a man and his hoe

every day is a good day

  • Mom on the Move

    Every mother hen is different. This one is a mover and a shaker. Some mothers don’t take their chicks out of the nursery until they are a week old. This one has them running around outdoors the day after they hatched.

    When I see day old chicks exploring the great outdoors, running through grass, scratching the dirt, I chuckle at the environment enrichment efforts of large scale poultry farms. These efforts include adding string bunches for chickens to play with and sand boxes to use.

    These day old chicks experience more enrichment in their first day of life than do most chickens do during their whole life, and they get a mother to boot.

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  • The Many Colors of Beans

    The White Flower Bean 白花豆 vines started blooming today. This is the first flower to open. Now you see why they’re called White Flower Beans.

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    And these pole beans which have purple beans, also have bright purple vines. Many vegetables are beautiful while they grow. They are worth growing just for their charm. On the plus side, you get to eat them too.

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  • Flower Explosion

    Carrot flowers look like fireworks. The next time you’re gazing up at a night sky, watching fireworks explode, you can exclaim, “That looks just like a carrot flower!”

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  • All Hatched

    The last of the chicks hatched during the night. This morning I moved the mother and her chicks into a nursery. Some chicks don’t move much the first few days. These chicks are ready to explore. They are going to be handful for her to raise.

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  • In Full Bloom – Potatoes

    Most people when they hear the word “potato” will think of mashed potatoes, french fries, potato salad, and will see images of potatoes in their mind. But flowers? Do images of beautiful, fragrant flowers come to mind?

    It’s a cool, cloudy, windy day. Standing next to a large potato field in full bloom with the wind blowing off the field, the wind has a pleasant, sweet carnation-rose fragrance. The wind makes a rustling sound as it shakes the potato leaves and blossoms.

    Fort Fairfield in Maine hosts the annual Maine Potato Blossom Festival mid-July each year when the potato blossoms are in full bloom. This 9 day festival features fun for the entire family. This event is one of the oldest and most established festivals in Maine. There is also a Potato Blossom Festival going on right now in O’Leary, Prince Edward Island.

    Potato blossoms come in a variety of colors: white, pink, purple, almost blue. Planting a row of potatoes in your garden is worth it just for the blossoms.

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