Steel Erection in the Construction Industry and Perforated Metal Panels

We have all seen the tall network of steel beams stretching up above a building site, forming the internal skeleton of the buildings we live in, work in, and pass through in our daily lives. If you ever get the chance to watch a steel-frame building being constructed, it is a fascinating and enlightening experience. Even stopping by each day to check on progress is interesting. Taking a picture each day and then seeing them shown in rapid succession shows clearly how the structure takes shape, first with the foundations and steel internal structure, then the internal features and cladding.

Assembling Frameworks and Perforated Sheet Metal Panels

The process isn’t much different than it is when children build something out of sticks or certain kinds of blocks. Learn about perforated metal panels here. Strong beams are linked together to form frameworks with each part supporting and reinforcing the others. The beams themselves are moved onto the site on large trucks, and lifted into place by those tall cranes that tower over building sites, moving slowly around like the necks of mechanical dinosaurs. Vertical trusses bracket horizontal girders, level by level, as the structure slowly grows from the ground to – in some cases – truly breath-taking heights.

Arranging Architectural Layers

The foundation is, of course, foundational to the structural integrity of any building, but the second key feature is the steel infrastructure. Think of your body without any kind of skeleton and you get the idea: even if the floor is good, you’d still be just a bag of fluids and organs without the rigidity afforded by your bones. The steel is the skeleton of a building.

Steel erection virtuosity is the core of a structure. Fastening and binding technology, both state-of-the-art and more traditional, are both employed to lock components into place. Engineering technology and complex maths ensure that the techniques used are more than adequate to perform the job in each instance. It all comes together to form a solid, reliable, and functional structure for the purpose.

Constructing steel portal frame buildings is a complicated process involving different issues in design, manufacture and installation. The size and weight of these structures mean mistakes can cost lives. It’s important to understand  the difference between pitched roof and crane portal frames.

Future of Building Technology

The boundaries and limits of today’s building technology are being pushed and advanced by daring civil engineering and construction projects. Asymmetrical combinations, prefabricated panels, and new techniques and understanding mean that buildings are getting taller – MUCH taller – can withstand seismic activity (earthquakes) better, can be shaped into giant leaning structures, wedges of glass, bent shapes with wide tops and narrow bottoms that, to the untrained eye, look as if they shouldn’t be standing at all, never mind being a solid, well-constructed piece of architecture. Not only do these techniques allow for a wider variety of shapes and heights, but also improve the speed with which buildings can be assembled on-site. The prefabricated components mean that sections of the building can be built off-site, moved in on trucks, and set into place in slabs or pods, saving days, weeks, or even months of on-site construction. That can mean substantial savings in both time and money – not to mention the reduction in inconvenience for those living and working around construction zones (UK gov regulation here).

And the key to it all is the steel lattice structure.

How is SEO used in African nations?

It’s funny, because many people talk about developing countries as if they’re 100 years behind the western world, when in actual fact they are more like 25 years behind, and therefore the internet age is well and truly active in Africa.

And as we all know the number 1 way people find things on the web is via Google search, be it organic or maps.

And this requires SEO services if you’re a business and want to compete there, so we’ll explain a little bit more about that below.

SEO Explained for 2018

1. Crawlable, easily accessible Links

We desire Googlebot’s crawlers to be able to come to this web page, to comprehend the material that’s on there in a message understandable layout, to recognize photos as well as visuals or video clip or installs or anything else that you have actually obtained on the web page in a means that they are going to be able to place right into their internet index. That is vital. Without it, none of the remainder of this things also matters.

2. Search phrase research study

We have to understand as well as to reveal words as well as expressions that searchers are in fact utilizing to fix or to obtain solution to the issue that they are having in your globe. Those must be troubles that your company, your site is really functioning to resolve, that your web content will certainly help them to fix.

