update…some updated information. Middle of the week usually brings us to the update on what we’ve been talking about over the last few days. I do this for a couple of reasons: 1) because it’s the middle of the week so many of the on-going projects are just that, on-going and 2) We go to choir rehearsal on Wednesday evenings, so I have to do something quickly. So here we go.
IMG_1155On Monday I talked a bit about the daily pond for the ducks, but I didn’t have a photo to share of it while it was in its “pond” state. Let me remedy that right now. Four little ducks and one big goose (couple of chickens). Who doesn’t have fun playing in the mud? You can also see that the grass on the other side of the fence enjoys the daily addition of water as well. We’re well into the brown season here. That’s a good fall color.

The other update I wanted to give is for the injury list. I don’t remember if I let you know that we lost the rooster that was ailing at the same time as the hen, but Sue decided to put him down as he was wasting and had no chance for a recovery. It’s so hard to simply watch them wither. Currently we 3 on the img_2011.jpginjury list: The little Golden Chochin with a broken leg – we had her in a sling for about 6 days, maybe 7 and she is making good progress, standing up on her own and able to move about to some degree, eating well, we’re keeping her isolated for some time yet; we have the Big Daddy Rooster, who was rather ailing and is now in isolation with naturally medicated water and regular food, he’s started crowing and that is a really good sign; finally, we have one of the bachelor roosters who played around a bit to rough and broke his wing – we did our best to put it back in place and wrapped it up – that’s what our research showed wast he best approach – it took him a few hours to get used the have only one wing for balance, etc., but by the end of the day he was running around, scratching, and eating just like normal! Here’s a photo of his pretty blue bandage with a photo bomb from the other bachelor dude, he’s saying “What you lookin’ at Willis?”

IMG_1999The final update is on the Chestnut Tree Orchard. I don’t remember if I said anything about this or not… but Saturday we finished marking the field for the Chestnut Trees which will be shipped some time in February/March. We’ve been in discussion with the Chestnut Tree Proliferation Project coordinator, James, for about a year now. Finally got the confirmation from him that we’ll be able to get 15 trees next spring-ish. He’s been coaching us on how far apart they need to be, how to prepare the soil and what kind of watering schedule they require. We’ve also joined some webcasts on growing fruit and nut trees in the desert and how best to give them a great start. So – Sue had measured off the orchard and placed stakes where the trees will be planted; they need to be 30′ on center from tree to tree. James has encouraged us to loosen the soil about 20′ out from the center and then we’ll plant them in an actual hole with amendments at the center. I’ve left the photo above rather large to give you a better chance of seeing our markings. There are three different circles in the photo, but the one you can see best is right in the foreground, with the stake in the middle.  Sue will be bringing in the back hoe and just lifting the soil up and putting it back down, all within the black circle. Anyone a fan of  Supernatural? As we were painting, I just kept thinking “Stay inside the salt circle.” Nevermind. It’s just random fandom stuff.

This and all the projects are, as you know, works in progress. This means that updates will be always on the blogging schedule. Hope it doesn’t get boring; I do my best to keep it fun. Until the next time then~ as always,
Thanks for reading!

IMG_1966Today’s Weather: The mornings still feel very much like fall: 46-48°, but it sure warms up by the afternoon. When I came home around 2, it was up to 86°; although, my weather app says it was only 83°- don’t know exactly where it’s getting that information. It also tells me that it’s going to be in the low 70’s all the way through to Thanksgiving. So, looks like we have some really lovely days in the future. Great time to be visiting!

Egg Report: I think yesterday we ended up with 12 chicken eggs and how many duck eggs?- that’s right- 2.  Today we had the 2 duck eggs and 14 chicken eggs, would have had 16 but one was eaten – dagnabbit! – and one was a soft shelled egg that went to the dogs. Sure wish we could get a handle on this egg eating business. Sue is adding more mealworms to the morning oats and veggies to see if this satisfies… it might be a difficult habit to break.

Gratitude: I thought I’d start adding the graphic here as well, so you can see what the heck I’m talking about if you weren’t with us from the beginning. We’re only doing two days 14 and 15, because that’s where we left off on Wednesday. So-#14: What sight are you grateful for today? Sight? I guess I really am grateful for the skies… I love the sunsets and the amazing night skies; lately I’ve been up early enough to see the sunrise, since we don’t do the daylight savings time thing, sunrise is around 6:15 lately.
#15: What season are you grateful for? Guess you can tell that I didn’t really look ahead, as I’ve already talked about the season. Which am I grateful for? Well, here in Arizona, I’m truly grateful for Monsoon Season; the time that helps us replenish the aquafer and helps us fill our water catchment systems. We really welcome the rain that is given during that period.