Finding My Medium

It’s planting season and I’ve had significantly less time to write.  Two weeks ago it was Mother’s day, and for those of us in Denver that means we can put roots in the ground.  My evenings and weekends have been filled with soil.  There was a lot of work to be done in the garden before I could think about planting.  The first step was to clean out the existing vegetable beds.  One raised bed had been haphazardly planted in mid-March with lettuce, arugula, cabbage, radish, and swiss chard.  Already in that bed were chives, parsnips, strawberries, and at the other end some raspberries as well.  I still haven’t decided what I’ll plant in it for the summer season. The raspberries are a challenging companion for many plants, and are slowly expanding their range in the bed.  The other raised bed hasn’t been touched since last fall, and was filled with dandelions and happy little seedlings from the neighbors Siberian Elm tree*.  This raised bed is one I built in my first spring in this house

The chickens have successfully made it through their 3rd night outside in the coop.  They have some supplemental heat (a heating pad made for this purpose), but so far I don’t think they’ve needed it.  It’s as much for my peace of mind as for their benefit.  It’s a bit early for them to be outside, but I went against the rules of thumb for a few reasons.  The first being that I’ve watched them so closely.  I’ve watched them outside in their temporary run on overcast breezy days.  They don’t huddle together or stay near their heating pad.  At night I’d begun cracking the window and watching how they slept, and then cracking the window just a little bit more.  I also read content that indicated that hens that were (safely, smartly) exposed to lower temps when young seemed to handle cold better later.  These hens seemed better able to resist injury during cold temps and continued laying eggs into colder weather.  Lastly, we had some unseasonably warm days here in Denver.  It was in the hi