Proof

All eggs are not equal

Yep, my suspicions are confirmed. I am picking 2 eggs a day so Gigantor must have started laying too. Color is a bit different than B.M.'s but size is almost same. For comparison I put them next to an LL size egg bought in store. Chika says she needs to eat at least a normal size egg a day, and the chicks can not provide that yet, so we still buy a six pack a week. Before getting chickens we used to buy a 10 pack a week so maybe now that 2 are laying we can stop buying eggs all together... One can only hope.

Size does matter

Egg rainbow

Hmm, not sure but I think maybe one more chicken has started laying eggs.
Big Momma's eggs get bigger and bigger by the day. Actually this morning I found an egg in the nest which for the first time does not fall through the refrigerator's egg holder holes. Hooray!!!
The egg I found was still warm so I assume B.M. laid it early morning.
Last night when I went to close the coop door I almost stepped on an egg when I entered the run. The egg was dirty and I thought "how odd, B.M. always lays her eggs in the nest. Maybe she couldn't hold it in or something." it was not too small, but it was smaller than the previous ones, which I also found odd if it was B.M.'s. That is why I suspect last night's egg must be the first egg of one of the other chickens. Maybe the Gigantor's (The white-brown one who has grown real huge).
Anyway, hooray if it is so, then I shall pick more than one egg a day, but maybe need to search for the second one for a while until the layer learns what the nest is for. Hooray also for B.M.'s eggs finally becoming fridge-worthy.

Cat barricade

Continuing the fence... I have stacked up some of the wood trash and branches I had lying around and filled in the spot where the net is really short.
I think the cats don't generally like challenging really dense shrubbery (Ni!), and also they dislike strong smell of menthol. There is a big minty bush (not sure what it is... its leaves are spiky and thick and it smells strongly like mint) covering half of that area, so I focused my wooden blockage in the other half, with all the branches pointing inwards.

The mint thingie has lotsa small blue flowers

I am not finished yet. There is a lot more wood and branches but the idea is that when the cat approaches this part of the fence, since the net is too low, it should be hindered from jumping over it or crawling near it thanks to this pointy, smelly barrier.
And to be real sure, I also ordered a tracking device for Tora to wear (Chubby is too chicken to jump high or go on adventures), so if Tora against all these measures manages to get out I should still find him, hopefully alive.

A bit closer. I shall also put something on the wall so kitties can not walk there...

Speaking of walls, I am seriously considering putting block retaining walls in the backyard slope. It is 5 meters long and more than 3 meters wide. But the drop is 1,6 meters, so for example for making 3 levels, I would need 2 walls of 80 cm each.
3 levels would be nice since blocks are thick and having more walls would be waste of space. Upper level would be support for the tree roots and stuff, just wide enough to walk on comfortably. Then a 80 cm drop with wall to a level surface of 160 cm width, and then another 80 cm drop to a level surface of 90 cm width. Of course these 80 cm walls would block the sun a lot I guess...
Anyway, still just thinking. But more seriously.

I wanna have chicken tonight, chicken tonight, chicken tonight ♪

The chicks are getting bigger every day. Still Big Momma is the only one laying eggs, but she is no longer the biggest. I guess either the others have better genes, or I am doing something right and those who grew up in my care grow better. Big Momma was already grown when I got her. Perhaps this semi-free-range thing is good for them.

Can you tell which of the white ones is Big Momma?

Big Momma is still the one on top of the picking order. Sometimes I feel bad for the smaller ones who she bullies to get her food first... but maybe that will change when they grow bigger. Fortunately I give them all enough food so that even the lowest one can get her fill.

They sure start to look yummy, don't they?

They are pretty cute. They only recognize me based on the color of my clothes it seems. I usually wear my orange coat when I go out to them to feed them, so they know that the orange guy is the friendly one. They don't run away or panic. In fact they some running to see what interesting goodies I may have for them this time.
Sometimes though, I wear my black coat and those times they are very wary, huddle together when I approach and one sudden move from me sends them flapping and running behind the coop to hide. I still cannot pick them up and hold them. When I lure one to stand still and then pick her up by cupping my hands underneath, very gently, still as soon as she gets a chance she jumps off.
The only time I can pet them without problem is when I go to close the coop door. At that time they have all lined up on the roost and are half asleep, so I just slowly pet the closest one, without facing any protest. During the day, if I bring them weeds and sit with my legs straight they sometimes jump on them to reach the weeds in my hand.
But all in all I think they are still not fully domesticated, as I only see them very little, and only during weekends basically, except for feeding time every morning and closing time every night.

