shaunc wrote:....Again I'm in a position of damned if I do & damned if I don't....
Sounds like a good object for meditation? I think I would try to stopp damning?
There hasn't been much point in praying for rain up until now, but we've got a low-pressure system coming in tonight, so if anyone wants to send a few prayers our way, tonight is our big chance.
Done. Your weather is in the list right now.
On the plus side, we've got no fires in our area as yet, but as were all living in a tinder-box, the volunteer fire brigade is on standby. The vegetable patch is firing on all cylinders, the grey water is keeping the show on the road & even in this weather I haven't had to water anything except for the chooks.
I hope everyone else's luck is holding up better than mine at the moment.
Our weather is not dramatic but I can hear the very best wishes from the doomed climate change. Last night we had +7°C. That's crazy in January. No snow at all.
Your weather-problems are global.
Mind and mental events are concepts, mere postulations within the three realms of samsara Longchenpa .... A link to my Garden, Art and Foodie blog Scratch Living
We got a few spits last night & a few spits tonight, it wasn't enough to settle the dust but thankfully it was enough to bring the temperature down. I only hosed the chooks once yesterday & not at all today. The fires are getting closer, but with the drop in wind & temperature I feel fairly confident in saying that we're not in any immediate danger, well as confident as you can be when you're dealing with Mother Nature. Tonight's sunset had to be seen to be believed, a combination of overcast conditions combined with smoke & ash in the air made the sun look like a huge blood plum in the sky. Nature really is like our mother, she can be kind, cruel & beautiful at the same time.
Thanks for your prayers everybody, please keep them up, a good soaking rain could really turn this game around.
It's still dry. We got a bit of a spit tonight, but that's all since last time. I haven't had access to the internet for a few days as my wife & kids went to the coast before school goes back next week & took the iPad with them. Since the death of the big black hen, the little black hen has taken over the throne as queen of the coop. Out of the 8 hens I've got left we're getting 6 eggs/day. The tomatoe plants are loaded with plenty of green tomatoes, so far only one has started to turn orange but I still have about 6 weeks left to ripen them up. The chillies are also producing well & the egg-plants aren't too bad. The chooks destroyed the silver-beet & the pumpkins I'm afraid to say are a lost cause, or as a bookie would say " they're long odds on short legs".
I know I'm complaining about the dry weather, but the reality is, it's not too bad really for this area at this time of year. We had a wet winter & spring & that gave a lot of stuff a head start.
Thanks for asking Ayu, I hope your growing season goes well for you.
shaunc wrote:It's still dry. We got a bit of a spit tonight, but that's all since last time.
I give a little ceremony for my chickens that die, I see in my minds eye the chooks do their happy chook dance, half hopping and flying off into a bright light when they die. I bury their bodies under my fruit fruit rows and trees. Their bodies will feed next years plants and continue the cycle of life. I can't remember where you live in Australia Shaun. When I do my daily prayers I picture cool winds and gentle rains falling around you and your garden and chooks.
This morning I woke up to heavy frost and bright blue sky. I'll take a picture and post it in my blog. I wish I could share some of our gentle freeze with you .... but I don't think you're plants would appreciate that after all the heat.
Mind and mental events are concepts, mere postulations within the three realms of samsara Longchenpa .... A link to my Garden, Art and Foodie blog Scratch Living
I have a similar ritual with dead chickens. I rub them with butter and a little salt and pepper, then I chant 'yum yum yum and bury them in a moderate oven for about an hour.
“You don’t know it. You just know about it. That is not the same thing.”
Simon E. wrote:I have a similar ritual with dead chickens. I rub them with butter and a little salt and pepper, then I chant 'yum yum yum and bury them in a moderate oven for about an hour.
I can mine lol....our electrical goes out so freezing is not a good option. I make a lot of casseroles and stews. My husband is from the Netherlands and loves a good roasted chicken. Between him and his brothers, each of them can eat a roasted chicken. Growing up on a farm during harvest and butchering times I always honored the animals we would butcher. Picturing them in a happy place and giving a prayer of thanks when I ate them. I still do that
Animals that die from natural causes like disease, cold, or heat I don't eat...but the plants and bugs love them.
Mind and mental events are concepts, mere postulations within the three realms of samsara Longchenpa .... A link to my Garden, Art and Foodie blog Scratch Living
Thanks for asking Ayu, I hope your growing season goes well for you.
Later.
Right now we have snow, finally, and about -4°C.
Nothing to work at all in the garden right now. Except feeding birds.
Feeding the birds is important too. We've all got to eat & in winter time they often need a bit of help. Plus at least it gets you outside for a while & you get to look up, if nothing else.
Sorry to hear about your hen Reddust. Losing stock always hurts, we've got our first 2 orange tomatoes. They're not red yet but I'm hoping I've got something to give to my wife & kids in the not too distant future. The plants are absolutely loaded with green tomatoes & I've probably got 6-8 weeks to ripen them up & not long after that the frosts will start.
