Chickens and gardening and stuff.

More pictures of my flock, because everyone would be sad without seeing them every. time.  ;)

I can't remember if I mentioned it but Brett ran over his strider bike with the truck and I thought it was beyond repair, but Brett fixed it.

My flock loves me.  (Actually they were just hungry and I had their feed.)

Okay, the names of the baby chickies are: Bryan Soccer Ball (that was Orrin's pick), Stellaluna (Hazel's pick), Taiwan (Talmage's pick), Dandy, Wyatt Jr. (that's what one of the little Kimber boys started calling it since it didn't have a name and it was Wyatt's chick), and one they tried to call Silly, but I said they're not allowed to pick that.  The ducks names are Trimble (the biggest Pekin), Eilonwy (black), Champ (the darker of the two mixed) and I haven't actually assigned names to the other ones, but I like Percheron, Bronwyn, Anuk, and Meegosh.  And the big chickens don't have names besides Claude and Clarinette.

One of the chickies went in the garage yesterday, and when we were chasing it out, it stepped in a pan of oil from where Brett was fixing the tractor.  Then it started pecking its leg and making it sore and red.  So we washed it with dish soap and it seems to be okay.

Fully blossomed.

Jethro playing the piano after a baseball game.  I should update about how baseball's going, but I'll wait until I take pictures at a game.

Happenings over the past while-- let's see, Brett got called to be the second counselor in the bishopric, so that whole sitting together on the bench was short-lived.  He also took Jethro to a Scout campout this weekend (fun for Jethro because Josh and Bryant Kimber also went), and will go with the boys this coming weekend for Father/Son campout.

Here's Ethne with some Cinco de Mayo digs she made at school.  Or as I like to call Cinco de Mayo--the day where everyone celebrates my anniversary!

I made bread one day and came out to find that a mouse had gotten in it!! (A mouse named Wolfie.)

Big nasty fish heads!!

So the story on the fish heads is that, while I have had little bitty gardens before, I haven't REALLY ever GARDENED before.  I feel like I know almost nothing about how to actually garden.  Therefore, I went on pinterest to look up how to grow things.  And when you go on pinterest and read the articles that come up, it doesn't just say things like "dig hole, place seed, water" -- it gives nine gajillion things to do to make your garden the best and greatest ever! so then I decided, hey, I may as well give it a go.  I read that you should plant fish heads under your tomato plants and it will give them nice nutrients to consume as the fish heads gradually decompose and your'll get wonderful, big, plentiful, tomatoes.  And that's not the only thing.  In fact, in addition to fish heads, we put two aspirin tablets, crushed egg shells, bone meal, and tomato/vegetable fertilizer in every hole.  I don't claim it's going to make a huge difference (or even any difference at all), but as I said, I am giving it a whirl.  I felt a bit self-conscious because the other day when I was talking on the phone to Kami about finding fish heads, she said, "Why are you going to such lengths?" and I felt my answer was a little bit lame, but then the next day when Talmage asked me why we were putting so much stuff in the tomato holes and I said that that's what some experts said would make your tomato plants excellent, he said, "You're a good trier, Mom,"  and that made me feel so good.  :)  Plus, fish heads were pretty exciting for all involved.

Holes all ready to go.

Me, picture courtesy of Talmage.  He also took a lot more pictures of the fish heads, but I feel like what we already have will suffice.

And this is my cutting garden.  I decided I want to grow lots of flowers.  This is a new thing. Very new.  When I was young I don't remember caring a fig about flowers.  I liked them in passing as much as the next person, but nothing special.  At my wedding my sister asked me what flowers I wanted her to put in my bouquet and I had almost zero idea.  Now I LOOOVE looking at flower arrangements.  I don't know what happened in the interim, except maybe pinterest?  But anyway, we'll see if I like growing flowers as much as I like just looking at pretty pictures of them.  :)

Anyway, this little bed here was sooooo much work!!  See, the day AFTER Brett took the big tiller back to our friend who loaned it to us, I decided that I wanted this bed here (it was SOO hard for me to decide what I wanted to do--the possibilities are so vast and my knowledge so puny!  I went with a cutting garden because a)I really do want to have a lot of cutting-type flowers to bring in the house and b) easy peasy --just plant in rows).  So then I asked another friend to borrow her tiller (she lives a whole lot closer), and she let me, but it was teeny tiny and did almost nothing.  So then Brett helped me just turn over the grass with a shovel, and once that was done the tiny tiller could kind of work.  

I spent one morning trying to till and after a long time that I felt like I was simultaneously trying to wrestle with a bobcat and till the soil with egg beaters, it wasn't that great.  But anyway, we gradually got there.  (p.s. When my friend Sheila first dropped it off I tried to start it but couldn't, and then Brett called to say he'd be late home I told him that I couldn't start it and he said, "Okay, I'll come home and start it in a bit."  And I said, "Well, I don't know if you can--it possibly hasn't been started for over two years," and he paused and said, "...have I EVER not been able to start something?"  It was hilarious.  He started it after tinkering with it for about five seconds.)

Yesterday was the day I planted all this, and I seriously worked ALL DAY LONG.  Brett and Jethro were still at the Scout camp most of the day.  It was really hot too, but I worked and planted and chopped fish heads and everything.  I was so sweaty and dirty by the end of the day.  If my cutting garden doesn't do well I will be pretty ticked.  The kids also got to plant their own little sections of zinnias.

 And this below is the flower bed just in front of the house.  I don't know if it looks good or not.  I don't know how flower gardens are supposed to work really.  I just hope they don't die, and that someday they'll grow and spread out a bit.  Cross your fingers.  (Gardening makes for such anxiety!)