Exactly what you desire below is a main search phrase and also with any luck a collection of associated second search phrases that share the searcher’s intent. The intent behind of all of these terms as well as expressions must be the very same so that the exact same material could offer it. When you do that, we currently have a main and also an additional collection of key phrases that we could target in our optimization initiatives.

3. Explore the SERP to discover exactly what Google thinks to be pertinent to the searcher

I desire you to do some SERP examination, suggesting carry out a search inquiry in Google, see exactly what comes back to you, as well as after that number out from there what Google thinks to be appropriate to the keyword phrases searches. Exactly what does Google believe is the material that will address this searcher’s question?

4. Have one of the most reliable individual develop web content that will certainly offer the searcher’s objective

We desire a really trustworthy, worthwhile of boosting individual or individuals to develop the web content. Well, since if we do that, we make boosting, we make web link structure, we make social sharing means much more most likely to occur, and also our web content ends up being extra qualified, both in the eyes of searchers as well as site visitors as well as in Google’s eyes as well.

How do find SEO services?

Now that you know a little bit more about search engine optimisation, it’s time to talk about how you can actively do it yourself or hire someone else to do it. Matt Jackson is a specialist in SEO and he recommends that:

You first determine what your budget can get you (at an agency and with a consultant) and then decide which one is right for you.

When you are a small to medium sized business your marketing budget will often not allow for the high agency premiums, which will mean you’ll be paying a lot of their overheads and not a lot of service will be provided, whereas a consultant will be able to work with your budget to provide effective services.

However when you get to a certain scale of business and size of website, a consultant won’t be able to implement the changes on such a large scale, and so an agency will be a more appropriate option as they can handle that.

Whichever route you choose, make sure that you have enough understanding to effectively manage your SEO provider, and track the results yourself without being conned or deceived by someone else.

Good luck with your new African business ventures!

How Weatherproof Rattan Furniture Makes Your Decking Area Better

Everyone is excited for the summer months. From here at SKAafrica.com to the gardens of the United Kingdom, we’re all looking forward to relaxing outdoors, but that has to be done on garden furniture!

So ahead of that time, we’re going to look at a specific type today, called rattan, which has become very popular, and will probably be the best thing you ever sit on from now on.

What is rattan furniture?

Make the most of your garden with attractive Rattan furniture that’s stylish and also sensible. It’s ideal for all weather condition, making this exterior furniture a perfect investment that’ll in 2015 after year. Select from our rattan tables and chairs, sofas or Rattan restaurant sets to suit your garden design.

Rattan is a close relative of the palm tree. It is a sort of vine that rapidly expands in the forests of South Eastern area. It grows in the shape of a post, as well as its diameter varies between one to three inches. Rattan is one of the best woods and has the ability to grow up, high as hundred feet.

uPVC Plastic wicker, likewise called all-weather wicker, is made mostly for usage in outside patio furniture. It is indicated to appear like all-natural wicker, yet is made from a synthetic material, generally polyethylene.

What makes rattan weatherproof?

Outdoor rattan furniture is extensively offered by lots of garden furniture retailers and the producers claim: “Made from totally weatherproof PVC rattan, this maintenance free collection can be left outdoors all year round.

The pvc rattan is hand woven over a corrosion resistant framework and the entire collection is developed to live outdoors all year round. “Our all weather condition wicker is completely colored polyethylene based fibre that is us, mould and mildew resistant.

The best types of weatheproof rattan garden furniture are found with UV stabilized hand woven synthetic threads, and have an aluminium furniture frame (more info here).

It is also non toxic and also recyclable and cleans quickly with simple soap and also water. The woven material itself is extremely adaptable, solid as well as resilient.” Impressive marketing!

What do you do with rattan furniture during the winter?

In winter, your rattan furniture can remain outside as long as it’s weatherproof. In this instance you don’t need to cover it or treat it with anything.

What types of rattan are available online in the UK?

There are various different qualities of rattan online, but with that aside, here are the difference varieties you may be interested in for your garden.

