Feathers of a different kind...

RMan was walking outside when his sharp eagle eyes spotted a couple of these feathers lying on the ground.

A feather from the Cape Parrot?

Whaaaaaaat???

I have never seen a bird with these colours / markings here where we live.

The Cape Parrot is the one in the lower
 right hand corner

Consulting my Robert Birds of Southern Africa book, the only bird I can possibly identify it with is a Cape Parrot.  But, again, I have never heard anyone mention it...

The distribution map shows that although it's
 name Cape Parrot, it does not frequent this
  part of South Africa...

A Cape Parrot - which is not normally found in the (Western or any) Cape??

But there is no other bird in the book which comes even close to those markings / colour.

Naturally, I am keeping my eyes peeled for a repeat visit so that I can confirm the sighting.

But, if any of my readers can help me confirm / re-identify which bird these feathers belong to I would be very grateful.

~

We have been having a plethora of absolutely breath taking sunrises and sunsets - and I have to share these pics I took of the sunrise from the 20th June.

Skies such as this mesmerise me. 

The colours lingered for such a long time -
 almost right up until the sun rose above the
 horizon

And make me realize how starved I was for both whilst we were living in our town house in the valley.  Surrounded on both sides by mountains, view such as this weren't possible.

They provide such an incredible way to start (or end) the day... :D

Chicken feeder

I think I now know why our first rooster was so 'ornery'.  Our second rooster has been trying to 'attack' RMan - who defends himself with a well aimed kick with a sturdy boot, which has never made contact, but certainly shoo's the bird away.

I tried to wait until the last moment in the day
to feed the wild birds, but even then the chickens
were coming back to see what they could scrounge
before they hit the coop for the night.

The blooming chickens seem to be perpetually ravenous - even to the point of chasing the wild birds away so that they can eat the food which I throw for them every evening.

Perhaps the rooster and chickens aren't getting enough and they are hungry, I thought?  It doesn't seem logical, because they are 100% unrestrictedly free-ranging as well as being given a small amount of breakfast (a mixture of corn pieces, pearl barley, sunflower seeds, red lentils and laying pellets) when they are released from the coop in the morning, and a slightly larger amount for dinner before they are safely ensconced in their coop for the night.

So I decided to research chicken feeders that I could leave in the coop for them to help themselves to whenever they felt like it, but that wouldn't also feed / encourage the field mice.

I have seen various chicken feeders floating around blogosphere.  And all, except the 'stand on and open lid" one, seemed to be vulnerable to feeding the local rodent population.

And then I saw one that seriously appealed to me.

So, with RMan's help we set about sorting it up.

It entails a thoroughly cleaned, recycled 25lt bucket (left over from when we painted the house) and two drain pipe corners.

I tend to fill up the bucket so that the tops of the
drainpipe corners are covered.  That amount of food
 lasts the chickens for a week - in addition to their
 free ranging all day long.

After cutting a suitably sized hole in the paint bucket, the drain pipe corners were placed facing down in the new openings, leaving a 2.5 - 3.0 cm space between the base of the paint bucket and the lowest point of the drain pipe corner, and they were then siliconed into place.  That 2 - 3 cm gap will allow the food to continuously fall within reach of the internal drain pipe corner opening / chickens hungry mouths.

As I filled the feeder bucket for the first time,
 and before I had chance to place it in their
 coop, they all crowded round.  Munching took
place in the normal pecking order.

The bucket was then suspended from the roof and placed on two bricks to give it "pecking stability" - I didn't want any overly eager chickens knocking another one out with a swinging bucket lol.  Within 15 minutes of placing the new 24 / 7 feeder in place, the chickens were already inspecting it / filling their stomachs.

The one chick couldn't wait to get it's
head into the feed bucket.  Shoving
their heads relatively deep inside the bucket
 doesn't seem to bother them at all.
The bricks / height also ensure that the
 field mice can't access the bucket nor
 it's contents.

The beauty if this system is that the chicken heads are so far inside the bucket that they don't make any mess whatsoever.  So, there is no attracting rodents to munch on the mess and take up residence in the chicken coop :)

The bricks are under the bucket for stability
 and do not provide easy access for rodents to
 get to the food - too high for them to jump
 without having a non-slippery surface to
 land on.  Plus, they cannot access the food
 from the top either - again, too slippery :)

Serendipitously, the rooster has lost his aggression...! :)

How much additional food are they consuming?  Over a week it is roughly twice the amount that I used to feed them in a single day - i.e. 8 days worth of food over 7 days.  So, no great increase in feed costs, and, by way of thank you, all five of the chickens are now laying :D

Bats aren't in the belfry

At the beginning of May I was standing at this window watching RMan who waas busy with the alpacas in the paddock and noticed what I thought was a piece of wind blown litter in this little bush...

