Then She was a He

Ok, so maybe I had slight rooster denial. I should have seen the signs. After all, Pandora, was the biggest and prettiest of the pack with that long silky iridescent tail feather.

And the first time she jumped on one of the other hens, I freaked out and ran into the house and googled, “hen mounting another hen” only to find a posting about “lesbian chicken activity” which described a dominant hen often takes on the role of a rooster in the absence of one in a flock. Two of my chicken-owning friends validated this activity, so I let that river of denial keep flowing.

Besides, she was almost eight months old and had never crowed…but had also never laid that green egg, yet. I googled, “rooster that doesn’t crow” and apparently I could sell this bird for quite a good price. Goggling “at what age do roosters crow” returned much younger birds – 12 to 15 weeks old.

Still, I had that uneasy feeling that she was a he. I googled images of ameraucana roosters and hens and became even more convinced that I was completely confused. But I suppose that the determining visual factor was that Pandora was beginning to develop tiny little spurs on the back of her legs.

I kept wondering, if she really is a rooster, then why hasn’t s/he crowed? Just then a weak, faint strained sound came from the backyard coop. Cock-a-doodle-doooo. Oh no, and again…the same sound. Cock-a-doodle-doooo.

At that moment, laying in bed, there was no denying anymore. Sorry Pandora, but you have got to go.

Winter vs. Summer Garden

Just finished harvesting my winter garden. The last of its bounty, beets and carrots are being pulled up, the greens being tossed over the fence to the chickens. I managed to can a few more jars of beets, substituting organic blue agave for the sugar, certainly not as sweet, with a bit of a spicy bite to them.

I sure do like that fall/winter growing season and the veggies that thrive during those months – greens of all kinds, lettuce, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, beets, carrots. Having more than a month’s supply of fresh lettuce and spinach is heaven. I have decided to leave the Swiss Chard in the ground for as long as it can stand the heat. I haven’t found a summer green yet that can be planted in the heat of the summer, so I’ll just see how the Chard does.

Summer in Texas is brutal and this year promises to be drought dry. Even now in the first days of June we have seen the high 90’s almost daily for the past few weeks. I have planted eggplant, okra, jalapenos, tomatoes and basil. In the vertical garden, I have cucumbers, cantaloupe (a volunteer plant from the compost), and watermelon, for the first time. Watering daily is the only chance for survival in this sweltering climate.

For far, the eggplant looks wonderful, some okra to harvest and the first cucumber to be eaten…for lunch.