Rattan Sofa Sets – Relaxing Area Outdoors!

Lounging outside on a rattan sofa set will make your day, it is honestly that comfortable. Due to the way that the synthetic wicker is woven, it naturally cushions you, and the extra cushions included make for a very comfortable experience.

We recommend the UK retailer Garden Centre Shopping to buy rattan sofa sets online: https://www.gardencentreshopping.co.uk/rattan-garden-furniture/rattan-sofa-sets

Rattan Dining Sets – Eat Al Fresco

Dining outside (or al fresco) is one of the most primative and natural things in the world, with millions of UK families enjoying a bbq each year. However your patio needs to have the right dining set otherwise noone will be able to enjoy their food. A rattan dining set is a great way to stand out, which come in round and rectangular shaped table sets (how to choose?).

I also recommend Garden Centre Shopping as a UK retailer for rattan dining sets to buy online: https://www.gardencentreshopping.co.uk/rattan-garden-furniture/rattan-dining-sets

Rattan Bistro Sets – Enjoy Breakfast on the Patio

A bistro set is essential for enjoying a smaller patio area. They come with two rattan armchairs, and a small table. They may come with footstools, and some come with reclining chairs.

Rattan Chairs – A Place To Sit and Enjoy

A rattan chair is fantastic for relaxing and enjoying the view of your latest garden work. You can recline if the chair allows, and rest your arms on the sides of the chair. You usually have a great choice of colours, with grey, black, white, brown, and other colours of wicker available.  If you’re worried about choosing the right colour, this article might help you.

Again I have found the retailer with the best quality choice of rattan and reclining armchairs to be Garden Centre Shopping: https://www.gardencentreshopping.co.uk/rattan-garden-furniture/rattan-chairs

Extra Resources:

http://www.palmbase.org/summer-garden-design-ideas-for-july-2016/
http://www.ilchestercommunityprimary.co.uk/why-reclining-garden-furniture-is-the-most-supportive-for-your-spinal-health/

Lettuce in the Ground

desmorgesbraun2 I planted out some lettuce! It may be a bit too early, but who really cares if it makes it–lettuce is in the ground! desmorgesbraun1 Perhaps I’m ahead of myself. Nah. It’s a decently hardy variety, Des Morges Braun from Switzerland, that I’ve hardened off for a week or so. I feel confident that they’re ready for some low temps, and for the next week here it’s supposedly going to be in the 60′s without freezing at night. I think they’ll acclimate nicely. On a whim I also planted out several Reine des Glaces head lettuces in some open spots, without hardening them off at all. Perhaps I’ll see a contrast in the transplant shock. reinedesglaces1 These particular lettuces had some serious-looking root systems that warranted either potting up or planting out, so I chose the latter. Spring has arrived, and I just had to put some plants in the soil to kick off the season. white crocuses The crocuses are blooming, most of which I planted just this last fall by scattering fist-fulls of them in the front yard in a rather random way. They just turned up in sweet little clusters, looking almost like little fairy footprints meandering from the front door. I love seeing them open during the day. Even if we dive into a cold spell again (which we inevitably will, no matter how hard I may deny it), at least we’ve seen some flowers in bloom. purple crocuses The daffodils are about to burst as well, looking nice and robust: daffs1 Even the ones swimming in a thick carpet of ivy seem to be doing great. daffs2 And always a welcome sight in a snow-less garden, the lovely indestructible mache. I harvested a few handfuls today for a salad tomorrow. This stuff is amazing for so many reasons. mache The shallots are up too! I ended up planting some of our red shallots from last year despite the garlic bloat nematode problem with our garlic. The shallots were grown in a separate bed, and I really think the nematode was a seed-borne problem rather than a soil-borne one. We’ll see. It’s a risk I’m willing to take to have a prolific shallot harvest this year. I also bought a pound of grey shallots to plant for the first time. I read that they have a superior flavor to the red shallot–and you know how I love tasty food–and I also wanted to ensure at least a small harvest in case the red shallots rot in the ground from nematode infestation (and indefinitely contaminate my garden soil). But I’m going to stay optimistic. greyshallot I typically plant the red shallot bulbs in Fall. Although I couldn’t find any information ensuring their hardiness, I read that the grey shallots don’t keep as well as red shallots; I decided to go ahead and plant them in Fall as well, rather than risk them rotting in storage. I’m happy to report that they are winter hardy up here in Zone 4/5! So to everyone who is curious like I was: grey shallots can withstand the winter (at least down to -12 degrees Fahrenheit) with a thick straw mulch and will come out of dormancy in Spring with the same vigor as the rest of the Allium clan. They do have a wispier appearance than the stocky red shallots. Everything is stirring now. It’s so nice to see new growth. One of my favorite spring flowers is emerging as we speak: the columbine. earlycolumbine How uniquely does this plant unfurl?! I love the deep purple color and its ruffly leaves, almost cabbage-y. earlycolumbine2 This early leafy growth might be prettier than the flowers! Well, that’s what’s happening in the garden for now…soon there will be more. Can’t wait. chickenbooty (2)