Post of Japan

What can I say, they are total boobs

So I managed to sell off a few unnecessary things on net auction. The microwave oven was first to go, followed by the mini tiller and also the gas fan heater. The mini tiller was super old, I got it started a few times and ran it over the lawn to make beds, but its motor is too weak and I realized it is much easier and more rewarding to do it manually. Plus it takes ages to start the engine. Of course I put this info in the auction so the buyer would know. Probably they bought it for parts.
As for the gas fan heater, it is nice and works well but we are both kind of worried about putting gas driven apparatus on constantly when and where we sleep. A small malfunction and it is goodbye. Hence we bought an electric oil heater to warm up the room.

Anyway, sending off the microwave oven was simple enough. Just packed it in a box and brought to the post office. They scanned the bar code from the auction site and that was it. The address and all info was there and they printed out stickers and put on the box and the cost was charged to the auction site.
They do have limits on the size of the package being sent, which is adding height, width and depth should be maximum 170 cm. A couple of days after the microwave oven was sold it was time to send the mini tiller which was the biggest of the three items.
I folded its handle and cleaned it up a bit. The small see through gasoline tank was already empty so I just let it be open and put it outside over night to be sure. Next day I wrapped it in plastic and put it in the biggest cardboard box I found outside of a store. The box was just big enough though, and it didn't have the top lid, so I had to cut out another box and tape it over the package as a lid. It measured about 175 cm in total but I figured what the heck. However, I wondered if it wouldn't be better to just remove the makeshift top and send it off like that. If I did so, maybe the post guy measuring the box would be nice and disregard the 5 extra centimeters because the top half of the box contained just the handle going diagonally across it, and the rest of the top was empty, and in fact the top half could preferably be folded in. So I decided to ask the post office guy, if doing so would count as smaller package. Huge mistake.

I showed him the package and asked him which he preferred, with lid or folded in without lid. He said with lid, so I started to secure the top part as he started measuring the box. Suddenly he stopped and asked me what was in the box, and if it contained engine, if it had been used before and if there was any gasoline in it. I showed him that I had emptied the tank and that there should not be any issues. He left to check with his supervisor and his supervisor took a look and went off to consult with his own supervisor. After about 20 minutes of consulting the first guy came back and told me sorry, we cannot send it but please try some other shipping company like Yamato or UPS.

Grrr....OK, thanks for your service. Bow and leave. And curse myself that I was considerate enough to ask them what they preferred. If I could do it over I would just bring it in with a lid and pretend I don't speak Japanese. Maybe that would get them to disregard the extra 5 cm...

But wait, I could try it again. I took the box on the train to the next station and into the post office next to that station. Showed them the bar code and the box and said please send. They measured the box as 173 cm and didn't ask me what was inside it. Then scratched their head for a minute or so and punched in the box as 170 cm anyway, and off it went. Yeay, so much for safety rules. I just hope no terrorists decide to sent stuff with mail cause it seems completely random.

A week later the gas fan heater was sold so I packed it in. The box I found was big and it has lid as well so I just taped it shut having learned my lesson, and took it to the post office of my station.

Doh! The same guy who denied my tiller being sent was there. And worst part was he spotted me coming so he came out from the counter to the front to greet me. Damn... But my conscious was clean so I just said hi and asked him to help me send the package off. He started asking me about the mini tiller, so I gathered he probably thinks I am trying to send the same thing again. I told him I already sent off the tiller with Yamato. And that this is not a tiller. What is it then? He asked, and in my stupid confidence I blabbed out "GAS fan heater" and realized in the same moment that I have made another huge mistake. But the guy was kind of suspecting me for something anyway, so even if I had said computer or just electric heater he probably would not have believed me. I guess it was my 3-4 days unshaven beard which corresponds to what takes a year or so in this country to achieve. I probably looked like a terrorist to him since he doesn't see bearded men exactly every day.

