He's a Ladies Man...

Foghorn Leghorn, the new rooster. Summer, 2010

There's a new rooster in the house. Welcome Foghorn, the Brown Leghorn.

Foghorn with the Ladies. Summer, 2010

Though young, and just getting his tail feathers, Foghorn is settling into life on the Ranch. He's out scratching with the girls and crowing - though he could be described (kindly) as more of a lyric tenor than a basso profundo.

Blue sky?

Sharksfin Rock, Summer 2010

Could it be? I forgot because I haven't seen the sun or the sky for months!
I think I saw my shadow?!

Exciting news from the garden!

Nasturtiums, Summer 2010

It's been fog, fog, fog all summer. Good-bye sad tomatoes and hello happy cool and leafy plants.


Manoa lettuce, Summer 2010

Multiple beds of mixed lettuce greens, two rows of peas, carrots and lots of crucifers this summer. At Family Work Week, we ate our way through a big row of potatoes and lettuce and had rapini, brocolli, chard and herbs for every meal.

Peas! Better than candy! Summer, 2010

Best of all - the garden has new netting to keep out the sparrows, ravens, peacocks, chickens, sheep, cows, deer, etc. We ordered a 60'x90' black bird net and w/ everyone at FWW took down the old & put up the new. It's beautiful, it has a 10 year warranty and it lets in more light! Wow!

Check out the new & almost invisible garden netting. Summer, 2010

Chicken nursery

Proud mama Cuckoo in her recycled olive barrel house.

When the Cuckoo Moran hen turned broody we eventually got her some chicks - 3 Dominiques and 3 Black Wyandottes. She accepted them, settled in and was an excellent and attentive mother.

As we didn't have a safe place to keep her in the chicken yard, so we gave her in a recycled olive barrel for nesting and put her and the little ones in a barn stall. At night we could close them all up to protect them from varmits.

Cuckoo and her young'uns locked up for the night.


The chicks did well, and are now out and about, running in their little gang of teenyboopers. At night they sleep in the chicken house with the big girls. Cuckoo is back to laying her beautiful dark brown eggs.

BUTTER! How could something so pretty possibly be bad for you?!

Fresh cultured butter & the source - Bessie!

This is cultured butter: heavy cream is thickened with buttermilk, allowed to ripen 12 hours and then churned, rinsed, salted and patted into cubes. One liter of cream makes 3/4 of a pound of beautiful butter. Spring grass makes for a pretty yellow. Delicious!

Another quality product from Bessie...

Angeline, April 26, 2010

Born April 26th, Angeline is a happy and thriving heifer calf. Her father is a Black Angus so she is much darker colored then Bessie.

She fits right in with the family group - Bessie, Howdy, Sunshine and now - Angeline!

The Rudy herd: Angeline, Bessie, Howdy & Sunshine

Introducing Walter, and the other new lambs...

Lambing season has begun again.

Walter and his Mother. February 1, 2010

Walter is the eldest, born at the end of January, followed swiftly by cousins Edna, Valentino and Cocoa. Twin girls were born last night, as yet unnamed - already up and in the pasture, feeding and exploring the world.

One lamb born dead and found cold under the trees. Mother and baby put into the stall, where she pawed and nuzzled him all morning. Yesterday and today she still is walking around calling for him - inconsolable.

Lambies taking a afternoon rest with their Mothers.

Probably five more births to go - meanwhile the barnyard has become a lamb nursery as the mothers and babies feed and rest on the new green grass.