Almost every household has an unsolved Rubiks Cube but you can esily solve it learning a few algorithms.

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A Way Early Spring Garden Lesson

Gayla from You Grow Girl prompted the Grow Write Guild with another topic, What does your garden look like right now? poppy Mostly brown, actually. A little green thrown in there, and the scattered flower. But mostly crusty old leaves and broken straw mulch. And the remnants of a long maple season. garden1 It’s surprisingly difficult to see my garden as it is now. I always have big plans for it and spend the winter drawing map after map and perusing seed catalogs until I’ve memorized what my garden is going to (theoretically) look like in its full productive glory. garden3 When I walk through the garden at this sparse time of year I’m definitely not present in it; I’m usually wondering what I had planned to put in that sunny spot over there or visualizing all the places I’m going to broadcast poppies. When I look out over the garden, I really just see a stimulating to-do list. garden2 It’s funny how not-pretty I think these photos are. Compared to the garden I currently see in my imagination, this one is straight up desolate. I want to see activity, growth, and bright colors, without accepting the reality that we just lived the last 6 months below freezing. I’m realizing how uncomfortable I am in this time of transition…somehow, I think at the end of a long winter should be late August. garden4 I’m working on accepting, slowly, being here in Early Spring. Robins, red-winged blackbirds, a kingfisher, and chipping sparrows all seem to be feeling the season fully. Even a colony of mildly annoying starlings have set up an apartment complex in the soffett outside our bedroom window (soon there will be babies). Lots of bird-chasing-bird action. There’s really a lot happening in the garden; I just have to look a lot closer. mesclun That’s the mesclun mix I direct seeded a couple weeks ago. First time trying this out. Normally direct-seeding doesn’t work so well in our shady and moist garden, but perhaps the ducks are really proving themselves as slug control? (I could be jinxing myself here.) arnica That’s Arnica chamissonis, coming back for another year. I’ve yet to make arnica oil or tincture from this American native (only from the populated-in-places European A. montana), but perhaps this is the year, since it’s looking great! It’s way more vigorous than most things this time of year, and perhaps it’s a good healing sign: John just dislocated his shoulder, and we’ll probably need a good stock of this lovely anti-inflammatory plant around. coltsfoot Another member of the Aster family, Coltsfoot, or Tussilago farfara is one of the few flowers around about now. These fuzzy little yellow guys are blooming right in the stream-bank, before their leaves come up. The leaves are used medicinally as a cough remedy, typically made into tea or smoked. Back on cultivated land, the lilac buds are swelling. lilacbuds And our very first daffodil, barely unfurled. daffodil The snazzy bulbs and the medicinal herbs poking up reminded me that there’s a special treat in the woods behind my house, a stand of bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis, that I spotted a couple years ago. Last year I missed the ephemeral bloom, which I was determined to never miss again. It might be the prettiest native flower, which blooms when almost nothing else is in early spring, deep in the woods amongst leaves and fallen trees and a whole lot of brown. Maybe it’s just relatively pretty. But it’s beautiful. Remembering the bloodroot, I set out into the woods searching for flowers. I wandered for a bit until I almost stepped on them. bloodroot1 It’s in the poppy family; you can tell by how pretty the flower is! They opened that afternoon. bloodroot5 bloodroot2 bloodroot3 bloodroot4 bloodroot6 Okay, I admit it, I ditched the garden for the woodland because there was a pretty thing blooming there. I’m constantly pulled toward the eye candy, glossing over the empty brown stuff that is the soil, which is meanwhile coming alive with worms, frogs, snakes, microbes, and mycorrhizae (everything that will eventually produce a healthy garden). Maybe those straw-covered garden photos aren’t so desolate after all, just under-appreciated by an impatient gardener.

