Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[Dreamzchaser]

Amazing what a nice day can do to improve the mood of chickens. That and fresh feed and treats.
16 eggs from 18 hens today. I had been getting 10 - 12 all week even though I was out of mill feed. Yesterday was pay day so I made a trip to TSC for feed, scratch, and BOSS. Actually, I got the BOSS from work which was cheaper.

Red winged blackbirds have returned to my area so Spring is surely here. I'm seeing goldfinches too. I hear the phoebe call but haven't seen them yet. I get a nest on a light fixture every year. I love watching the earth wake up in the spring. It won't be long now until the hummingbirds and orioles return.

It is supposed to be a nice weekend. Too soon yet to work the gardens but I can at least get them laid out where they will be. I'm putting in a hop garden and expanding the raspberry patch.

Regarding the equinox / equilux thing. If memory serves me, Equinox is when the sun appears directly over the Equator, or exactly halfway between the poles. Equilux is when the total amount of day light equals the same amount of nighttime. Lux means light or illumination in some ancient language. If I remember correctly. In any case, the days are getting longer and warmer and that makes me happy.

So happy for you! Yeah! Eggs! Very Busy Hens!

It is so amazing to watch the birds and how they know how to come back. I love doing that too.
Have a blueberry tree but does nothing. My Raspberry one, does. I should get more. I love raspberries. RaZ, would you be offended if I ask you what is hop? I have no clue at what it is. Nevermind, I do not want any trouble or smart replies form others. I guess I can google it. Thank you anyways. Hope you have an awesome weekend!!

By the way, well explained my dear!
https://www.wkyc.com/article/weathe... equilux are similar,and is based on latitude.

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/equinox/

https://www.britannica.com/story/whats-the-difference-between-a-solstice-and-an-equinox

 

[riss]

Morning everyone. Had a weird night of sleep but ready for that sunny 70 degree weather today

 

[1muttsfan]

Sally, tomatoes love heat, and while a shorter maturing tomato does grow up here, we usually don't get enough heat days to grow tomatoes that well. Same with melons, peaches and other heat loving crops.

One of the downsides of having a social site online is that it can be very difficult sometimes to understand a person's intention. Because there are no facial expressions or voice tones, it is easy to misunderstand other folks.This is one of the most civil online sites there is, and intolerance or rudeness are not put up with for long. That does not mean that sometimes people's posts may seem abrupt, but I'm sure it's usually not intended that way. We all kind of take each other as we come, and appreciate the value of friends of like minds.

 

[aart]

Am rethinking my pop door/ramp roof design.
I tend to do that.
Wonder how many iterations will pass by before I hit on a good one?
Sometimes I drive myself nuts.

 

[RaZ]

RaZ, would you be offended if I ask you what is hop? I have no clue at what it is. Nevermind, I do not want any trouble or smart replies form others. I guess I can google it. Thank you anyways. Hope you have an awesome weekend!!

I'm not offended. It's next to impossible to offend me. Besides I like to show off a bit.

Hops are the plant used in brewing beer. Both for aroma and bittering. The flower is the part that is used. Many homebrewers use commercially grown and packaged hops. And some of us who like to garden will grow our own.

Humulus lupulus, the common hop or hops, is a species of flowering plant in the hemp family Cannabaceae, native to Europe, western Asia and North America. They are grown from rhizomes and once established can reach 30 feet tall if there is support for the bines (vine stems). Kind of like a grape arbor only taller.

Don't worry about offending anyone or asking questions. All of s have been there and done that. Some of the long term members here may remember my "chicken groping" episode. The typed response isn't very good at showing sarcasm, humour, irony or other parts of speech like a spoken conversation does. Emojis help a little.

So welcome again to the new people. Stick around, ask questions, give responses, and we will all benefit from the knowledge and experiences that we can share with each other.

 

[RaZ]

Am rethinking my pop door/ramp roof design.
I tend to do that.
Wonder how many iterations will pass by before I hit on a good one?
Sometimes I drive myself nuts.

Same here. I can't leave well enough alone. Always have to tinker around with redesigns.

 

[RaZ]

For the past few days I have been getting eggs that are virtually colourless. It's as if the hen isn't applying any tint at all.
The eggs aren't white and they have no tan colour at all.
Could this be diet related? My birds didn't have commercial feed for most of the week.

ETA I'm talking about shell colour. Yolks are a nice orange.

 

[Folly's place]

Diet has a lot to do with egg yolk color, from nearly white to very deep yellow.
Growing up in the Milwaukee area, we drove past Miller's brewery often when it was operational, and the smell of the hops was amazing!
Mary

 

[riss]

I'm not offended. It's next to impossible to offend me. Besides I like to show off a bit.

Hops are the plant used in brewing beer. Both for aroma and bittering. The flower is the part that is used. Many homebrewers use commercially grown and packaged hops. And some of us who like to garden will grow our own.

Humulus lupulus, the common hop or hops, is a species of flowering plant in the hemp family Cannabaceae, native to Europe, western Asia and North America. They are grown from rhizomes and once established can reach 30 feet tall if there is support for the bines (vine stems). Kind of like a grape arbor only taller.

Don't worry about offending anyone or asking questions. All of s have been there and done that. Some of the long term members here may remember my "chicken groping" episode. The typed response isn't very good at showing sarcasm, humour, irony or other parts of speech like a spoken conversation does. Emojis help a little.

So welcome again to the new people. Stick around, ask questions, give responses, and we will all benefit from the knowledge and experiences that we can share with each other.

What kind of care goes into growing those. Was thinking about growing some myself

 

[RaZ]

What kind of care goes into growing those. Was thinking about growing some myself

Hops are pretty easy to grow. The first year just needs regular watering to get the rhizomes established. Pretty much like any other bulb plant. Once they get started hops can spread into a pretty dense mat in the soil. Especially if the soil has a lot of nutrients. Some people say it is an "aggressive" plant. I say it is "vigorous". I like mine to naturalize like daffodils do.

They will climb any trellis or support system you can give them. Unless trained to climb, they can / will spread by stolon rooting, like raspberries. I let some go wild at my last house and they were a PITA to contain. Even my big roto-tiller couldn't cut through the root mass. Michigan has a pretty good climate for growing hops.