Island Hopping in the Bay of Fundy

The title tells it all a day on the ferry boats in the beautiful Bay of Fundy.

The score is now 11 to 1

The score is now 11 to 1, originally uploaded by Campobello Island.

Last Ginger was the only one not sleeping up on the roost, all 11 on the top roost I guess I didn't need the other three roosts although I doubt if they all fit on one when they are full grown. There was a lot of squawking out of just one chicken when they were going to bed and I suspect it was her trying to get up on the roost. I don't think it is anything serious, this morning when I let them out she came running out with everyone else.

The score is 10 to 2.

The score is 10 to 2., originally uploaded by Campobello Island.

The score tonight is 10 to 2. The 3 hens who roosted for the first time last night have been joined by 7more and once again they are all together on the top roost. Just Ginger the Road Island Red and the Barred Rock Bantam on the ground. This little Bantam hangs around a lot with Ginger so I suspect it is just down there to keep her company. Ginger has developed a problem with her left leg and roosting might not be too comfortable for her right now. If she walks slowly you don't notice a problem but if she tries to run she has a noticeable limp. I caught her this afternoon and examined the leg I don't think anything is broken or dislocated so hopefully it is just a sprain or something that she will grow out of. An interesting thing happened when I was examining her it took her a while to settle down so I held her and talked to her then once I had finished my examination I just sat her on my lap so she could leave whenever she wanted to and she hauled her feet up under herself and settled in for a chat sat in my lap for almost 10 minutes.

Barred Rocks leading the way

Barred Rocks leading the way, originally uploaded by Campobello Island.

The ladies will be eight weeks old on Sunday and for the first time tonight three of them have decided to sleep on the roosts. Interesting to see that they also went to the top roost of the four to choose from. I took the photo with a flash well after dark so I guess they are settled in for the night. Interesting that it would be all three of the Barred Rocks, I have two sets of three hens of the same breed these Barred Rocks and three Bantam Mottled Chochins and both of the little trios seem to know that they belong together and often do things together.

Poor little guys are scared of the dark.

Poor little guys are scared of the dark., originally uploaded by Campobello Island.

I took their brooder lamp away today and I went out after dark to see if they were using their roost . They were all huddled on the floor in one corner. Now I feel bad. It is nice and warm at night now and they have all of their feathers so it is much healthier for them to start getting used to the regular climate temperatures. hopefully they will start to roost soon, they take naps on the roots in the daytime but they are still accustomed to sleeping on the floor like they did under the brooder lamp.

Three Sisters Garden attacked by Coons, Video 6, July 11, 2011

Very upsetting this morning to discover that the coons attacked my 3 sisters garden and tore down most of the corn and left it in a state beyond salvage. I wouldn't have been surprised to loose the ripe corn later in the season but I have never seen them do this much damage this early in the year.

First Nations Style 3 Sisters Permaculture Garden - Video 5 - July 10, 2011

The 3 sisters permaculture garden seems to be working out very well so far. The corn is a bit short but it has tassels and ears starting to form. The beans are already at the top of the corn and have buds but no blooms yet and the pumpkins and squash plants have started to run with lots of buds but also no blooms yet.

Free Range Chickens

I've installed 164 feet of four foot high electric poultry netting with a solar charger so the chickens are able to explore a large green area outside there normal enclosure. It is surrounding a long narrow section of my lawn and they are having great fun running and flying around searching for bugs and trying new green things.

An Early July Look at the Square Foot Garden Beds

In an effort to make my garden update videos shorter I have decided to do them at various times in three separate categories today's is a look at what is happening in the Square Foot Garden Beds. The other two categories are the non pruned Tomatoes in the garden and greenhouse with a look at the things that are growing with them and the last category is The first nations style permaculture three sisters garden. So each future update will cover one of these topics.

Who is this Mystery Clematis ???

Who is this Mystery Clematis ???, originally uploaded by Campobello Island.

I suppose I must have planted this in my garden years ago but I don't think I have ever seen it bloom before. It is growing in a garden that I have allowed to go wild a mixture of shrubs, trees and perennials in a woodland setting along with wild flowers. This is sort of hidden behind some tall shrubs and is growing up a natural arch that the American Bittersweet has designed all on its own. It might have bloomed other years and I just didn't see it but I'm sure I would have remembered if I had, it is a stunner. If you know what variety this might be let me know.

Lavender and Roses blooming must be summer.

Lavender starting to bloom, originally uploaded by Campobello Island.

We have had a wonderful change in the weather lately. Dry sunny and at last warm. The lavender is almost in bloom and the roses are at their peak. I have never made them before but I plan to try Lavender Wands as soon as the Lavender is in full blooms.

Joyeux Anniversaire Canada - Happy Birthday Canada 144 Today !!

A bit of a long video documenting my Canada Day on Campobello Island. A look at my chickens of course then a hike on the island and finishing up with a look at the local Canada Day Parade.

Putting the finishing touches on the Chicken Coop

Installing the chicken door, a tarp for shade and protection for rain and the new large hanging feeder and three gallon water fountain.

The method I'm using, this year, to grow five heirloom Tomatoes

This year I'm growing five heirloom varieties of Tomatoes Buckbee's New , Black Cherry, Matts Wild Cherry, Oregon Spring and Stupice. I'm also doing something that I have never tried before I'm not going to prune off the sucker growth on any of the varieties. One of the gardeners that I follow on YouTube, http://www.youtube.com/user/baconsoda , Brendan in Ireland did an experiment last year with some of his tomatoes and found very little difference between those that were pruned and those that were not. The only problem that I can see that this might cause for me is getting all of the tomatoes to ripen in our short season and that really isn't a problem as I want a lot of green tomatoes this year to make Chow Chow.