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Violets for Mapgie

Amidst all the growth and sunshine here in springtime, there had to be a balance, I guess. manduck Our increasingly headstrong male duck (pictured above) attacked me one night when I tried to get him and his lady into their coop. I know it sounds pathetic to be attacked by a duck, but he was relentless, for real! That was it for me…I decided to just let them sleep outside if he was going to be a jerk like that. The whole set up worked great. Magpie was laying her eggs outside in a nest she dug under the lilac bush (a great spot that kept the eggs cool and shaded in the heat of the day) and Man-duck abandoned his interest in kicking my ass. The homestead was once again peaceful. But then, as all sad stories go, Magpie was nowhere to be found one morning, until I finally discovered her remains in a corner of the yard. Any predation on the animals you keep is heartwrenching. violet1 But in a sappy sort of way, the wild violets began blooming the same afternoon. So subtle and cute and understated (just like Magpie), they comforted me in understanding that the earth has these patterns…things die, things come alive, things fade, and new things bloom. leeksnviolets The backyard is now filled with violets blooming (somewhat of a consolation to me, but Man-duck is pretty lonely without a duck friend these days). I often find him calling out to ducks flying by, and I wonder if he’ll fly off with them or perhaps attract a new young lady. We’re in the process of finding him a new home, but in the meantime–and entirely on his own volition–he’s been going to bed with the chickens at night. After the chicks have settled themselves on the roosts, he waddles up the ramp to the coop and tucks himself into the straw under the nest boxes. What a sweet, agreeable guy all of a sudden. violet2 And in homage to Magpie–or maybe because there’s a weird creature sharing their home now–the chickens have abandoned their nice man-made nest boxes and have started to lay in Magpie’s old earthen nest. newnest But I won’t dwell on the sad news. Around the garden, the all the spring flowers are really spectacular. Tons of flowers that I didn’t even plant, and some I didn’t even discover until last year (I had probably weedwacked them all unknowingly) are in full bloom. I absolutely love that I get to see this guy every spring, the snakes-head fritillary: fritillary And thank god these delicate vinca were established before we got chickens, because chicken claws wage war on them every day: vinca The bleeding heart, another one that has been here long before me, just forming its bloom: bleedingheart The peonies have begun to unfurl: peonyunfurl As far as things I did plant, last fall I invested in a bunch of narcissus bulbs with the intention of ramping up the spring out here. I’m so glad I did, it really steps it all up a notch; I’m already thinking about other colors to add next year. Not sure if I’ll ever reach that “enough” point now! greenhousendaffs We’ve got a blend of “Thalia” a tall white one, and “Katie Heath,” a more diminutive narcissus with a pale pink cup. I like her. katieheath1 A couple years ago for John’s birthday I got him a magnolia tree. Last year we had one flower. This year we have…one flower. Maybe two next year? I guess we’ll have to wait and see! I should think of it more as a gift to the future generations that occupy this plot of land. An old magnolia tree sure is magnificent. magnolia1 The little asian pear is blooming too. Last year when it was in bloom we got almost a foot of snow. But I don’t think that’s quite possible this year, although a frost still is. asianpearblooms As for the edibles, the Des Morges Braun lettuce is almost harvestable: desmorges1 The kale has just a little longer to go: :) kale I think I’ll put parsley in the ground today: parsleytransplants And another development I’m pretty excited about, a new compost bin! This one is chicken-powered. newcompost I kind of dread turning compost, so much so that I don’t really do it but once a year. It’s a little awkward and I always have to negotiate these unwieldy and rather dangerous scraps of fencing that I use to contain the pile. Normally a skunk drags most of the food out of the fencing each night and litters it all around the bin. But this one seems great already (very attractive to chickens as well as to me!), and the chickens already love to scratch around in it even though there’s not many “greens” in it yet. We’re going to keep bones out of the pile so the skunk doesn’t become a very close neighbor again (and so chickens don’t get a taste for chicken…sorry, I know it’s a bit gross but I couldn’t help myself on that one!). :) Well, and I hope this post finds everyone swimming in the hope of flowers. forgetmenot