Anyway, he just heard "Gas" and that was it for him. Seeing his reaction to the word gas, I followed right away with explanation of what it was and how it worked. And that it doesn't have an engine nor a tank, nor uses gasoline. That it is connected to the city gas pipe through a hose, and as soon as the hose is disconnected nothing flammable is left. I also told him that it is that same as sending a gas stove. Same same but different.
He nodded and ran off to his superior, came back 5 minutes later and told me that his superior is now checking with his supervisor but it seems like probably it will be difficult, maybe. So I just repeated everything I said before, plus pouted a bit, and said but this one is totally safe, so UNLIKE the mini tiller. (Emphasizing the unlike part hoping that it would subconsciously change his mind and that he in his turn would persuade his manager etc)
He went back and I just heard the word gas gas gas being repeated by more and more people as they discussed. I assumed some kind of alarm had been raised and everyone was running around in panic and asking their superiors what to do with my package etc etc. Once everyone had gone through the headless chicken mode for about 20 minutes, the guy came back out with a smile and said it seems we can send your package. He scanned in my bar code and said that they must write "gas fan heater" on the label, which I didn't mind at all. Just when I thought he had come to his senses and I was in the clear, he turned as if remembering something and said, oh yeah, and we need to actually see the contents of the box with our own eyes to make sure it is safe.
What an insult. Well that confirmed my beard theory. From now on, I guess I have to get used to being strip searched every time I want to send something off. And if I want to send anything that could remotely cause concern, like a watch or a fork for example, I better go to the post office in the next station, because I am forever branded in this post office as the guy who possibly will one day send a bomb. With this post office I can only send off cotton, paper and alike. Of course given that they make sure it actually is cotton.
Yeah yeah, sure, open the package and have a peak I said. But I don't have any tape so tape it properly afterwards by yourself
He agreed and checked and seemed happy Not that he would have spotted a ticking bomb inside the heater if there was one. He didn't even lift the thing out of the box. Then, just before closing time of the post office, my package was sent off, and I was escorted out. At the exit he bowed and told me he was sorry for the trouble, and I apologized too for having caused  him and his superiors to work.
Morons.

Fence Shui

The front gate. Almost cat proof.

With the not optimal weather I spent most of my time walking back and forth around the front gate and trying to figure out a good way to seal it. The netting on the right was easy enough. As for the gate itself, the gap below the right gate is still to be netted but I was too lazy. Incidentally after I was done with my netting, I released Chubby in the backyard as a test, and followed her around. She walked around in the backyard for a minute and the walked right round the house and to the gap under the gate. Almost as if she had a radar. So that part has to be netted for sure. The left gate almost never gets opened so I just put a couple of concrete blocks in front of it.
As for the left side of the gate, I found a nice wooden fence which was surprisingly sturdy among the leftovers in the shed from the previous owner. Its size and shape was perfect to cover the little gap between the concrete wall and the gate's left post.
Above it I covered with net, all the way over the narrow strip and to the land mark limit. After having done that, I noticed two weak spots. One is that the net which covers the narrow strip to the left is a bit too low. For this, I will just put lots of debris and sticks and such in that area to deter the cats from approaching it. I have lots of small bush and wooden garbage laying around in the garden anyway. Gathering them all in one spot frees up a bit of land too.
The other problem is that a cat can just jump on the roof of the car port from the concrete wall. Again, I will have to put something on the wall to hinder the cats. I can either go with decorative crap like small statues and pots, or just attach pointy anti-cat strip on top of the wall. We'll see.
Next week I will complete fixing those weak spots, plus there is a 7-8 meter part of the loooong 30 meter netting on the north west side which is a bit too short which I will have to raise before letting the cats out.  

Chicken salad

Unfortunately the idea of serving the chickens fresh greens straight form the planters seems to be hard to maintain as the greens don't seem to grow as fast as in summer or fall. So I decided to serve the planters as they are to the ladies and give it a rest until spring.The planters were picked clean within an hour.

First encounter. But seems to know what to do.

The others get the idea too. The salad bar is open.

Here are some random pictures from the chickens eating...

I get lots and lots of cabbage leafs for free from the super market every week

Of course they get their usual diet of grains and stuff too

Jack Frost

As usual whenever weekend comes it comes with its special shitty weather. Normal days when I have to go to office are sunny and great, but when I can go out in the garden the sun goes to office I guess.
The first frost was of course on Saturday, and it was deep.

