タグ: Garden

May 31, 2025 Farm Notes — May 2025: Eight New Guinea Fowl, Pool Day and Mochi the Rooster Thirty-one clips from May: eight new guinea fowl following Pog and Maple, rooster friendships and rivalries, broody Luna, pool day for the… April 30, 2025 Farm Notes — April 2025: Out of the Crates, Three Silkie-Mix Sisters and a Rooster Who Came Home Twenty-nine clips from April: young hens out of their crates, three Silkie-mix sisters, Kewpie the runaway rooster, broody hens, an orphan kitten… January 31, 2025 Farm Notes — January 2025: Flute the Leader, Little Fukumaru and Parsley’s Ducklings Thirty-one clips from January: roosters with very different crows, Flute our trusted leader, Captain Natsu and the farm cats, little Fukumaru, and… December 31, 2024 Farm Notes — December 2024: A Duckling Hatches, Parsley Becomes a Mom and Quarantine Days Thirty-one little clips from December 2024: a duckling breaking out of its shell, Parsley's first babies, Raven back to health, cozy hens,… ▶ October 4, 2024 Bringing Down the Bananas Before the Hurricane — and a Banana Party With a hurricane on the way and every banana suddenly yellow, I take a new saw to a tall banana plant, and… ▶ June 7, 2024 Goodbye, Sonata: A New Grey Rooster, the Cat Room, and Bananas We say a gentle goodbye to Sonata, welcome a grey rooster of the same breed, meet the cats in our cat room,… ▶ May 3, 2024 Rooster News, Busy Senior Hens — and the Guppies We Thought Were Gone Iruka moves back indoors, the senior hens start laying again, and the duckweed pond hides a wonderful surprise: around 50 baby guppies. April 30, 2024 Farm Notes — April 2024: Lost Chicks Rescued, Grey’s Babies and Kittens Learning to Trust Thirty little clips from April: lost chicks rescued in Kailua, Grey's babies, kittens learning to trust people, Aurora goes broody and rooster… ▶ April 11, 2024 Fixing the Fence and Evicting Hens — Farming Is a Real Workout I put up steel hardware cloth where the goats keep breaking in, then wrestle stubborn hens out of the packed nest boxes.… ▶ February 23, 2024 Episode 300! Meet Nanoaru, and a Nest Box Full of Balloons Our 300th episode: surprise banana bunches, our farm-born baby goat all grown up, a young stray hen named Nanoaru, and broody hens… ▶ February 20, 2024 A Giant Fire Ant Nest, and Our New Pond Gets Guppies Dried grasshopper treats (Natsu the cat loves them most), dealing with a fire ant mound, a new pond with water plants and… ▶ January 15, 2024 Fresh Greens for All — and Ryu’s First Crow in the Year of the Dragon Rainy-season grass grows fast, so I cut armfuls for the flock. Barbie is broody for the first time, and at sunset Ryu… ▶ December 15, 2023 Mulch for the Mud, a Grub Chase and a Mealworm Feast Fresh mulch for the rain-soaked playground turns up an invasive beetle grub — and a chicken chase — followed by a big… October 31, 2023 Farm Notes — October 2023: Goats Join the Crew, Karaage’s Chicks and Happa the Parakeet Thirty-one little clips from October: three goats join as our mowing crew, Karaage raises her chicks, Iroha digs and races, and we… ▶ May 8, 2023 Have You Ever Seen a Banana Grow? Our Banana Plant Blooms Our banana plant is now about 5 meters tall and has flowered, with rows of tiny bananas. Plus: why bananas are at… ▶ April 29, 2023 Spring Appetites and Three New Guinea Pig Brothers Spring brings bigger appetites, the guinea pigs get banana peels, three new guinea pig brothers arrive, and the cran-apple hibiscus moves to… ▶ April 19, 2023 A Cold, New Boots, and a New Collar for Iroha I'm back after a cold with a very low voice. The bananas are rounding out, I finally replaced my boots, and Iroha… ▶ March 29, 2023 Meet Hiyo-chan, Plus Five Little Adventurers and Rabbit Haircuts Bok choy for the tortoises, five orphaned chicks out exploring (and getting scolded), haircuts for the angora boys, and meet Hiyo-chan, who… ▶ March 25, 2023 A Bigger Playground for the Baby Tortoises (After a Measuring Blunder) The baby sulcata tortoises are palm-sized now, so I turn the flower bed into a fenced tortoise playground, after cutting a whole… ▶ March 20, 2023 Flowers for the Tortoise Playground, and Moo-chan’s New Room I plant flowers where the tortoises' playground will be, the cats come to supervise, and grumpy rooster Moo-chan moves into a roomy… ▶ March 17, 2023 A Baby Pigeon Joins the Loft, and Happy’s Husband Is Too Intense A young pigeon with a broken leg, found under a car, joins our pigeon house, where Happy's husband gives it a hard… ▶ March 4, 2023 31 More Rabbits Arrive, and a Guinea Fowl Keeps the Peace I build rabbit hutches just in time for 31 more rescued rabbits, the bantam ladies star in the March calendar, and a… ▶ February 27, 2023 The Othello Bros. Return, Succulents, and Hawaii’s Rainy Season The Othello twins are back, now huge and about 4 kilos each. Plus hibiscus for the rabbits, a succulent experiment, a new… ▶ February 22, 2023 Digging for Okinawan Sweet Potatoes — and Meet Dal I tackle the weedy Field No. 1 to dig for Okinawan sweet potatoes, Sonata takes it easy, and meet Dal, a 90%… ▶ February 20, 2023 Our First DIY Rabbit Hutch Is Finished A search for a cheap cage led to a hundred rabbits needing help. Now the boys' team has a roomy new homemade… ▶ February 15, 2023 Eleven Months Later, a Banana Bud — and Meet Othello Black The tall apple banana we planted 11 months ago finally has a bud, and Othello Black, nearly all fighting-breed, has grown into… ▶ February 8, 2023 Kirin Moves to the Big Room — and Meet Oreo, Now Four Kirin has healed and tries life where the flock can see him (the cage-side fights start in seconds), the lettuce flowers, and… ▶ January 28, 2023 Fancy New Pigeons Arrive — and a Bathing Spot at Last Our rabbits get the bok choy cores, I finally give the pigeons the water bath I forgot, and three fancy feather-footed pigeons… ▶ January 11, 2023 Brownie’s Fluffy-Cheeked Relatives Move In Our neighbors are moving and left four hens with us, and the fluffy-cheeked girls I picked turn out to be Brownie's blood… ▶ November 30, 2022 Helping Find Homes for Rabbits — and the Papaya That Came Back We stepped in to help a rabbit breeder with too many bunnies to manage. Plus wild hens settling in, and the papaya… ▶ November 26, 2022 Rescuing Monarch Caterpillars on a Half-Price Crown Flower I brought home a battered crown flower plant covered in monarch caterpillars. Here's what I know about these striped, poison-storing travelers. ▶ November 9, 2022 Fluffy Bottoms Not Made for Hawaii — Molting Hens and a Garden Tour Tease-chan and Echiseana are deep in their molt, Luna shows how glossy feathers come back, and a garden tour from rosemary to… ▶ October 14, 2022 Cinnamon’s Ragged Wings, a Friendly Team, and a Baby Banana Bee and Nugget come out for a morning stroll, Cinnamon explains her always-ragged wings, and our big banana plant surprises me with… ▶ October 12, 2022 Turning 18: New Flowers, a Lemon Cake and a Solo Birthday Song It's my 18th birthday! I buy flowers for the farm, sing Happy Birthday to myself over a lemon cake, and share what… ▶ October 10, 2022 Clearing Ground for a New Rooster Area — and Meet Namonakimono Morning hellos around the coop, work begins on land for a new rooster coop, and meet Namonakimono, a once-lost chick who came… ▶ October 8, 2022 Who Will Eat Our Homegrown Sunflower Seeds? A sunflower that sprang up in the vegetable patch gives us seeds, so I offer them to Sora, Pen-chan, the guinea pigs… ▶ October 7, 2022 A Flower Garden Playground for Our Baby Tortoises — and Meet Sora I plant pansies and violas in a fenced playground for our little tortoises, and introduce Sora, a friendly chick from the third-generation… ▶ October 5, 2022 Goodbye, Dolly Our very old sheep Dolly, thought to be over 20, has passed away after running around happily to the very end. Here… ▶ September 16, 2022 Growing Bananas, Ragged Roosters, and the Real First Chick Team Our banana plants are getting huge, the roosters are now molting, and a correction: here is the real first-generation Chick Open Team. ▶ September 9, 2022 Homemade Cran-Apple Hibiscus Tea from the Garden I pick cran-apple hibiscus leaves from our garden and brew a bright pink tea with honey and fresh strawberries — after a… ▶ August 20, 2022 Wheat Party! How Fast Can the Flock Eat Three Weeks of Grass? I open up the wheat grass I've been growing in a cage and let the flock have a party. Meet Ringo the… ▶ August 17, 2022 Tiny Chicks from Iolani Palace — and Meet B-chan Three tiny orphaned chicks found at Iolani Palace come to the farm, and meet B-chan, a long-legged girl with a cartoon-style crest. ▶ August 15, 2022 Blueberries at Last, a Bargain Sprinkler — and Meet Jason The blueberries finally turn blue, a cheap sprinkler cools the playground, and meet Jason, a fighting rooster found on Friday the 13th. ▶ August 5, 2022 Nine White Pigeons Come to Stay with Happy Nine white pigeons whose home could no longer care for them join Happy, Kiwi snuggles in, the papaya shoots up, and I… ▶ August 3, 2022 Bedtime Crates, a Nibbled Tomato and a Mountain of Sawdust Feisty young roosters start sleeping in crates, my first red tomato gets nibbled by a mouse, and twenty bags of fluffy sawdust… ▶ August 1, 2022 Fourteen Free Crates from the Hawaiian Humane Society The Hawaiian Humane Society had more donated crates than it could store, so we brought home fourteen — just in time for… ▶ July 20, 2022 Apple-Eating Championship, Tiny Finger Limes, and Happy Grows Up Our finger lime has its first tiny fruit, Happy the rescued pigeon is all grown up (and still scared of everything), and… ▶ July 18, 2022 Our Banana Plant Bounces Back — and a Leghorn Intruder Our banana plant is now taller than me and lush and green. Plus a half-wild White Leghorn rooster wanders onto the property,… ▶ July 15, 2022 Testing a New Egg Tray — Eggs, Please! A feed store gave me a new plastic egg tray to try, so I go round the coops collecting eggs (and broody… ▶ July 11, 2022 How to Toughen Up a Papaya Tree — and a Flock Full of Personalities Why I give our young papaya tree a good shake, plus a morning of sand baths, a crowded nest box, Kin-chan's egg…