My Gardening Mentor

The prompt from Gayla at You Grow Girl to write about my garden mentor was surprisingly difficult for me.  I tossed different people over and over in my head and came to the initial conclusion that I don’t have any gardening mentors.  Well, at least not any nearby.  Or that I’ve met.  I mean, I read a lot of gardening books.

I have read a lot of gardening books.  I count Gene Logsdon as a mentor, but he doesn’t know who I am.  And then–lucky for this post–came that dose of reality, whereupon my naive, egotistical self realizes that it’s not my outstanding creativity or intuition that led me to dig a garden with the confidence that I could fill it with plants (although that would certainly be awesome).   My plant knowledge was handed down to me, so I better show some respect!

Annie was my first garden mentor.  She taught me how to plant a seed and install drip tape and run a water line from the pump in the creek to the berry patch.  And stake tomatoes, brew beer, and raise chickens.  And identify elderflowers while driving 60 mph on the highway.  Oh, and eat a real breakfast.

Peppers from Lucky Moon Farm

Annie, being as driven and determined as she was (apparent in these harvesting-by-headlamp photos), wasn’t the most hands-on mentor unless I was overcooking my eggs.  Since she always had fifteen important tasks happening urgently all at once, she usually would tell me what to do but not necessarily show me.  Even when there was time for them, her demonstrations were hurried; she’d explain something in as few words as she thought necessary and then go hop on the tractor with earmuffs and head down the mile-long driveway to mow.  I’d head off to my appointed task with a walkman and a rotating stock of herb conference cassette tapes.

Ann Mooney with Peppers

I had just finished college the year before meeting Annie, spending four wonderfully long years sitting in rooms discussing things and reading like my life depended on it.  I was utterly inexperienced with anything having to do with gardening or self-sufficiency.  Yet despite my graduate condition, Annie took me on as an apprentice and threw me right into the chaos of her 100-acre solo farm adventure.  Not gonna lie, learning to grow plants and “garden” on this scale was extremely stressful.  I was overwhelmed with to-do lists and constantly paranoid of doing things wrong (I was “in charge” of the berry patch and cluelessly brought the black raspberry bushes to their knees).  But to give myself some credit, there was a learning curve.

I knew nothing except city life and studying when I arrived on Annie’s land.   After just one growing season, however, I departed with practical knowledge and an intense commitment to growing plants wherever I landed.  I had also worked my way through about twenty herb conferences.  I had more gardening knowledge than all my friends and family combined, which isn’t saying a lot (but it’s saying something about my background!).

