Fringed Poppy Mallow and Cherokee Sunset Rudbeckia Flowers
Hardy native perennial "Wine Cups" and "Cherokee Sunset" Rudbeckia Daisies blowing in the hot humid wind. These plants were started from seed several years ago and have survived weeks of sub-zero Winter lows and 100+ degree Summer highs with very little attention.
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The Chicken Sisters of the Moon are a month old now and growing fast! 06/05/2024
My three Eclipsed Egg Chicklings are doing great, but I'm starting to think the Sisters might turn out to be roosters. One of the Ameraucanas has a pretty silver neck. The other one is mostly black. The Marans is the French Feather-Legged variety. I sure hope at least that one turns out to be a hen. It will become abundantly clear in a few more weeks when the little roosters start crowing their heads off! It will be six to nine months before the young hens start laying their pretty Eggs. I'm very thankful they are healthy, vigorous and well developed.
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Tent Camping in Arkansas During Tornado Season
My heart goes out to the families impacted by this horrible camping experience. That could have been me! I've hiked out to this amazing spot on Beaver Lake several times over the years and it WAS on my bucket list to go on an overnight camping trip there before I'm too old and feeble to do it. I doubt that it will ever be the same now. So sad to hear it got destroyed by a tornado, but very thankful the campers are okay. They were very fortunate to have survived this ordeal.
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Black Garbanzo Beans (Chickpeas) Planted 02/16/2024 Ready to Pick Today 05/24/2024
Those amazing Black Kabouli Garbanzo Beans I planted outside in mid-February are ready to pick today. I really enjoy the fern-like foliage and the pretty Purple blossoms. These Heirloom Garbanzos are delicious and full of plant protein. So easy to grow and fun to shell the pods. Let some of them dry on the vine and save the seeds to plant another crop in the Fall.
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The Fava Beans are Ready!
Check out those enormous pods. This is one of the biggest beans I've ever grown. Now to shell them and steam the beans out of their leathery jackets. I like to drizzle them with olive oil, lemon juice, and minced garlic. I see a baby red potato peaking out from underneath, but it's not quite ready to pull up just yet.
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It's a Gooseberry, not a Mooseberry (we don't have wild moose in Arkansas) 05/23/2024
So far, so good with the 'Hinnomaki Red' Gooseberry plant. I planted two of these outside several months ago, but the other one failed to thrive. Really looking forward to a midsummer harvest. This is a trial run for me, so if it survives and bears fruit, I will definitely plant more next year. It has been many years since I had a piece of Gooseberry Pie.
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Edible 'Green' Purslane Planted 04/06/2024 is Thriving on 05/13/2024
First time growing Purslane (on purpose). Not only is it thriving, it actually tastes pretty good. The tender succulent leaves are very mild and have a slightly tangy and salty flavor. I will definitely be adding these to the backyard food forest permaculture garden. It tastes much better than I ever imagined and it's super easy to grow.
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Shadblow Serviceberry Tree Ripe Fruit 05/12/2024
The Eastern North American Shadblow Serviceberry Tree offers delightful edible fruit similar to Blueberries in Late Spring. I have found this exceptionally hardy Native Plant to be a welcome addition to the backyard food forest garden. Birds love the seedy berries, so you will need a fruit tree net and a strainer if planning to save enough to make a pie or a batch of jelly.
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The Edible Pod Sugar Snap Peas Planted Outside on 02/16/2024 are Ready to Pick Today 05/09/2024.
Pure crisp, sweet, and juicy goodness from the backyard container gardens.
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Unusual Cloud Formations After the Storm 05/08/2024
This is the same storm cell that dropped the hail on us earlier this evening.
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In Case You Missed It, AI Is Being Used to Harvest Our Votes...05/08/2024
Just something from the AP to be aware of in case you happen to care: The two wings of the same bird (Uni-Party) are using AI to send targeted political ads to a very specific audience. In my opinion,
this should be against the law, but it's not.
The Link:
https://apnews.com/article/ai-trump-campaign-2024-election-brad-parscale-8c25c16a50a15fd1959ffe95b73f1d66?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=share
Surveillance Capitalism Documentary With Shoshana Zuboff:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=hIXhnWUmMvw&si=kjfhKnngqJkvPOXs
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Oh Wait For It; There's Another One! 05/04/2024
I was very surprised to find one of the Black French Copper Marans hatched this morning. It was almost a week later than expected. I was clearing the unhatched eggs out of the Incubator when I noticed this one had pipped a tiny hole in it's shell. This one was layed the day after the Eclipse. It was the only Marans that hatched out. I'm naming her "Sunny" since she has those buttery yellow highlights on her wing tips.
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Moon Shadow has a Sister! 05/02/2024
Only two of my Eclipsed Eggs hatched, but the chicks appear healthy with no apparent birth defects. Moon Shadow hatched from a light green tinted egg layed on the day of the Eclipse, 04/08/2024. His Sister, Starfire hatched from a light blue tinted egg layed on 03/28/2024. They are both pure breed Ameraucanas. Without a mother Hen to raise them, it's important to dip their beaks in the drinking water to make sure they learn how to drink. Start with very shallow water fountains so they don't drown themselves in it. Also, it's good to start them off with chick vitamins & probiotics in their drinking water to help them get the best possible start. I feed my baby chicks mashed organic chick starter crumbles. The next thing to be on the lookout for is "Pasty Butt". If their vents get plugged with dried feces, they will die in a matter of days. Very easy to remedy by dipping their rear end in warm water and gently removing the plug with a cotton Swab. The probiotics help them develop a healthy digestive tract. The vitamins help prevent things like deformed toes and feet as they grow. They're ready to leave the Incubator and move into a warm brooder cage with a heat source until they feather out in about a month. Very happy that at least two hatched out! It would have been very difficult to raise only one chick by itself. Chickens are flocking creatures by nature and do best with at least a small brood of siblings of the same age. They do not integrate well with older bigger chicks or adult chickens without a mother hen to fiercely protect them at all times. The other chickens will immediately peck and trample them to death until they are big enough to fend for themselves.