This is our east facing bedroom window (so
 that we can lie in ed and watch the sunrise -
 which we've never done lol)

...Irritating.

So, I had to go and remove it.  That's me - OCD.

Can't remember what this bush is called
 but it came with us from our town house -
 t'was a self-seeded baby from the mother
plant

Giving it a good squizz before attempting to remove it, I discovered...

On closer inspection "that" doesn't look like
a piece of litter.

... that it wasn't litter, it was in fact a bat!

That because "it" is a bat!

Out of the belfry!!

I wasn't going to touch it to find out if it was still alive - which it obviously was, because it wasn't there the next day.

I've never heard of bats that don't hide themselves away in the dark during the daylight hours, especially given that this is an east facing wall and it, the bush and the bat would've been in the sun all morning.

Weird! 

Drying laundry in winter

I haven't used a tumble dryer in absolutely yonks.  Don't even own one.  If the weather isn't clement enough to wash and hang up laundry, I wait until it is.

Our washing line is situated in our back yard close to the washing machine for ease of hanging up, and close to the house for ease of removing from the line.  But that has it's drawbacks.

My winter shaded twirl dry

As you can see from the pic above in winter the sun doesn't reach the washing line.

That's where the beauty of  blogging comes to the fore.

Diana's garden arbour

A while ago, Diana, from Elephants Eye was contemplating what kind of washing line she should install in their new house.  She had received inspiration from another blogger, and this is what Diana erected - a laundry drying arbour.

Yeeeees!!

That gave me an idea :)

Our garage looks like many people's I'm sure.  Plenty big enough, but a wonderful depository for all things non-vehicle.

The new carport - positioned in front of the
shadecloth covered veggie patch

Which meant that my car was standing out in the hot sun in summer.

So, I suggested to RMan that we add a shadecloth covered carport to our property.

It is still close enough to the house to
collect the washing if an unexpected clouodburst
happens by...

The placement of the structure has a two fold application.

Firstly, as a carport lol

But, secondly, it will protect my piquanté pepper plants from frost.

We have positioned it a couple of meters to the north of the shadecloth veggie patch.

Perfect - the old twirl dry is in the  background
 in the shade , and the new washing carport lines
 are in the sun.

As you can see from the pic above, the old twirling washing line is in the shade, but the northern sides of the new carport are perfect for hanging those thicker items which take longer to dry.  There are two horizontal lines - which prevent the longer items from blowing against the car, and also they provide me with twice as much hanging space.

Damp washing is a thing of the past :)

Not as pretty as Diana's - but, thanks for the idea Diana :)

When there is no washing on the new lines you can't even see the extra hidden purpose of this carport.

Winter joy

"To everything, turn, turn turn,
There is a season, turn, turn, turn..."

Early morning mists which settle into the stream
 / river valleys

You have to have contrast.  I am not a member of the "I hate winter" club.  Rather, I relish the cooler weather.  I am more mentally alert, more physically active, and more inspired in the kitchen.

Here are some of my favourite things that I love most about winter...

 

Sunrises...

... and sunsets

Brooding, inspiring, breath-taking sunrises and sunsets.

A wood burning fire - which not only heats our entire home, but also gives me access to an oven in which I can bake...

My darling Rosie

...roasted homegrown vegetables, homemade pies and samosas, bread, lasagnas and pizza.

4 ingredient mealie bread - the smell fills the air,
 and the taste is heavenly :)
(recipe here)

Homemade chicken or creamed spinach samosas
 in phyllo pastry (recipe here)

Lasagne, pies, samosas and pizza can't be cooked on top of our two plate gas stove, nor will the latter three be successful in my solar oven, so we go without / my menu options don't include those during the summer months. 

Rain - glorious rain.
I remember it well, and wait in anticipation
of it falling again...

Rain - filling our rain water tanks and earthen dam, refreshing the garden and cause the land around us to go green - as opposed to the dried out, brown appearance during summer :)

Long and short gumboots - for
use when it pelting down with rain which
forms muddy puddles everywhere, or
 when  there is just damp grass

Gumboots (long and short) to keep my feet dry, chunky jerseys and a down jacket against the cold outside air, and a warm bed to sleep in.  I am aware of all those who aren't as fortunate, and know that I'll never take those luxuries for granted.