Not so bad, from far away

Fortunately the chicken coop was warm and cozy and their water had not frozen. But outside the water can was covered with a thick layer of ice so I had to wait before washing the chickens' poop board.

The poop cleansing station is temporarily off

All the veggies not covered with net were on the verge of death, so I learned a good lesson. Not only does the netting protect against bugs, but also against cold. I will be using netting as much as I can from now on.

Compare strawberries inside the net and its frozen runner outside of the net

The beans are a bit tougher I assume. They somehow seemed fine, but I am not gonna celebrate yet. I haven't seen any big growth yet.

green beans

broad beans and green beans in the backyard. Frost melted quickly here

Most of the tree saplings have gone to sleep. Hard to spot where they are without their leafs...

Spot the leafless trees

Now I can see the fig tree actually had woody parts

It is hard to not step on a sapling by accident so I decided to declare that whole area a no-go zone until spring.

Fencetory

The backyard fence is finished.

No pussies beyond this point!

I will now take this opportunity to blab about the backyard using this beautiful picture. Backyard is still work in progress of course, but now at least the cats can roam there without problem. Note that I have covered the hole next to the shed with red bricks, and wire net behind it just for good measure. I also blocked the gap under the shed with various things (...)
The neighbor's cats spend most of their time on the other side of the fence and knowing my cats will be bothered by their mere presence, I placed a long strip of anti-cat mat with spikes on the other side of the fence, so that the neighbor's cat do not linger in the immediate area next to the fence. The fence is placed about 50 cm within my border so the cat spikes are still on my property. On the inside of the fence, I put brown plastic low fence for three reasons. They are decorative, they keep the bottom part of the green net anchored to the ground and they will be in the way of my cats jumping and biting into the net, should they spot the neighbor cat and start to fight. Anyway, I have to see how things develop and make further adjustments.
In front of the shed, there is the huge ajisai bush, and the two small yuzu trees (after taking the picture I actually pruned them good). Between the yuzu and the wall is the small jasmine bush which is now eagerly expanding. I am also hoping to add lilac to that spot. Then a little further to the right along the wall we have a bunch of tiles which I will be removing and using that spot to plant something. That area is very sunny and it actually gets double sun from the reflection in the building's doors and windows on the left of the picture. So it is a shame not to use it all. Too bad the upper part is so slopy. Outside of the picture, further to the right, is a spot which I already cleared out and planted green beans and broad beans. You can spot the top of the trellis. The whole place is full of ants so I was really surprised to find aphids gathering on the bean leafs. I want to keep the path to the shed, but have to do something about the current tiles. Either remove them, replace them or fix them. For one, they are loose and it feels weird walking on them. For the other, they are uneven and every time it rains lots and lots of water gathers in the sunken parts instead of running out.
The upper part I have to clean up, make levels of and secure. I have become quite good at mixing mortar and concrete so maybe I could challenge making some real walls there. Problem is I am not sure how to put the rebar in there to reinforce the walls. That whole area has some potentials so once I feel up to it I will get my hands dirty.
But for now, my next task is to complete the cat garden fencing. The last part remaining is the front gate.

Taken from inside. gate to carport in front, slopy strip on the left and house entrance on the right

There are three parts to this. Easiest part is the gate itself. under the gate there is a gap that cats can crawl through, so I need to attach wire netting underneath the gate doors. When opening and closing the doors, the netting should sweep against the concrete.
Second part is the straight opening on the right where to mailbox is. My plan is to have netting there, which requires a metal post placed on the most right. Third part is the left side, a combination of wall, slope and what not. I am not 100% sure but probably using some wires and anchoring to the carport and the gate I will manage to insert netting there too. I save that for last.
However, when I approached the second part with metal rod in hand ready to insert I realized that the ground is shallow (about 25 cm) and bottoms in the concrete skirt of the house which I will not penetrate. (Huh huh, penetrate the skirt)

hole leading to skirt

So instead I got me a steel post base, widened the hole and dug out the ground all the way to the skirt, placed the base flat on the skirt and inserted the pole in the post base, and poured concrete into the whole thing

Now I have a post to attach the net to

By the weekend it should have set, and then I can start connecting net and stuff. Yay!

David and Goliath

My giant meal worms have not yet turned into beetles, and I am worrying that even if they do turn, they will not spawn. So I got about 200 normal non-giant ones. I keep them in separate farms because I guess the giants will eat the regular ones in no time if they get the chance. Here is a comparison of a random giant and a random regular on my desk.

