Dog World

    TurkeyFeathers

    Actually, it’s more like a dog eat anything world. I woke up to find Echo happily chewing away in the middle of some definitely not chicken feathers. After some careful inspection and research at the informative US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Feather Atlas, I determined that they were wild turkey feathers. Our neighbor had mentioned shooting a turkey on a recent hunting expedition. It turned out that he had hung the wings on the side of his garage to dry. He thought coyotes had gotten the wings during the night. Instead, it turned out to be our dogs.

    Sprouts

    It’s an everything eats everything world. At this very moment, tiny microbes are munching away at our skin, nibbling in our hair, digesting the food we ate. It’s a never ending cycle of nutrients flowing from one being to another to another to another.

    The shallots and peas are shooting out of the ground. I like the way shallots sprout. They look like fingers from a hand buried in the ground. “Help me! Help me! I’m buried alive!” I hear them scream. Of all the onion family plants I’ve grown, shallots are the most delightful looking.

  • When the Dogs Bark

    BeSurprisedA

    I wasn’t expecting any of this today. While putzing around the place, I stumbled upon a pink rhododendron in full bloom. It wasn’t that many days when I said, “This is going to bloom soon.” Wow! And now it is.

    Deep in the, woods while going to check on what the dogs were so ferociously barking at, I came face to face with a pink trillium. A little further on, white trilliums. I may not have ever seen that pink trillium were it not for whatever invading creature set the dogs off. They say, “Learn something new every day.” I say, “Be surprised every day.” When the dogs bark, go on an adventure.

    BeSurprisedB
    BeSurprisedC

  • Warmest Day of the Year

    WhiteLilac

    The moment I stepped outdoors this morning, it felt different. The morning chill was gone. The misty air was soft and comforting. The mist lifted, the sun came out, and the air warmed all morning and afternoon, topping out at 70ºF. Today was the warmest day of the year so far, the first 70ºF day of 2015.

    PurpleLilac

  • Here Comes Skunky

    HereComesSkunky1

    Skunky’s family is taking a break on a roost, but where is Skunky? Skunky is in the brush, not too far away, roosting on a fallen branch.

    HereComesSkunky2
    HereComesSkunky3
    HereComesSkunky4

    Here comes Skunky, wings flapping to make it up to the top of the roost. There, that’s much better than sitting all alone. Where is Skunky in the last picture? Can you find Skunky? Skunky is looking right at the camera.

    HereComesSkunky5
    HereComesSkunky6