What Do 15 Year Old Hens Look Like?

Photo by Gen Netter

They look pretty good! These 2 hens were purchased from a local feed store back in 1997 to go along with some other chickens we got in 1996. We had a total of 21 back then and they have slowly dropped off, but these two are still around looking rather fat and happy. The original 21 included Japanese silkies and bantam cochins like these two.
They have 2/3 of a pony barn to themselves, which consists of the tack room and the stall. The tack room has two heat lamps in it and Styrofoam insulation to keep them warm in the winter. The stall is open on the east side with a wire gate for a door to keep the predators out and still allow good ventilation.

The partidge cochin enjoys some freshly picked clover. They love fresh greens and all sorts of vegetables, but their favorite food is scratch, which is a mixture of corn and seeds.

The buff cochin struts her stuff around the stall.

The Anythink Library Bee Cam

Greg, the Beekeeper, just sent me a link to the Anythink Library Bee Cam. He has two hives at the Commerce City, Colorado location and the library put a video camera on these hives.
http://beecam.anythinklibraries.org/view/index.shtml
Not only can you view the hives in real time, you can control the camera by zooming in, tilting it up and down as well as panning right to left. You can watch the bees as they enter and leave the hives. Very bee geeky.

Rabbit Proofing the Garden

Rabbit in front of the garden

This year we have an abundance of bunnies. Actually, we always have an abundance of rabbits here in Jefferson Country, Colorado, but this year is worse than ever. I've heard complaints all over the metro Denver area about so many rabbits eating folk's gardens. Yet our veggie garden is safe.
Wire fencing  can keep rabbits out of the garden until they get determined enough to dig under the fence to get inside. One way to insure they don't dig under is to electrify the fence. In our case, we electrified the chicken wire we already had around the garden using a charger meant to keep horses in an area.  It supplies a pretty good shock, but not enough to kill rabbits or cats or anything as far as I can tell. Mice and toads still get in the garden. The rabbits are often seen munching the grass outside of the garden.

Rabbit and Garden

 It may seem like overkill to electrify the fence surrounded our vegetables to protect against rabbits, but in truth, rabbits were just an afterthought. The real varmint problem was raccoons, which would not be kept out with a regular fence. Raccoons can do incredible damage, particularly to corn. Once they found our garden, they would come back every year just as the corn was ripening and wreak total devastation on it. The electric fence has completely kept them out.
The electric fence doesn't use much electricity either. As long as it doesn't touch anything, it doesn't discharge its charge.

Billions of Buzzing Bees

It's probably only thousands of bees, but it looks like a lot to me. I just put out a fresh pan of honey comb for the bees to clean up.  This time I smashed it up really well before putting it out so the bees could do a good job of getting the honey out. Once they are done with it, I'll melt the comb down, filter it, and use it for candles.

More Colorado Native Bees

Continuing from the previous post...

I used to think that honey bees did the vast majority of pollination in my yard here in Jefferson County, Colorado. The more I look, the more I notice just how many other insects are in my flowers and many of them are native Colorado bees.

This little green sweat bee, Augochlorella aurata, is often seen in the flowers of my sedum or dill weed. It is a very tiny bee with such a beautiful metallic sheen.

We also seem to have quite a variety of leaf cutter bees and their relatives. Besides this fellow from the last post, Lithurgus apicalis,

we also have other bees in the Megachilidae family such as this tiny white faced bee:

this little bee:

this little green eyed Anthidium oblongatum on sedum:

and this honeybee sized Megachile perihirta with the incredible orange butt:

And there are the bumble bees. Here's one in my Salvia transylvanica:

Here is the cute little orange striped bumble bee, Bombus huntii in Penstemon Red Rocks:

More and More Roses

And even more rose photos from my Colorado Garden, continuing from the last post...

Rose Gilardi  is a nice miniature moss that is pink with red stripes.

High Country Banshee. This isn't the same as the Banshee described by Leonie Bell, but is a rose sold by High Country Roses.  A very common graveyard rose, it's hardy and  quite fragrant.

Jean Kenneally has near perfect blooms, each one on a long straight stem.

 

Kathryn Morley is a light pink English rose.

Leda with her red tipped petals.

Little Jackie, a nice little miniature bicolor.

Little Linda is a pale yellow micro mini that is one of my hardiest reblooming roses.

Madame Hardy, a lovely white with just a touch of pink once blooming damask.

Marie Pavie, a light pink polyantha.

Even More Roses From My Colorado Garden

Continuing from my previous post...

Nymphenburg, a once blooming pink.

Mr. Nash, a large  yellow climber that is usually a once bloomer. Sometimes it'll bloom a bit more late in the summer.  Mr. Nash is the study name until it can be positively identified. So far it most likely seems to be Dubloons. Here it is as tall as the grape arbor which puts it at about eight feet tall. 

Orange Honey is a nice little mini that gets redder as the blooms age.

Rainbow's End is another miniature rose that gets redder as the bloom ages.

Ralph's Creeper is supposed to get quite big, but stays the size of a miniature for me.

Rene d'Anjou is fragrant, repeat blooming moss.

Rose de Rescht, which is a nicely shaped little shrub that blooms all summer. The blooms have a strong scent.