Too bad the worms don't have penises. I bet it would be a good comparison point.

In other notes, I have packed the mini-tiller/mini-tractor to either sell it or give it away. It takes too much space in my shed and I have no use for it. Now it takes space at the entrance...

It is a 10 year old mini-tiller... talk about useless.

I already sold our old microwave. I will try to get rid of other stuff that just lay there like the grass cutter and the old gas stove. I was going to throw away the wood stove too but now that my garden is gathering a lot of tiny branches and stuff, I guess it is good to keep it to burn the crap with. Speaking of which, check out the charcoal I found at the home center the other day.

...and they wonder why I love Japan

I am so glad the PC plague that has affected the rest of the civilized world has not managed to get a hold of Japan. They may not have a sense for sarcasm, but they sure have a great sense of straight forward humor.
But I guess that will all be thrown out the window with the Olympics and the snowflakes coming to demand their host to become retarded so they can breath.

Recap

THE MAP returns

So, a little over a month from now, I will have lived in the new place for half a year (Exactly 6 months on New Year) and I was thinking... what have I accomplished during this long time?
And I am not talking about reforming the house but farming wise.
It is not much. Here is a list:

• lots of mixed salads and greens
• a few potatoes
• a few carrots
• lots of eggs  
• bunch of flowers
• 1 barrel of compost in progress
• random fruit saplings established (maybe, we shall see after winter which ones still live)
• a lot of blueberries but those shouldn't count as I didn't plant 'em myself

I guess one can blame it on the season, we did move in after summer planting period was done, and that I was too busy fixing up the place, plus the whole garden was lawn and not ready to plant anything on, and also I had my day job everyday. But still 5 months is a long time and it feels like I should have managed more. Things do grow on their own after all. I should try to be more organized in my approach, which has been kind of random so far to see what goes.

I have a new idea for the long and narrow strip of land just behind the gate. It is almost 10 meters long and untouched and I bet it is very fertile. It is the bit marked (4) in the map. I always wanted to grow pumpkins which I love. But pumpkins require lots of space for their runners and I bet this sloped strip would be just perfect. Let's try and see... 

Hey pumpkin!

Fencing progress

Thanks Sun

I was lazier than usual this weekend. Instead of working outside all the time, I worked outside one third of the time, played with the chickens another third, and made some delicious pizza and cookies with the rest of my time.
As a result, Tora did not get to roam free at the end of this weekend neither, but at least he got to go out on a leash as usual.

If you have very good eyes, you can see the result of my work so far in the picture above. I took it early in the morning though so the net kind of faded away in the rising sun. At least one can see the part of the slope in the right half of the picture where I removed the rotten wooden barrier. It was so rotten it fell apart when I barely touched it. Now there is only one wooden fence left in the slope, but I am keeping it as it is because it is still sturdy. Hopefully in near future I will have money enough to make proper levels with cement blocks.

Anyway, back to the netting. I took another picture from a better angle. Here it is:

At least the net is visible

What I did is put two posts to support the net. A rope holds the upper part of the net between the iron fence and the balcony. I've come almost halfway with the net (I need to weave it in with the metal wire so it takes time)
Once I have covered all of this side, I will have to cover a small hole on the left of the shed as well as the strip below the iron fence. For that I already have some metal netting.
After that, I will focus on the entrance of the house/garden. With that fenced in as well, I can let Chubby out without problem because she is not big on jumping. She probably will get scared and run in anyway.
Tora still may be able to jump the low 30 meter netting but that is another story. So far he has not shown any interest in that side of the garden as it is way too bushy. 

Tree's company

It was pouring down outside, and cold too. We have frost in the mornings when it is not raining. Then it rains and the frost is replaced with mud. Anyway, not a fun place to spend time so I was glad Chika asked me to unpack the huge Christmas tree and help her decorate it.
Here is the result:

I am Groot!

It's the biggest tree I have had indoors. Even taller than the cat tree. Compare it with our last puny tree:

Cute and only costed 100 yen

It looks like the weather will be clearing up during this weekend, if it is real nice and sunny I shall finish the cat fencing and maybe even let Tora out for a spin...