Two and a half dehydrated pumpkins fit into
2 X 1 lt jars

Eating summer out-of-season home grown produce - which has either been canned or has been dehydrated in my new Foothills DryAway ;)

  

Homemade jams and beetroot...

 

  ...and tomato puree / concentrate

 

Dehydrated herbs and vegetables (which at this stage only

 include pumpkins and piquanté peppers)

Lying in bed in the morning, cup of rooibos tea (for me) or coffee (for RMan) in hand, looking at the snow capped mountains in the distance.

Snow capped mountains in the distance

  Aaaah!  What's not to love about winter...?  :D

Hydroponics vs ground 1

Following my posting on the basic hydroponic system we set up, I thought I'd give you all an update.

But first, I omitted to share with you the analysis of the alpaca poo we had done.

Alapaca poo analysis

The gentleman we saw told us that the alpaca poo results were fantastic.  Even asked us if we want to market it lol  Perhaps if we had 50 alpacas, but with only 4 - they just don't poo enough to make it viable...

Results of grape waste (pomace) analysis

For comparison, I am also giving the sample results of grape waste that he gave us.  As you can see, the alpaca poo is far more nutrient rich than the grape waste.

Of the various experiments I am trying out, I planted some cabbage seedlings in the gravity fed hydroponic system, and some in the ground below the hydroponics.  [One of my brothers reckons that cabbage needs a firm footing (in the ground) and he is doubtful that growing them hydroponically will work.  I'm not looking to grow champion sized cabbages, so let's see ;) ]

But, and for update on the cabbages I planted only three weeks ago:

This is the cabbage in the ground.  Not much change there, is there.  They were planted with some additional alpaca poo.

The control "ground planted" cabbage -
 not much change from when it was planted
 out from the seedling tray

And the hydroponic one...

The hydroponically growing cabbage - almost
double the size and far sturdier looking
 leaves and plant, and more abundant growth

As you can see there is quite a substantial change.

Water catchment tank specifications

The only feeding that the hydroponic system gets is some Seagrow (seaweed extract) and a knee high stocking which has been half filled with ground alpaca poo, and which is suspended in the receiving tank so that the nutrients can leach out into the water as it fills the tank.

Very encouraging.

I will update as the two plants progress - until one of them reaches cabbage head stage... :)

Home (cluck) home

You recall back in August last year we borrowed - which became ownership - of two chickens ~ Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum (the rooster).  We sorely missed our ducks which went walkabout so RMan wasn't that keen on the idea of having chickens.

The old water tank which became a
 lucerne holder and a chicken coop

Rushing around trying to sort out a temporary coop for the chickens we resorted to adapting the frame of a 1000lt water tank.

In the meantime, RMan has come to appreciate the really fresh eggs Tweedle Dee was laying and which we were scoffing.  We had never expienced eggs that fresh before - you know what I mean? When you crack open the shell of a fresh egg the white and yolk land in the frying pan as a tight mass of deliciousness, as opposed to what we had experienced before with shop bought eggs where the white spread itself all over the pan.  Judging in the very apparent difference, I shudder to think how old the "fresh" shop eggs were by the time we purchased them.

RMan has also come to see the chickens according to the various characters that they have.  And always grins at their loping, side-to-side run when they spot us and think that a handful of food is in the offing...

Two chickens fitted in fine - but 6...?!

When Tweedle Dee became broody, and 4 chicks were hatched on 1 November last year, it was time for another coop.  Together with the "frame coop", we fashioned another one out of pallets - complete with egg laying / nesting box on the side.  Thus the "pallet coop" was born.

Wooden pallets converted to a chicken coop

The two coops sat side by side and worked well.  But, when the chicks were still small, they needed a protected spot to run around before they met Tweedle Dum.

The two coops before...

A temporary barrier of chicken netting sufficed - but only as a temporary measure.

From left to right:
Cluck's larger, Tweedle Dees two medium, and at the
 top Shelly's smaller egg

One of the now-grown-up chicks, Shelly (so called because her feathers remind me of a sea shell pattern) has also started laying.  So now we are getting 3 eggs most days.