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Replacing Egg Turning Tray With Burlap for Healthy Legs & Feet
It's very important to give the newly hatched chicks a coarse non-slippery surface to stand on for good healthy legs and feet. Otherwise, their legs and feet will "Spraddle" out from under them and they may never be able to walk.
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One of the Eclipsed Eggs Hatched this Morning! 04/29/2024!
One of the Ameraucana eggs I collected on the day of The Eclipse has hatched. The chick appears normal, but it's going to be very disappointing if none of the other eggs hatch. Without any siblings and already imprinted on me, it will probably think it's a human, lol.
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Container Garden Update-04/27/2024
The Sugar Snap Peas, Snow Peas, and Fava Beans are blooming. The Potatoes and Onions have started growing fast now. All of these were planted outside in February and have done very well with little to no frost protection. Looking forward to a Late Spring / Early Summer harvest.
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Shade Cloth for Extreme Solar Conditions. 04/26/2024
The 8' x 12' UV-Treated Woven Shade Cloth is ideal for the Greenhouse Tent-in-a-Box. One day in the scalding sunlight was all it took to cook and kill most of my Heirloom Tomato and Pepper seeds before they even had a chance to germinate. Getting ready to give it another try now with the Shade Cloth in place. I really like that it has grommets along the edges for easy tie-down. It's been very windy here today along with the torrential downpours and everything. I definitely need to get some more of these to provide some additional Solar Protection for the plants and the chickens.
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It's Strawberry Season in NW Arkansas! 04/23/2024
Enjoying some freshly-picked strawberries from the backyard! Strawberries are one of the easiest fruits to grow in the home garden and they are very cold-hardy with little to no protection. They do sometimes get fungal diseases, but usually respond well to low-level fungicides like Sulfur Dust. My biggest challenge has been to keep them watered enough to survive the many weeks of 100+ degrees days we get here. They will definitely benefit from a shade-cloth covering to prevent them from getting scorched during the Dog Days of Summer. I like that they send out runners and multiply on their own. These I have growing around the house escaped from their containers years ago. They are mostly the 'Cardinal' variety developed by the U of A. We also have some California 'Chandler's'. I have a few of the 'Everbearing Ozark' variety, but they have not produced much fruit for me in my open air backyard MICROWAVE OVEN SCORCHED ZONE. There are many different varieties and types of Strawberry Plants. "June-Bearing" generally ripen all at once during a 2-week period in Early Summer. This type seems to produce better for me here, but it's more like Late-April, not June. The "Everbearing" type will produce a smaller amount of fruit intermittently throughout the Summer, if the conditions are mild and favorable to them. They stop producing when it gets too hot, but they sometimes produce another small crop in the Fall when it starts getting cool again.
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Running Heat Hog Portable Heater off a 20-Pound Cylinder & the Quick-Connect Hose. 04/23/2024
I had to press and hold down the Pilot Light Button for several minutes to prime the 10-Foot Hose in order for it to light. It's working good now and I'm very happy with it.
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Installing the Heat Hog Quick-Connect Extension Hose From 20 Pound LP Tank to Heater. 04/23/2024
Installing the Heat Hog 10-foot-long GC-00670 Quick-Connect Extension Hose for the 20-Pound Liquid Propane Tank. It does not fit into the same receptacle as the 1-pound Cylinder. There is a smaller brass fitting port located in the Left side of the compartment for the "Quick-Connect " Receptacle on the hose. Slide the Hose Receptacle onto the port until it locks into place. You may need to move the ring on the Hose Receptacle down slightly to unlock the connector, then release to lock the connector onto the port on the Heater. Double-Check to make sure it is fully connected. Attach the Coupling Nut on the opposite end of the Hose to the LP Cylinder Valve. Turn the Cut-Off Valve Counterclockwise to open the tank and pressurize the hose (Left to Loosen-ON, Right to Tighten-OFF). I had to press and hold the Pilot-Light Button down on the heater for several minutes to Prime the 10-Foot-LongHose and get the Heater to light. After that, it lit right up and works great! I really like it and no more having to change-out the little 1-pound cylinders every few hours when running it continuously.
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Loving the Extremely Hardy White Iceberg Climbing Rose. 04/22/2024
This hardy "White Iceberg" Climbing Rose Bush has outlived all the other roses I've planted here the past eight years. It appears the others have succumbed to the sub-zero Winter lows and scalding weeks of 100+ degree Summer Sun in spite of heavy mulching. This one has had the advantage of a shady protected spot out of the cold wind and the scorching Sunlight.
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Wild Geraniums in Full Bloom. 04/20/2024
The Wild Geraniums, also known as "Cranesbill" are in full bloom here in NW Arkansas. Pollinators love them and they are very easy to grow from the interesting seed pods that self-sow and scatter late Summer/early Fall. Once established, the plants also spread out into large clumps that grow back on their own late Spring/early Summer.
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Native Plants & Wildflowers to Attract Pollinators.
Native Plants and Wildflowers such as Eastern Red Columbine, Wild Geranium, and Jacob's Ladder look so pretty together and help attract pollinators to the garden. It can take several years to grow and bloom from seeds, but once established, they are practically maintenance free and many will grow back on their own every year.
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Candling the Chicken Eggs. 04/19/2014
Very excited to see there does appear to be some embryonic development with blood vessels and dark blobs floating around inside several of the eggs. If all goes well with the temperature and the humidity, we'll be hatching some baby chicks by the end of this month.
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