Two years since Harvey has past and the trees are taking yet another hit. After surviving the winds and the 25-30 inches of rain during Hurricane Harvey in 2017, then the 28 inches of rain in just a few days time during the summer of 2018, the trees may finally have meet their demise in 2019 due to the lack of rain. On average, the coastal bend receives about 30 inches of rain yearly with summer being dry. This year…
The Kid is going to middle school. And after a long summers of “I’m bored”, “its hot”, and general complaining, I can’t say I am sad to see him go. Middle school here is a major change from elementary school as I guess it is in most public school settings. I went to a elementary/middle school where there were two teachers for every grade and less than 50 kids per grade. My middle school years had the same eight teachers. …
On July 25, the Brown Leghorn (Ears, named for her bright white ears) laid her first egg. It was so tiny it did not even seem real at the size and weight of an oval shaped ping pong ball. Despite all her issues with the other hens and Nurple the rooster, she consistently lays her little tiny eggs. As in lays her eggs daily. None of these chickens are daily egg producers, so this must be part of her transition…
Just like the words to a Willie song (with slight modifications of course)“There’s just a little old fashioned gathering coming down Just a little old fashioned barn raising going ’roundA little bit of sweating and a little bit of reapingA little bit of laughing and a little bit of weepingJust a little old fashioned barn raising going down” Wikipedia states a barn raising as” a collective action of a community, in which a barn for one of the members is built or rebuilt collectively by…
After months and months of indecision, the new toy, I mean new tool has finally arrived. Not a lawn mower, not a brush grinder, but a brush mower. Designed to cut brush and woody weeds, the brush mower was chosen because Boxes in Fields no longer has access to the shredder. Well I should say no longer has easy access as the shredder now resides with the Doubter about five hours away. And with no trailer to haul the shredder…
Having spent the better part of the morning enjoying the beautiful summer day at the harbor wall, Boxes in Fields had to return home to spend the afternoon repairing. Again. If major rust control did not happen soon, we will be living in piles of rust. Some of the repairs are due to design flaws such as all of the window hatches. The window hatches are made square tubing and Conex paneling as seen more clearly in post What Light! …
Three months have already come and gone since the Pity Pets were brought home. When released from the coop to free range, the first few weeks they stayed as their own individual unit. It did not take them long to roam with the pack. Being with the pack provided protection as Nurpel (the second acquired rooster) was on the hunt for a hen of his own and the new hens were his target. Just as the senior flock are not…
There comes a time when everyone needs their own space. Living in tight quarters usually promotes this more often than for people living in McMansions. Needing individual space comes more from having a tween than anything else. If you have had or currently have a boy tween then you understand this next statement. Boys stink. Must be a puberty thing cause it is not a shower thing as taking showers is a daily act of frustration for all at Boxes…
A couple of months on one of my many numerous trips across the deck, I happen to glance over and notice a marvel. Another monarch caterpillar chomping away on a tropical milkweed flower bud. Unlike the leaf chomper, this caterpillar was chomping as if his life depended on it. In a way, I guess it does. Also, unlike the leaf chomping video, this video contains no video editing as is filmed in real time. In a little over five minutes,…
In the last few weeks, Boxes in Fields has turned into a nature’s playground. With warmer days, more and more hummingbirds have been seen and heard flying about, bees in various shapes and sizes are always within sight of the Esperanza, and the butterflies are appearing on their migration paths. What an amazing experience!