Psst...We're Pregnant!

Dear family and friends,

We are very, very excited to share with you our joyous news! 

 David and I expecting....meaning, we are pregnant! 

 

 We are 11 weeks along and felt it was 

as good a time as any to get the word out.

Our estimated due date is the end of 

July / beginning of August.

Please keep us and our little family in your prayers!

Love to all, 

David and Laura Wagner

Loss of our Flock

A few months ago we discovered we had a predator hanging around our chicken coop. We never saw it but we lost 80% if our flock to it. Based on the evidence left behind we believe it to be the work of racoon(s).

We only have two hens left ~ Henri and Mrs. Dash . We have secured the coop for the time being and will be re building the coop  with a larger enclosed run...no more "free birds". We will bury the chicken wire / hardware cloth, pour a concrete floor and create a completely enclosed spring, summer, fall run for the girls. They cannot free range any longer...this makes me sad but we love our fresh eggs and want to keep  our beautiful birds safe and happy. Our very first hen Henri, is one of the survivors ( thank goodness) she is such a great pet but is no longer laying so we have been having to buy eggs.....what a drag. She is retired but we will be adding back to our flock in the Spring and will be able to turn the chicks out by mid summer and she will show them the ropes. Good bird.

The loss is a sad one.

Happy New Year 2012

Its been a long and busy year. Lots of goo times, lots of memories and a lot of change.

We replaced the 2 inches of old layered kitchen flooring and the lower cabinets.
Floor wasn't rotted out after all!

2nd layer alomst gone...still carpet underneath...GROSS.

Pretty much done....LOVE IT!

We got the sewer put in before the city's deadline....

Rode the  Trail of the Hiawatha with friends

Family Camp with Water of Life

A little time to ourselves

Water of Life Ladies Fellowship Tea

 Operation Christmas Chils box packing party

Millie and Maude

Well it's that time of year and we are adding two to our flock. They are both black Australorps. This breed originated in Australia developed from Black Orpingtons imported from England; and the emphasis of the breeding program was on egg production without sacrificing too much in size. ntroduced into this country in the 1920's, they have become useful and popular and are certainly one of the best layers of light brown eggs of all the heavy breeds. They are exceptionally calm, quiet and friendly birds which make them great for suburban flocks.  Black Australorps have glossy black plumage which has a greenish-purple sheen and their larger than average bright red combs make an unusually handsome sight. They are big heavy birds.  Pullets ( female chicks) mature early and could produce eggs as early as 5 and 6 months of age. They are quiet, gentle, and stand confinement well. Baby chicks are black with a good deal of white in the underparts and small white patches around the head and wings.

Our only concern is these chicks come " straight run" which means your can't tell male and female apart so have prayed over our little chicks and hope they are both going to grow up to be lovely hens.

Here is what they will look like...provided they are both females!

Happy New Year 2011

Well, It's been a while and OMG....here it is already 2011 and the last post was from late Spring 2010...the shame of it!  Life has been wonderfully out of control since last June. Summer and Fall were awesome.  My brother came for the summer and we did some much needed camping and fishing with some friends. After that, David and l had a couple additional camping trips before the end of summer with our new-used, canoe.  By the time summer was over the garden was already out of control and we were preparing for visits from out of town family. We harvested what was salvageable in the garden and let everything pretty much go to seed. I am actually looking forward to those results, by the way.  By the time Fall arrived mom was here for 6 weeks along with a nice visit from my aunt and uncle. By the time mom left my new sewing machine had arrived and I was preparing Eva's bags for the winter craft sale. Then it was the Christmas holiday hustle and bustle....and now Happy New Year? 

Where did the year go! I feel like such a wimp.

But alas! Part of what makes this time of year so fabulous are the seed catalogs that come in the mail like little present chalk full of inspiration, ideas and the hope of Spring!  So, my next project is to take inventory of my seeds and make a Spring gardening and planting plan .... which will unfortunately include a new sewer line hook up and decommissioning of our septic tank...humph.

Here's to daydreams of freshly tilled soil, new life and warm compost.

...oh and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Garden Update

These pics were taken on June 12th and everthing has grown quite a bit more in the last two weeks but I have not taken any pics because its been raining so much and the lighting isn't right.

Blythe & Bonnie - 1 month old

The girls are getting thier 'tween' feathers...Its been interesting to see how thier coloration has changed. They are about the size of a large quail right now and these two Ameracunas look like wild birds, almost "hawk like",  at least until they stand up...they have long greenish blue legs. I guess they fortell of the greenish blue eggs to come?
Luna and Rhonda were not cooperating so they missed thier photo shoot.