In addition, Tweedle Dee has been broody 3 times since the beginning of the year, and, as the rooster, Tweedle Dum, was returned to Eddie because of his aggressive behaviour, which meant that all her eggs are thus infertile until her one male chick 'becomes of age', the necessity of having somewhere to lock her up until she came to her senses became imperative.  Locking her, and the others, out of the pallet coop (with it's laying boxes) meant that Cluck and Shelly didn't know where to lay their eggs.  Thus encouraging them to lay willy-nilly elsewhere on the property was not in my (egg hunting) benefit.

Plus, I wasn't happy that they were adequately protected from the (winter) elements.  How can I lay warm and snug in my bed at night knowing that they could be shivering and uncomfortable in their tiny coop?

Concrete foundations were thrown to prevent predators
 digging their way into the new enlarged coop

So, a chicken coop overhaul became imperative.

Firstly, we separated the two coops to either side of the new enlarged area.  and fixed in three roof support poles in the two outer corners and midway.  The back "wall" of the coop is the shade cloth covered veggie patch.  Then, to prevent the rooikat (or other predators) from accessing the coop, a concrete foundation was poured round the perimeter of the new coop area.

The walls were clad with chicken wire and, with the assistance of RSon's battery operated Skil saw which he lent to RMan, and RMan's table saw, some additional wooden offcut strips we got from the local sawmill were added for extra strength / protection / hindrance.  IBR sheets (corrugated iron) installed on battens made up the roof.

The two coops after...:)

RMan cleverly fashioned an entrance door out of a pallet.

Strong and sturdy door to the coop
 which RMan made from a pallet

Some concrete foundations, p-l-e-n-t-y of screws, and wire staples and three full days labour later - what was the chickens reaction to their new home?

Home cluck home... :)

They love it :)

No sooner had we cleared off from the "building site" than they had to come and inspect their new quarters.  Happily and without hesitation, they all trouped into the coop to inspect our handiwork.

I can now rest confidentially at night knowing that they are fully protected from the winter weather ahead, and that they are safe and secure, and, finally, they have the freedom to wake up in the mornings and have a wander round their enlarged coop until I am ready to let them out to free range.

That relieves a lot of the pressure - especially on those cold mornings - of having to get up when I hear them fussing round because they want out of the tiny cramped coops that they were previously locked up in every night.

Ain't it good to have a handyman around :)  Thanks once again RMan :D

Growing mung beans

I always buy dried mung beans in order to sprout them during winter.  Just having those to munch on prevents withdrawals of crispy fresh produce during the colder months of the year.

This year I wanted to grow some more chick peas.

But, I accidentally grabbed a handful of Mung beans from the pantry.  My brain was obviously elsewhere - thank goodness I went to the right cupboard though lol

It was only once I had chucked them in the ground of the one raised bed, and had just covered them with soil, that I realized I had sown the wrong crop lol

Never mind.  I thought I'd let them grow and see what happened.

What a stroke of fortune.

A fortuitous, accidental crop of mung beans is
growing in one of my raised veggie beds

The mung bean plant is roughly 40 - 50cms (15 - 20") high and wide.  Given it's compact shape and size, it would be an ideal plant to grow in pots on a balcony too.  Perfect for using as a companion plant with next summers chard, eggplant, raddish and tomatoes, it will also provide some important shade for the ground at the base of those pants.

It is quite a bushy and compact plant.  I planted these quite late in the season, and the plants didn't send out runners and therefore didn't require bean supports and just got on with what they do best - grow mung beans.

Fresh mung beans in a pod

The pods are about 7 - 8cms long and 3 - 4 mm wide.  

Inside, the fresh mung beans sit snugly in their pod.  They are roughly twice the size of a dried mung bean.

And the taste...?

Almost ethereal lol  They are very delicate tasting and different to rehydrated / sprouted beans.

Fresh mung beans compared to dried beans

Honestly, it is quite fiddly to remove the beans from the small, tight green pod, but is well worth the effort.  The dry, dark brown pods 'crack' open quite easily though.

The beauty is, each mung bean plant grown from a single seed will provide 30 - 40 pods per plant or roughly 150 - 250 individual fresh, or future dried mung beans.  The pods form 4 pods together on the plant.  The mung bean plant can hold both fresh green pods, and dark brown pods (which encase the dried mung bean).

(Don't forget to freeze the shelled, harvested dried beans for 24 hours before storing in an air tight jar in your pantry. This helps to prevent weevils infesting your dried beans.)

Apart from providing that necessary crunch factor, mung beans are good for you too.  Check out their health benefits here.

One less thing to cross off my future shopping lists :)