Better Buckeye Update- 12 weeks

I wasn't happy with the photos of the Buckeyes I posted yesterday. I've been jumping back and forth between doing the blog photos at Flickr, uploading to Blogger directly (hence the small photos yesterday - that is my least favorite method...) and using the Picasa web albums now that there is a new Mac uploader. The last method seems to be working well. The photo size options are not the best - either the tiny 400px like yesterday, or the giant 800px below. (I prefer a nice 600px) But's it's fairly speedy and easy, so we'll go with BIG photos!

So I went out to get some photos of the girls again at 12 weeks old. Tossed out some oats for them to snack on to keep the group close to the camera. Otherwise, they will come briefly to check out what you are doing, then most will wander away, while the handful of particularly chummy birds will stand so close that it's hard to walk around without stepping on anybody.



Above is a group shot, mostly Buckeyes with a few Black Australorps thrown in. If you missed the post on why Buckeye chickens are pretty special, you can read about Buckeyes at the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy page here. You have to be careful though, on that website, or else you'll find yourself with a new hobby of preserving heritage livestock like I did. It could be worse, I could have picked cows or horses to work with! (I wish I had that much land!) Anyway, it's a great organization to join and their newsletters are really interesting.



But back to the Larrapin Buckeyes. Note the chicken bloomer shot above. Since I had tossed out oats, it became difficult to get any pics that included their heads, since they were VERY busy looking for those oats in the leaves. This is my sneaky way of making my chickens work for a living. All leaves get raked into the chicken pen, all scratch grains get tossed on the leaves. And presto, a month later the leaves are reduced to a finely ground leaf mold that is exquisite for a compost base or for mulching garden beds! This method words even faster if your chickens are in a smaller coop - you can pile in the leaves and they will work on them all day, every day!



Above is a good representative photo of the pullets at 3 months old. They have huge feet! If chicken are like puppies, these should grow up to be big girls!



Buckeye's have lovely feathering, even if their coloring is pretty routine. The feathers are very distinctive and textured as you see above. Another characteristic in the literature that turns out to be VERY true is their need for a lot of space. These gals love to explore and wander the whole pen - a series of three paddocks. So I can see they would not like a constrained space. They are the ultimate free rangers it seems. I do note though, they like a long afternoon nap sprawled on the hay in the sun... Smart chickens.



This is one of the personable girls, saying, Hey, got anymore oats in your pocket?? They are very curious and like sparkly things - especially my ring. I switched to oats from cracked corn for scratch since the oats are supposed to be better for egg production. (Though that will be a while for these girls...) I'll add some corn in over the winter for heat. The Buckeye's are bred to be fine in Ohio winters, so Arkansas winters - even in the farthest NW corner where we are, should be a cakewalk for these girls. Note the very small pea combs - that's to avoid frostbitten wattles in cold climates.




And then the guinea hoodlums show up, run all the girls off and the photo session is over. Thanks for getting to know the Buckeyes better. For folks with the room, they are a fine chicken to preserve.

Buckeye Update- 12 weeks

The girls are growing up! Here's a Buckeye pullet, about 12 weeks old, out for an afternoon stroll in the leaves..

And here's the wide angle view of the gals out of their pen and strolling the grounds and nibbling on everything...luckily it's late enough in the season that the nibbling doesn't matter... The Buckeyes are comparable in size to the Black Australorps, which is pretty good.




And finally for this quick post today, a shot of one of the random hardware-store roosters I accidentally bought. I don't know what kind he is, but he is beautiful, if shy. Well there's a superquick poultry update before I dash off to work!

What a difference two weeks makes...

Still on the subject of time, I look around today at the thinning leaves on the branches, the sea of copper oak leaves on the grass, and I can't believe that just about two weeks ago it looked like the pictures below.


The fig tree made it up pretty big this year! As I've said before, being from Alabama where figs really grow into tree sized, this still seems like a fig bush to me.



