I’ve been trying to think up a name for our little homestead here for a long time now – a year, to be precise. I guess I can be pretty creative, and Josh especially so, but nothing we came up with seemed right.
Back when we lived on the outskirts of DC I used the label [...]
I just discovered the “Partridge Rock” chicken breed. Apparently it’s a good dual-purpose bird and a good egg layer; I suppose I only just heard of them because they’re fairly rare. But look how beautiful!
Via Trying to Be Green
Via ChickenCrossing.org
According to the McMurray Hatchery site, Partridge Rocks “are considered one of the best setters and [...]
I’m not sure how they made it here, but I suspect these nasty tomato hornworms probably hitched a ride as larvae in the soil/manure/compost I imported. They are beefy little caterpillars, roughly the size of my middle finger. (Which is what I feel like giving them.)
A single one of these guys can take down an [...]
This is how far I got on the shed excavation yesterday:
And this is how I left it this afternoon:
I had brought down a whole wheelbarrowload of tools because I thought I was about ready to just dig post holes and start building, but no. I had to keep going back and fixing stuff. First I [...]
There are a couple things that have survived the bug onslaught in the garden: namely, basil and marigolds.
I harvested 3 1/2 pounds of basil yesterday! Pounds! Plus a lovely farmhouse bouquet that makes the kitchen immeasurably cheerier.
All that basil rendered about a gallon bag full of puree-cubes (about 40) along with this generous and bountiful [...]
Sent to me by a friend, a compost shed/bin with gorgeous design:
From Groves-Raines Architects, winner of the 2010 American Institute of Architects Excellence in Design Awards. Whole article here.
It’s made entirely of rebar, using a willow-weave technique.
I’m not sure how well or practically it will actually compost, but… do we really care?
Some architects are real [...]
Got this via my father-in-law … way to go, government!
The extreme overgrowth and underbrush on the hillside behind the Richard H. Chambers U.S. Courthouse in Pasadena, California, prompted GSA’s Pacific Rim Region property management to take quick action to avoid summer fires.
Ultimately, the choice was easy: Use a herd of goats. The [...]
Holeeee Moleee. I have never been sicker in my life. I’ve been flat on my back for the last two days. Sleeping mostly, except for infrequent and painfully memorable episodes of wakefulness.
Those of you who are squeamish should probably stop right here. That probably means you, Dave.
What started as an endoscopy/tummy biopsy to [...]
We don’t listen to pop music. We rarely turn on the radio, and when we do it’s to NPR. Nevertheless it has seeped into our child.
Today Sofía found a capital ‘D’ refrigerator magnet and stuck it on her thumb. She turned to me with a big grin and said “Mommy! Putta wing on it! [...]
Wow, that was some doozy of a storm! For those of you who might not know, we had some big ole-record-breaking snowfall around these parts last night. About 28 inches, and 10 more forecast for tonight, with 40-mile-an-hour winds. Drifts topping our chain link fence, burying our grill and patio tables with ridiculously over-puffed muffin-hats [...]