Perhaps it was because Annie was always so busy that I learned mostly by doing, rather than by sitting and reading, or being too nervous to dive in.  Planting my first seeds ever, with no supervision and only the most basic instructions (“don’t forget to label the rows”), seemed insane and destined for failure.  Yet against all odds, those seeds germinated and I was hooked.  A seed’s will to live trumps everything.  My lack of experience was not the end of the world, and my self-doubt was unnecessary.  I was still just a human planting a seed, in the long history of humans planting seeds.  Thank you, Annie, for the opportunity to trust my innate gardener.  Thank you for sharing your trust in Nature.

Midsummer Landscape Gardening

Wow, how neglectful have I been about writing this summer!  We’re all busy this time of year and I just got a full-time promotion at work, so my days in the garden have gotten a little shorter (not to mention my lack of time writing about the garden inside on the computer).  But nonetheless, here I am on a day off wondering where to start.

greenhousegateThe garden is absolutely beautiful this year.  I’m loving it.  And so productive! Right now we’re eating tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, lettuce (yes lettuce!  all summer long!), kale, carrots, shallots, leeks, and picking dozens of bouquets.  It’s kind of the best.

saunakale

bouquet1


cerinthe

This is cerinthe.  A bit of a freak show.  I think I like it, though.  It’s not as “pretty” per-se as I expected, but it’s so strange looking it totally has a place in my garden.  And the bees love it, specifically little bumblebees that can barely cram their fuzzy bodies into the flowers.

Probably the main highlight this summer has been raising a new flock of baby chicks!  Of course at this point they’ve grown into mischievous mini-hens…not quite so egg-sized anymore.  Here is their relatively cute evolution:

babydot

Baby Columbian Wyandotte, first week

 

We sectioned off the front of the chicken coop with plywood and equipped it with a heat lamp and wood shavings.  This was a great set-up for so many reasons: we didn’t have any nasty chick dust floating around our house like we did when we raised our first flock inside; we didn’t have to worry about predators; the big hens could still stay in their [slightly smaller] coop; and I think the little chicks got to grow up hearing the hens talk and vice versa.  When we finally integrated the flocks we had nothing to worry about; they already knew each other.

babyarcana

The Whole Gang

 

We decided on a mix of breeds, just to spice up the yard: Columbian Wyandottes, New Hampshires, and Easter Eggers (an Araucana/Americauna mutt).  The added benefit was that we got to witness the different growth patterns of each breed, and compare their temperaments too.  It’s a very interesting way to go.

lilchicks

first adventure onto grass

 

Once the days got hot and the chicks grew enough feathers, we introduced them to grass.  They stayed secure in their coop when we were away at work during the day, but when we came home we’d put them in a big blue tub and haul them back to the garden (the most predator-proof part of the yard).  Here they’d spend the last few hours before sunset in a little wire run we made that was about twice as big as their coop set-up.  This gave them a chance to run around chasing each other, catching bugs, and simply stretching out.  They were quickly outgrowing their tiny set-up in the coop.

gutterarcana

We call this phase “gutter chick”

 

At this point our work schedules changed and one of us was home every day.  Because we were around to hear any possible distress calls, the chicks spent most of their days outside in the run.  We also gave them an hour or so of “free-flap time” each night when we’d tip over the run and the chicks would explode in every direction.  They lived for free-flap!!  They got some serious exercise flying around, but they were also ready and eager to get back to their coop as the sun went down.  (Of course at this point it meant they were ready to get back in the blue bucket so we could carry them back to the coop!)

gutterchicks

this is like middle school…so awkward

 

Eventually the chicks were big enough and feathered out enough to spend all day outside foraging, not enclosed in a run (we’re lucky to have a 4-foot fence around the whole yard, though).  There were enough shrubs and hidden forts to duck into when the big chicks showed up, and the two flocks still had their separate sleeping quarters.

poponchicks

Tampopo the cat managing his flock

 

zeeknarcana

Zeek the cat posing with a fully feathered Araucana

 

