It's starting to look like a garden now

Got the seedlings in.

Mess Tent for the Chickens.

Got a "beach shade tent" to cover the chicken's feeder. I was sick of it getting clogged up every time it rained considering it rains here a lot. Seems to be working well and the chickens don't mind. 

We went for dinner one night at Anchors Away and saw some of the fire devastation close up. It's a really nice fish and chips and ice cream type place.

Partially Scorched

Just Shocking

Sunday we tried to go to a local race track but the day was called for weather and there was just some folks doing practice laps. It was fine, we got a nice drive out of it and even stopped for sushi on the way back.

I took 3 photos and none of them had a car in it. lol

Sunday afternoon I spent in the garden(and kinda over did it. I'm still tired/achey) and I got a lot done. I'm really worn out so no big explanations today. Rabbits haven't eaten the lettuce(yet) and I'm still trapping for them in other areas but I'm also using bobbex/liquid-fence on the garden posts and rocks to make the area less appealing.(The stuff STINKS)

"Its starting to look like a garden now" - Hugslut

This year's garden is finally going in.

I did a lot of work on the garden today. Plenty left to do but it's pouring down rain and I'm feeling stiff already so I'm done for now. The bit I'm building up is where all the low time, high attention crops like lettuce and radishes are going. Most of the garden area will be stuff that can handle sharing the space with the ground cover like squash and corn. 

I have to keep reminding myself that the seasons here are delayed compared to what I'm used to and I'm actually on track. In Ontario folks plant the frost tender annuals "on or after the May 24 weekend". Around here folks say "the second full moon in June".

Before

Started mowing, compost delivered

Mowing short complete

Started cardboard and soil layers

Finished cardboard and soil layers

In the corner there, the layers are going to go cardboard, soil, fresh cut grass, cardboard, compost. This should be a nice thick bed to prevent weeds and nourish the growing plants. The other areas are going to get and pile of compost at each planting site and mostly that's it. (The potatoes will get some straw.) 

The hearse went into the mechanic today for it's oil & rotation visit. They bypass the back door switch for us so now it always thinks it's closed and doesn't drain the battery dry overnight. 

Henrietta is enjoying being back with her flock but her time inside has definitely helped her see me as a friend instead of a scary stranger to avoid. I can easily pick her up now for her medicine and she is often underfoot when I'm out working in their area.

This week I baked some GF bread, canned some chilli, and made up another batch of bone broth. I think I'm going to start saving the bones in larger quantities so I'm not boiling a huge pot of water on warm days. Hopefully this winter I can can up a large supply and I won't need to make any in the summer.

Earlier this week we went to Ikea in Halifax so Hugslut could get some good shelves for her office. We'll likely be putting those together on Monday. It was a very long drive but they wouldn't deliver so you do what you've gotta. 

The firefighters at the forest fires are just on clean up duty now. They're basically going through the burned areas bit by bit and making sure nothing is left smouldering. We drove based a burned area on the way to Ikea. It was kinda eerie. 

insert title here

The pink is the fire, the yellow used to be evacuated but they shrunk the evacuation zone.

So the fire is still huge and still burning, but they announced last night that it was "holding", meaning that unless something changes, the fire is staying put. It's still "out of control" because they don't have enough controls in place yet to contain it if the conditions do change... but it's a step in the right direction.

We are so lucky that we didn't have to evacuate and all our stuff and critters are safe here... But we are both so very tired. As if the looming evacuation order and job hunt weren't enough to keep up occupied, we also have a sick chicken. 

On June 1st I found Henrietta lethargic in the nest box and brought her indoors for a good look. She was dehydrated and her butt was caked in poop. She was also having trouble breathing. She's on the road to recovery now but it was and is scary.

June 1

To save the long nasty descriptions, she has a yeast infection throughout her digestive system. The back end got bad enough to mess with egg production(which is a separate but connected system) and the front end got bad enough to make it harder to breathe(again separate but connected system). 

She's being treated and has slowly started drinking on her own, preening, and even started eating again but only soft or super tasty foods, and so far only a small amount. Once she's back eating her normal food for a day or two she can go back with the rest. 

Today (June 7)

So it turns out the pale and infrequent eggs were coming from this lil lady. I didn't recognize it as a symptom of a problem because I was checking the wrong chicken. I kept checking on Kelly assuming she was the one with the poor eggs, but Henrietta here has had a poopy butt pretty much since we got her. Since I thought it was just that, I figured she was fine... But it seems she's been kind of sick this whole time and the stress of the smoke, ashes possibly making their water alkaline for a day, and then to top it all off I threw them some apple as a "treat" to make up for all the stress. Adding sugar to a yeast infection is like adding cotton balls to a match flame.

These were my best guesses in April.

Same photo but these are the new best guesses

The hospital cage in the living room works great for keeping an eye on her but certainly smells. I have to swap out the cage liner 3 or 4 times a day on top of meds and encouraging her to eat and drink so I am very tired.... and our electricity bill will likely show the spike from all the loads of laundry. I'll be happy when Henrietta is back out with her flock but I know I'll miss the little good morning chirps she does the first time she sees me each day. Poor girl must be lonely between 5 and 7 am.

Okie dokie... that's all for now. Have a good week.