January 15, 2012

fungi

The recent heavy rains and at times warm weather have transformed the appearance of the woodland - the trunks of the trees have assumed a variegated green appearance. On closer examination these are lichen - a symbiotic alliance between photosynthesizing green alga and fungi. Other growths are more intricate. And there are the long reaching arms. And finally some regular mushroom growths at work decomposing the end of a tree trunk. Read more [...]

chicken synergies

The chicken are still doing well. Six hens from my former neighbor (4 hybrids, 1 Ameraucana, 1 ISA brown) and 8 youngsters ( 2 Buff Orpingtons (1 of which is a rooster called "Buffy"), 2 Golden Comets, 2 New Jersey Giants and 2 Speckled Sussex). No casualties, though one of the hybrids walks with a noticeable limp and is now called "Gimpy". The two dominant hens are the Ameraucana and the ISA brown, which curiously are also among the smallest. The two largest hens, the New Jersey Giants, Read more [...]

cold frame building (2)

In a previous post I mentioned building my first cold frame using bargain priced windows from the local thrift, cement blocks and lumber. The seedlings in this cold frame are growing well and when it is cold (say 18 F outside temperature) the temperature in the cold frame is approximately 10 F higher. During the day the differential increases. And it keeps out the frost. So I am hoping to grow decent sized vegetables. One cold frame was not enough because I had 10 windows remaining and Read more [...]