Garden/Snake

when i first started writing about our TUF attempt, it had a lot to do with coop construction...that was the first step toward ultimately becoming a Totally Urban Farm. another one of our original goals was to build and start a vegetable garden, and almost exactly a year ago, we built the boxes for it on the day we got our first egg. this is what it looked like back then:

then we got focused on the chickens all summer, and it was really hot, and then i was a science teacher for nine months (time consuming, that!), and so the garden boxes filled with weeds and turned into a chicken playground/hot dog wallow...UNTIL THIS WEEKEND.  design revamped, enthusiasm renewed, the TUF garden is within a few weekends' reach!

the 3 original 6'x6' boxes got a 2'x4' inset for easy harvest access. each inset got 2 18" square patio tiles, and the rest of the growing area (84 square feet!) got dug up and covered with hay to get all the weeds out of there.  shortly we will lay down some landscaping cloth, cover it with gravel, cover THAT with local topsoil enriched with our delicious compost, and we will be ready for a fall garden. for real this time!

this space on the side of our our house gets direct morning sun from about 9 am to 3 pm, then is shaded by the house for the rest of the day.  i'm hoping that will be enough sunshine to grow tasty tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers...we are garden virgins for sure, so this will be a learning process. just like everything about the TUF!

speaking of learning experiences: last early june we had a brush with our first Texas Rat Snake, which resulted in the snake making him/herself scarce for the rest of the year.  well, s/he is back.

and now it is more than a brush. it is WAR.  this snake has been stealing the lovely ladies' eggs for the past month, ever since the beginning of may.  "may's snake month," our neighbor once averred, and at the time i was skeptical. no longer.  i am certain that this snake is a significant factor in hampering the as-yet theoretical five-egg day.

my thought is to carefully capture it, constrain it to a pillow case, drive it across 183 and release in a woodsy area. it has probably devoured like a dozen eggs at this point!  i'll go out there, check on the birds, see the carefully crafted deep egg-nests they like to make, but they will be empty.  the other day i caught it in the act of eating one of sammo's eggs.  i made ready to do battle, but the snake dropped the egg (!) and beat it.  and two days ago, as we were putting up the chickens at dusk, we saw it curled in the nesting box.  tumblr was peering at it with great suspicion, and the other ladies were as far away as they could be inside the coop.  we made a heroic joint attempt to capture it, to no avail. snakes always turn out to be surprisingly strong and nimble.

thus, the battle of the rat snake continues, and i will update you, Dear Reader, as developments develop!  and summer is coming right up, with all its time and promise...cooking! grocery store adventures! gardening! more writing!  it's almost, almost here........

Onward Through the Fog!

Life, the Universe, and Everything have all kept me from posting for a bit, but life is good and i'm excited about developments lately.   the coop and run are finished save for a couple latches, roosting poles, and bedding/feeders/chickens.  as for the latter, a friend from work who sadly must give up her darling silkies due to a move has decided that we should be the proud adoptive parents!  those fine fowl will probably come to roost on sunday after the weekend's family events.  we are looking forward to meeting Pearl and Ninja, the white and black silkie hens.  and then......maybe chicks?  am i that nutzo? probably......

anyway, here are some pictures of the latest developments.

 here is how our yard looks right now, with the coop in the northeastern corner. not exactly panoramic, but you get the idea...

 

here is the window we cut in the back (north) side and covered with chicken wire for more ventilation (and a view of the golf course!) and there's the west side of the coop with our people gate.  we lined the fence in the coop with chicken wire as well, to keep out predators and keep in exploratory chickens!

 

 here we are trying out being chickens in the coop.  oh, and a gratuitous picture of me with the circular saw.  yes, i did actually use it.  i am getting less afraid of power tools.  i have a great mentor!

this is how the coop/run corner looked just this morning.  also here is the collection of beer bottles we've started on the porch as a result of our backyard exploits.  I am pleased to report we finally got some rain yesterday, a big rain in fact, which we desperately needed.  this cloud below is from a few weeks ago, but it's a beautiful thunderhead. i put it here in hopes we get some more rain soon!

Coop Construction Continues...

this weekend saw some promising developments in coop construction, and the current ETA for chickens is approximately 2 weeks! it is turning into a rather 'mod' affair--the recent door creation and some structural re-adjustment are making it look more and more real. now we are considering run configurations using 4x4 panels covered with chickenwire. suggestions and comments appreciated!
here is where we left off last weekend...dan gracefully demonstrates the floor/inside of the coop and the hinged nesting box.
here is the roof getting framed, nailed up, and chicken wired. (i love that the chicken wire is happening!) matthew is such a great help. he is way taller than me.
Dan demonstrates crazy saw action, and the door is designed...
so we have the door that opens bottom to top with a FANTASTIC circle design, an angled roof, and ventilation. I LOVE IT. next steps: narrow rectangular window in the back, possibly taking roof down temporarily to add rafters and shingles, and chicken run....hooray!

Keepin' On Coopin'...

last sunday, team TUF (dan: master planner/builder; matthew: loyal apprentice; me: hoverer/opinion giver/beverage holder)started by building the chicken/coop interface point. lowered by day, it's a submarine-style hop up ramp...raised by night,it forms the middle third of the coop floor.  we also enclosed the laying box, giving it a hinged egg-cess lid/vaulted ceiling for future laying ladies!  i can't wait for the egg hunt to begin!  at this point, chickens are mere weeks away...

pictures!



ramp down....

 


ramp up! (no latches yet)



here is the nesting box: enclosed, framed, hinged and lidded.

here is what it looks like as of now!

we probably shouldn't encourage this, but...aww!

floor n' door!

these days it's lovely in the back yard in the early evening.  perfect for chicken coop work!  or, more correctly, i should say it's perfect weather for me to take pictures, drink wine, try my hand at the drill occasionally and cheer while dan does all the TUF stuff.  and the dogs run around like crazy animals and smell the breezes, and we holler at the neighbor or giggle about stuff.  i can't wait for chickens!  and i love me some spring!

by the way, if one is undertaking any central texas yard-play, i recommend bug repellent.  i am trying to become a more compassionate consumer, but i gotta say, good ol' OFF has improved its formula to some kinda powder dry business, and it is GREAT.  i feel kind of awful spraying myself with mass produced poison.  but i feel worse when i am dying of itchiness and pH imbalance later.  so, until i find something better, OFF is on.

pictures!

framing the floor!

floor framed!

i am afraid of the drill.



the door frame!



that's some quality construction.

a man, a plan, a drill, chicken coop!

the floor and the door (framez.)

more pictoral progress!

dan has cut the siding panels for the coop, and gets ready to put 'em up!



dan and our friend from across the street have attached the siding and framed the nestingboxes.  i am cheering and taking pictures.  so helpful am i!




looking more and more real already!  i am excited. and very lucky!




we planted jasmine vines near our fence a couple months ago, and here is the first fragrant flower.