Hatch Day (Day 21): One fluffy butt!

All three silkie chicks have hatched! YAAAAYYYYY! Two are this color (blue, probably) and one is buff. More pics will be forthcoming as soon as they start venturing from under the mommas.

Day 20: Happy Birthday Tulip!

Found this little thing at 4:30 pm today (so that's 31.5 hrs since it pipped). Since then Tulip's been joined by another one! So, now I have two little fuzzy butts and maybe one more on the way!

Day 20!!!! We got pipping!

WOOHOO! Two of the 3 eggs have started to pip! That is, they have broken through the eggshell! Daisy and Lily have been fighting over the eggs so I took the dud one (the 4th) and placed it under Daisy to settle it. I'm a little worried this jostling about is not a good thing but watching the hens carefully and may have to separate them if it goes on. I got this shot of one of the pipping egg right before Lily slipped it under her. If you look carefully, you can see the crack in the shell.

Day 17

I guess hatching could take place from tomorrow through Thursday! I candled the 4 eggs last night and one unfortunately died. I haven't removed it yet because I have not fully acknowledged that one of the precious eggs has stopped developing! I am an optimist after all. The chicks are taking up most of the space in the egg with an air pocket at one end ... and not moving around at all so I am hoping that is a good sign. I will keep my fingers crossed that at least 1 will hatch. I took this pic today. Don't they look so SERIOUS?

Day 12

Just 7-9 more days to go. I tried candling the eggs tonight but it is already too dark to see anything. The air pocket is on the fat end of the egg but that's about all that's visible. I didn't see any movement but my guess is that it is a pretty tight squeeze in there right now so maybe I ought not see too much movement. The wait is killing me! I hear that Daisy and Lily can feel the chick's heart beat now. I wonder what they are thinking ...

Day 10

It is Day 10 (of ~19). Checked 2 of the 4 eggs last night and this is pretty much what the eggs look like now (the video's not mine; it's from YouTube):

*fingers crossed*

An egg at Day 4 (This is what they look like now! ... but it's not my video)

Countdown to Hatch!

Success! I bought 3 silkie chicken hatching eggs on Ebay from muki1234, a highly recommended silkie breeder from TN. The eggs were laid on Feb 8 and arrived on Feb 11th and set under Lily and Daisy the same day. Melinda (the breeder) stuck an extra egg in the box so my chances of success are even greater! My little hens were already broody and took to mothering immediately! They sit all day, leaving the nest only once a day to eat, drink, and poop. Since it takes 21 days to hatch, I am counting down the days. They are hopefully hatching on March 4. There's a countdown clock to the right so I welcome ya'll to join me with the watch! I'm so excited! If I get a chance, I'll post some candling pics of the developing embryos!

Update: 2/14 (Day 3) - three of four eggs are showing spidering veins! That means embryos are developing!

Update: 2/16 (Day 5) - Maybe it was wishful thinking. Two of the eggs showed embryo development.

Update: 2/16, 7:21pm (Day 5) - Candled tonight and ALL 4 eggs show signs of life!!!! I'm so so so happy!

Plumpness!

Vermicomposting has a lot of benefits! Some tomato plants came up in my worm bin and I transplanted them in a little 12 in planter with 6 inches of soil ... and these are what I got! I've been fertilizing the plant with worm castings and O-M-G (!), the plants has burgeoned into a luscious bush dripping with large, plump tomatoes! At last count, there are over 50 tomatoes and I've already picked a dozen! It is still growing in the little pot and despite what I thought, it hasn't rooted below the pot. All its roots are getting the nutrients from the soil and castings and I've been watering it everyday since we haven't had a good rain for weeks. I love eating my fish tacos with tomatoes still warm from the sun!

Why don't we implement solutions when we know they work?

Check out this TED video about how psychology needs to combine with technological development to fully implement innovative solutions to some of the world's biggest problems.

Raised garden bed, step 1

I have filled my raised garden bed halfway with hay and chicken manure (from Lily and Daisy) and soil so it is taking it's sweet time to decompose. I think it should be ready soon. I am slowly filling the bed with more soil but it is slow going as soil is practically non-existent in the area. I have some starts ready to go, including some parsley, dill, green onions, oregano, chives, and both tomatoes and bell peppers that came up in my vermicomposting bin (yay!). And, I see some acorn squash coming up as well! Maybe I won't need to go to the grocery store as much. 

Is this going to make much of a difference to the world? I know it won't be obvious ... but I used recycled lumber that would have been decomposing at the dump, fertilizer from my chickens and worms (free!), and starts the would have gone to the dump as garbage instead. Maybe I'll make a teeny tiny dent in my own sphere of influence ... and maybe a little more on my purse. :)

One giant step

The first giant step is to separate recyclables. The next giant step is taking them to the recycle center!

Worm ball!

I cleaned out my worm bin today and removed all of the castings, which amounted to about 3.5 -4 gallons worth of material. This is what was left, a hefty ball o' worms that ranged in size from teeny tiny (whatever age that is!) to adult-sized. I've only seen this kind of images on YouTube so it was cool to actually carry a ball like this. Pretty nifty if you ask me!

I should add that I LOVE my vermicomposting bin. It cost me about $3.50 to start! I get rid of all my kitchen scraps and junk mail, have little or no fruit flies, no smelly garbage, I got lots of beautiful fertilizer, and I get to play with worms! 

Best Tasting Water!

According to MSNBC article, "Take a sip! America's best tap water." by Mike Celizic (Todayshow.com, July 20, 2007), Salt Lake City is the winner, followed by Boston and Columbia, S.C. 

I have something to say about this. I've tasted the water in Boston, MA. I mean, I rarely will comment on the water when I visit a city ... but the tap water in Boston is SWEET and YUMMY and surprisingly noteworthy! I am serious! I never thought I could say that any place tap water that rivals Hilo but I have to say that it certainly deserves that title! Boston deserves a special trip just to see if I'm right. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. 

But then, they only test water from 12 cities ... and if they tested the water in Hilo, I think they'd be pleasantly surprised too!

Wise words

"In wildness is the preservation of the world." - Henry David Thoreau

Thoreau, in one sentence, explains my life's work.