Cat prison

After the day is done

I was reminded again about the necessity of fencing in the property when Tora suddenly dashed out of the front door and started running around in the garden without his leash. I had just opened the door to go out and he usually just stands around asking to go out together but never dashes out.
I was lucky to be able to chase and catch him just before he managed to go into the neighbor's garden where he has seen other cats. My fear is that he may run away further onto the train tracks and road and other dangerous places.

So, I decided that now that my chicken coop project is finished, the next to start should be cat fence. It is getting cold and farm/woods/planting projects can wait a bit.

South side is first to become secured. I have bought 10 meters of metal netting to cover the bottom of the existing fence where currently a cat can easily crawl.
East side will be next. It consists of two parts divided by the house itself. One part is the backyard adjacent to the neighbor's. I have already told them that I will be fencing there. I bought a 2,7 meter metal post that I shall drive in the middle of the slope, and then cover the whole thing with net. Net between the post and the south fence. Net between the south fence and the balcony. Net over the shed. Lastly, very important, cover the tiny hole between the wall and the shed. As this all is very confusing in words, as usual I will try to show it in a drawing.

My latest masterpiece

OK, so the drawing is the backyard seen from the side. The house wall and balcony is on the left side (yellow), below the balcony is the shed (puke color), the ground and the slope is brown (or at least the closest I could get in a couple of seconds. Why is brown not one of the main default colors in painting software?), and the south side metal fence is on the right (black)
The post I aim to drive into the slope, along with wires/ropes to hold the net up is blue, and the netting itself is the pattern filling.
Anyway, that is the first part. The other part of the east side is at the entrance, where I just installed a gate. Now I have to secure the bottom part of the gate, and both sides of it, and basically connect it via a net or fence or sumpting to the long net I made in the beginning to cover the 37 meters on north-west side.
Then I should figure out what to do with that looong net, because I have a feeling that a cat can easily jump it if he really wants to.

Chicken prison

hmm... just realized that the sun over the veggies is blocked by trees

I forgot to post a picture of the run after all the roof netting was done. So here it is now. The picture was taken 8:22 A.M. in autumn so the sun is still low. Around 10 A.M. I get full sun over the whole garden.

Big momma is laying 1 egg a day, and she has started to lay them in the nest so I don't have to go Easter egg hunting in the dark with a flashlight everyday after I come home. The time she lays eggs still varies though, from early morning to lunch time. And the eggs are still S size.

I have started giving them on a daily basis their usual chicken feed in combination with greens (weeds, overgrown salads from the veggie patch etc), bugs (mealworms and other living things I find around), and fruits (well fruit that has gone bad for us, but still good)

I also just started using my three big planters again. Good thing I didn't throw them away when we moved in. Since the chickens pooping and walking and picking in the run pretty much stops things from growing there, I will grow weeds and greens in the planters, and rotate in a planter every week into the run so they can feast on it.

Hopefully my mealworm farm will come around in a couple of months. And when it comes to fruits and scraps, I will ask the nearby supermarket if they can give away some of their produce section trash in weekends that I can use.

All aboard

...now let's make poop

All six chickens are now pretty adjusted to their living area. Sometimes they fight but most of the time they are friends and play. Big momma kind of protects the rest of them. The other day when I was walking with Tora and came near their run, she called out to the others, like a warning, and they all moved to the back of the run. Then big momma came to the front and started making herself big and making loud noises until me and Tora had enough and walked away.
When I am alone and go to their run, the smallest one which is white runs towards me as she always gets the first treats (Because I want her to grow faster) and she is the only one who has let me pick her up in my hands without completely panicking. However, in the last couple of days she has started to behave a bit aggressively, like when I hold out veggies for her to pick at, she ignores the greens and instead focuses on picking my fingers... weirdo.

Oh, and I got around to hang their water from a hook, but it still gets dirty inside. Not at all as bad as before though.

I thought it would be too high but they actually reach inside easily

In other news, I changed the bedding of my meal worm farm yesterday, and at that counting I had 196 live giant worms.

Lone berry

I was up early feeding the chickens, and as I passed by the mulberry sapling I saw this single berry hanging in there... It is getting cold so I am not sure why this one decided to come out.

It looks pretty pathetic, not juicy at all...

Should I be worried?

The lilac sapling isn't looking super energetic... since it was planted recently the poor thing has gone through a typhoon, torrent rains and god know what else. But maybe it is just resting. Hope hope.

