They Will Find It - Or Why You Need Poultry Netting

So, I thought I would be sneaky and just dig a small bed in the outside garden.  I figured, if it was small and in a bare patch of dirt, the chickens wouldn't find it.

I was wrong, of course.  I turned over some of the ground and made a seed bed, and then planted some various greens and beets.  I had hoped the chickens wouldn't notice, because the ground was so bare there after we pulled up the plastic.  Of course they did;  I can see where they scratched up all my seeds.  It's kind of amazing how they can find all those little black seeds in all that black dirt, isn't it? 

I am definitely going to have to pick up another roll of 2 ft X 50 poultry netting when I head into town for feed and milk.  My husband and I took the long drive to Kona yesterday and I picked up some seeds: radish, turnips, Scarlet Nantes carrots (just finished my old pack and want more carrots), and poblano peppers. I wanted to get some kale and celery, but forgot.  My weekly routine has me going in a very small radius - work, home, once a week to the feed store and grocery - so even though the Kona Home Depot guaranteed has the same seeds as the Hilo Home Depot, somehow it felt like an adventure buying them there.  Sigh, I need to get a life. 

There is very little sun, but, on the other hand, there hasn't been much rain, either.  It's just gloomy, basically.  A bit voggy, a lot overcast, and dark enough to need lights during the day in lots of parts of the house.  Although it is a little bit depressing, it isn't stopping me from running outside or doing the gardening.  The chicken factor is a bit of a bummer - but once I get another roll or two of wire, I should be able to get out there and get some more seeds in. 

Tomorrow, after the trip to town, I am planning to do some cooking and canning:  lemon marmalade, beef broth, pinto beans, and, hopefully, beef stew.  It's track season, which means coming home late after practices, which means I need "fast food" in jars in the pantry.