A little more information on the varieties: (Descriptions are quoted from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds , Territorial Seeds and Johnny's Selected Seeds.)

Buckbee's New - A pre-1930 variety introduced by H.W. Buckbee of Rockford, Illinois. Their 1930 catalog states, "The largest fruited, the smoothest, the finest in quality of all early scarlet tomatoes." Not as early as 50 days, but this is indeed a good producer that has an old-fashioned tomato taste; red and medium-sized. These are from seed that I saved from last years crop.

Black Cherry - Beautiful black cherries look like large, dusky purple grapes; they have that rich flavor that makes black tomatoes famous. Market growers report that this variety is an incredible seller; large vines yield very well. Very unique and delicious. These are from seed that I saved from last years crop.

Matts Wild Cherry - These small cherry tomatoes are packed with more taste than you can believe. 5/8- 3/4", deep red, round fruits have a tender, smooth texture, and loads of sweet, full flavor. High sugar content (11º Brix). Though the taste is superior, it doesn't yield well and the fruits are soft, so grow on a trial scale at first. Teresa Arellanos de Mena, a friend of former Univ. of Maine AG faculty members Drs. Laura Merrick and Matt Liebman, brought seeds to Maine from her family's home state of Hidalgo in Eastern Mexico. It's the region of domestication of tomatoes, and where these grow wild. Matt gave us the seeds. Some resistance to early blight and late blight. Indeterminate These are from seed given to me by http://www.youtube.com/user/steen1973

Oregon Spring - This now-famous determinate, slicing variety was developed at Oregon State University. Their research shows that Oregon Spring will produce incredibly early yields of 4 inch oval tomatoes when planted outside a month before your last frost date and given no protection except on frosty nights. These are from seed given to me by http://www.youtube.com/user/garygardens

Stupice - This cold-tolerant tomato ripens sweet, red, slightly oval, 2 inch fruit that make an excellent choice for first-of-the-summer salads, lunch boxes, and juicing. Stupice consistently gets high marks for taste throughout the summer. Pumps out fruit over the entire season. Bred in the former Czechoslovakia. Indeterminate potato leaf variety. These are from seed given to me by http://www.youtube.com/user/garygardens

First Nations Style 3 Sisters Permaculture - Video 4 - June 29, 2011

A short look at the progress in the 3 sisters permaculture garden

Building a Secure Hen Yard and the ladies enjoying their new yard.

The step by step process involved in build a secure hens yard and them some footage on my little flock enjoying the new yard. I mention a free newsletter about keeping chickens that has subscribers and contributors from all over the world, checkout the website and subscribe if you like:

http://www.keepingchickensnewsletter.com/

A short Time Lapse of the chickens enjoying their new yard. CCTV Chicken Surveillance:

Time Lapse Rose Blooming - Rosa 'Blanc Double de Coubert'

A six day time lapse of Rosa 'Blanc Double de Coubert' blooming. The bird song sound track used with this video is Creative Commons audio downloaded from http://www.freesound.org the sound was recorded by Herbert Boland and the track is called BirdSongEaster2002NL.wav

Corn Cob Chicken Circus

Corn Cob Chicken Circus, originally uploaded by Campobello Island.

Hand feeding the girls a treat of fresh corn on the cob. Five weeks old and looking like little hens with most of their feathers also making it easier to tell what breeds I have.

Check out the video:

SOLAR LIGHTS

SOLAR LIGHTS, originally uploaded by Campobello Island.

I have looked at the inexpensive solar powered garden lights many times but never bought them before. Until yesterday they were only $2.50 each so I bought four and put them in my lavender garden and I must say I'm very pleased with the show they put on once the sun sets.

La Voie Du Puy

This is a copy of a DVD, in two parts, that I made in 2010 for presentation to the Maritime Chapter of the Friends of the Camino at their annual fall meeting. It is a compilation of video clips that I took with my Flip Camcorder as I walked the Voie Du Puy Camino Pilgrimage route in southern France from Conques to Saint-Jean-Pied-De-Port in the spring of 2010. It was too long to upload to YouTube at the time and I just remembered that the file size limit has been increased so I though I would post it to my Channel. This is my second Camino walk I walked the Camino Francais across the top of Spain from Saint-Jean-Pied-De-Port to Santiago de Compostella in 2008. There is a copy of my slide presentation of that walk on my YouTube Channel. I hope you enjoy this little presentation and that it encourages some of you to try one of these long distance walks, they truly are the experience of a lifetime.

At the conclusion of my presentation I gave each person attending the conference a copy of the DVD and this handout:

Friends For Zambia


Thank you for listening to my presentation and watching my little home movie from La Voie Du Puy I hope you enjoyed it. I'm making this copy of my DVD available to you free of charge,(Who in their right mind would buy one anyway), but I would like to encourage you to visit the website of the Friends For Zambia an NGO founded by two of our membership Patricia Ellsworth and Mary McKean,who along with their friend Sally Moore are walking the Voie Du Puy right now (September 2010) ,and make a small donation to help build the school in Lilayi Zambia

http://www.friendsforzambia.org/

The Mission of Friends For Zambia is to support basic education for the children of Lilayi, Zambia. We believe that education is the key to a better future for these children and their families. We put particular emphasis on encouraging the education of girls.

Any donation will be greatly appreciated and if you should decide to be a regular monthly contributor for only $25.00 a month you could sponsor a child's annual tuition fee.

Thank you

Dale Calder

PS:

The official opening of the School is scheduled for July 2012 and if all goes well I plan to attend. I would like to encourage you to support this most worthwhile charity any donation no matter how small will be put to good use.