Sam The Clock

"Sam The Clock" named by our son.   He was boss of the chickens but certainly not the ducks.  

Sam was the Rooster and he was a Barred Rock.  He was the keeper of the flock and the wakeup call in the morning…. and the afternoon…. and sometimes even in the middle of the night.  He was boss of the chickens, indeed, but certainly not the ducks.
As he grew he became a bit aggressive.  We loved taking the kids into the run to pet the birds and chase them around.  Once Sam started getting aggressive we stopped bringing the kids into the run.  He liked to jump at us and try to get our legs with his claws.  When he decided to attack my leg and give me a nasty cut it was decided that he would have to become dinner.  He was a decent weight so one night Aaron, for the first time, harvested a bird.  I'm a bit of a softy so I wasn't present until the bird looked more like food.  I helped with some of the plucking and cleaning and we ended up with Sam on our table.  Surprisingly, the kids were very ok with this process.  Megan was a bit young and may not have fully understood but Owen certainly did and was not bothered by it at all.

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Bird of Prey

We had an issue with a bird of prey in the summer of 2012.  We are not sure what kind of bird but we believe it was a hawk.  One day on my way home from getting our son from school I noticed all the birds were inside the coop.  Upon further investigation I then noticed one of our female rouen ducks on the ground and had been killed by something.  I quickly looked around and saw a very large bird high up in a tree near the creek.  I assume this was the culprit.  I sent the kids inside and I disposed of the duck.  The rouen ducks were my absolute favourite and I was so sad to see one go this way.  I began to make more frequent appearances outside and also got a fake Owl to set in a tree in the yard and I moved it around regularly.  I saw the bird in the same tree a few times but it never took another bird, thankfully.

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Fly By Summer

As much work as a garden can be, it is well worth the reward! We got a late start this year due to the move but we have managed to get a decent yield so far considering! 

   

              

   

We recently harvested some radishes and plan to make a radish relish. We have harvested a bunch of zucchini so far and had a surplus which we pickled and canned.  We also had a bunch of garlic scopes from our CSA and pickled them as well. 

I haven't done much critter maintenance other than sprinkling some diatomaceous earth, an herb mixture (mint, thyme and sage) along with my garlic pepper spray around the plants and beds. So far damage has been minimal.

We have had a few storms with pretty gusty wind and our trellises have held up to the challenge. Although, my yellow brandywine tomatoes have been struggling this year for some unknown reason.  As for the other varieties, they are doing well and producing many tomatoes which are almost ready for eating; can't wait!    

Tomato Trellis

Cucumber Trellis

The CSA we purchase from at our local farmers market has been wonderful.  We go every Saturday morning and pick up our share and shop at some of the other local venders.  My only complaint is that there has been many repeats and many boxes contain much of the same things in them.  I would love it if there were a bit more variety which I know is available since there is a large share which often contains produce which we have yet to receive in our small share.  Aside form that, I have been quite pleased with the quality and amount given with regards to the cost.

It is just about time now for some second planting to happen!  There is a few spaces around the garden that are just waiting for something to be planted.  In the next week or so I hope to get some beets in the ground and possibly some mustard greens.