Chick Days

Chicks Chicks everywhere.  I've overdone it again this year ordering too many chicks.  So far I have the following chicks;

• 25 Cornish Rock
• 25 Mixed Brown Egg Layers
• 10 Cuckoo Marans pullets
• 10 Araucanas pullets
• 6 Speckled Susex pullets
• 32 Cream Legbar eggs in the incubator.

Add that to the 8 Red Stars, Creeam Legbar hen, Cream Legbar Rooster, Black Copper Marans hen, 2 Royal Palm turkeys and 3 White Midget turkeys.

Yes I realize it's a bit over board. But they are almost all pullets and they are easy to give away.

The Autumnal Equinox - September 23rd - First Day of Autumn

According to www.weather.com during the autumnal equinox, day and night are balanced to about 12 hours each all over the world. Instead of the Earth tilting away from or toward the sun, its axis of rotation becomes perpendicular to the line connecting the centers of the Earth and the sun.

“This change in the tilt causes the change in seasons with the northern hemisphere moving from the warmth of summer to the chill of winter,” said weather.com digital meteorologist Linda Lam. “This process includes a shift in the overall location of the jet stream which plays an important role in weather conditions.”

From that point on, daylight in the Northern Hemisphere gradually becomes shorter up until the winter solstice. This is the opposite of what occurs in the Southern Hemisphere, where daylight won’t grow any longer.

Here in Kentucky the days will now start getting shorter and it's time to make those last fall planting and anything that may winter over.

                                                                                      

Kentucky State Fair - Eggs, Eggs, Eggs... It's all about the eggs this year.

Not much exciting at the Kentucky State Fair as far as rabbits and chickens go.  I had a few entries (nothing I thought would do well) but I had to work late the day they needed to be taken in so I missed the entry window.

I did however get to enter the egg contest for the first time.  I entered a dozen in the brown egg category and a dozen in the pastel egg category.

Fourth Place in the brown egg category.  Not to bad for first time entering.  Next year I will enter 2 dozen in both the brown and pastel.  I don't have white layers so I can't enter that category.

It would be great to see my eggs in that display case.


The Kentucky State Fair is a great event.  Lots of entertainment, education and interesting things to look at.  From contest exhibits to the animals and of course the midway.

I did spend a lot of time talking to a great couple who raise Nigerian Dwarf goats.  They were very informative and have pushed me even closer to getting a few goats.  Visit their web site to see their goats. www.hilltopfarmsky.com

There was also a Dragon

And Jack climbing his beanstalk

Not much of a harvest so far this year

Tomatoes have been very disappointing this year.  Flowers just didn't seem to get pollinated.  I'm guessing it was all the rain.  Same with green been, cucumbers and peppers.  Just not a lot of fruit on the plants.  Though the plants seem healthy enough.

The one thing that did rather well were the root crops.  Carrots were big and tasty and the Yukon Gold potatoes were great.  Still waiting to pull the sweet potatoes.  The vines are everywhere so hopefully they are doing good as well.

Started a second crop of green beans so hopefully they will do better.  Still plenty of time to get a second round of vegetables in the ground here in Kentucky.

Rain....Rain....and More Rain

It's been a pretty wet spring here in Kentucky.  The grass is green and the garden is growing.  A bit too fast however.

Most of the lettuce bolted during the earlier than expected 92 degree days.  I did plant some corn and while it doesn't seem to be doing that well, it has shaded a few radicchio plants that seem to be developing ok and haven't bolted yet.

Some early cucumbers and lots of flowers.  My hope is that there's enough pollinators buzzing around during the few sunny moments to pollinate.

The herbs however love the rainy days and are growing like crazy. And the chickens aren't so crazy about all the rain either.