What did you do in the garden today?

[fuzzi]

I've always loved their peaceful ways, the sounds they make, they are very soothing & calm my anxiety just being in their presence. They're very loving & land on me, they instinctively know if you're having a bad day & need a smile. I used to belong to a racing club and we'd have fun races, take the Homing pigeons to a spot, release & see who comes home first. The camaraderie of the clubs is nice. I belong to a fancy pigeon club now, I no longer race. We meet up every other month, get feed but also talk about events coming up, talk about different breeds, sometimes there will be trading or buying of someone's pigeons as they all have different breeds. When someone brings babies we all gather round...they are just so adorable. There are grown, old, grizzled, tough men that will just hold the young pigeons so gently, checking them over, bragging about a good wing or good pearl eye, it kinda melts your heart. I also have Fantails & used to have Rollers. It is a wonderful hobby for anyone that enjoys birds. Just seeing them fly in unison, turning together, it brings me joy. When I garden, they swoop down close, flying right over me, the whooshing sound & feel of the breeze they create as they fly over me makes me smile. One of my roosters literally says "Wow" when the pigeons fly low over him, it is hilarious. They just make me happy.

They don't like strangers but love when I hold them & fuss over them. I check them for any mites, do a toe nail trim if they need it, basically look them over, they actually relax & coo to me. Some land on me, several at once, knocking eachother off of me, like they're saying "I'm next, no me, I'm next" & it'll make me laugh. I snuggle them under my chin & kiss the tops of their heads & they coo back. They are as sweet, if not sweeter than pet Cockatiels or Parrots. They have great personalities.

Fantail striking a pose
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Homers
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I've done quite a few Dove Releases with my white Homers. It is very therapeutic & healing, as the pigeons represent the angels leading the spirit of the departed loved one to Heaven, & my Ring Neck Doves will pose for photos. Doves are just fun birds to share your life with. (Many say they're also the gateway bird to chickens .)
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Baby pigeons
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Thank you for that post, I thoroughly enjoyed it...and am resisting a sudden urge to get some pigeons!

 

[fuzzi]

I spent a couple hours hauling the hose around, watering.

The nice thing about that on a hot day is you can spray your pants/shirt to cool off!

And face...feels good.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Ya went and fed the birds gave them all water added the extra bucket to the little coop.
Saw on the way back lettuce loose leaf is ready for another garden
salad.

 

[jerryse]

I have a squash plant with some variegation on a couple of leaves. I need to take a picture. I am unable to upload pics to my laptop again. I have to be in the city Monday. Back to fix my gadget while I am there.

 

[Sammster]

Could you keep the beneficial insects confined to your garden plants by draping a floating row cover over them?

I can with my cabbages. Just a few.

 

[Molpet]

Rollers

I have had a couple pigeons come knocking on the door. They hit the high power lines next to me and walk over looking for help. They let me know when they are ready to go back out.
Haven't had any with bands since the internet.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

I did some weeding in the big garden then pruned the butterfly bush back. Then I set up a sprinkler in that garden. My new AC artived today. I got it set up and am very happy it really is quieter than most. My sugar snap peas really need more time so I’m going to try shade cloth to try and give them more time to mature.

 

[gtaus]

Adding 3-year-old Leaf Mold Compost to my Hügelkultur Beds

This week, I was busy cleaning up a large pile of 3-year-old leaves that I had stashed in a large bin. After all that time, the leaves had broken down a lot. I have read that leaf mold compost is one of the best sources of compost but that it does take years to break down naturally.

Even though the leaves had broken down a lot, I used my little Ryboi 18v mower with bagger to shred up the leaves even more. Here is a picture of the leaf mold compost I ended up with after using the mower to collect the leaves...

That stuff is just fantastic. If you like compost materials, you would be enjoying my efforts here.

After many, many bags full of leaf mold compost picked up by my little Ryobi 18v mower, I had filled and topped a 10 cubic foot wagon...

That's a lot of high-quality compost in that wagon! I estimate that if I had to purchase that compost by the bag at Menards, for example, it would cost me roughly $80, or more, for that load in the picture.

