Gardening in My Rubber Boots

May 28

Almost Ready for our Silkies

Coop w/out a hen house

We’re getting a little bit closer to being done with the chicken pen/coop. Just in time for our drive over to my mom’s this weekend to pick up three Silky hens.

I still need to install a lock on the door, pick up the their little roosting/nesting house, add the cement block floor and add the roofing.

There are also the finishing touches like making a ramp and getting all the supplies.

It’s all worth the effort since I now LOVE this part of my yard. It went from being the spot I avoided (except to lie in the hammock) to a charming little private spot with chickens. I even managed to keep the poppy alive during construction.

May 23

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Recycling an Old Door into a Chicken Coop Door

Finishing the chicken coop

I was talking to my mom on the phone the other day about my chicken coop. As I was describing how cute it was, she expressed concern about the door to the coop since they once had a problem with raccoons trying to push through the bottom of one of their doors. It appears those crafty fellows will stop at nothing to get in your coop.

It just happened to be by accident that we were using an old heavy duty interior door as our coop entrance. I’m one of those fortunate people that has an antique dealer living next door – with an endless supply of old doors. I love old doors. So when ever I need one or she happens to be giving them away, I’ll pick one up. I have an old door for my front gate and now my chicken coop.

Anyways. You’ll see by the picture on the left that the door isn’t finished yet. I still need to paint the door white, add the hardware cloth, add handles and locks and mount on the coop. But here’s what we did to transform the door from an interior door to a chicken coop door.

So we have a door to our chicken coop that’s sturdy enough to keep those unwanted critters out, we started with a sturdy solid wood door.

1. If you don't like power tools then enlist the help of someone who does - cigar optional.

2. Cut out the center of the door using a saw, like the one you see below. At first we thought we'd have two open panels but when it looked bad, he cut out the entire center panel.

3. Add additional supports at each corner to ensure the door doesn't sag over time. Then removed all old hardware.

May 16

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8 – Lilacs: My Top 10 Favorite Plants

I didn’t purchase a single one of these lilacs. I dug each of them up from random people’s yards. I then dug them up and moved them all again. That’s why they’re a little on the small side.

Another reason they’re scrawy, is because I was inspired to prune the lilacs to be more like trees. What seems like forever ago, I saw pictures of a town/island on the east coast known for lilacs (can’t remember the name) and all the lilacs were trees and not bushes. I think they look elegant this way. So, until they fill in and get more mature they’ll continue to be on the scrawny side. This doesn’t bother me since they still produce beautiful fragrant flower clusters and for some reason I can be patient with these plants.

I’m already looking forward to next year.

And YES, we have a movie screen on the back of our garage. Nothing compares to watching movies outside in the summer. In the garden.

May 13

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Is the Chicken Coop Ever Going to Get Done?

Safe from the elements (at least the wind)

At least I got started on the chicken coop this past weekend. Some of you may be wondering why we’re putting the coop in front of such a nice big window and up against the house. Well, the view from this window is a 4′ chain link fence then my neighbor’s dirt pile, dog and bright blue house. Their kitchen window also looks directly into this window – we sometimes wave at each other in the morning.No need to worry about the dog getting the chickens, she could care less about birds and actually prefers possums and raccoons (yay). I’m still going to plant some bamboo along the fence to keep the chickens in our yard and block the neighbor’s house.

Don’t get me wrong, I like my neighbors, I just don’t want to look at their house anymore.

I also put the coop here because the dirt is horrible (for plants) and it’s somewhat sheltered from the elements. So it’s perfect for chickens! I also like the idea of being able to watch the chickens from inside the house.

I hope to start working on the coop again tomorrow since I need to get it done before the weekend is over – it’s crunch time! Picking up chickens the last weekend of the month.

Picture above is looking at my house and chicken coop while picture below looks out my window towards the neighbor’s. The hammock is mine but the fence and everything behind it belongs to them (including the rock/dirt sifter thing). I’m planting the bamboo in front of the fence to cover it and create a little sanctuary.

View of our neighbor's house from the coop

May 10

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My Friend Mr. Squirrel

Here is Mr. Squirrel. He comes out of hiding about this time every year and is such a joy. He just sits up in his tree and nibbles on his walnut stash. I’ve never had a problem with him eating any bulbs or plants (that I know of anyway).

He’s a good squirrel because of the two giant walnut trees in my neighbor’s yard (in the picture he’s sitting in one of them). The larger of the two trees hangs over the fence into my front yard.

Mr. Squirrel has a good life. We all love him and he has dibs on all the walnuts his little heart desires. He not only has some buried in my garden, but I bet he’s got a huge stockpile somewhere (just in case).

These walnut trees are beautiful with their light green feathery leaves. It’s a bit of a pain in autumn when the walnuts start dropping out of the tree like little bombs – you really garden at your own risk. Then in the spring I have to seek and destroy all the walnut tree saplings. Other than that, I love the tree and my friend Mr. Squirrel.