The Pecking Order, Literally

It's like highschool all over again in my barnyard. I started out with one Rooster (the rhode island red) and one hen (golden comet I named Honey Pie)... Red and Honey Pie were in total bliss, always bathing in dirt, basking in the sunlight together, sticking together like those glued by the squeeze tube of love.
And then.... the other hens came, and the hardcore pecking, squawking, fighting and bitching exploded. At no instigation of the Red Rooster, this was between the women - and Honey Pie was not going to lose her place as top hen, even if she had originally earned it by being the only one around.

Pictured above is Honey Pie (#1 in the pecking order), I now have one other hen who looks similar to her (see in the background of the pic) - I call that one Skinny Minnie cause she has a long skinny neck. Skinny Minnie by some twisted racist default got accepted right away just cause of her color/breed similarity to Honey Pie - even the donkey didn't bother her because she was familiar looking.

So even though Skinny Minnie turns out to be somewhat of a loner herself, she never gets picked on, she always goes to the coop at night, she gives up the sex to the rooster, and fits in fine with all the hens. This is why I consider Minnie #2 in the pecking order.

The creamy tan colored hen pictured above is Mrs. Butterworth. She is in the middle of the pecking order, with her friend Margarine (who is tan and white feathered, and can be seen in the very top pic with all the chickens together). Mrs. Butterworth and Margarine are both in the middle because they equally stand their ground and peck back, yet also allow themselves to be pecked on and pushed around by Honey Pie. Margarine is more aggressive to those lower then her on the pecking order (since she can only fight so much to those higher)- and for this reason it makes it so Mrs. Butterworth is #3 and Margarine is #4 (she spends too much extra time seeking out the weaker, which takes away from Rooster time).

And then below pictured is Whitie (for lack of a better name)....

she is kind of a dull personality. So unassertive & so barely there in her energetic presence that she is more of a sheep or chicken droid who has no real place - she can fluctuate between #2 to something lower, but mostly has her loyalty to the rooster and doesn't concern over the other hens. She knows were the fertilization is at! She is still #5 in the pecking order, cause she lacks importance to... well... anything around but me.

Second to last on the pecking order (#6) is Beep Beep, the baby chick (see pic below)! Everyone except the rooster picks on her, even the donkey! She is always spending her time running away from everyone or finding a lil' nook to herself to scratch in, all alone. In Beep Beep's mind, she don't even care 'bout all them bitches running around acting all plump and egg layin' --- to Beep Beep I am her mommy and best friend and she follows me all around instead.

LAST in the pecking order(#7)....... is of course my most magnificent, beautiful and stunning hen! Lady Gray. They tear her feathers out, she is never allowed with the group, they are cruel to her and treat her like shit - she refuses to even go into the coop with them at night and has taken up with JuJu the Donkey who doesn't seem to mind letting her sleep perched in her stall. She never initiates an attack on anyone else, including tiny Beep Beep - she avoids everyone at all costs except for myself and the donkey. She has to be fed separately then the rest to get a fair share. It breaks my heart to watch.

Gawd....

do they not remind you of humans? We peck each other into order, we too are still animals.

XOxoxoox

Organic Fall Garden Frenzy

RECIPE:

• donkey poop
• trampled top soil
• hay
• sawdust/wood chips

I know. It's not that exciting looking, it's just dirt and some garden beds that are so naturalized that they hardly look like garden beds. I made them to blend in with the surrounding forest on purpose. :)
But the thing is, it's not just dirt, it's not just garden beds for me- it's the food producing project I have been working my ass off (mine for realz, not the donkey) on for months now and the last few weeks have been a non stop, steady race to get a some beds ready for a fall garden.

I started building raised bed gardens along the donkey & chicken fence - since JuJu the donkee has taken no interest in the leaves or fruit of squash plants, she doesnt even like kale all that much, I figured this was a great place to expand. I started by shoveling off rich black top soil trampled and churned in front the barn, mixing that with unwanted hay, and piles of donkey dookie to make a SUPER fertile place to throw & grow some seeds.

To keep the dirt from falling backwards out the fence holes, I lined up pieces of scrap wood left over from building the mini barn (see pic below at bottom of fence.)

I am not all about making this look eco chic & fancy, I AM all about making this free, simple, eco friendly - by using left over materials and things already available, by not driving out and guzzling gas to buy products that guzzled gas to get to the store.

In fact the whole point of my garden is to feed me, in all seasons, in all financial states - I want to be free as possible from the albatross of vehicles, groceries, and money $$$$$$!!!

