Author: Caryn

Talented cat

On By CarynIn Cats
New hardware cloth covering one escape

For a roly poly little cat, she sure is maneuverable. We replaced the gaping hardware cloth with 1/2” hardware cloth to remove the exit Sophie has been utilizing. So she just took another way. This escape route is the same spot she gets in if we aren’t attentive enough to open a door for her. So I screwed in a piece of scrap board to see if that foils her. We’ll keep the camera set up to see where she finds to escape next. Despite all her protest otherwise, our other cat Izzy does not have the same burning desire to be outside the catio by herself, as she has not squeezed out anywhere.

Next step: scrap wood as a block

Molting

On By CarynIn chickens, Coop, eggs
Feathers mixed into the pine shavings

My hens have started their molting time. The coop and run, from a distance, look like there has been a small snow flurry. The hens themselves look moth-eaten and disheveled. Egg production has slowed to a near stand still; I’m getting maybe one egg every other day. About this time last year the eggs stopped completely and they didn’t start laying again until the end of January. That was fours months without eggs. Hello powdered eggs, lets see how you do.

One survived

On By CarynIn Garden

I wasn’t sure any of the school house lilies survived the freeze and the rearrangement of my container garden. They live outside the tired rosemary, which did not survive the Texas deep freeze in February. Since it didn’t survive, and I didn’t replant, I haven’t been watering that area. I was rather surprised to see some bright red blooms amongst the dead stems.

School house lilies in bloom

They found them

On By CarynIn chickens, Garden, Wildlife
Earwig in a hole in a ripe melon

The bugs found the ripe melon. I’m not sure if the earwig dug the hole, or the caterpillars dug it and the earwig was hiding out, but the chickens really enjoyed both the insect and the fruit. I sprayed the remaining melons with diluted Neem oil and Castille soap. Maybe we will get another melon before the bugs do; there are currently two melon candidates for bug roulette.

Chickens preparing to tuck into a melon (the earwig was the first to go)

Artemisia

On By CarynIn Garden

I made the rookie mistake of letting my artemisia get too tall. The tops got too heavy and the limbs laid down on the ground in protest, ruining the pleasant full look. I’ve read that severe pruning will kill the plants, so the plan it to replace the leggy Artemisia with new Artemisia, then keep it trimmed low so it doesn’t get so large as to lay over.

Overgrown Artemisia

Rather than buy new plants, I’m rooting out some cuttings. I’ve read that other gardeners have had success with this method, and it doesn’t hurt to try! I cut six healthy looking ends and placed them in a test tube rack (because I had it). I was thrilled to see roots starting to form after two weeks! I will keep changing out the water daily, and attempt a replant when the roots have filled in more.

Roots starting on the Artemisia cuttings

A ladybug thought the cuttings were a good place to hang out, so I’m going to take that as a good sign.

Ladybug on Artemisia cuttings