Harvest Time

This time of year when the season changes from summer to autumn, there are many things to do around the house and yard. This morning for example I got a semi early start and headed out to pick huckleberries from the other variety we have in the garden. These berries are more oval in shape compared to the other bush we have which resemble a small blueberry. I like this variety because the berries are a little bigger and they taste great! I picked for about two hours and got almost all the ripe berries from one of the two bushes. I will have to get out again tomorrow and pick the other one.

The thing about huckleberries is that they don't all ripen at the same time, so you have to keep going out to pick the ripe ones about once a week until they are all picked. This makes for many hours of tedious picking; it's no wonder that they are so expensive in the stores.

After I finished with the berries I decided to check on the chickens to see if they had laid any eggs, and I was happy to see that there was one egg waiting to be plucked from the box. I also noticed that a pear had fallen so I picked it up and added it to my collection. We are going to have a bunch of apples and some more pears to pick soon. I might have to make an apple pie or a pear crisp soon. The rhubarb is also about ready to pick again. I didn't get to the first picking in time, so I don't want to miss this one.


After lunch I packed up our rooster Junior so I could take him to a person that wanted a rooster. He has been increasingly noisy and it was time for him to go. So we are down to five hens now. After I got home I headed out to work in the yard some more and noticed all the girls clucking more than usual. I think they miss their man chicken.

Later on I decided to pick the squash since the vines are all covered with mildew. The squash was grown from some seeds I saved a couple of years ago, and I had no idea they would even grow. To my surprise, every seed sprouted and we have enough squash for several meals. I like the cooked with butter and salt and pepper, Terri prefers butter and brown sugar on hers.

Well that's my Saturday for now. Happy Autumn everyone.

Cock-a-doodle-do

This is our accidental rooster. He has no name and he is beginning to get the hang of this crowing thing. This morning, he started at 6:00 a.m., which is fine for me since we are almost always awake before then. Today I noticed that he has learned to crow in two syllables instead of just the cawing sound he began with. It's fun (for me anyway) to hear the progression.  He is really no louder than the two dogs next door or the very loud peacocks that roam the neighborhood, but I am sure that at some point we will need to find him a new home. In the meantime I kind of like him.

His girls don't seem to mind his early morning singing either, they just seem to go about their business like nothing is different.

Some of the chickens are now about four months old, so in another month or two I'm going to be looking for some fresh eggs. Some of the family has been saving egg cartons for us; I think we're going to need them.

Loud Noises Coming From the Coop

Two weeks ago I installed the new roosts inside the coop and there has not been too much interest in them until this week. For the past few days the girls (and boy I think) have been going inside to sleep. It's really cute to watch them hop from one bar to the other as they wrestle for just the right spot on the top roost.

The possibility that we have a rooster is becoming more clear as of this morning. One of the two Barred Rock chickens has grown much larger than the other one and the cone and waddles are really growing as well. This morning there were a few loud cawing noises from the coop about 5:30 a.m. They have been very quiet until now, so we'll see how this progresses. I might be looking for a home for this one soon.