This here is how I am trying to be free...........

*

SEEDS I PLANTED:

• spinach
• radishes (red and white)
• rutabaga
• 3 types of kale (dinosaur, red russian, siberian)
• lettuce
• carrots (red, yellow and orange)
• beets
• broccoli raab
• peas

Xoxoxo

My Rooster Has Arrived!

Look how big and red and handsome he is! The chickens are coming this week, but as I have started to learn, if ya live rural everyone has an extra rooster they need to get rid of - my uncle brought over this beauty yesterday. At first the rooster was totally nervous and spazzzzed out - I tried putting in some food scraps and water and he was flapping his gigantic wings at me, crowing, screaming and going bazzurk.... now he is cool with me but said he could reallllllly use some ladies, and fast!
.....
And you can see he knows where to look for the ladies too.....


I think I will name him Chante Rouge!
Xoxoxox

CSA Saturday! (Community Supported Agriculture)

Every saturday I go out, down the road to an organic farm that's in my 'hood - a farm that has a box of freshly picked organic veggies, herbs and fruit waiting for me! This year I was not able to get my own organic garden prepared fast enough to grow most of my own food, and I was lucky enough to remember that a few years ago at the Waynesville NC Farmers Market there was this awesome lady named Julie who was bringing boxes of food all the way from Hot Springs for her CSA members......
I totally called Mountain Harvest Organics up on da' phone and joined!

So here is how it works for me - since I am local instead of picking up my organic box of goodies at a market I go to the farm every saturday. I look forward to it all week long! I pull up to a barn, which has a second story that was converted into a house for the farm interns. (Neato, right? Right on...) Underneath that barn house are the freezers where my box is kept --- but before I show you that, check out their awesome greenhouses ... There are several greenhouses where food is being grown, to extend the seasons for their CSA members and their own kitchen table. This is in addition to the 4 acres of farmland they recently fenced in high enough to keep out the deer. There are also pigs and goats - which I hope to get to pics of another time for ya'll!

Inside this greenhouse is tomatoes - which I totally can not eat... the cool thing about a small organic CSA is that the owners Julie and Carl are kind enough to replace/substitute some other veggies for the shit I am allergic too...YAY!

I usually pick up some potted herbs and flowers too, for discounted prices - they said late in the season people don't buy them much at the market so I have been building an herb empire at the Luck Cabin for a very small fee --- herbs i use in cooking every single day.

After getting some live herbs, I go down under the barn house to the big industrial looking fridge to grab my box!

I buy the big box - there are two sizes and the big one is really for a family but since I cook every single meal from scratch every single day and rely heavily on vegetables as the part of my diet I CAN have - I pay $25 for the week of cornucopia. Pretty sweet deal when you realize how much you pay for all this in the store - I get things like bok choy, chinese cabbage, broccoli, onions, kale, lettuce, kohlrabi, radishes, turnips, squash, cucumbers..... and even had two weeks of the most DELICIOUS strawberries of my LIFE!!!

I stick my money in an envelope - for this farm, I pay either per week, per month, and I bet they wouldn't mind if you paid for the year too! ;)

BTW- my last name is kinda mis-spelled here .... it's pronounced REE_SHARD.

Thanks to Julie and Carl for making my life 100x's easier, better, and tastier!!!!!!!!!!

XOXO

Clearing A Space For My Organic Garden Part 3

Remember this crazy sh*t? I have been clearing this spot slowly for the last month, because it is the only sunny spot on my land and was already somewhat clear due to it being under the rural power lines. I lucked out majorly when my cousin Matt came over the last 2 weeks with a chainsaw to move all the big trees that had already been felled - then he came and tilled the space yesterday!!!!

Most the clearing was done with just clippers and a handsaw - the chainsaw & tiller are the sprinkles on my happy cake! I have already started to put out some seeds including carrots, collards, lettuce, turnips, broccoli raab, green beans and red onion sets. And I am not going to stop there, in about a week I am going to set out all the hot plants like squash (winter and summer varieties), cucumbers, melons, and those unreal penis shaped peppers I bought ... :)
In the large tree stumps that were hollow, I filled them with dirt and planted lettuce, kale, dill and chamomile in them ... the kale is already sprouting! Dead tree stumps are like big awesome pots to plant in. (Thanks Matt for the cool idea!)
Woo! Can't wait till it all grows and I can eat it all up! It's worth every second of 'hard' work.

XOxoxo