It is a normal weather pattern for central Ohio to plumb the depths of single digit temperatures with little or no snow. It is equally expected for gardeners to go into planning mode during the deep freeze of January. Reviewing the last year has made me realize that I'm more prone than ever to the unknown vagaries to mess up my well laid plans. It is enough to tempt me to have no plan at all, … [Read more...] about Thoughts from the Deep Freezer
the rural story
Chickenhawk Attack!
Yes, things have gotten exciting around here, and not in a good way. Yesterday I was working on my blogs, when the distressed squawking of my poor Bantams got my slow, old body coming to the rescue. Just in time to see a really large hawk front, center, and personal in the general area of where a very scared and angry rooster had taken refuge in my taxus shrub. I moved towards the hawk to … [Read more...] about Chickenhawk Attack!
Thought of Raising Peafowl?
You can raise your own peacock - Facts about these beautiful and useful birds That's right, Peacocks! Or peahens, actually.... Breeds available are the Indian or Blue Peafowl, Pavo cristatus, or the Javan or Green Peafowl, Pavo muticus. The Green is considered the more beautiful, but the Blue is hardier. The adults do well on turkey grower and some scratch (especially cracked corn in … [Read more...] about Thought of Raising Peafowl?
Finally. I Have Chickens
It had been years since I had chickens, and I said for the past three to four years that, "This year I'll get chicks", but something always intervened in my plans. Well, no more! I now have a new little chicken coop (a bit flimsy, but it will do), half a dozen pullets, and one bantam laying hen, and one bantam rooster. About that... We ordered "pullets" and I was always under the impression … [Read more...] about Finally. I Have Chickens
My Rural Garden
Or How I Got To Be Here ...it all begins somewhere.I had been gardening in the city for some years. I don't remember ever wishing to move into a country place, particularly, but my city neighborhood was deteriorating and my family size was increasing. My interest in history, and then gardening, began to branch towards homesteading. It was the seventies that developed that trend, and so by 1980 I … [Read more...] about My Rural Garden
Rural Observations
This week I traveled from mid-Ohio to mid-Indiana, and there is quite a bit of rural landscape to be enjoyed along such a route. I keep track of how the farm crops are doing since I live in the midst of corn and soybean country here. As might be expected, even with the rain we had, the corn was "pineappled". The plants leaves spike up like pineapple tops when the ground is dry and they are … [Read more...] about Rural Observations