Michigan

[RaZ]

It's just been too cold and wet to work the soil here. I've planted nothing here and it looks like it will be a while until anything can go in.
My little landscaping business is suffering from this crappy weather. I can't really work any clients' yards.

Oh well, break time is over. Back out to cut the tree into firewood. The city drops me a tree or two every so often.

Enjoy the grey day.

 

[Opa]

Today I saw something that I have never seen before. Behind my shop a robin is nesting on the ground

Finished the incubator today and now I'll run it to see how well it how temperature and humidity.

 

[keyt1969]

Wow opa, both the eggs and the incubator are very nice! We've had 3 robins nests fall from the same tree in 2 weeks. There's another one up there now and we think there are eggs up there.

Aric is making me a honeycomb type setter for the eggs for my incubators out of pvc pipe. I was using toilet paper rolls which work beautifully..til they get wet. We go through a lot of toilet paper and paper towels, but not that much lol. He was going to buy me an automatic turner but I refuse to use them. Turning them myself gives me the opportunity to make sure the eggs are ok. I don't want another egg to explode in my incubator and my face like one did last month!!!

 

[fifelakelooper]

Quote:
I am down to 7 of the 17 vorwerk eggs I started with (17/43 overall including the welsummers and cochin bantams), lots of detached air sacs and non-starters this batch. I go into lockdown wednesday evening, still hoping for some cute little vorwerk babies.

The only seeds I have planted yet are lettuce, but they like it chilly. I also seeded my chick run with brooder greens and they are starting to come up. My tomatos are going this week - after this cold snap is past - from the greenhouse to the garden in walls-of-water, which have been set up for the last week to get the ground warmed up in the new raised bed that went in last fall.

Don't you just love spring

I use walls of water too! They are a pain to set up but work good! I already planted lettuce, spinach, chard....they don't mind cold. I HOPE we are done with freezing temps!

 

[fifelakelooper]

Quote:
Robin eggs are lovely aren't they?? Your incubator looks so professional!!

 

[Chickmate]

Quote:
How odd is that? I have never seen a robin nest on the ground either. I wonder why they would do that when there are plenty of safer places around? The incubator looks great Opa, hoping it works perfectly as well. Did you make the case from scratch or was it something else in another life? How professional looking, not like it is hand made at all!

 

[Opa]

The incubator was built entirely from materials I had on hand with the exception of the $18 piece of acrylic. The temperature wafer came from a trashed incubator a friend dug out of the trash. The neighbor gave me the fan, and everything else was scrap from jobs. The box is 3/4 inch pine and then I lined in with a material called alucobond which is a 3/16th" polyethylene core sandwiched between 2 pieces of .002" aluminum. Besides providing a water proof surface I think the box wall will hold the heat much better than styrofoam. I will have to buy a turner which will bring my total investment up to $60.

 

[Opa]

Old arthritic fat fingers make for double posts

 

[chickendales]

Swap Meet
&
Flea Market
MAY 21, 2011
9am-3pm
Tuscola County Fair Grounds
Livestock, Feeds, Homemade & Household Items,
Toys & Children Items
Garage Sale & Swap meet Items,
And Much Much More!
Help Support 4-H
Space Available $10.00 ea
FREE ADMISSION
Contact Us For Information
Jennifer Beardslee
(989) 717-1370
or
Tuscola County MSU Extension
362 Green Street
Caro, MI 48723-1910
(989) 672-3870

 

[maggiemmm]

I have some old whiskey barrels that I have swiss chard / spinach / lettuce in ... they are all up about 3 inches now. they don't mind if it get chilly . Finally put out my fig trees ... maybe may have been a mistake?? But with the wind and being close to a lake it seems to temper the cold. Everyone around gets hit with frost but us The cherry trees are all flowered .. hope we do not get a hard frost - they will be hurt. Surrounded by cherry orchards.... some get hit others do not. Weird Spring. Downstate is colder than up here. We have very seldom had strong East winds... it seems that every wind is from the East lately. Hits us right dead center across the lake :-( Still have protection for the chickens on the East side - they are happy about that. Spring is on its' way tho!!! The Eagle is sitting in the Ash tree drooling over my chickens! ... Only time I see it is in Spring , Summer & Fall. Winter the farmers trap raccoons and put them out for the Eagles in their fields.. happy well fed Eagles all Winter.
I found my chickens digging in the woods... just kicking up dirt behind them... when I looked they had excavated about 15 morel mushrooms. Maybe I should rent them out like truffle smelling pigs ?? Ya think?
Tomorrow should be fairly sunny ... so they say. Have a great day tomorrow!