Yesterday Tom, one of our turkey teenagers, discovered his natural ability to strut and show his stuff. If you've ever seen a male turkey show off his manliness, you have witnessed first hand unadulterated male pride. They fan out their tails and move slowly from side to side, so that anyone present can (and must) admire them. They'll give a little shake occasionally just to make sure they've not lost your attention. Our poor Tom is in that faze between being a soft, fuzzy little baby, and that teenage acne and braces stage. He still has fuzz under his wings, but is bald in other places as his feathers come in. He walks around the girls and stretches out those awkward feathers as if he's as handsome and manly as the big boys. Teenagers...
We are quickly learning that not all breeds of chickies are the the same. The polish babies are spunky, whereas the Buckeyes and Americaunas are more laid back. They're very sweet natured and love attention. The polish on the other hand, are bonkers! The day we brought them home and put them in the brooder, they immediately starting burrowing holes in their bedding and burying their heads. Our other chicks didn't do that until they were a little older. Compared to the other babies, they act much older than their age. At a week and a half, they are already starting to fly, and challenging each other by doing that wacky chicken dance.
Today we decided to move them into the big girl house with the teenagers, and they immediately starting challenging the older splash Americaunas to a duel. And wouldn't you know, as soon as their little feet hit the ground, Tom strutted over to show them his manly glory.
With so much rain and warm weather, the summer garden is really taking off! A big majority of the seeds I've planted have sprouted and seem to be growing strong. Since this is our "learning year", I've kind of been winging it as I go. Through trial and error, and a few ideas that I am sure will be epic failures, we're gardening totally organic. I read online that slugs destroy tomatoes, and quickly. Many online organic gardeners recommend placing a ring of eggshells around the plants to deter the slimy monsters.
When I placed them in the garden yesterday, I spotted handfuls of little green tomatoes! Pasta sauce, here we come!
After spending most of the winter studying gardening methods, we decided to use the three sisters method for some of our summer veggies. The "three sisters" was a planting method used by early Native Americans, and the method they taught the colonists to farm with. By mounding circles of dirt, they utilized the benefits of certain plants to the benefit of others, the "three" being corn, beans, and squash. Corn needs nitrogen to grow healthy and strong, and the beans provide it for them. Corn in turn offers support for the climbing beans. Squash, zucchini, and pumpkins help control weeds by shading the ground, and deter pests such as rabbits and deer, because they don't like the prickly stems. Pretty ingenious I'd say.
I'd like to dedicate this blog to my dear friend Jennifer, who is taking off on an endeavor of her own, into the scary world known as living your dream. I know first hand how scary jumping in head first into the unknown is. Making a dream a reality requires a lot of blood, sweat and tears. Sleepless nights...and more tears...but at the end of the day, the sense of accomplishment is so worth it. I have total faith in your success, and I admire you for taking the leap. Do your thang girl!
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