Ameracunas - Meet Blythe and Bonny

The Ameraucana was developed in the 70's by a few people who were trying to standardize the Araucana breed. The Ameraucana is easier to breed as there are no complications due to lethal genes. The best layers are the black and blue varieties. They are good layers and do not drop off in production sharply after their second year like many breeds.      

Chicken Breed Info: Dual Purpose Meat / Eggs     Comb: Pea          Broodiness: Average

Climate Tolerance: All

General Egg Info: Productivity:Medium       Size: Medium      Color: Blue/Green

Mixed Ameracuna flock

Ameracuna eggs

Rhode Island Red - Meet Rhonda

The Rhode Island Red is the State Bird of Rhode Island. The breed was developed in the mid 1840's to withstand the harsh New England winters and be a very hardy bird who produced hens with excellent large egg yields Chicken Breed Info:

Purpose: Dual Purpose   Comb: Rose   Broodiness: Average   Climate Tolerance: Cold

General Egg Info:  Productivity: High   Size: Large Color: Brown

The red should be a deep, dark Mahogany or Rust color, the darker the better. Some birds can be so dark as to appear black from a distance, both sexes have black tails with a "beetle" green sheen.

RIR hen

Andalusian - Meet Fanny

The breed was developed in the Spanish province of  Andalusia. This Mediterranean, close-feathered breed was produced by crossing a black bird with one of its white “sports” (a genetic mutation that produces a different color). It was first shown at the Crystal Palace in 1851. The Andlausian Blue chick we got, Fanny is mostly silver and will likely be what is called a "splash" as shown in picture below to the left which is mostly white with some black lacing instead of a true blue.

When you cross two blues you will get some whites and some blacks and plashed. Because of this true blues relatively rare except amongst poultry enthusiasts and small backyard flock owners interested in preserving heritage breeds.

Here is a "splash"

Here is a "blue".

Hierloom Tomaotes from Seed

Peep Show...

Weather has been very springy. No frost but have had some light hail...the bird bath has not frozen over in about 12 days and we've had generous helpings of rain.

Back in early February, we adopted Molly ( our black Polish chicken ) out to another chicken home because she was being picked on. Last week we lost Penny....one of our Buff Orps...we think she had a run in with a bird of prey or a cat, unfortunate but not unusual. Anyway, we had a couple of  holes to fill and chick season is coming to an end and so we went to see what was available.  Got two Ameracuna's ( easter egger's) .......and a Rhode Island Red and a Blue Andalusian. The little girls are so cute and being in a larger clutch, they should do well when turned out together in a few months with the older ones. We originally had 5, we now have 7 in our flock which will ensure plenty of eggs to use and plenty to share. it will be about 9-11 months before these girls produce thier first eggs.  Here are a couple pics of the new peeps.

Two left are Ameracuna's ( Bonny and Blythe) and they will lay blue or green eggs  ,  the RIR center ( Rhonda) is a brown layer like the other big girls and the white one is the Blue Andalusian ( Fanny) and she'll lay white or yellow eggs .

Blythe and Bonnie

Seedling Success

Got row covers up on two beds over this last weekend and got some drip hoses laid.....4 weeks to last frost! I am planning on transplating the cabbage family seedlings outside this weekend and sowing lettuce, beets and carrot seeds.

Here is some of  whats growing in the basement.

Brocolli, cabbage, cauliflower and brussel sprouts...

Tomatoes and herbs

A new planter...

Our 1st projectof the season... We traded yard work with our friends Tish and Tom a couple weekends back. We delivered garden soil and helped them do some yard clean up and they were able to come help us to tackle a project we've been wanting to do for a while...get rid of the unused hot tub that was taking up half our back patio! It was, believe it or not, a very big job.  The guys had a hay day with the sawz-all! We loaded the tub pieces into the truck and took them to the dump but we decided to save the above gound shell. It is in great condition. The outside is made from cedar and the inside is plywood reinforced with 2x4 and 4x4 framing. The bottom almost completely open save for some of the necessary structural framing. Over all, it is very heavy and very strong and worth a shot as a raised bed versus trashing it, which is what would have happened if we took it apart. It is already filled with 12 inches of soil from the hot house garden bed that was there last year. We mixed some lava rock gravel for added drainage and the top 24 inches will be fresh garden soil and compost.

I am researching small patio trees...I would love to do a flowering crabapple or maybe japanese maple but might just do  flowers and herbs this year until we see how it settles over a season or two. It would be nice to have something that could provide some shade and add interest to the patio area. This area is really great for a raised bed because it offers a garden space that is "easy on your back" that the dogs cannot trample through....

I planted lavender ( started last year from seed ) at each corner and will fill in and cover the ground with cedar bark chips.

What was once desitned for the landfill has found new life! Thats salvage!

New Diggings

Our second outdoor project of the season...

