We had to get some of the large plants out of the greenhouse & into the ground, so we got started transplanting early in the morning. First I rototilled the rows again to create a nice tilth to plant into & destroy any germinating weeds. Then Dave ran over the beds with the bed-marking tractor, so we had 3 distinct lines to plant onto, and 1' intervals to decide where to put the plants. We planted lettuce, parsley, fennel, and leeks all by hand. Then we planted tomatoes by hand too! We set up some more drip irrigation for the tomato rows. I got to put in the experimental heirloom varieties I had brought with me from California... we'll see how they do!
This morning when I let the chickens out, I noticed the 4-wk-old chicks had been roosting separately from mama-- they couldn't fit under her anymore. Then this afternoon, I saw the mama hen hanging out with the other two non-mother hens near the compost pile. I couldn't see the chicks anywhere, and feared they might have all been picked off by hawks! But I heard peeping coming from the bushes.
Then this evening when locking the chickens up for the night, I spied the mama hen roosting next to the other hens! And all her small-feathered babies running around the henhouse peeping! I looked at mama, she looked at me, and we understood: it was about time. I'm sure they'll be fine for the night... all their chick feathers are almost molted off & they have nice coats of adult chicken-feathers.
The 2-day olds are a different story-- they are still all huddled safe & warm underneath mama"2" for the night. There are 8 of them!
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