This is our neighbor's house. They actually do work on their yard and it shows. Darn them!
Trees in our backyard.
Tulips
Wisteria blossoms up close.
More tulips.
And our Tulip!
More tulips.
And our Tulip!
Showing posts with label yard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yard. Show all posts
Friday, April 23, 2010
Signs of Spring
I promised better pictures of our lovely Spring blossoms and trees. The best part is we do very little to encourage this. It all just happens to pop-up as it gets warmer. I'm recreating this post from over on Shoe Daydreams. Yes, I'm lazy like that.
This is our neighbor's house. They actually do work on their yard and it shows. Darn them!
Trees in our backyard.
Tulips
This is our neighbor's house. They actually do work on their yard and it shows. Darn them!
Trees in our backyard.
Tulips
Friday, March 20, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
New Arrivals!
Well, the pen is finally done, in spite of the off and on weather, and the girls are now in their new home. The stable looks great and I hope they love their new yard area.
Sadly today is a crummy rainy day so I'm sure they'll get used to their covered area, eat some grain and hay and keep warm!
Here are the first shots I took from inside while they were just getting used to their space. I love them already... they're so good. And Petal is still so tiny. She's just like a kitten! But she loves to frisk and gambol around and nibble on everything.
The stable space is pleny big enough for them. I hope the yard area will be too.
Love them!!!
Sadly today is a crummy rainy day so I'm sure they'll get used to their covered area, eat some grain and hay and keep warm!
Here are the first shots I took from inside while they were just getting used to their space. I love them already... they're so good. And Petal is still so tiny. She's just like a kitten! But she loves to frisk and gambol around and nibble on everything.
The stable space is pleny big enough for them. I hope the yard area will be too.
Love them!!!
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Moving On Out
I did more reading on chicken yards after all of the rain made the coop yard a mess. I found out that you should rotate their yard area 2 to 3 times per year. Well, we've had them in the same yard for about eight months. It was time for some extreme measures!
So our solution to the soggy sloppy coop yard was to create a new annex to the yard. Just next to the current coop yard is a very large maple tree and a bunch of messy brush that I had been meaning to totally clear out. Instead, we decided to make a loop off of the current fence, incorporate the tree into the perimeter and attach it to the side of the other shed we have.
We were hoping that they chickens would really like this because the currently like to scratch around under our other bushes. They would also be protected from hawks and shaded from the sun. We added a door to have access to the area as needed and we just cut a "doorway" into the existing fence panel.
So far its been working out well. They've limited their time in the current yard and seem to like running around under the bushes. We need to block off the old yard area so we can sod or seed it, so it will grow back. We have yet to do that but plan on doing it soon.
So our solution to the soggy sloppy coop yard was to create a new annex to the yard. Just next to the current coop yard is a very large maple tree and a bunch of messy brush that I had been meaning to totally clear out. Instead, we decided to make a loop off of the current fence, incorporate the tree into the perimeter and attach it to the side of the other shed we have.
We were hoping that they chickens would really like this because the currently like to scratch around under our other bushes. They would also be protected from hawks and shaded from the sun. We added a door to have access to the area as needed and we just cut a "doorway" into the existing fence panel.
So far its been working out well. They've limited their time in the current yard and seem to like running around under the bushes. We need to block off the old yard area so we can sod or seed it, so it will grow back. We have yet to do that but plan on doing it soon.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Lime Away
It has been raining here for over a week straight. Because the chickens have eaten all of the vegetation within the pen yard, a normal rainfall causes the yard to turn into a muddy mess. This constant rain has created a stinky slop.
These conditions have caused a lot of angst for me. I like to maintain the best possible conditions for my pets. We always make sure they all get great care, high quality food, lots of attention and security. So, the mess of a pen yard goes against everything that I want for them. Plus, it isn't too pleasant for us either.