We expanded the original garden area by enclosing the entire back half of the yard using salvaged picket fence. We used t-posts instead of wood 4x4's for longevity and ease of installation.The area we closed off is all lawn but will provide an enclosed area for Eva's play ground. I have no worries about the dogs other than there will likely be a few tumbles and bumps until she and the dogs get used to one another...or she might land herself in a misplaced pile of doggy doo. Either way when she is done being slobbered on she will have a "hassel and poop free" place play. A large place with  grass in an area where we spend a lot of time...the garden! We envision space for a covered sandbox,  a swingset / jungle gym and her very own raised bed.

David is calling it "The Garden of Good and Eva"....lol...

There will be a perennial flower bed all along the inside of the fence here all the way down to the chain link...you can see I've already started clearing the lawn out and relocating perennials. We are thinking of planting a natural screen ( possibly arborvitae ) all along the chain link fence  in the background. Something that will not grow too tall  (6-10 feet) but will provide some privacy, hide the fence, act as a windblock and provide more bird habitat. The pics show we've done so far in 2 days....its a mess right now but all the perennials are on there way and there is so much more in the basement to be transplanted after last frost.  It will be in bloom and growing very soon!

Happy Easter, Happy Spring!

It has been a long time since my last post but this is a gardening blog and we do live in Eastern Washington so, there has not been much to blog about other than the weather...and there is not much to blog about in that regard either. If you want to stay updated on us, all that good stuff is on our adoption blog.

It was a VERY mild winter with regard to snow...we've had none to speak of in the valley and very little on local mountains but we've had rain. Everyone is saying it will likely be a dry summer...although yesterday we had a very cold, blustery day with intermittent sleet and hail. Today while cold, was at least clear and sunny.

I started my first round of  vegetable seedlings on March 14th  ( all hierloom except super sweet 100's which are to die for so I am making a hybrid exception) and have been sowing weekly...in doors of course. I have about 9 different varieties of tomatoes , 3 types of peppers, celery, brussel sprouts, cabbage, 2 types of broccolli, cauliflower, rosemary, lavender, thyme and a bunch of annuals and perinnials ( also mostly heirlooms) to use for flower beds and in among the veggies.

Last frost is roughly  May 15th so the melons, squash, cucumbers and potatoes will be direct sown shoertly thereafter. I don't think I will waste time and space on corn this year....too needy and greedy and I've not had any results in two years...while others rave, in my personal experience it's worth buying from Green Bluff's local farmers. I will however, do everything else. I'll sow peas, beets and lettuce in about 2-3 weeks...it's still freezing at night and while people sayit shoudl be okay, I just can't bring myself to do it this early.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderful time visitng friends in Sandpoint for Thanksgiving. Our visit was cut short unfortunately becuase I am sick ;o( so we came back last night in the rain. But I was able to to sleep in till 10 today...so nice but alas, I am up late.... David and I have so many things to be thankful for but one thing, the most important thing is we are thankful that we serve an omnipotent triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Thank you Father that you love us and you seek us out to know you so we can experience your abundant grace, love and perfect peace!

The garden is put up and the trees have dropped all their leaves. Seems like fall came late and hit hard this year. We had the opportunity to go to Green Bluff with the Woods this weekend before the snow, which they say will be likely by Thursday. Was fun...we just hung out , took in the air and scenery. A little hot apple cider and carmel apples were an added bonus.

Looking forward to sharing these cherished times with Eva one day.

Wo men ai ni Eva!

Fall Pumpkins

This is the first year we grew pumpkins. I made the mistake of planting only one seed of each variety though. The two larger pumpkin plants only produced one each of the jade and one of the orange while the mini jacks yielded a bakers dozen. Those are so fun and easy and make great fall decorations. I will definitely do pumpkins again next but to increase yields, I think will do three plantings instead of just one.

David and I will still go up to Green Bluff to get carvers for Halloween. One each of us and one for little Eva too!

I harvested the cornstalks and used them to decorate the front stoop since that was all they were ever going to be good for . Again, it was an obvious pollination issue since there was no shortage of ears. They were just not producing kernels. Grrrr....after two years I feel kind of guilty about giving up but I think corn is just too fussy for me. I will gladly use that extra space for more potatoes next year.

One of many summer harvests....

This years summer harvest far exceeded expectations. Still have some things to work out but all in all we were pleased. Tomatoes, squash, potatoes, onions, carrots, beets, strawberries, herbs, flowers and eggs all in abundance.

We had our first frost yesterday, October 7th. I still have carrots and beet seedlings under cover in one bed. I wonder if I was too late. Celery and strawberries seem unaffected by that first frost but as with everything, they will be soon enough.

Preparing for fall with cleanup and composting. Leaves have not turned on the big maples yet.