Congratulations! Watch out though...chickens are addicting! I currently have a dozen - 11 hens and a rooster. I wouldn't worry too much about them not roosting. I have six Ameraucana's, two Black Stars, a Buff Orp, two RIR's and a NH Red, and they all roost except for five of the Ameraucanas. I adopted those about a month ago, and they didn't have roosts at their old home, so I guess sleeping in a big pile is what they're used to! They may come around eventually. Feeding them can be alot of fun. Chickens will eat anything! Mine love cheese, oatmeal, sunflower seeds, pasta, basically any kind of leftover you may have. I make up scratch mixes for them in addition to their layer crumbles...the current batch consists of oatmeal, millet, cracked corn and sunflower seeds. They get a few handfuls in the morning to peck around at all day, and they always have crumbles and water available. In winter, I supplement their diet with greens (cast-offs from the local grocery) and some alfalfa, while during the warmer months they free-range as much as possible. I have a portable "playpen" that I put them in to move around my acerage. It's made of pvc pipe and chicken wire and works really well. It keeps them safe, lets them eat all the grass and bugs they want, and keeps them out of my gardens! Believe it or not, chickens really don't need extra warmth unless it's frigid...like way below freezing. As long as they're kept out of a draft and have plenty of bedding to snuggle into, they should be fine. They trap warm air under their feathers to stay warm. This time of year, especially, you shouldn't worry about them being warm! Good luck and enjoy your new biddies!

My neighbors just shake their heads, lol. I hope what I'm seeing is baby blooms since I saw several more on the other plants in the front. Whoohooo! I have never seen any bloom yet but my one from last year and its full of them. They look like tiny buds. I can't wait. Doing a happy dance, lol. Mike I have to move Xena. She doesn't like it in the flower bed at all, lol. Going to have to pot her back up and put her in more shade I think. I was giving her some time to adjust but she just won't grow any new leaves. They called and thank goodness I checked my asnwering machine since they cancelled my MRI in the morning and I would have drove a couple of hours for nothing. I have to call back in the morning and reschedule so I can move her in the morning now. They said the machine was broke.

As always..if there are seeds...Lucy will safe them lol Brenda YES it was. but it did not drop. but it looked so beautiful. Bloom lasted 2 days too :-) I had so many single whites from seeds. That I just put them in gallon pots. Just can not get myself to just throw something out lol. So those 2 ladies really liked them while they walked by one day and walked off with a couple of pots too lol glad you all enjoyed this one :-) Lucy

When the sprinkler guy came out Monday, I had to pull out all of the spinach that had overwintered. It was a whole plastic grocery bag full, which is more than we could eat before it when bad, so this morning I blanched and froze it to use for cooking. The kids hate cooked spinach, but if I use it in a pasta dish I can sneak it past them : ) Yesterday, I moved a couple of mums and hibiscus ROS to an area where I am making a new perennial bed. I know I'm doing it backwards, I should have prepared the area, and then moved the plants, but I wanted to moved them while they were dormant, and I haven't had time to go pick out the stone that is going to edge this area. Where I stood to take the photo are the electric and cable boxes for the neighbors house, so hopefully this will hide that a bit. You can see one of the new apple trees in the background. Once I pull up the rest of the sod and get the area edged with stone, I plan to move some Kniphofia (I wintersowed last year), Lavender (wintersowed this year from Skybird's seeds), and some Alyssum 'Golden Queen' (also wintersowed this year). Happy digging, Bonnie