Upwelling Ice

In December it is rare to have a sunny day around here. It is even less common to have below freezing temperatures day and night for such a long duration (5 days now).



I have been reporting back to the chickens around 1:00 each day in order to remove any ice from the waterers. Yesterday I walked past one of the wet spots on the property to check for any drainage and I saw an interesting texture to the ground.



I picked up one of these chunks of ice crystals to inspect it closely. From a distance I thought maybe it was a group of frozen mushrooms, after all it was the right height and color.



Upon further inspection it was an ice formation unlike anything I have ever seen. What I thought could have been shriveled and frozen mushroom tops was soil that has been lifted by these inverted icicles as they pushed upward from the field.






The ground here really is excellent, we can grow just about anything.

snow!

We woke up to a winter wonderland this morning and the sunrise over the mountains was beautiful. The bitter wind and cold made chores more difficult, though. The chicken's water was frozen and we are not sure how to keep it from freezing, since it may be a reoccurring problem this winter. We added some canning salt to the water to lower the freezing point but we did not want to overdo the salt so we do not know if it will have any effect. I think in the mornings we may have to bring warm water down there. It is a lot of work to change out the water every day. The chickens were not happy, to say the least, and only ventured as far as the eaves of the coop covered so they wouldn't have to put their feet in the snow. We moved the coops so they had a little grass to scratch, but will have to keep battling the icy waterers until it warms up a little.

Evening Chores

The winter months are a bit slower as far as farm work is concerned. The shorter days and winter rains here in western Washington are to blame for a lack of "productive farm work". We still manage to fit in weekend projects on Saturdays and Sundays but all of my other chores are done with a headlamp and barn boots.

When I get home from work I put on the headlamp and head down to the chicken coops to put food away. In an attempt to keep mice out of the food, I hang it up in the hen house and keep the bulk feed in a garbage can. I still see some droppings around the coop on occasion. In the daylight a mouse doesn't stand a chance, we have seen the flock battling over a mouse, chickens are meat eaters too.

After I hang up the food, I gather any eggs in the nest boxes. I have found that clean bedding helps keep the eggs clean from the dirty chicken feet. I have seen nice plans for a coop with a droppings board. The board is suspended under the roosts and the chickens can pass under the roosts on their way to the nests without having to step on their own waste which is caught on the board above them.



On my way back to the house I usually stop by the garden site to hunt insects. We still have carrots, leeks and peppers. The leeks do not seem to have many enemies and the peppers are lasting a surprisingly long time under the hoop house plastic. It is in the carrots where I have the most success catching insects. The pests come out under the protection of nightfall to do their feeding. I think the caterpillars are cutworms, they are fleshy and curl up when they are disturbed. The caterpillars are stripping the carrot tops and are easy to see feeding with the headlamp. I also kill any slugs I find, I hate slugs.