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.