What's happening today - 2018 edition

Very nice variety. I’ve never seen a dark brown egg like some of those. I’m surprised you’re still getting any production when it’s this cold. Maybe they just slow way down in the winter?

What breeds do you have? My wife wants to get some, but I’ve resisted so far.

Honey Bells arrived today!

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Yep, she is a border collie, we picked her up from a ranch in Oregon. She will be my squirrel defense system this summer, or at least that is my hope. Here is a pic of her on the first day we got her last October.

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My Aussie does well in that regard. I didn’t lose any fruit to squirrels last season. This last season I taught him to keep the birds out too. Smartest dog I ever had, my first Aussie was right there too. I like them as despite the name they are American sheep dogs. They should have been called the Colorado Shepherd.
I have been watching my daughter’s pugs for a couple of weeks. It’s a zoo over here lately!

Mama’s home! (They heard the car)

Yeah I’m in zone 6a/5b so I plan on growing them in containers. I will add one more, but that’s it. I may experiment with in ground, although I’m fairly confident it’s too cold here. I have an attached garage, where the figs are, so are the pomes.
Go luck with all of those!
I have
Al Sirin Nar
Salavatski

I just got some cuttings of Parfianka too. Cuttings root fairly easily. A very highly rated one hope the cuttings take!
I’m trying to decide what else to add? I don’t have to worry about if they are cold hardy as they will be protected. an early ripenr for sure. Granada is a good one, but so is Rannii.

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She’s an awesome looking pup. Border Collies are great dogs. Lots of work though, they like to be challenged and kept active. We have a border collie/boxer mix, a great dog, a double dose of energy, great athletic ability (used to regularly jump a 5.5’ fence until it blew down and I replaced it with a 6’ fence), loves to run, and does a good job keeping the rabbits out of the yard when we let her outside. Of course she thinks she’s half cat, walking along the back of the couch and counter surfing for any stray bits of food we may leave out.
She does bark at anything moving on the sidewalk which is an unfortunate trait, but shared by many dogs.

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The blue are from Cream Legbar, the dark maroon from Black Copper Marans.

I find for me the winter egg production went down with the lower light levels. When I added a light that comes on with a timer to make sure the daylight length is at least 12 hours, my egg production only dips a little.

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Lastnight all the drifting was a mess.

This mornings diggout.

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awwwwww!

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Thanks. How do yer chickees handle your brutal cold? Is their coop heated any?

I’ve heard of Maran’s but not Cream Legbar’s. What is that breed similar to?

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Yup, I have a small heater, but the coop was one my dad built for me years ago. He was big into insulation so the walls and floor have 12" and the roof 24". All the windows are equipped with wooden shutters, it does not take much to keep it warm. The Cream Legbars are a smaller breed and you can butcher but they would not be my first choice to eat buy they lay very well. They are an auto sexing breed, which means the female chicks can be separated from the male. Helps when choosing hens for laying.

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Moving some pomegranates around that I started from cuttings last spring. Roots are looking pretty good! We’ve had a low of 14 degrees already this winter and I think they’re all still kicking without protection. I guess spring will be the ultimate truth teller, but the roots look alive and well.

Parfianka and Salavatski

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we have a border collie / aussie shepard mix. very intelligent but she’s a pistol! she tries to herd our 2 other dogs and the cat! funny to watch!

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Yeah, I love border collies. But occasionally she’ll nip me to make me move along quicker! She get’s real apologetic when I turn and face her though.
For the most part, they are a strong willed breed - she does not like the word ‘No’ and will sometimes argue the point.
Built for endurance, she’s done 6 miles with me on foot and kept up on a 3 mile bike ride (although I was careful to keep the overall speed down.)
Here she is after the Susan G Komen 5k race for the cure.

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This weekend I picked up a bale of Pro Mix seed starting mix. I have always made my own in the past, but since time seems to be my limiting factor, I thought I’d buy the premade stuff. I’m planning on starting onions next week. Can’t believe it is that time already.

I placed an order with Burnt Ridge for about 10 different scions. My stomach is turning already with the anticipation of grafting, something I’ve never done.

Gardening season will be here before we know it. Have a great week everyone.

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thats funny about the apologizing! Bailey’s does that too! when you scold her she cuddles up to you licking you, like she’s saying sorry. how can you stay angry at her after that.

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My Aussie loves bikes rides. I have film of him on a casual bike ride. I have my daughter’s pug too.

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Starfruit snack.

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Hey how’s the baby? Hopefully great and waiting to eat some Starfruit.

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Awesome video Drew. Great that you can take her off-leash. It’s too crowded in SoCal, plus too many distractions such as lizards, birds, rabbits, and coyotes. Shadow would never stay near me so I have to keep her on a leash. I do have a great bike leash for bike riding, it attaches to my seat post and it keeps her by the side of the bike. She’s learned to stay there and it’s worked great. I tried with a standard leash once and she almost killed me by running in front of my front tire. It’s been awhile since I’ve taken her out, I’ll have to do this again soon. Perhaps take the family and Shadow around Miramar Lake, that’s always a nice relaxing ride.
Shadow has learned that when we are running, it’s all business and she ignores most distractions, except for rabbits.

That was at my cottage, no cars allowed on the island. When a lot of people are there, I use a 20 foot leash. He can get me going faster than I can peddle at times. I did fall this year, first time last summer. I’m 61 so it’s not as easy as it used to be! I used to ride dirt bikes, so the speed is not a problem,
The dog is 5 years old now. Border Collie’s and Aussie are almost alike. Smart sheep dogs,
Good idea about attaching it to the seat, I need to be able to let go at times. Hoping now that he (it’s a male) is older he will slow down, I know I am!

Jesse (Like Jesse James), loves to jump and chase sticks in the river. I have a really short video in slow motion of one of his leaps into the river… He will keep doing this all day, loves it. goes crazy when he knows we’re going to the cottage. Closed now for the winter.

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