Chicken Population Growth

The population of our chicken coop has grown.

The three original ladies (back to front: Clueless, Lady Lazarus ["Lazzie"], and Princess) have some new housemates (coop-mates?).

Lazzie is a Silver-Laced Wyandotte, which means tan eggs. The white ones are Leghorns. White eggs, but lots of them; possibly as many as the other three combined.

The new girls (Duchess and Lady, left and right) are Barred Rocks, a variation of Plymouth Rocks. They'll give us plenty of brown eggs. In fact, someone has said that most brown eggs available commercially come from Barred Rocks.

We have some room for growth in the "Welcoming our guests" category.

Smudge Pot for Skeeters

I'm a writer, so (not surprisingly), I spend a fair bit of time writing.

I'm also an outdoorsman, so (also not surprisingly), I spend a fair bit of time outdoors.

And I often combine the two: I spend quite a lot of time outdoors, writing. The picnic table is an ideal place for writing. Except for one detail.

There is a drainage pond not far away, and therefore, when the sun goes down, the mosquitoes come roaring out of the shadows, intent on blood.

I've noticed that when I have my pipe lit up, the mosquitoes are kept at bay. But that's not the reason I want to smoke a pipe, and frankly, I don't want to smoke a pipe every time I'm writing at the picnic table.

So I created a little gizmo to smoke the pipe for me. Deep in a hanging planter pot is an oil lamp (with citronella oil). Above it is a small grille with a tiny metal pot, and I load the pot with pipe tobacco.

It's not a magic wand. And it works better when it's on the table nearby, rather than hanging over there from the ceiling. But it certainly is interesting. And it certainly does help!

Newspaper in the Garden

I've found the perfect use for the Sunday newspaper.

I'm killing grass between the raised beds. Several layers of newspaper, with garden dirt on top.

I'll cover it with cedar chips when things calm down a little.

Awesome Rhubarb Sauce and Syrup

Ridiculously good. Ridiculously easy. And a really good way to make use of all that rhubarb! We've harvested ours three times so far this year, and I expect two or three more before it's done.

Ingredients for a modest batch of either the syrup or the sauce:

3 or 4 cups of chopped fresh (or frozen) rhubarb
1 cup filtered water
¾ cup sugar 

This makes a pretty tart final product, which is good over homemade vanilla ice cream or as an ingredient in barbecue sauce.
For a sweeter version, use 1 cup sugar. This one is great as a snack by itself or over granola and such as a breakfast.

Load it into a saucepan. Bring it to a boil, then lower it to a simmer, and let it go for a while. You can get by with as little as 20 minutes: just enough to break down the rhubarb into a very nice sauce. 

I prefer to let it simmer for another half an hour or more: it breaks down even more, of course, but more importantly, it reduces the mixture and the flavor is deeper and richer. If you turn up the heat a little and let it caramelize, it's another world of flavor.

If you're looking for rhubarb sauce, then you're done. Serve it hot over ice cream, or cool it in the fridge for use on granola, yogurt, or cottage cheese. Or just eat it by itself (you'll want the sweet one for this!)

If you're looking for rhubarb syrup, then strain the hot sauce through a fine strainer. After it's sat and drained (it's not fast), the resulting pulp will still be wet: this is also yummy. I might try swirling some of that residue, perhaps with some crushed Nilla Wafers, in freshly homemade ice cream for a new & different treat.

I'll be using the syrup in barbecue sauces, cocktails, maybe over ice cream. Mm mmm.

Second Crop of Peas

Pulled all the peas out today.

I'm told that we can grow a second crop. I planted some sugar snap-type goodies.

In the meantime, the pattypan squash and the cucumbers nearby will get some good sunshine.

We'll see how this goes.

Guests in the Garden

This dragonfly was making a fine lunch of some of the bugs in the garden.

Dragonflies are my favorite bugs.

And this guy - a Scrub Jay - was overseeing the day's activities.

Jays are my favorite birds.

Experiments in Hanging Stuff

Experiment 1: Catnip at the Picnic Table.
We've had more mosquitoes than we like. Catnip is rumored to scare bugs off, so I've hung catnip near the table.
We'll see how it works.

Experiment 2: Hanging Tomato.
We have quite a number of tomatoes in regular pots, some of which are suspended from above.
I've been told that if you want to hang tomatoes, you really need to do it this way: with the plant itself upside down, hanging from the bottom of the pot.
It looks weird. But it looks like it might work.
This tomato is actually just a weed. It started growing as a volunteer among the Onion starts in the greenhouse. I didn't want to throw it away, so we built it into this.
They say it's good to plant a "shallow root" plat on top; herbs are a good choice. We were out of cilantro, so that's what went in the top.