It's a brown turkey fig tree (bush) and this year for the first time we had several handfuls of delicious figs. Incredibly, this hot spot against the south facing wall is still a little too shaded by a neighboring sycamore tree to bear fully. The figs don't really ripen till October. By that time the sun has dropped low enough for the sycamore to cast shade. Hmmm. I'd like to plant another higher on the property to get *more* sun. Amazing that the Arkansas Ozark sun is still not quite enough for these guys!



This narrow leaf sunflower was a beauty this year.




This was one of the last monarchs to emerge. This was his first hour of morning sunshine. His wings were still soft. I hope he caught a strong tailwind and made it down to warmer climes before the first frost we had on October 25th or so.



So it will be many months till it looks like this again. But there's plenty to do, designing, reading and dreaming of the garden 2009! Thanks for stopping by Larrapin for a look back to two weeks ago. The next post will be a Buckeye update!

Where does the time go?

My Grandmother always said time speeded up when you got older. I guess I thought she meant when I got her age, not my age now! Autumn is here in all her glory. The leaves are full of color and falling on every breeze. This purple birdhouse in the front yard maple looks like a postcard for Autumn to me. Of course it is Arkansas, so I'm out messing around in the garden every day, getting beds cleaned out and covering them with a deep coat of chopped leaves. Ahhh, back to the chopped leaves.

You see for the first time ever, this year I was on the ball enough to plant a cover crop. A lovely cover crop, the "soil-builder" mix from Peaceful Valley Farm Supply. It came up and got about six inches high. Looked completely lovely, like it was doing fabulous things to the soil right before my eyes. Then killer-bambi descended.

We are having deer trouble for the first time in ten years of gardening in two states surrounded by deer. Our big dog Shug is about 13 now. She's still pretty tough up close - she's a big chow mix, but her eyesight and hearing have faded enough that she doesn't see or hear the apparent HERDS of bambi that must march like hungry zombies out of the woods towards the garden while Shug keeps her nearsighted and nearscented watch from the porch many yards away. Ahh, the indignities of old age... Shug would be mortified if she knew there were armies of deer *just* over there in the garden. You can tell them by the crunching...

So anyway, the deer ate the cover crop down to the stubs. Horrors. So I'm back to covering the raised beds with deeps layers of chopped leaves. Not as good for the soil as cover cropping, but the next best thing for me. Sigh... I will get even with killer bambi. I've been online and discovered the electric-fence-wire-dabbed-with peanut-butter treatment. Next time I'm at Tractor Supply, a fence charger is on my list. And a big jar of peanut butter. Bambi, prepare for a PB & J (peanut butter & jolt) you won't forget!

I know this sounds harsh from a person who welcomes (most) wildlife to the garden with open arms. But some wildlife just can't be good neighbors with the garden. Nevermind there are fields of grass all around that seem fine for cattle. And acres of brushy woods that deer favor. So bambi, please back off a bit. I'll try the fence and see if that works. It's not fatal, if a bit startling, no doubt. If that doesn't work, I may have to sit out in the garden with the shotgun like Ozark gardeners of the past have probably done many a night, protecting the garden, and planning for venison stew!!

Grow it and they will come: Monarch butterflies

Wow! These guys can eat! These pictures are from about two weeks ago, when I noticed that there were DOZENS of Monarch butterfly caterpillars on a tropical milkweed out in the veggie garden that had eaten every leaf on the plant. Here's a video snippet (1 min) of that plant:



So by snipping off the bare branches loaded with baby Monarchs, I relocated them to a milkweed that had plenty of leaves. They crawled off, eating all the way! The lesson here, same as last year: Plant more milkweed! Below are some pics of the relocated caterpillars...







And here is a tiny video (1 min) after the successful relocation:



Postscript to this story: Since the receiving milkweed plant is right beside the front patio, our front porch is now festooned with little leaf-green cocoons dotted with gold. We kept one (which was on a leaf I accidentally plucked) in a jar with a coffee filter over the top, till it emerged and we released the most perfect Monarch into a gorgeous September day.