I hope everyone else's luck holds up.
Sorry to hear about your hen Reddust. Losing stock always hurts, we've got our first 2 orange tomatoes. They're not red yet but I'm hoping I've got something to give to my wife & kids in the not too distant future. The plants are absolutely loaded with green tomatoes & I've probably got 6-8 weeks to ripen them up & not long after that the frosts will start.
I hope everyone else's luck holds up.
The hawk is still hanging around. The rest of the flock has learned a lesson. They no longer feed out in the open. They stay close to the bushes. We are keeping an eye out now. We learned a lesson, the chickens and I keep an eye to the sky because you never know when something is going to rip your head off and eat you!
When I am out working in the gardens the chickens now hang around me, they know the hawk won't attack them when I am out and about. I think they were impressed when I chased that Redtailed hawk off!
Mina our dog is also watching the trees now and chased the hawk off the other day. She has grown into a great guard dog.
Hope the weather is cooling off as well.
Much metta,
Lisa
Mind and mental events are concepts, mere postulations within the three realms of samsara Longchenpa .... A link to my Garden, Art and Foodie blog Scratch Living
Still getting ridiculously high temperatures. Some of the plants are showing signs of stress, but the weather bureau is predicting a drop in temperatures tomorrow. I still haven't had to water, thanks to the washing machine, so at least that's kept our water bill down. So far I haven't lost any more chooks, I've been hosing them down twice/day in this heat, it's now got to the point where a few of the girls don't even run from the water anymore. The tomatoes are coming in dries & drabs, about 2-3/day, another couple of weeks & they'll be on. The zucchini are having their 2nd wind & the silver-beet is slowly recovering since the hens slaughtered it. With a bit of luck in the running & hopefully some rain it could be a fairly reasonable harvest coming up. Soon I'm going to have to start my winter vegetables, maybe come cauliflower, broccoli & cabbage & if I'm feeling energetic enough I might even dig up another bed, but I'll have to sweeten the missus up a bit first.
Good-luck with your yard.
I never had any luck with cauliflower here in Germany, because there are always enough of some special caterpillars to kill it soon.
But there were good results with brokkoli and Brussel sprouts.
I press my thumbs (means i wish you luck) for many raindrops now.
Rain last night & much cooler today. It's all starting to come up trumps.
Ayu wrote:I never had any luck with cauliflower here in Germany, because there are always enough of some special caterpillars to kill it soon.
But there were good results with brokkoli and Brussel sprouts.
I press my thumbs (means i wish you luck) for many raindrops now.
@reddust: Can you tell what kind of hawk it is?
One of the benefits of keeping poultry is that they keep the population of pests down like caterpillars & grubs etc. watering with soapy water (grey water) also keeps down aphids, it controls thrip too, to a lesser extent.
reddust wrote:When I am out working in the gardens the chickens now hang around me, they know the hawk won't attack them when I am out and about. I think they were impressed when I chased that Redtailed hawk off!
Lisa
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Dear Reddust,
How come you don't put a SCARE-CROW to scare the hawks in your yard ???? I think it might save your chicks :thinking
When I was in New York..I saw the big poster of CLINT EASTWOOD "DIRTY HARRY" at the Chinese grocery store(my sister's friend's)...he told me that the poster SCARED all the thieves in his neighborhood.....I laughed...he was quite funny but rich!!
reddust wrote:When I am out working in the gardens the chickens now hang around me, they know the hawk won't attack them when I am out and about. I think they were impressed when I chased that Redtailed hawk off!
Lisa
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Dear Reddust,
How come you don't put a SCARE-CROW to scare the hawks in your yard ???? I think it might save your chicks :thinking
When I was in New York..I saw the big poster of CLINT EASTWOOD "DIRTY HARRY" at the Chinese grocery store(my sister's friend's)...he told me that the poster SCARED all the thieves in his neighborhood.....I laughed...he was quite funny but rich!!
tidathep
Hi Tidathep, birds of prey (hawks, eagles, owls & falcons) are probably the most intelligent of all birds. I'm not sure a scare-crow would work. Having said that I'm sure that other people have had a similar problem & there's no doubt in my mind that someone knows a trick to dealing with hawks.
It's still extremely dry here. We've only had 31mm in the last 3 months, that's about 1 1/4 inches in the U.S system of measurement. Our temperatures have been ranging from 35-40 Celsius, I'm not sure what that converts too but it's pretty hot. The wood shavings from the hen house hold their moisture really well & so far haven't had to water, the waste from the washing machine has been adequate. We're getting some good tomatoes at the moment & we've got freezer bags of Thai chillies. The silver-beet has completely had it except for the one red-stemmed plant I've got as Kathleen my 4 year old daughter let the chooks out. The egg-plant is just about finished, but I'm glad I grew them as they're my wife's favourite vegetable. The zucchini keeps on giving, if a bloke only grew 1 plant in his yard, this'd be the one to fly with.
Good luck with whatever you're doing or planning to do in your yard.