It's March. Where did that last month go? Oh, yes, we had a bunch of birthdays (still not quite finished with the Feb/March group), school started for the year, and we got the geese...
OK, the fenced enclosure is finished now and the geese can go out to play. They look lots happier out stretching their wings in the sunshine than they are when they have to stay "inside"! They are quite tame, though very wary of human visitors. Learning the "goose girl" or "goose herder" game: walking behind them, lift your right arm if you want them to go left, and raise your left arm to make them go right. They stay in formation most of the time, and look particularly cute coming out of the pen in a straight line! I didn't quite catch the line coming out but I'll try to do that in future posts-it's just classic.
The kids will love these--I can't wait for them to come to visit again!
Cheers for now!
Two Greybacks and One White Pilgrim Gander
Geese in their "Row"
We're learning the geese herding basics
Thi and Jeremy--a Series of Photos
These pics were taken one right after the other
Thi and Jeremy 2
Thi and Jeremy 3
Thi and Jeremy 4
It WAS the day before Valentine's Day...
Jess
Josh and Dad
Father/Son chat
Josh and Grandpa
Discussing the possibility of a motorbike trip? Or other semi-serious convo?
Leon Enjoying Presents
Even though his birthday is a few months away, Leon enjoyed opening some Christmas presents which came from far away. He loved them, but I'm not sure he understood that it wasn't HIS birthday!
Leon
Another of Leon with belated Christmas presents
Beautiful Deb with Seth
Thi and Jeremy
Sometimes he looks just like Dick Van Dyke
Grace
Gracie
Jon
Jonathan
Mae
Jess with Mae
Joshie
Hannah and Steve
Little Daniel
Growing so fast!
James
What a sweetie
Ben and Leon
Grandpa was across the table pretending that his hand was a big spider--you can imagine the fun and games as the boys tried to smack the spider~
Ben and Leon
Couldn't resist getting a few pics of these two!
Ben and Leon
Lots of fun going on here
Larry
Deb and Seth
Newest Member of the Family
Basil and Herbs
Basil continues to flourish. We pick it often for salads and cooking, but there is now enough to hang for drying
Broccoli Plants
Phlox Help Attract Bees
Watermelon!
Near the middle of the pic below Mo's hand
Zucchini Blossoms
Good to eat when they first appear--great fried in tempura batter
Zucchini Plants
First pollinated by hand, but now we have visiting bees who are doing that job
Mr G
Official Title: Lord of the Manor. He deigns to take his naps in the doghouse.
Sleepy Mr G
Mr G Peeping Out
Hanging Tubs Doing Well
We're learning as we go, but the hanging tubs are doing quite well
Flowers Attract Bees
We've put flowers among the plants to encourage bees to come and pollinate
Lettuces
Baby Cos is ready to pick. The others have been harvested a lot and are now growing up again
Phlox and Berries
The flowers help bees find the plants that need pollinating. The strawberries are producing well in the tubs and in the hanging gardens
Ear
The British Giant Rabbits' ears are extraordinarily big
Baby Jacki
The babies are still shy of the camera
Strawberries!!
Not hard to spot the strawberries in this pic
Baby Jack and Baby Jacki
British Giants
Zak
Official title: Court Jester
Cuke Vines
The tub gardens are really growing fast now--the cucumber vines have climbed out of the pots
Lettuces
Four types of lettuces, which are continuously harvested. We've already had two big salads from this tub!
Herbs
Chives, Parsley, Purple Basil, Oregano. The Purple Basil is wonderful in salads and indispensable in Italian cooking. We've used a lot already and hope to dry some for later use
Zucchinis and Melons
You can see the edge of the orange windbreak at the top
Strawberry Plants
Red Silver Beet (Swiss Chard)
These are grown for their greens and stems, which are used like spinach
Chilis
We have already picked and used 8 salsa chilies in recipes
See How They've Grown!
Cucumbers and Tomatoes
Seedlings and Cress
Seedlings
These have been grown in the punnets from seed, and are sheltered quite well by the wall
More Seedlings
Baby Cos Lettuce
These plants are healthy and almost ready to pick
Sweet Potato Sprouting Indoors
These beauties began sprouting on their own. They will eventually be planted in the largest tubs (garbage bins) so they can multiply
Sweet Potatoes Planted Out
This is what sweet potatoes look like when planted into the garbage bins
Growth in the Right-side Up, Upside-Down Gardens
Watering and fertilizing must be done very carefully in these--if the fertilizer and water drips through onto the upside-down plants, they can burn
Enjoying Breakfast
I put the camera as close as possible to the tractor so their coloration is easier to see
Just a Little Bit Suspicious
The biddies aren't too sure about the camera....
Brownie and Blondie
They just couldn't resist the fresh meal
Pick a Little, Talk a Little
Lacey and Bentley make an appearance
Baby Plants with Fountain Watering System
These are chilis. The green dot in the middle is a little fountain which is attached to the reticulation system and is regulated by a timer
1st Two of Four Hanging Buckets
There are four buckets in all--two crops each, one crop growing upside-down
Upside-down, Rightside-up
These hanging buckets contain two different crops each, one growing upside-down
Tubs Showing Watering System
The reticulation system runs from a timer
Rows of tubs
There are 13 tubs, two pots and more in the ground
Chilis
Yellow and orange salsa chilis, red hot peppers
Lettuces
Salad, salad, salad
Herbs!
Chives, Parsley, Purple Basil, Oregano
Baby Lemon Tree
Strawberries
Yummy!
Sooo Cool and Refreshing
No comments:
Post a Comment