Fly hard towards Mexico beautiful friends!

Buckeyes Play Day in the Big Pen

Are these gals growing up or what? From their hatch date on August 6th they have grown steadily and are starting to look like real pullets!

So on days when we're home to deep an eye out for hawks (since these gals are the the perfect hawk-bait size right now) they get to romp with the big chickens for the day. After we've put the big rooster, Red, outside the pen, that is. Red has to go to a new home soon (or the soup pot...) He was a rooster that arrived as packing material with our guinea chicks. He's a handsome Americauna, but that's not what we raise around here now...


Here's everybody on the chick room doorstep. The love to scratch away the straw and take dust baths already.


These girls are serious hunters already.



The Buckeyes are supposed to be a deep red brown (like a Buckeye nut) and some of these are getting a nice deep color. Others are still pretty light. Eventually, we'll select for the good color and good egg production.



Thanks for stopping by Larrapin Garden! Things have been so busy with work and life I've had no time to post, but will give a monarch butterfly update soon.

(Yikes, I had to re-publish this post till I got the pics right. Usually I use Flickr, but was trying to use Blogger images. Tricky! I didn't know you had to choose, it seems between pics 400px wide OR 640 pics wide, OR, they don't show up! Live & Learn...may be going back to Flickr pics...)

A Walkaround at the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks (Fayetteville)

Isn't it funny how we don't spend enough time visiting the really wonderful places in our own cities or regions? Can you say you've been to most of the landmarks in your town? If so, I think you have the right idea. I've moved away from areas before and realized I've never been to the places that the tourists travel hundreds or thousands of miles to see. For example, I lived in Asheville, NC for ten years and never visited the Biltmore Estate, I confess. It does, however, give me a reason to act like a tourist when I go back there to visit friends....

Anyway, I'm breaking that habit of mine now that I'm here in Northwest Arkansas. I want to be familiar with the places that make the place special. So when my Mother in law and Father in law visited the other weekend, we took them to the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks, one of the loveliest spots in Fayetteville. (My other all-time favorites being the Farmer's Market on the Square on Saturday mornings and the Fayetteville Public Library.... And our realtor must have sensed this because once we saw those two things, we instantly chose Fayetteville over the other cities in the region.)

So join me on a walkaround at the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks in Fayetteville, Arkansas:


Shadow Art on the Great Lawn

The BGO is brand new, less than three years old. It's an amazing thing seeing a botanical garden begin, take root and grow where there was formerly just a lovely hay field! It's a series of named and themed gardens that radiate out around the central lawn. The Great Lawn is the site for festivals, concerts and other local happenings. (The whole place is the best spot to have a wedding in the whole region...)

We arrived in late afternoon on a Sunday and nearly had the whole place to ourselves. The angled light was splendid and depth shadows added to the drama.


Artful Horse Apples Near the Event Hall

Now this is a clever use for the fruit from an Osage Orange! This decorative planting is outside the event hall. There must have been a wedding the day before because the tents were still up.


My Favorite Fountain

Since I'm craving more water features here at Larrapin Garden, I gravitated to all the ponds, waterfalls and fountains -- and there are many. This one was my favorite. Made a great sound and the light just sparked off every drop.


My Favorite mosaic of all time

The BGO is full of art. This mosaic is at the entrance to one garden -- a dragonfly of natural stone with shiny glass accents. The dragonfly is probably four foot long. What a beautiful piece!


What a waterlily!

Like I said, water gardens everywhere. Is that an amazing color or what!


If your veggie garden looks like this, who needs ornamentals?

Of course my favorite stop is the edible garden! Someday, I'd like my veggie garden to look this pretty!


The Corn Sculpture in the Vegetable Garden. How can an artsy-farmer -wanna-be like me not love a six foot mosaic ear of corn?


