Busy, Busy, Busy

A lot has been going on in this household we call Lumpkin Lodge.  Gardening, chickens, yard work, my work, Nicky's work, and the list goes on.  So here is an update on all things in general.

First - The Garden is about to be full force.  We hesitated on planting the tomatoes and pepper plants because as hard as it is to believe "they" were threatening us with a frost last night.  But trust me they are ready to go outside!! So currently we have lettuce, peas, arugula, beets, onions, rhubarb, a few herbs, and last years artichokes coming up.  Also just as exciting is our fig tree we started last year is coming back as well.

Second - The chickens are doing great. As many of you know we decided to get some electrified poultry netting to make it easy for them to come and go especially when we are out of town.  The fence it self is AMAZING.  BUT chickens aren't the smartest creatures on earth so occasionally when they get startled and they don't know where to escape they start fluttering around and bouncing off one another and one of them ends up tumbling over the fence.  It is quite the scene.  After it happens they just kinda stand there and look around as if they have no idea why they are on the outside and everyone else is on the inside. But overall we are extremely happy with the fence.  In fact we are tossing around the idea of getting another roll to increase the amount of roaming space.
Everyone has also been asking me about my new baby chicks that were donated to the flock in April.  They are slowly but surely learning their pecking order in the Coop.  They are not to keen on traveling outside at this time so they spend their days inside the coop.  The newest thing they are learning is how to get up on the 6-7 feet high roosting rods.  As of last night three had successfully found a spot on the roosting rod and three were camping out on the ramp that attaches to the roost.  That is a huge deal considering the other chickens are huge bullies when it comes to sharing the roost.

Third - All I have to say about yard work, it is a good thing we don't live in a neighborhood because we would probably be getting nasty grams about mowing our grass more often and not weed eating!!!! The rain is not cooperating with our work schedules so sometimes it gets a little tall. Just sayin'.

Fourth - Work, Work, Work!! It pays the bills!!  This past week Nicky had a gig in Charlotte, NC and I had to show you a pic. He was working with Smithfield and they have the best slogan right now. They gave me a bumper magnet for my car that says FueledByBacon.  I LOVE it!!!

FRESH, FRESH, FRESH

In Ohio you always know when planting season and warmer weather is on the way.  The asparagus and rhubarb starts popping up and the herbs revitalize.  And low and behold this past week it finally happened.  Nicky and I leave several of our herbs in the ground over winter because they have no problem coming back in the spring.  Sage, onion chives, garlic chives, horseradish and thyme.  I did manage to keep the Italian parsley and spearmint alive in pots inside the house this winter. 

As far as the garden goes it is getting closer and closer to putting everything in the ground.  We already have the peas (which are about 2-3 inches tall), lettuce and arugula in the ground and coming up.  Very soon the beets and onions will go in.  After that tomatoes, squash, zucchini, corn, peppers, cantaloupe, green beans, sugar snap peas and anything else I happen to find at a nursery that I want to try. 

I can't wait for all this stuff to come up and start producing!!

UPDATE: The electric fence is working wonderful for the chickens.  I did order 8 more step in foot post for support.  If you have flat ground they would not be necessary.  Occasionally we have a bantam chicken or two escape through a small opening at the beginning of the fence next to the coop but overall they seem to not mind the confinement.  The first couple of days my egg production did decrease but with in a week we were back to normal.

Last but not least..... PEOPLE get out there and plant something!! It does not have to be anything huge.  Pick one thing you like having fresh and plant one next to the house or even in a pot.  If you do plant something leave me a comment below about what you are planting this year.