Alaskan's Life

[Britesea]

I found the alpines did better in our mountain climate. The berries are quite small but very sweet, and they don't keep- once you pick them, you'd better eat them right away. The plants don't send out runners, but if you leave a berry or two on the plant they will self-sow quite readily, and the plants themselves can be divided every few years. I know the two plants I had in the corner as an experiment gave me at least a handful of berries every couple of days for months, while the regular berries in the main bed did more in a couple of flushes. Kind of like the difference between bush beans and pole beans, lol.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

I found the alpines did better in our mountain climate. The berries are quite small but very sweet, and they don't keep- once you pick them, you'd better eat them right away. The plants don't send out runners, but if you leave a berry or two on the plant they will self-sow quite readily, and the plants themselves can be divided every few years. I know the two plants I had in the corner as an experiment gave me at least a handful of berries every couple of days for months, while the regular berries in the main bed did more in a couple of flushes. Kind of like the difference between bush beans and pole beans, lol.

Now... wouldn't it be sweet if strawberries GREW on a vine, like pole beans!!!!!!

 

[Alaskan]

From yesterday, a pair of mallards.

They must be lamo underdog mallards, because at lower elevations there are fully thawed ponds.

But nope, they have chosen my still mostly frozen pond.

One is hidden behind the still slightly submerged and frozen in place duck island, the other one you can see standing on the ice.

 

[Alaskan]

Weeding... and caulking.... so of course took a break to get some chick pictures.

These are 2 bantam wheaten Ameraucana, one male and 1 female.

Boiling for us.... so... 63???

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Sounds like you're having a hard time getting viable chicks on the ground. Your chick luck is like my garden luck.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Yep. When I was in 6th grade. We had an incubator, and I told the teacher: "I'll supply the eggs if I can keep what hatches, AAAAANNNNDDDD if I get to tend the bator." So, it was a win-win deal for him, and I got the honor/privilege of tending the bator. I wanted to get Guinea eggs. But, at the farm that we went to... the lady couldn't find any guinea eggs. But, she found a Banty nest, so we hatched banties!!! My Dad was always an incredible mentor, and took all of my "critter collecting" in stride, and mentored me along the way. BTW, I'll save you the mental gymnastics and do the math for you... I'm 65 y.o. now!

 

[Lazy Gardener]

IMO, a combination of Dominique (or possibly barred rock) AND EE. I just love the personality of Doms and EE. Those 2 breeds have small combs (rose and pea, respectively). They tend to blend into a wonderful flock. their personalities are well matched. And they provide a nicely colored egg basket. Doms also are prone to occasional broodiness, while not being pain in the butt "broody all the time". Also, if you keep a EE roo, one who does not have white coloring, he will cross with the Dom or PBR to produce delightful black sex links: Win/win/win situation: Olive eggers, sex linked, hybrid vigor. Dom eggs are medium sized, while PBR eggs are large. So, while I prefer Doms, I'm very willing to settle for PBR. I also like the personality of Buck Eye. They have pea combs, and a BE roo would cross with a Dom or PBR to produce a black sex link.

IIRC, Pea x Rose = Walnut. Rose x Single = Rose. But, Pea x Single = loose, wonky pea. In my cold winters, I prefer small combs, and absolutely won't have feathered feet in my flocks.

I was really pleased with how well the ducks wintered over. But, last winter was warmer than usual.

 

[Alaskan]

What breeds do you have now? And why?

In standard size I paired down to Spitz because they were just as good as Leghorns, but are less cannibalistic and easier to mix ages. As in the Spitz are less cannibalistic than any other chicken breed that i have ever owned. I can often put chicks together that are 4 weeks apart in age.

Also, I have a very rare, highly difficult to replace color.

Then in bantam I paired down to only Wheaten Bantam Ameraucana. I paired down to them because I have some extra good stock, blue egg layers always sell well, the males tend to be respectful, the kids like them. Also, I REALLY like the wheaten color.

Years back in standard I bred pure bred:
Rose comb white Leghorns
Rose comb dark brown Leghorns
(Both excellent kinds of Leghorns that I highly enjoyed, they lost to the Spitz only by a hair)
Black Copper Marans (too few eggs, and eat a bunch. Yes, HIGHLY marketable, but the low production with high feed consumption meant i only had them for a few years before selling them all)
Dominique (didn't lay as well as the Leghorn or Spitz. I love the fact that they are the oldest American breed, and my main rooster had a perfect personality. But, they are not really marketable, and they didn't lay as efficiently as the Leghorns or Spitz)
And then the Spitz, they won the contest of who got to stay.

In bantam
Danvers (I just could NOT get a male that wasn't human aggressive)
The Wheaten Ameraucana

I have had a bunch of other breeds too... I really liked the bantam white leghorns I had, they simply weren't as marketable as the Ameraucana. And I tried several kinds of Wyandotte (both sizes). The bantams are super cute, the kids really enjoyed them. But ..... the standard size don't lay as well as the other breeds, and in bantam the Ameraucana are just as cute, but lay blue eggs which are more marketable. Ages back, when I first got into chickens I bought a few of the various feather footed breeds, HUGE mistake in my climate.

I tried BBS (blue black splash) Ameraucana in standard. For some reason they never excited me. Their personalities weren't interesting, and they just..... were blah.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

I can see why you live where you do. Long winters are a small price to pay for such beauty. When I was younger, I thought moose were the ugliest animal on God's creation. I imagined that: A: He took all the left over bits and pieces, and tossed them together, and Moose was the final result. Or, B: He said, "Now, it's time for some humor!" And, the Moose was the result of his animal kingdom joke. But, now, I think there is something very majestic about a moose!

 

[Alaskan]

Unsettling a bit.....


Air sirens keep sounding off...


Tsunami expected at 1am... so they aren't going to go quiet any time soon (10:44 now).


We (the town) are far enough away though... so hopefully there will not be any damage... probably a baby tsunami, maybe even nothing.

(And since I am at 1,300 feet elevation, I am fine).

Not so sure about those close to the epicenter though..... it was an 8.1 and right up against the Alaska Peninsula.

Oh blast... I still have 2 kids working in town... I wonder if they get to close up and come home now....... probably... and lots of time too.....

So... I took some photos: