Paperwork

 With the garden nearly wrapped up for the year, I have been spending a lot of time in the study, working through the stack of papers on my desk. I’m doing a little workshop on making and canning applesauce tomorrow, and I need to get a handout ready. Banjo wanted to help, so here he is lying on top of my Blue Book Guide to Home Canning. Thanks, Buddy.

Banjo helping in the study

Because I’m not doing physical work in the garden, I am trying to fit some exercise into my schedule. It is always easier to get out of shape than back in. I have resumed walking. We got 3.5” of rain over two days recently. Sadly, it was not enough to get us out of drought, but it was something. I could tell from the creek that a) reed canary grass had started to invade the former creek bed when it was dry all summer and b) the heavy rain had briefly restored the flow to the full width of the bed, but it had receded again.

The creek showing signs of both drought and flood

The goldenrods and New England asters, the last flowers to bloom, have all gone to seed now. If I put my ear up to the beehive, I can hear them buzzing, but there is little activity outside the hive. We will be moving it to its winter location soon.

Goldenrod seed heads, right, join purple coneflower and beebalm seed head formed earlier

At least one Ameraucana pullet other than Silvia is laying. On October 14, we had two blue pullet eggs. I have not seen Penny or Spot in a nest box, though.

Two blue pullet eggs, left--don't know if the second one is from Penny or Spot

At least one of the Golden Wyandottes is also laying. I don’t think we’ve had two brown pullet eggs in the same day yet.

The first brown pullet egg, top right

The girls have still not completely caught on to the nest boxes. We put fake eggs in there to tap into their instinct to lay where other eggs are, yet mistakes continue. Even one of the Silver Wyandotte hens lays on the floor now and then. Eggs on the floor get dirtier and are more likely to get broken from pecking and/or kicking than eggs in the nest boxes. Every time I rejoice that both brown hen eggs are in nest boxes, one of the pullets lays on the floor, and vice versa. I have explained the protocol several times to no avail. I don’t know who’s doing it, so I have to lecture everyone. If I could catch them in the act, I could move them to the nest boxes, but experience suggests they would just hop out, run from the coop, and come back to lay after I went into the house. Silly chickens.