The feijoa saplings in the back were planted at the same time as the lilac  

Here is a close up view. Still a few tiny green leaves on top. Ganbatte lilac!

The cover broccoli sprouts are thriving at least

Run reforms

As usual the weekend weather was against me. We had almost constant rain, varying from drizzle to buckets of water thrown down (Yes, really that intense. Got me soaked down to my underpants through jacket and layers of clothing in under a minute, and my boots were full too).
As always I ignored it and went out in the garden to fix the run. I had planned to fix it this weekend and I didn't care if the rain gods agreed or not.
Rain wasn't that bad when I started cutting down the trees. I didn't climb them though but instead used a short two step ladder, which was dangerous enough as it was both slippery and kept tilting because of the slope. I was going to used my chainsaw but actually got away using only a handsaw.
There were 3 tops to be cut, and I started from the smallest and moved up in size. My method was to secure the branch with ropes to the fence post, and used another rope higher up to pull the branch outwards as I cut it, thereby forcing it to lean outward and as soon as it got severed it would fall outside of the fence and hang there from the securing ropes. I could then pull it in and put it away. The first two branches worked perfectly, but the third was just too heavy for unbalanced me to pull in (it was still raining and I was barely holding myself on top of the ladder while trying to reach over and pull the branch in) so I left it outside. Figured its dense and sharp twigs would serve better as a cat obstacle on the other side of the fence.
Then, I went further down along the fence, to its shortest point (only 1,5 meters tall) and jumped over a gate to get to the other side. Positioned the branches and other obstacles properly outside of the run, and installed metal netting on the lower part of the outside as well. Now there is netting on both sides so even if a cat would try pushing its way in, it would get stuck on the second layer. After making sure the fence is completely cat-safe, I made my way back to the run, and dug in the post for roof net support.
By this time the rain had gotten much worse and everything was a muddy mess. I took a break, and a few hours later when the rain was normal I started with the roof netting. While I was doing this the rain keep getting worse plus the chickens somehow found it extremely interesting to come out despite the rain and play with me and the net while I tried to focus so I decided to give it a rest after the first two sections were done. At least I covered the trees and the coop, and did almost all parts of my plan.

Stupid rain

The trees are shorter now (still pretty tall) and manageable. At the same time they still provide cover for the birds. The chickens don't seem to be interested in the bush (on the right side) leaves, so maybe I will replace it with something else. I will also try planting quick growing vegetables/weeds all over the run so the chickens can have some green to eat. Still have not found a good tree to put in the run.

Of course, on Monday when it was time to go to work, the weather cleared up and sun came out. Nice, I bet this weekend will be rainy again.

Can Tora has birds?

Lucky for the birds I keep Tora on leash when he is out. He is extremely interested in the chickens.

White power

With the white baby chick gone, I am still determined to have at least a white chicken. So I got a few more... here is the entire population on the first night, Friday night:

I don't think they like the light shining on them while they try to sleep

The three original chicks (3-4 months old) are on the roost, the new 6 months old chicken is kind of half white, sleeping alone under them, and the two new 2 months old chicks sleep together on the poop board.
The night after that, big momma had also moved up to the roost to sleep. But I guess the two youngest ones are still not comfortable up there, as they keep sleeping next to each other on the poop board.

The poop board works very well, so it gets almost covered after 2-3 days. I take it out and give it a rinse as often as I can, optimally every morning.

On Sunday morning, I found an egg in the coop. Not in the nest though but almost next to the nest entrance.

Hello!

My chickens being araucana, the eggs are supposed to be blue/green. Big momma just started laying eggs and I just got her so I am not sure what kind of diet she has been on. So I was not expecting any super eggs. It was nice enough on toast. Here is a color and size comparison to eggs we bought at the supermarket:

We always buy LL size, so big momma's first egg looks real tiny.

Tall order

Line up!

We got lots of evergreen trees protecting the view on the south side. Almost all of them are either still young or just well behaved, so yet I am not in desperate need of trimming them.

However, this one guy is just too big for its own good. I have postponed dealing with it many times, but now I have to do it.

It's a giant. The fences around it are 2 meter high.