The rain kept them from going out last weekend, so I made sure to let them out both days this weekend. The rain was still going, but not as bad. I'm sure they were happy to get out. Luckily their coop has been keeping them warm and dry and I can put their food in there. But, by staying inside so much I had to do a full clean out this weekend. Three big contractor bags were filled with their bedding and 3 bags of fresh shavings went down. I also added some hay for them to nest in. At least their coop will be warm and clean.
But the pen yard still sucks! We're going to try sprinkling lime. Other than that I'm not sure what else to do. They'll just ruin any sod that is put down before it gets a chance to root and they'll eat any grass seed put down.
Other than totally moving the pen yard, which would be a major nightmare, I'm not sure what else to do. We'll have to hope that when the sun comes out and the temperature heats up, it dries it out some. Between that and the lime addition, I hope it will be okay.
These conditions have caused a lot of angst for me. I like to maintain the best possible conditions for my pets. We always make sure they all get great care, high quality food, lots of attention and security. So, the mess of a pen yard goes against everything that I want for them. Plus, it isn't too pleasant for us either.
The rain kept them from going out last weekend, so I made sure to let them out both days this weekend. The rain was still going, but not as bad. I'm sure they were happy to get out. Luckily their coop has been keeping them warm and dry and I can put their food in there. But, by staying inside so much I had to do a full clean out this weekend. Three big contractor bags were filled with their bedding and 3 bags of fresh shavings went down. I also added some hay for them to nest in. At least their coop will be warm and clean.
But the pen yard still sucks! We're going to try sprinkling lime. Other than that I'm not sure what else to do. They'll just ruin any sod that is put down before it gets a chance to root and they'll eat any grass seed put down.
Other than totally moving the pen yard, which would be a major nightmare, I'm not sure what else to do. We'll have to hope that when the sun comes out and the temperature heats up, it dries it out some. Between that and the lime addition, I hope it will be okay.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Free Range Sunday
The weekends are always an exciting day for the chickens, because that is the day they usually get to "free range" out in the backyard. We have just under three acres that is virtually unused so they get to get out of the pen yard (even though it is pretty big for three chickens), kick up the accumulated leaves in the bushes and eat grass to their heart's content.
Their coop is back behind our garage and off to the left going waaaay back is our backyard - so you can see they have lots o' room.
Here's a better view going straight back from the back of our house. Their coop building is off to the right of this picture. There is grass and trees and lots of bugs to chase around.
Many people let their chickens roam around because they are pretty territorial and won't go that far from their coop, but we live on a very busy road and I am totally paranoid that they are going to get too close to the road and get squished. This is a rare picture of our road with out cars speeding 15+ miles over the speed limit.
They had a very long day out of the coop today. We were working on some ongoing major coop improvements, which I will share with you later, and it took us about 5 hours to get done what we did. And we have some more to finish. But with the time change, we lost daylight around 5pm, so they headed in for the night and so did we.
Today's Feed: Egg Mash and lots of grass and bugs
Today's Eggs: Two! One fresh from Gertie during the day
Today's Temperament: Very very happy. They love the yard.
Their coop is back behind our garage and off to the left going waaaay back is our backyard - so you can see they have lots o' room.
Here's a better view going straight back from the back of our house. Their coop building is off to the right of this picture. There is grass and trees and lots of bugs to chase around.
Many people let their chickens roam around because they are pretty territorial and won't go that far from their coop, but we live on a very busy road and I am totally paranoid that they are going to get too close to the road and get squished. This is a rare picture of our road with out cars speeding 15+ miles over the speed limit.
They had a very long day out of the coop today. We were working on some ongoing major coop improvements, which I will share with you later, and it took us about 5 hours to get done what we did. And we have some more to finish. But with the time change, we lost daylight around 5pm, so they headed in for the night and so did we.
Today's Feed: Egg Mash and lots of grass and bugs
Today's Eggs: Two! One fresh from Gertie during the day
Today's Temperament: Very very happy. They love the yard.
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