Orchard Farm

Okay, so it's only two trees right now. But it's another step in our journey toward growing our own food and self-sustainability. The one on the left is an apple tree; the other one is a pear tree (minus the partridge). We're getting another one of each, since they're supposed to be paired up to cross-pollinate. Single trees don't do very well.

That's the apple tree; it's a Yellow Delicious. Not my first choice for apples; I prefer MacIntosh or Empire, myself. But it'll make some great pies.

And this is a Bosc pear tree. It'll have a friend nearby tomorrow. We've got the holes for the other two trees dug, and we'll pick them up either tomorrow or Monday, depending on whether or not the garden centre is open.

We're almost finished with our mobile chicken coop as well. We ran out of staples for the wire mesh to keep the foxes and other predators out, or it would have been done today. I'll get some pictures of that tomorrow. It's a bit crude, and it's definitely not elegant, but it should do the job well enough to keep the birds safe and happy. I hope so; they've been cooped up (no pun intended, really) since they were babies in the box in the garage, and they're not babies anymore.

It looks like we lucked out with our Cemanis; they were too young to tell whether they were hens or roosters, so we found an online trick we could use to give us a fighting chance to guess right. And it looks like we did; judging by the combs, we've got two hens and a rooster. Let's hope we had a single rooster in the other chickens, too, although the odds aren't very good.

So, we're on track for this year's modest goals: we've got a total of eight chickens (three Ayam Cemanis and five Rhode Island Reds), four fruit trees, and three 4'x32' gardens. If all goes well this year, then we'll be expanding next year with a couple of cherry trees, some berry bushes (blue, rasp, and straw), and maybe a cow that we can raise for some beef. It's weird even typing that out, because if you'd told me a year ago that I'd be living on a farm raising chickens, I would have said you've been in lockdown too long. And yet, here I am.

Oh, and baseball season is starting soon. Not the majors; I'm barely paying attention to pro sports anymore, since we can't go to the games anyway. No, Tanner is signed up for baseball, which is his favorite sport to play (although hockey is moving up for him). We'll see how he does this summer, since PEI does allow sports to happen. Did I mention that I love living here? Because I do.