Our Australorp

Our black Australorp is a very friendly, easy-going hen. She has developed the habit of squatting down when I say "Hi!" At first, I thought this was just a fright response, but now we have a routine where she squats down, I pet her quite a bit, then she ruffles her feathers and struts off. It seems to be something she expects every day now. This photo is of her walking past some Mikado California poppies.

Garlic Plants

Last year the gophers ate at least 5 whole heads of garlic, just before I was going to harvest them. To combat them, this year we planted several of our garlic plants into 5-gallon plastic pots. Here's a view of how they look right now:


Garlic is so easy to grow. Just plant bulbs around November about an inch below the surface of the ground. The winter rains take care of much of the watering until they stop, then just keep watering every several days. In early summer, knock down the plants, stop watering and then dig up the new heads. Several years ago we braided our garlic harvest and had 8 or 9 huge garlic braids...but that was before the gophers moved back in. Our cat, Lola, does hunt gophers, but there are a few that seem faster than she is.

Fava Beans!

The Fava beans I planted last December are ready for harvest. We have been trying different recipes for our fava beans. Above is a photo of the plant in our garden. Next, here's a photo of a colander of picked beans, with five eggs that were laid on the same day.