This morning I saw one of the chickens had climbed up inside it to the same height as the fence, and if it had the brains or the will, it would have easily jumped out of the run. Plus I am going to cover the whole run with net roof so that the chickies can fly without getting out. I am not going to cut the whole tree down, because it provides good shade and protection for the chickens, and they like gathering under it. Plus it keeps the ground together I guess. But at least I need to shorten it to 2-2,5 meters. That way it can go under the net roof.
Also!!!! As I approached the run, the chickens seemed a bit alarmed (nowadays they get excited when I get close to the run because they know they are getting treats) instead of happy, and ran away in different directions, and among the things running I saw glimpse of a white thing running along the south fence. First I though it was a chicken but then I remembered the white one was R.I.P. A second later I knew it was the neighbor cat who was outside of the run, and saw me and ran away into the bushes.
So, my weekend work is cut out for me.
1- Put net roof over half the run (The half including the coop) so that the chickens have somewhere to cuddle/hide/panic while I am doing the other steps.
2- Tie the upper half of the big tree, and cut it down (Hopefully it will land outside of the fence)
3- Put cat protection just outside of the southern fence (Actually not only along the run but all the way on the south side of the property)
4- Put net roof over the rest of the run (I probably will need to put a post in to support the net)

Step 2 is gonna be difficult. I could climb up the tree and cut it down in steps, or I could just cut it in one go and split it up later on the ground. Either way, I am going to need a helmet.
For step 3, either a sharp nail strip pointing upward, or plastic bottles full of water, or just bricks. Let's see what I have.
And for step 4, I have actually been thinking of planting a fruit tree right in the middle of the empty space in the run, but not yet decided what. So in the meantime, a post should do.

Learning to fly

I guess it was just a matter of time... the chicks have started to use their wings and I think they like it. So I probably need to put a net roof over the whole run to keep them from accidentally flying over the fences. Will do it this weekend.

The poop board seems to work:

Feast your eyes on the perfect aim

Once a week I take it out, give it a rinse and voila!, we're back in business. I rinse it with rain water from my tank, and do so near the vegetable garden. Maybe I should put it in compost instead...

After the typhoon most of the vegetables seemed dead but now a couple of days later it seems, maybe thanks to half of them dying, the rest are coming back with even more vigor. Bigger leaves and look real healthy. Maybe it is just a coincidence and now is just the timing for their extra growth, maybe the typhoon thinned out the crowded patch allowing the remaining plants the opportunity to expand...

Farming bugs

I have now started keeping meal worms. The chickens love them and I think they are the insect correspondents of weed so they should be easy to maintain.

Here is a picture of the chicks right before I closed their coop door for the day. Sleep tight.

The brown stains in the back wall are paint, not water leak.

Blown but not disturbed

Stupid typhoon again all night.
After it was over, in the morning, went out to check the damages. Sun was shining and there was a nice strong wind.
The tunnel over strawberries had blown off and hanging by a thread. Fixed it again. Next time I set a tunnel I will do it properly.
Actually I will be setting up tunnels over most of my veggies until they have established from now on. Tiny worms have eaten the leaves of lots of vegetables that were under the open. I guess my garden is not as balanced as I thought when it comes to bug predators.
A big plastic barrel I use to keep manure in was empty at the time, and stood upside down in the backyard. After the typhoon it had somehow managed to blow up to the garden, over the 1,5 meter wall, hmm.
The chicken coop door had blown open but the chickens had the good sense to not go out. Also the run's gate had opened up a bit but not wide open. Fixed the gate and the door. The rain had revealed some tiny openings that had let in water, opened up the doors and window of the coop wide open so that the sun and the wind would dry up the insides. Then used sealant to close up the tiny openings... let's see if it got better next time it rains. Oh, and one of the two nest boxes was soaking wet so water had leaked in from somewhere... and I saw beginning of mold on the wood, which I sand papered right away, and let the sun take care of it. Next weekend I will spray paint over that nest box...
Used sealant to close where I thought the water was leaking in, but not sure. Added a bit of extra protection against rain with a blue sheet. Ugly but functional.
The chickens were eager to be out and play in the sun anyway so we all spent a nice day out, me catching bugs and giving to them, at the same time as I cleaned up the garden.

After cleanup. It's like my garden took a shower.

I think all the saplings made it although they took a beating. Time will tell. Luckily my beans had not grown leaves yet, probably the leaves will come this week.

The front of the house with the 2 saplings and all the tiny sprouts now growing.