Jade Gardens is animal powered. The orchard and gardens are my attempt at a sustainable lifestyle, with the help of goats, chickens and rabbits. The excess eggs and produce that are not preserved or canned are shared with the local food bank. In the past I have gardened in urban areas and find the act of Suburban and Urban Homesteading to be very satisfying.

The hairy stemmed plant is Borage, with it’s simple blue blossom,

always a favorite.

I had an entire hillside planted with it this year, and it is going to seed right now.

Salvia Patens, the clear blue is always a Summer delight.

This photo actually does not show how very blue the blossoms are.

The blossom of a mildly spicey pepper, the Hungarian Black.

The intoxicating oriental lilies, which without would be

a summerless Summer for me.

The only remaining dahlia that survived the hard freeze last Winter.

I lost the giant, pie-plate sized white ones.

The next three images are just lowly potato blossoms!

A simple white snap dragon, dressed in bridal attire.

Sunset through the broccoli seed pods, reflecting off the water,

creating a double sunset.

Dead grasses and fallen leaves, victims of a long dry summer with no rain.

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It has been so windy the last week that getting any type of floral close-up has been impossible but I am hoping to get some decent shots today of all the Spring shoots that are basking in the almost sunny day.

Yesterday I worked for hours rebuilding paths and raking rocks out of the flower beds. The chickens were all gathered at their fence glaring at me as I undercovered worms just out of their reach. It is satisfying to be cleaning up the yard knowing that the chicken creatures will not undo it right behind me. When they scratch, it throws rocks 10 feet in every direction, so the gravel pathways are now mixed in with the dark composed soil. I do have a nice mounted screen that separates out the rocks and larger debris, but it is a slow process.

The sun is trying to warm my deck so I will go out now and appreciate its attempts on my behalf!

The hot pink leaves of the Acer palmatum ‘Geisha‘ are stunning again this year and the tree has grown significantly since I planted it. All of the 100+ Japanese Maples need to go up one pot this year, but I may have to just do the ones that seem the most desperate. I up-potted about 30 trees and perennials so far this year that I would normally have planted in the ground but with Wells Fargo wanting to take my house, I think it best to keep as many things in planters as possible.

The last image is the view from my kitchen window, well zoomed in, and across the street down towards the Hood Canal. There has been a huge pink tree blooming down there for a couple of weeks so I should walk down and see what it is. The water and Olympic mountains can almost be seen, but my neighbors spent $850,000 for a full view so I’ll be happy with the much cheaper peek that I have!

And I am the chickie’s mama! The one that hatched three days before and the new one are sitting in my lap as I type. The first one will be Carloman, or Louise depending on the gender, and the second will be Pippin the Younger, or Bertrada. I had a grandmother named Bertie, and as I child I thought her name was Birdie.

Three more dark chocolate BCMs eggs arrived today and are already in the incubator. These will add to the genetics of my little Marans flock. If I had to narrow it down to three breeds, it would be Welsummers, Australorps and BCMarans, as they are all very sweet birds.

The chickens are pacing back and forth trying to escape their new enclosure, and I see that one of them has made it over. I told them I would be clipping wings on anyone who made it out, and unfortunately it is my prize Marans, Matilda of Flanders. At least she does not have extremely beautiful feather patterns like the Golden Wyandotte or Welsummer who are also her age. I expect them to be the next ones to figure it out.

I actually stayed up another four hours last night and worked on the book. Today I added another six hours and it is starting to shape up. The most difficult task is finding a way to transition from mutant chickens to Lucy Rigg’s Teddy Bear cards. But I want to be available for the juvenile literature writers as well as the picture book folks. The book has 40 pages now and these are just some of the layouts. . .

The fine print says, Collaboration with R T W!

Snow White!

Wrestling that roll of wire took all my strength. I fell over backwards twice! At least I did not land on the pitchfork or large rocks. I will definitely have some bruises tomorrow, but looking out my window and seeing the chicks were they belong? Priceless!

I have aches on top of aches, so am calling it a night, yep at 8:00!