Author: Mr Rob

We are not the only ones that love our chickens. This guy has been chasing our little ones for the last two days. I’ve seen him swooping down a couple of times. So far our girls have been able to dive for cover. Not without some commotion though. It’s a very long shot …..

I’m loving all the new (to me) bugs and such. This guy is a real fancy pants.

 

 

The weather here is great at the moment. Much less humid, high 70’s during the day and cooling off at night. With only 3″ of rain, it has been dryer this month too. I have already started to rake leaves so I guess we are heading for autumn.

Moving to a new place 900 miles south means there is so much to find out about the land, the weather, what will grow and where. I have tried to resist the urge to make big plans as I wanted to see what happens naturally.  It’s been fun to see the existing plants developing and having seen them, Miss Lynne and I are better able to make plans. More fruit trees are the very next things to be planted before winter comes.

On the pasture front, I’ve been pleased with the way they have developed and they are in good condition. I’m sure the extra rain helped this year. There is still 3 months to run before I’ve seen the whole cycle but things look good in the main areas. In the old pasture (Area 1 in the layout) I have work to do to address the erosion issues but it has been interesting to watch that area with no grazing alpacas.

On the vegetable front we have had mixed results. The squash went crazy and we had enough to feed Georgia and I must learn to read the labels more carefully as the zucchini turned out to be MUCH larger than I expected. The carrots and beetroot were  tasty and the peppers are still producing. Our favorite item was the swiss chard. It seemed to grow and grow. The high rainfall and general humidity didn’t help with the tomatoes, or the melon. They rotted before they could get ripe. It has been an unusually wet year though.

The growing season is long down here so we have replanted the beds for a second crop. More carrots and swiss chard alongside the still producing peppers in one bed. Peas in the second bed. I’m not entirely sure if they have enough time but lets hope so.

For me, the biggest question about the veg plot was its position. I didn’t want to put too much effort into it until I knew its growing potential. We put the two raised beds on just about the only flat piece of land. The issue was that the sunshine does not reach the beds until around 10am, I didn’t need to worry so I guess we’ll be building more beds this winter.

I’ll let Miss Lynne update on the Alpaca side of thing but I can tell you that she is getting very excited about some new arrivals!

It seems that there is a new creature to catch my eye, every time I step outside the door. It must be the time of the year. I saw this 3″ monster climbing down the River Birch tree that shades our living room and rear deck. It turns into the giant Lunar Moth. Isn’t nature wonderful.

 

 

Miss Lynne saw (probably this) one a few months ago and we recently found a skin by a hole underneath this pathway, Yesterday I spotted our resident Rat Snake and he was nice enough to pose for me.

Moving to a new area is made all the better by all the new creatures to be seen. This little fella was quite happy to pose for me. It’s a Snowberry Clearwing caterpillar

Sadly our new little chick did not survive very long. Mama hen was in mourning and after over 35 days sat on her clutch of eggs, no more chicks hatched.

Poor girl. I’m sure she’ll get another chance.

On our Tuesday morning walk to the barn we were greeted with lots of tiny white buttons on the ground. By the afternoon we had a full scale invasion.

By Wednesday, the early risers were already withering.

All change again by Thursday morning

 

 

I’ve had some visitors to keep me company whilst I wait for Miss Lynne’s return from Denver.

   

Early on in this adventure someone warned us to be prepared as livestock can quickly become deadstock. The Cochin had not been 100% for some months but she was eating ok and seemed happy enough to potter about. Sadly Roger Rooster was too rough with her yesterday morning and he literally knocked the life out of her. We will miss her.

We have had a new young friend visiting for the last couple of days. He’s not too shy and sits on the fence to the old paddock. Not sure what type he/she is.