My current home doesn't have a verandah or even a porch but I dream of owning a little farmette again, with a verandah overlooking chickens, goats and gardens. Absolute heaven!

Grasshopper Invasion

The Kid and I went out to water the tomatoes, eggplant and peppers yesterday and found we could barely see the leaves for the grasshoppers. Lots of holes in the plants. Because we didn't have the raised beds made, we'd used pots that we'd used for tomatoes at our last house. Placed them to the southside of the big workshop, anchored by a big ole doghouse that blocked the east winds.

We watered then came in so I could research what to do about the 'hoppers. Basically, what I found was that our chickens need access to the bugs. Since we'd placed the containers outside of the fenced backyard, we needed to move them inside the fence. The Kid and I did a water-brigade thing, moving them inside the fence, then down near the chicken coop. Also closer to the water hose.

About an hour before dusk, we let the chicken out. It was her first time "free-ranging" since we'd gotten her and she was a little wary. She stayed close to her coop, grabbing whatever she could find, but displaying more interest in the apple I was eating than the bugs I wanted her to grab.

Maybe tonight.

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Did I mention that we got a big wooden cable spool for the goat pen? We did, placed it on it's side, anchored with big rocks, and could barely get out of the way before the goats started leaping up and balancing. Yep, the goats love it! Should be good for entertainment AND hoof maintenance.

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