Mushrooms

I found multiple clumps of mushrooms growing in my raised bed.

As a gardening newbie, I had no idea whether this was a good or bad thing. I asked online and was told that it's a sign of soil health and rich microorganism life. Excellent!

Crocheted shell hat and army cap

I took a few crochet projects to a seminar last weekend, as I have to be actively doing something in order to stay awake while sitting in a chair. I finished a shell stitch beanie with bulky, woolen-spun yarn (probably my favorite kind to work with).

Then I started and nearly-completed an army cap. The only step left is to sew decorative buttons on either side of the band.

Chicken status update

The older and younger chickens are now integrated and everything seems to be fine. The Australorp gives an occasional peck at the babies, but not too hard.

Last week I had the big access door open while I watched them, as usual, and the older ones decided that it was time to explore outside the coop.

Unfortunately the movement attracted the cats, who startled the chicks multiple times. The Australorp and Rhode Island Red hopped back into the coop. The poor Ameraucana just froze in place and pooped. I picked her up and placed her back inside, where she resumed normal behavior. After that scary experience, none of them have ventured outside again.

The Cream Brabanter has started jumping onto the 1 foot wall underneath the big door, and may decide to come out soon. I was holding her recently for a photoshoot and she escaped my hands and walked around a bit.

She's quite photogenic. I love that crest.

I'll open the little chicken-sized door on the next warm day that I have time to supervise them.

Here's the big girls settling down to sleep:

Long-sleeved knit shirt

I made most of this shirt during the Knit Know-How class at Stonemountain and Daughter Fabrics. I'm quite pleased with the fabrics I picked out. The fit is good but not perfect. I would need someone with much more experience sewing clothing to help me fiddle with it.

Garden update and new routines

I set up a second raised bed for shady plants along one edge of the chicken coop. I currently have arugula, a cucumber start, and seeds for various leafy greens and alliums in it. Next to the bed, I set up a potato tower (with Kennebec seed potatoes from Pollinate, as I'd heard they like shade), and a pot with lemon verbena and a gooseberry. Can't wait to get tea and fruit from the last two!

Here's a picture of a second potato tower in a sunny area:

Finally, I caved and purchased a tree mallow (Lavatera maritima) at East Bay Nursery, as it's a plant I've loved for a long time. It's a little one hanging out right by my door.

My new morning routine is to check on the raised beds, pull any weeds I find, and harvest anything that's ready.

I grab a handful of extra weeds and check on the chickens. The older girls love the weeds and I can see that they are filling up on them and eating less of the feed.

In the evening, around 9 or 10 pm, I put on a headlamp and check on the raised bed again, this time plucking slugs (and any extra weeds I come across).

I give the chickens a final check, and the Australorp eats up the slugs. (Currently the Red and Ameracauna turn up their beaks at slugs.) After a week straight, I'm finally making a dent in the weed and slug populations.

Roosting bar

It took over a week, but the older girls have finally figured out how to hop/fly onto the roosting bars. The Australorp and Rhode Island Red make it all the way to the top and huddle together, but the Ameracauna only makes it to the second bar. The cord wrapped around the bar is for the heating lamp.

New chicks

The younger chicks have been here for a week already. They are in the coop with the older ones, but separated by a fence because the Australorp keeps picking on them.

The Gold-Laced Wyandotte is the most amenable to handling from this batch:

The Welsummer (who will lay dark chocolate-colored eggs as an adult) looks similar, but doesn't have the dark spots around her face.

The Cream Brabanter is the most unusual-looking of the bunch. She is a rare breed who will have awesome spots on her feathers as an adult. Currently her little wing feathers have a pink tinge to them! It's not just my red sweatshirt tricking the camera. Unfortunately, she somehow hurt her leg during the first night in the coop. I brought her and her sisters inside for half the day and made her drink sugar water. It perked her right up and she was back to normal a few hours later, but she now hates being picked up. It was hard to get a nice picture of her because she would start SCREAMING. (She's calmed down significantly at this point, but these are early pictures.)

SCREAM

They look so funny when they sleep as chicks, face-planted into the dirt/woodchips.