Black Eyed Susan Vine Among the Yard Long Beans

This picture doesn't do it justice, but the Black Eyed Susan vines were underplanted with the pole beans (the kind with pods a couple feet long!) and made the whole trellis look beautiful. Note to self: more flowers among the veggies next year!



Cute Chicken Yard or What?

Now this is not your stuffy uptight botanical garden. You can tell because tucked behind the veggie garden is the cutest chicken yard you ever did see. With art --a bamboo star in this case -- among the chicks, of course. This is one happy bunch of bantie poultry.



World's Cutest Chicken Coop?
And what's not to be happy about when you are a bantie living in a chicken coop that looks like a playhouse?


The Chicken Coop Yard -- With Art. I noted they have straw, rye grass and amaranth growing in their yard. Nice! Ok, I want a bamboo star for my chicken yard. At Larrapin, it could be a good obstacle for running chickens to put between themselves and a hawk attack! (We've been lucky lately, but every morning the hawks fly around and call and call, reminding us that it's a wildlife garden, after all...)


New Bridge in the Children's Garden. This splendid bridge, done up in my favorite blue, appeared since the last time I visited the garden.


Adults Enjoying the Children's Garden
Caught these folks having fun on their way to the "Eagle's Nest" a concrete structure that lets you view the garden from on high.


Secret Passage in the Children's Garden. I loved this mosaic tiny door in the chilcren's garden, leading to a big field...

Wow! What a place in my own town. Go Fayetteville! Go BGO!


Afterwards, A Stroll by Lake Fayetteville. To finish up our Sunday outing, we walked a brief bit around Lake Fayetteville, which is back to back with the Botanical Gardens, and has 5 miles of walking trail through the forest around the lake. I love my home of three years now.

Thanks for visiting Fayetteville, Arkansas. I'd love to hear about some of the special places in your hometown backyard!

Buckeye Chick Update - 1 Month

So, the Buckeye chicks are a month old! In a previous post I described getting the day-old chicks. Now here they are, about five times the size they arrived (at least!) --



The red ones are Buckeys, the black ones are Australorps, both will grow up to be brown egg layers. I picked th Australorps, I confess, because I love a glossy black chicken from a photography/aesthetic point of view. Plus I have an old black hen of unknown origin who is my favorite... The Australorps, I read, are a friendly docile chicken. Someone forgot to tell my batch this as they are a shy, flighty bunch with one striking exception of a little gal who will follow you like a pup. But maybe they are only flighty when compared to my beloved little Buckeyes, who are basically fearless.

The Buckeye is the only U.S. chicken breed developed by a woman. Hattie Metcalf of Ohio developed the breed in the 1800s to be dual purpose (meat/eggs), vigorous free rangers, friendly personality and very cold hardy. While the last part isn't so critical in Arkansas as in Ohio, the personality (friendly, fearless, hate mice and make unusual sounds!) and free-range foraging traits perked up my interest.

I first read about them on the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy "critical" list of varieties of chickens of which there are 500 or fewer birds, or less than five breeding flocks (50 birds) in the U.S. The Buckeye was on their priority list to preserve and the traits were enough for me to say THAT's the chicken to take on as a Larrapin farm project! (ALBC's Buckeye page)

Maintaining the genetic heritage of these livestock breeds as we go into the future is a part of sustainable living in my opinion. Our ancestors couldn't depend factory-grown chickens (can we? should we? I won't buy the stuff after living here in their chicken raising part of the world and seeing how industrial birds are raised...) so farmers of the past developed breeds that could live in the real world, in specific locales. That is a genetic heritage we don't want to lose, given the uncertainty of the future...ok, stepping down off the soap box...

So my first group of 12 chicks arrived from Ideal Hatchery out of Texas, all pullets, with their Australorp friends. Of the twelve I'll pick the best hens to keep and then gradually add to my flock while selecting for egg productions. Washington County Fair, poultry division, here I come! (With the size and quantity of our hawks, I shouldn't speak too soon!)

