So that explains why my honeysuckle is getting torn down from the arbor. Sophie the outdoor/indoor cat is trying to get to a nest. Last year we had cardinals that tried to nest there, then gave it up as a bad job. Apparently someone is trying again.
The sun has started to shine again. The spring rains aren’t done, but my eldest and I had some time to clean out the coop. Exercise and cleaning and out of the house! We put the chickens in a run with some scratch and some water, since they freak out when we mess with their coop. It worked well to have them not underfoot and not panicking.
We removed all the old pine shavings and droppings, washed down the roost and sprayed it with vinegar, swept up and dusted. Then we put the roost back in, put new straw and dried lavender in the nest boxes, dusted everything with diatomaceous earth, and spread out four and a half bags of pine shavings. We didn’t spread out one the bags to see how long it would take the chickens to disperse it themselves. They did a fair job and had a low hill by the end of the day. Oh were they happy to go back to their coop!
With the rains and the warmth our spring frogs have emerged! iNaturalist app identifies this one as a cricket frog. Last year was a light year for froglets. The year before you had to watch your step. We’ll see how this year plays out.
Update on Sunrise: some time in isolation with no nesting areas seems to have done the trick to break Sunrise from her broodiness. I did not have to resort to a wire bottomed cage. Whew!
I have been saving a bit of my special Roman Olive wood to make something special for my sister who loves Italy. Not a regular spoon, not a spatula, how about a roux spoon? With a taster spoon on the handle? Ok!
Uh uh. Nope. No cats in the hen house. Sophie tried to follow me in like she belonged there. Nice try cat.
Critters and Craft 