Uncle Guinea
We have one guinea fowl left out of our original flock. We got some the first year we moved in and have had them ever since. They can be loud, obnoxious, and annoying, but in general we find them to be important to the garden. When there’s a large group they range freely over a very large area and do a fantastic job keeping the tick population under control. They don’t tear up the garden and eat crops like chickens and turkeys do. Their most value comes in their ability to alert to any kind of danger, which helps keep all the other birds safe.
Currently, we have only one remaining guinea, a male. We’ve always heard to never have lone males, because they are the most obnoxious. That has not been our experience, he’s actually quite nice and a real asset to our flock. He’s super protective of all of our birds, but with the baby ducks in particular. In fact, we have taken to calling him “Uncle Guinea”.
Whenever Mama Duck hatches out littles, he follows them around. When they get a little bigger and start popping through the fence and roaming over a larger territory, he follows right alongside them. If the tiny flock separates, he follows one group while Mama Duck follows the other. It’s really fun to watch how his protective nature is most fierce when there are baby ducklings. He’s been “Uncle Guinea” for several summers so, we’re always happy to see him step up into that role whenever the baby ducks are around.
What fun things are going on in your garden this week?
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Finding Beauty in the Everyday
Yesterday, I was putting some elderberry stems into the compost bowl and noticed how lovely it was. Perhaps it was because it was dominated by the color purple, perhaps it was the textures. Either way, I noticed that the compost bowl was beautiful, not just now, but would provide beautiful things for my garden when they composted down.
Sometimes it can be tough to find beauty in the midst of the mundane daily things, but if we look at things differently or stop to notice the colors, textures, and light, we may just be able to find beauty in the everyday. This time of year I especially notice the angle of the sun. While I’m sad that the days are getting shorter and summer is coming to an end, the angle of the sun provides a much more beautiful light in which to observe our gardens. It’s almost like we get golden days instead of golden hours right before sunset. You can bet that this time of year I’ll be out soaking up every single drop of this last beautiful light.
What are you noticing beauty in these days?
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New to the Flock
This past week I added 11 new members to our flock. I purchased four young pullets from a young 4-H student in the area. Yesterday I picked up a flock of Silver Laced Wyandottes from local lady.
My plan is to slowly transition my flock the the motley crew of mutt chickens to mostly Silver Laced Wyandotte. After having a few different breeds, they have been my favorites by far. I like their personalities, their temperament, their free range ability, and their calmness. I’m also hoping to sell hatching eggs next year, I never had success finding any for myself so I figured there’s a need for hatching eggs for this breed in the area.
Do you have a favorite chicken breed?
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Tithonia ‘Torch’ Seeds
I grew tithonia a few years ago for the very first time, my garden hasn’t been without it since. Even though I’m not a huge fan of orange flowers, I grow these. Tithonia provides a very important source of late season food for pollinators, particularly migrating monarchs.
Not only are these plants great for pollinators, they’re tough plants, thriving in poor, dry soil. Mine are blooming like crazy in the less than stellar side of the garden. They also grow fairly tall, making them a really nice border around the vegetable patch. I use them as a wind break since they grow to about 5 feet tall.
Every time I’m in the garden, there are monarchs on the tithonia and the echinacea. Both very important plants to have in our gardens for pollinators. If you are interested in growing these for monarchs, hummingbirds, and bees, I’m saving loads of seeds and they will be part of my seed launch this winter.
What’s your favorite beneficial plant for monarchs and other pollinators?
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Squirreling Away for Winter
It’s been a busy week and weekend. My evenings are filled with harvesting and preserving. The apples, tomatoes, beans, and peppers are coming in like mad. Green beans are blanched and frozen, peppers are chopped and frozen. Both things are frozen on cookie sheets and put into freezer bags to be scooped out in quantities needed.
The tomatoes are being put up in a few different ways. ‘Principe Borghese’ are dried in the sun dried tomato fashion. Some tomatoes are canned crushed for winter cooking, others are turned into conserve. Right now I’ve only finished up a batch of crushed tomatoes. Stay tuned for various posts this week about all the other things I’m making with all the garden bounty (including recipes for a few tried and true favorites). While this season seems a bit frantic, it will all be worth it in the dead of winter. When snow is deep on the garden, we can enjoy chili made with homegrown poblanos, tomatoes, and onions. There’s nothing better (and saves more money) than shopping in your freezer and pantry!
What are you preserving from your garden?
