Milan

 I never posted about our quick visit to a cathedral in Milan.  When we took the train from Turin to Zurich, we had a brief stopover in Milan.  I do mean brief - it was only about an hour between trains, so we had to pick something near the train station.  This cathedral was built in the 1950s, and it is not Milan's main cathedral, but it was beautiful.

We only had to walk a few blocks to get to it, and it was nearly empty, so I was able to wander around everywhere and light candles and pray.

There were stained glass windows of saints throughout.

This mosaic was really beautiful.  It's another one of St John Bosco.  There were several large mosaics in the church.

Moving Day

 The chicks are getting bigger, and the shed brooder was getting too crowded.

the turken, two meat birds, and one mystic rock

So, today, Lydia and I moved the chicks to the coop.

They were loving it!  There are little crickets and spiders in there, and the chicks were having a great time finding and eating them.

They also liked exploring the clump of grass I put in for them, and dust bathing in the ashes Lydia prepared.

So now there are 37 chicks in the chicken coop.  I will end up letting them in the first yard during the day, but not yet.  It will probably be in a couple of days, after they get well acclimated to the space and could use some outdoor time.

Update on the Chicks

 The chicks have grown a ton.  We have 37 total, 20 of which are meat birds.  They are the little yellow ones, and are about a week younger than the others.

They are obviously still in the shop, and will be for probably another week or two.  Nathaniel caught the raccoon last night, and we have been readying the coop for the new flock.  I want to make sure it is secure and ready before risking my baby chickens!

They all run to one side of the pen when I come in, but they do have plenty of room.

The Circus!

Yesterday, we got to go to a circus in a circus tent.  I had a blast, of course.  It was Emry's first circus, and Gyunay hadn't been to one in many years.  The boys were fascinated.

Emry said, "You have to do a circus pose for the circus!"

They had a very good juggling act, and I got to see something I've never seen in person before.  Lady Beast preformed Houdini's straightjacket escape while suspended from her feet.  It was pretty cool.

 

Yard Update

 So the septic system is installed.  It tore up more of the yard than I expected, but they smoothed it out nicely.  They will come back to finish grading after it rains a couple of times.

As you can see, my Mexican sunflower and tomato bed survived, but just barely.  They scraped right up against the blocks to that garden.

The green there is the remains of the herb circle that has been there since we moved in.  We had Malachi and Elijah remove the bricks, so when they do the final grading, it will just be part of the yard.

Now this area is going to be my new garden next spring.  I have to remove the rest of the vegetation around the edges, and I'm going to seed it with clover and buckwheat for a cover crop.  

Out front, the tanks are barely visible.  The pipe carrying the treated water runs underground until emptying into the small pond.

In other news, the chicks are doing great:

And Emry wanted his picture taken with Acorn:

July Harvest Totals

 Our July harvest totals are very pathetic.  All of our hens were eaten by raccoons, as well as our Rooster Sam.  The garden has suffered from heavy deer and squirrel nibbles.  Still, there were a few things to list:

Cabbage, Hitton - 1

Eggs - 34

Garlic - 31 bulbs

Jalapenos - 3

Potatoes - 8 oz (These were volunteers.  I didn't plant potatoes this spring.)

Radish - 1

Tomatoes - 2 (Kentucky breakfast tomatoes)

Plus, some cherry tomatoes and lots of herbs - basil, cilantro, mint, oregano, sage, and thyme.  I could harvest some nepitilla, too, but I haven't decided how to use it yet.  (I got the plant from June.  It's an Italian herb, and it's growing well out front.)

In happier news, our meat chicks arrived yesterday, and they are well settled in with the other chicks:

The light yellow puff balls are the meat birds.  The chicks are doing great.  We have 20 meat chicks and 18 layer chicks, some of which may be roosters.  We did lose 2 chicks, one rainbow and one turken.  

Septic

 We have some big news: the septic is finally going in!

That green tank will be going into the ground today.  Our old septic system failed, and we've been waiting on the state permit to put in the new one.  Work finally started yesterday and should finish today.  Here's the view from the back deck, right off the stairs:

The trench is over 6 feet deep.

This new system will not have a field bed, so garden changes are coming next year.

Also last night, Lydia had her concert:

She and Malachi have done the summer strings again this summer, and they played beautifully last night.  Malachi ended up playing with both groups, although he had only practiced with one.  He's good enough at sight reading to do that now.  They really enjoy orchestra together.  It's a shame he's too far away during the school year to play with her then!

Chick Fun

The boys are more interested in holding the chicks and checking on them than the last time we had some.  

I'm hoping they will be more involved in them as they grow, but we will see.  It's nice to have more chicken lovers around here.

The Mexican sunflowers out front are now blooming and attracting hummingbirds.  The mimosa tree is also attractive to the hummingbirds, and it is just across the driveway from them, so I am seeing them more.  We've just started getting some cherry tomatoes.  Most of the herbs are ready, too.  I've got some big tomatoes and peppers getting closer to ripe, but the squirrels have taken some of the tomatoes.  The deer ate most of the beans.  They also ate the first batch of cucumber plants, but so far, the second batch is getting big and nearly ready to set fruit.  My friend gifted me pounds of cucumbers, so even if the deer eat the rest, I at least canned relish and bread and butter pickles.

 

Chicks!

 

Last night, Elijah, Emry, Gyunay, and I went to Rural King and got our new chicks!  

We got several new kinds that we've never raised before.  All are dual-purpose chickens that lay 250+ eggs a year (according to the signs).  Some, like the Cinnamon Queens, we've had before, and are great layers.  They are also pullets, so we should have more hens than roosters overall.  Some kinds, like the Rainbow, are new, and are straight-run.  

Here is one of the two Turkens we got.  We also got Mystic Rocks (little black chicks), which should be similar to our beloved Barred Rocks.  I grabbed a couple of Sapphire Gems, which we love.  They are pretty gray hens.  I also got a couple of Starlight Gems, which are supposed to lay green eggs.

In all, we have 20 new chicks living happily in the shed in their brooder.  We are still trying to catch the raccoon that killed all our hens. 

In other news, Malachi and Lydia came home last night.  Nathaniel pulled up with them just as we were unloading the chicks, so they joined the excitement.  Everyone loves chicks!  Pilot hasn't seen them yet, as he is out of town with friends, but even he likes to see chicks.  (He's never had much interest in the chickens.)

Mission Trip

 Lydia and Malachi are on a mission trip in eastern Kentucky this week.  He's sent me a few pictures. 

Naturally, Lydia has found a dog!

It looks really beautiful.