I sifted all that leaf mold compost and mixed it 1:1 with topsoil using my cement mixer compost sifter. Then I used all that mixed material to top off my raised beds. Since all those leaves were broken down to almost nothing, there was very little rejects in the screening process.

I don't make piles of leaves in bins anymore because I now just dump everything in the chicken run, along with grass clipping, weeds from the gardens, etc... But thought I would share what some 3-year-old leaf mold looks like when it is finished. Using the lawn mower to chop it up even more is a great way to really finish off and refine the material for final use.

Ref: Cross post from Hügelkultur Raised Beds also here on the BYC forum.

 

[Minanora]

I think those who can use the navage would be immune to water boarding- or that’s how it felt to me

I heat the water for 25 seconds in my microwave (yours may vary) keep your mouth open and remember to breathe through it. Breathe exaggerated, like blowing out candles, if you need to.

I just can't. I think about water in my nose and I start gagging. I tried the netti and almost drowned myself lol.

My DH uses allergy nasal spray.... I tried it once and threw up. Now if I even smell it I start to gag. I'm so sensitive.... it's just not fair.


Today I weeded and weeded my walkways, potted a few plants in pots, watered, etc. it was 94 today. Stay tuned for photos. Switching devices so I can upload.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Thank you for that post, I thoroughly enjoyed it...and am resisting a sudden urge to get some pigeons!

I've had birds sharing my life since childhood, 1st were Parakeets, then I was always rescuing various wild birds in need, especially babies whenever morons destroyed their nests taking trees down, handfeeding many wild baby birds, then the release when old enough is most satisfying. Then I had Cockatiels & Parrots & ran a companion bird rescue when I bought my 1st house in my 20s, yup I was well on my way to becoming that crazy bird lady, lol. For 20 yrs I had a house full of critters...when you have a bird rescue, folks conveniently omit the word bird, so suddenly I found myself taking in, nursing back to health & rehoming Lizards, Guinea Pigs, Turtles, Rabbits, Mice, & cats & dogs. I'd come home from work & sometimes there would be a dog sitting on my front porch, waiting for me. Like where did you come from?! Anyways, I lived in a neighborhood then, so I could not have chickens in my life, yet. But I always thought about pigeons, recalling a neighbor's when I was about 6 & got to interact with their pigeons. When someone came over to check out a Cockatiel to adopt & I asked about experience with birds, he said he had pigeons. I visited his loft in the city & there in the cold winter, were pigeons with babies in nestbowls. One pair of babies had a fat, well fed big baby & it's sibling looked cold, tiny & nearly dead, not getting fed enough. I ended up taking that baby home, raising it, & my love for pigeons was born. I soon had 3 small lofts, Homers, Rollers & Fantails. When I relocated to this place, zoned properly for farming, I added chickens to my flock, then Guineas. I am fortunate that all of my birds get along with eachother. The Guineas may give chase, but there have never been injuries, nor casualties, from Guineas or Chickens. I actually raised the Guinea chicks with pigeons, since both of them are pretty good flyers, plus when I had chicks of similar size, they actually nestled down together. My theory is that the peaceful pigeon nature have influenced my Guineas, they are much more congenial than friend's Guineas. The only real danger here comes from hawks & we have tons of various hawks & sometimes falcons. Having pigeons is wonderful, but like any bird, it is a daily commitment, fresh water & feed, cleaning loft, etc., but there are many other pigeon people that are happy to share their knowledge, & finding a local club is easy, Fancy and/or Homer. It is a rewarding hobby for those who love birds. There are similarities, like the biggest initial expense is a pigeon loft. They do lay eggs but not every day like chickens do & they're small eggs.

I learned quite a bit from old timers in the pigeon world & from several sites. From loft building & styles, to various Dove breeds, caring for, training, there's a lot of info available.

https://www.npausa.com/

https://pigeon.org/

https://www.pigeons.biz/threads/what-kind-of-dove-pigeon-make-the-best-pet.78325/