There is not a lot going on in the backyard this week. Except. . .I’m up to my eyeballs in lettuce. So much for succession planning. I finally cut back eight beautiful heads of green, romaine and red leaf lettuce. Nom, nom, nom.
My daughter photo bombs my lettuce shot, making it infinitely more interesting.
I washed and dried all the lettuce. Then I put it into gallon size Ziploc bags, each with a folded paper towel inside each one. I don’t know why, but I’ve always done this – seems to keep the lettuce longer by pulling out moisture from the lettuce. Anyone else do this? We were able to give some away to grandma and grandpa, and our neighbors! Yay for sharing!
We also had a bag full of VERY SPICY radishes. Do these get spicier the bigger they get? How does that work? I have no idea. This is the last of our radishes.
My daughter, checking for eggs, her favorite thing to do every day. Do you see the random chicken in this picture? That would be Apple, our Rhode Island Red, who was running around the yard.
I got a lot of feedback last week when I posted this picture that she looks an awful lot like a rooster. People with Rhode Island Red hens say our Apple looks nothing like theirs. From what people are telling me, we probably have a rooster on our hands – but she (or he) has not crowed yet, thankfully. Only time will tell – we are waiting for an egg or a crow!
The baby birds in our hanging basket out front are getting so big, so quickly! There are four of them. They now have eyes, are starting to get real feathers and are lookin’ pretty cute.
She wants a worm. Ha! Can’t help her there.
This is their mom or dad. I have no idea. It’s the bird who yells at me every time I try to peak at the babies. She/he keeps a very close eye whenever I peek. Does anyone know what kind of bird this is?
And one more photo, an orange lily in our yard on it’s last leg. Most of it’s friends have shriveled up for the year, but a few blooms are left.
Another great week in the yard! So thankful for the bounty of the lettuce, the beauty of the baby birds and the mystery of our hen/rooster. 🙂
So that’s what’s happening in my backyard. Humor me and tell me what’s happening in yours. What’s going on in your yard this week?
Is that adorable little mama bird a Black Capped Chickadee??
I stumbled across your beautiful site and wondrously continued on with joy!
I would love nothing more than to be able to grow my own veggies, have hens laying their multi coloured Easter eggs!
What a beautiful life you have….
Continued blessings and peace to you and yours forever,
Elle
I’m a little late to the party here, but I agree – your little birds are Oregon Juncos. How lucky you are to have a nest and babies to watch hatch and grow. They are one of my favorites, but they are usually feeding on the ground rather than on the birdfeeders. They eat the seeds that the other birds drop.
I’m not having much luck in my garden, other than herbs. I think I planted my lettuce too early. It sprouted, but never grew more than half an inch. I’m trying my hand at potatoes this year, but I was late planting them as well, so we’ll see what happens. My red chard bolted before I could even harvest one stalk; although, the smaller plant that was all wilted seems to have some new growth, so maybe I’ll get a little bit for a meal. My cilantro, thyme and oregano are all going gangbusters, but I think I need bigger pots!
I would love to plant some rhubarb and strawberries, but my yard is very small and most of it gets limited sunlight. There is one area that gets 6+ hours of sun a day, but I need a ladder to get to it (my yard goes up the side of a hill).
Your pictures look great. Always love a good photo bomb. I will be cutting back the lettus today or tomorrow too. We have more rhubarb, but peas are over. Im finally giving up on the onions & garlic. Is everyone else’s still in the ground and doing well? I was disappointed.. maybe I got the wrong type or something, because it didnt go as well as I had hoped. Im not sure what I will plant it that place, I was thinking of putting the herbs from the pots there.. possibly start winter veggies there. Im just not sure.
I am glad to see your baby birds doing well. We too had a nest with babies and we checked on them everyday although mama bird was not pleased, but one day they were no longer there. The nest was on the ground and they were too young to fly so I fear they were some critter’s snack…
As my lettuce get big and bitter, I cut off all the outer leaves and feed to my chickens. They love it.
That keeps the lettuce growing and we get fresh sweet lettuce.
Oh and corn on the cob for dinner tonight. Give the cobs to the girls, it’s like candy
If Apple ends up being a roo, will take care of him 😛
Oh Celia, that would make me so happy knowing we could still come visit him!!!
Yes! The radishes get hotter as the days go by. We pulled the last of ours. Once they are ready, there aren’t too many days before they are too hot or “woody”.
Lots of lettuce here, too. We have the best of luck with the leaf lettuces- especially Mesculin. Lasts all the way to fall as long as you keep picking and take flowers off immediately.
Our garden is doing GREAT this year! The corn that was planted first is about 4 feet tall. We planted 4 rows each on 3 different times- 2 weeks apart.We also have: pumpkins, gourds, rainbow carrots, zucchini, pattypans, tomatoes and beans. The beans will be ready to pick in a couple weeks- everything else is a bit behind.
AND…my rhubarb is finally coming back! We had/have a vole problem- and they DESTROYED my rhubarb plants – except for 2 small pieces. They are looking good! 🙂
We, unfortunately ended up with a barred rock rooster. This is my very first flock ever. We got 4 girls and one started crowing about a week ago. We got them at the end of March He was obviously a rooster – could tell the difference in the 2 barred rocks pretty quick. But I was hoping against all hope that he wasn’t.
I just found a home for him yesterday. I put him on Craig’slist for FREE and had 3 resposes right away. He went to a small farm (not far from here) and will be “romancing” a flock of 7 hens. I was so relieved to find a good home! I was stressing BIG TIME over it. You become very attached . I felt sad and worried the girls would be upset- but they seem fine!
Oh yes, you’ll get your crow! 😉
And I too, do the paper towel trick.
The bird is an Oregon Junco. It’s always such a treat to have a nest where you can watch the babies grow.
Yep, I do too the same with the paper towel and herbs and lettuce.
I think Apple is a rooster. The bird is a junco. They are very common in the Puget Sound area. I’ve heard them referred to as “Kitty Popcorn.”
I do the same thing. A paper towel in the ziplock keeps the lettuce good for way longer! Same thing for fresh herbs like cilantro.