Paradise in Disguise Hobby Farm Blog

There is so much to be thankful for, that it would take more time that I'd like to spend in just one sitting to write it all down! But, here's a few "favorite" things I'm thankful for: The provision of a home and food, a wonderful life that despite its trials and tribulations, there is much that makes it very enjoyable. The abundant garden this year, including the fall crop of arugula that's surviving the cold temps & repeated frosts. My great parents and the special time we spent together for my birthday, including this wonderful hike. An especially BIG THANK YOU to My God and King who has faithfully lead and directed me each step of the way along this journey of life.  I'm also thankful for all that has gotten accomplished this year, especially the delay in snowfall, because it has allowed us to get many outdoor projects buttoned up before it was too cold. The many pullets and yes, cockerels that have been ha...

Well, it was supposed to start raining today around noon, but The Lord held back the rain until 3 PM. Mom & I pulled more weeds from the garden, plus found some beautiful carrots that were hiding among the kale plants. I let volunteer catnip plants grow among the vegetables this year and what a mistake! Where we used to live they didn't get big but with all the compost they became mammoth. So their huge root systems made it tough to pull up. But we made progress! This bed Mom planted with garlic for next year. We dumped three loads of weeds in the chicken yard - both the huge & small wheelbarrow were overflowing. This made everyone happy!  One small load went in the brooder barn & turkey coop.  The hatchery chicks are growing so fast - sure hope they didn't  send me meat birds! 

A family friend have me her old iPhone so I'm testing it out for posting here on my blog. Below are photos of Ellie's chicks who are growing quite nicely.  The flowery chicks are Confetti the Cochin & Kevin the SFH's chicks. The rest are Catskill Homesteaders. 

Happy November 1st! In the last post, I mentioned that some of the young pullets had begun to lay. One of them that I'd like to highlight in this post is Lydia's daughter, who I've been trying to think of a good name for until this morning. I settled on "Matilda" . Matilda the beginning of Septemeber I was going to sell this pullet, but when I was sorting through them several months ago, I realized that it was Lydia's daughter. In case you've never heard of Lydia before, she's a Partridge Chantecler from Ideal Poultry that I got as a chick in 2012. Lydia is not known for her egg production, but her unbreakable "mothering" fixation, known as being a broody hen. Maybe she just doesn't want to be chased by the roosters. Currently, she is raising 22 hatchery chicks who were hatched Sept 23rd. In 2013 Lydia had a daughter via Michael Jessie, Olive, and she proved to another good broody hen, as long as she didn't share her c...