But first, we had to make a bigger home for these gals because at a month old, they outgrew their 4 x 8' playpen. We took one bay of the chicken shed and closed it in and set it up as their new playROOM. (Our place came with three open sheds in the three little pastures because the former owner raised emus)

We were taking a break from building the door and front of the shed when I snapped this pic. We'd locked the other chickens out so they wouldn't get in the way or get too curious about the babies (which might not be safe for 1 month old chicks who are strangers to my old flock...). I love how the old girls are waiting outside the gate like, hey, why are we out here!?



It didn't take too long to build a sturdy door and front with hardware cloth. Can't use chicken wire because raccoons are notorious for reaching through and pulling out chickens piece by piece! Yikes. So we have 1/2 inch mesh heavy duty hardware cloth on the front. We also wrapped the back of the shed in it. The old boards are falling apart and until I can replace them, we did a wire overwrap... Here's our new door with babies happily in their spacious playroom:



They love it! Finally, if you'd like to see these cute one-month olds romp in their new digs on a one minute video snippet, press the "play" arrow below:



For you folks outside the city limits, check out the ALBC's list of rare heritage livestock in need of conservation. You may find your next barnyard friends and be doing a good thing too.

Thanks for stopping by Larrapin.

Before the Rains Begin

Greetings from Larrapin Garden on the day before the rains start (again). Hurricane Ike's rains should get up to NW Arkansas on Saturday and we could get soaked. Nothing compared to what may happen down in Texas. We're supposed to get up to 4 inches each day this weekend, compared with potential 15" of rain in Houston. Geesh, what a rainy year. We'd already had our usual yearly rainfall by June or July this year...

All the rain has had an amazing result on all the greenery and some things are still blooming even as the weather has started to get cool early. Those are scarlet runner beans growing on a fence and a happy bumble bee. The seed packed said "loved by hummingbirds" and that is so true. These are the 2008 favorites of the four hummingbirds that hang out at Larrapin.



Meanwhile, the Monarchs finally arrived after being absent nearly all summer. I think they are not so fond of all this rain.



The last month has been AMAZING for butterflies. We've finally got enough nectar plants to have been noted on the butterfly flight paths it seems! Their favorites: Tropical Milkweed (favored over the native perennial I see, but will plant more of both), four butterfly bushes (wow, deadheading will keep them blooming ALL the time), and scarlet runner beans plus assorted flowers. We've also got a lot of host trees - oaks, willow, river birch, wild cherry, with more to come such as Paw Paw...



This is a blurry photo, but it's the first time I've seen this type of butterfly here. Will have to look it up. Anyone know the name?



Don't let this pic fool you. It's from mid-July I think, when we had enough dry weather to have good tomatoes... The one in my hand is the old fashioned Brandywine, which turns out to be as good as everyone says. The one on the right is Cherokee Purple, which we LOVE but this year's batch was abysmal between the rain and the first time onslaught of stink bugs on the tomatoes. Will study up on organic control of those buggers next year. They poke the tomatoes just enough to scar them and make them prone to rot. We've had a few Ananas Noir (not pictured -- but they are soft red and green swirled, both inside and out) and the oddly colored tomato remains the favorite tomato of Larrapin.

So I'll end this post with a chicken photo since the next post will be a Buckeye update. This unusual chicken is one of the two I picked up as day-old chicks at the hardware store to be companions for the solitary guinea that hatched back in June. The grab-bag chicks are both solid black. One (not pictured) is an Ameraucana,which was confimed when she laid her first blue-green egg! The second black chick has grown up to be quite lovely. Is she a jungle-fowl variety of chicken? Not really sure, will study on that later... Here she is. The white blob in the foreground is the lone guinea chick grown up. And completely convinced she is a chicken. Which is a good thing. It makes her the ONLY guinea who reliably roosts in the chicken house every night. From now on, all my guinea will be raised by chickens!



Thanks for stopping by Larrapin before the rain!