I just came up with this idea of a weekly update on the happenings at Farmstead Smith! Maybe it's a cool thing? Maybe not. But Sundays are always real slow on Steemit and it always makes me have a hard time posting something. So, Sunday seems like a good day to do a sort of weekly culmination of happenings!
Today we moved the ducks from one paddock to the other! Now they're in a larger area for more grassy bits to eat while the other area gets to sit for a while and rejuvenate. We are thinking of throwing some Barley seed out in the area and watering it to see if it will grow any! I should do that tonight. Oh, and I need a better sprinkler.
We also bought them a larger kiddie pool! It's deeper (therefore more difficult for us to dump... HOWEVER) so the geese will be so much happier to actually be able to do a little swimming. They seemed pretty darn excited for their new space today. They immediately started munching down on everything in their path! Haha.
That's they're new space. And below is their old space. They did a great job mowing for me! Okay, they did a somewhat spotty job mowing. But hey, I don't have to mow there! Haha.
I got three eggs today. Well, sort of. One egg was another shell-less/rubber egg and it was laid on the poop deck (gross). One egg I found out around the coop in a random spot. I think it's a new layer, and she got too hot in the nesting box, or distracted, and left the coop and it just plopped out of her randomly. Haha. And then a regular egg.
A Cuckoo Marans started laying this week along with a second Easter Egger (I think). The blue/green egg above is from My Bestie Chicken, she's and Easter Egger! The Cuckoo Marans' eggs are not super dark, but darker than I thought they were going to be since they are hatchery birds. I am very happy with them!
Last Sunday we got the Quail Pen finished and set up. They've been in for a week now, and seem to still be doing well. Today I set the sprinkler next to their space so they could get a little bit cooler. They seemed to like that. I did find one of the males in the little mixing bowl houses today! That made me happy.
Earlier this week I bought three trees that I still need to plant. Oh boy. Figuring out where to plant a tree is SO HARD. It feels SO FINAL. They're not really anything spectacular. Kind of late in the year for anything great to be on the rack, but I got a Corkscrew/Curly Willow, a Magnolia, and a Golden Chain Tree. They were on sale for $10 each. I really need to find a spot for them. Because I forgot to get the guys to plant them this weekend, I may have to do it myself this week. Boo. Anyway, these trees are mostly decorative, but, the willow can be made into a fantastic rooting hormone! So at least that's useful! Ha
I know I said previously that the ground squirrels ate all my plants. Well, they did not eat a few cucumber plants or my tomato plants. They are still kicking. The cucumbers are producing flowers, no fruit that I've seen yet. The tomato plants, well, I honestly thought they were going to die. But they are now turning back to green and producing flowers. The cherry tomato plant is popping out some little 'maters.
As always 
Photos by me using my iPhone 6s, unless stated otherwise!
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