We cut and chopped and shredded until we were exhausted - then on the third day we unloaded it all into the dog run at our house.  We had just enough to fit.  While Kevin unloaded, my job was to spread the goodness.  I had the easier job!  It is so much easier to pick up the dog droppings now that there is a thick layer of mulch.
It stays very cool in the dog run area.

We've had a very busy weekend.  


I cleaned out the chicken coop and rabbit cages.  Built a second compost pile out of wood pallets, fixed one gate and installed two more.  I also harvested sweet pea seeds.


Kevin worked on sprinklers and decided we can do without one set - so it got turned off.  He installed a valve on the shower head to divert water outside to the rain barrel - this is the water wasted while we wait for it to warm up.  For now it goes through the doggy door, but hopefully we'll have a proper gray water system in the future.  


He dug trenches around the plants in the garden for watering then mowed the back yard with the push mower.  I keep trying to get him to do the front yard, but so far no success.  


With mulch from grinding a stump in the back yard and old bricks we have laying around he mulched the new trees in the back yard (peach & asian pear).  It looks very nice!


There is still so much to do yet, and none of the raised beds have been built.  Oh yeah, we have a new design (again).  I don't remember if I told you in an earlier update, but 16 feet is too long for a bed.  I had him break it up into 8 feet lengths instead.  Also we are going to put grow boxes around two sides of the house and along one of the fences - I want vining plants to have as a privacy screen.

We used an old VHS tape rack for the chickens to roost upon and part of a wood pallet.

The most hyper chicken we have!

I've been letting the chickens and Rex (male bunny) run around the yard during the day.  I thought I'd lost Rex at one point on Friday, just couldn't find him anywhere.  Then when I was about to give up, there he was hopping across the grass.  He really doesn't like to be put away into his cage at night.  We've had raccoons in the house a number of times before, I don't trust that he'd survive outside at night.  George still has to stay in her cage.  She should be having babies in about 1 1/2 weeks.  I don't want her digging her way under something and having us lose her.  So for now, her only exercise is when I bring her into the house to run around.


My great friend Elva asked for pictures of each of the chickens.  She didn't realize that we have 4 different types.  So here they are.  We have 1 Cuckoo Maran; 2 Ameraucanas; 3 Mille Fluers; and 4 Barred Rocks.

The Americanas & Mille Fluers are the cutest of the bunch.  Peep is the only one that got named and that's because I hatched him.  He is super hyper and not a fun bird.  Can you say "stew".   I put them all against the same background so you can see size reference.

It's amazing what the power of a little scratch can do.  They all come together beautifully for a picture. 

We have a compost tumbler, but while it's busy making compost, I needed some place to put the stuff that we accumulate - kitchen scraps, chicken & rabbit poop...  So with free wood pallets, L Brackets and braces and some scrap lumber I got for about 57 cents at home depot I made a second compost bin.  Once the tumbler is finished (and it's HOT right now - steams in the mornings!) This stuff will be transferred into the tumbler.  Why you may ask.  The pile will break down - eventually - after a few months or so, but the tumbler makes compost in a few weeks.  The faster, the better.

Messy yard, we've been busy making 'stuff' - maybe this will be today's project.

This is a picture inside of the tumbler.  It looks and smells like dirt - healthy and full of life!

Cucumber plants, onions and a wagon wheel of herbs - not full yet.  

In the front are my 6 sweet potato plants.  Two don't look like they are growing, but they are.  These were from the supermarket that had started to go bad - so I put them in the ground.


Behind that are the very scraggly potato plants.  The reason they look so bad is because I've been letting the chickens run free during the day - and they love them.  Potatoes are still growing underneath, so I figure what the heck - let them eat.

One of my favorites.  Because the vines have prickles, the chickens leave it alone.  

The tall plants are the patty pan squash - we've been eating them like crazy.  The shorter plants in the front are the butternut squash.  I've never grown these before.  I believe they will be ready around Thanksgiving time.  Now to figure out how to eat them.

I've never grown these before either.  This is not what I expected.  Unless I got mixed up in what I planted.  These actually look like beans.  But I was expecting what I buy as edamame. Can anyone educate me on this?

It was easier to show you what I have going by taking pictures closer to the ground.  Further on top it's just a sea of huge green leaves.  You have to push and pull and try to avoid the spider webs to get at the grapes higher up.  I figure that the spiders are a good thing - they will eat any bugs that may be around.  And since there are so many spider webs, I figure they are eating a lot of bugs... I'll let them stay as they are doing me a favor.  But when it comes time to harvest, out will come the hose and good-bye to the spiders.