Return from Amsterdam

We returned from Amsterdam to discover that we had a broody hen. Completely unsure of when she began sitting, we waited almost 3 weeks to move her to the brooder house. She had 14 eggs in her clutch. It is hard to watch your hen sit so faithfully for so long with nothing to show for it and so we bought her 8 chicks at Tractor Supply. We exchanged the chicks for most of the eggs and soon they were all nestled underneath her as well as the eggs she had left. After about 3 days, she completely gave up on the eggs. Win/win/win…she has babies, babies have a mom and we have no extra work but food and water. As you can see from the pics, they are a mixture-4 Rode Island reds (supposed to be girls), 2 other unsexed chicks as well as 2 little bantams-just because.

Wildlife:

Our pond now contains a family of geese. Sedge actually decided to take a swim to go say “hello” which did not go over well. Hopefully, the proximity to the house as well as the donkey and dog patrols will keep the family safe until it is time to move on.

We’ve been seeing quite a bit of moose tracks on our walks and Paul saw these guys as he was driving past our house the other day. We are so happy to know that there is another baby moose on the property. We also see quite a bit of bear poop on the walks but luckily no actual bear sightings.

Pet Updates:

Daycare rest break with friend and neighbor, Sprout.

Cats: Paul took the winter window coverings off the breezeway and now the cats hang out there to spy on the squirrels and birds.

Projects:

The back deck steps are finally replaced. Next up is repainting all the decks.

The 2 planter boxes are planted-just herbs, tomatoes, kale and a pepper plant. I am still helping Judy with her massive garden but it is time to see if I can keep any plants alive.

Slowly but surely we are reclaiming our flower beds.

New in the Kitchen:

2 new venison pie recipes this week-one with cream cheese on a croissant dough (store bought) and one with apples on a phyllo base (store bought).

I also used up all last year’s tomatoes that I froze to make pizza sauce. I have enough for 18 more pizza nights and I am finally making my own dough for that or rather my bread maker is.