It took the chicks way too long to understand how to use the roosts!   They were far too big to be huddled together at night, yet they would compete for the very bottom spot of the sleeping chick pile.  Thankfully, one night they had a revelation and we took down the partition the day following their first night on the roosts.

arcanapullet

all puffed out

 

Now chicks of all ages sleep together.  Yes, there is quite a lot of yelling as they all settle in for the night, but I’m thinking they’ll all be best friends soon.

ntcwith chicks

No-Tail-Chick acting motherly towards the littler ones

 

We’re all savoring these last moments of summer before the first frost (which could really be in a month!).  Loving on the flowers, the warmth, the breeze, and that wonderful thing called daylight.

Sounds of a Summer-esque Spring

tomatoesngomphrena

Since Spring is here in full force (complete with endless to-do lists and lots of being outside until the extremely late sunset), I’m afraid I’ve been inconsistent about writing here.  I love to write, but these days I’m spending more time doubled over in the garden pulling dandelions or crouched on hands and knees inspecting the ground for signs of new emergence.   [I direct seeded California poppies and larkspur a couple weeks ago and still no sign.  Hmmm, should I try again?]  Lucky for us, today is a rainy day and I am back at the keyboard, with a helpful prompt from Gayla at You Grow Girl.

This prompt encourages us to write about the way our garden sounds at the moment.  A very useful exercise; I’m usually so focused on how pretty I want my garden to look to introduce another observational sense with different point of view.

housenlilacs

I sat on my back porch and channelled those folks you see sitting on their porches in small towns just staring off into space.  (Honestly no judgment here, just a new culture for me!)  I let go of the work part of the garden and sat back and heard the wind and the birds take over.  Lots of robins–they’re so loud!–and the occasional gang of crows warning the chickens of a hawk overhead.  I respect crows and consider them my babysitters; they do such a great job of keeping the chickens safe when I’m not around, whether they’re just sounding the alarm or actually attacking a  hawk in flight.  Amazing.

columbine

Two windchimes keep me company regularly, one on the porch and one hanging from the chicken coop.  On a breezy day both chimes might continually tap just one note in a rhythmic pattern.  Since the leaves have just emerged (only the black walnuts have yet to leaf out) the occasional swoosh of the treetops hushes everything else as a breeze moves through.  It’s the time of year when everything is getting pelted with spent maple flowers.

lilacnredbud

There’s a woodpecker who now and then lands on the barn roof ridge cap and pecks his heart out on the tin.  At first I thought he might be a little ‘off’.  But sometimes I hear in the distance an equally bizarre woodpecker-on-metal response, and I figure it’s probably more of a communication device than a way to obtain food.  But maybe he’s also finding some tasty bugs who scatter when he makes their eardrums explode (do bugs have eardrums??).

solomonsealcolumbine

I have to include the sounds of civilization, too: the passing cars, trucks, airplanes, the neighbor on his tractor if it’s a dry day.  And every day at noon we get to hear the air siren from the fire department, which is more of an exciting audible clock than anything else (I love it).  I feel so endlessly lucky to wake up to the sounds of relatively unfettered nature on a daily basis, to hear it as the main tune which the heavy machinery simply punctuates, instead of the other way around.

kale1

I was born and raised in an irritable cacophony, obviously not my choice.  I spent my first eighteen years living three miles from National Airport (where the planes start take-off at 6AM), next to a set of railroad tracks that transported West Virginia coal to burn at the power plant two blocks away.  The house still sits at an intersection of the busy GW Parkway where traumatic car accidents occur too often.  That horribly familiar crunching of metal followed by pedestrian witnesses yelling “Sh**!  One of the last times I was back home a police chase ended in that intersection, with the officer standing on top of the accused person right in the middle of the road, with his gun drawn until back-up arrived.

lettucepatch2

I am still haunted by those echoes when I’m out in my beautiful garden in the middle of nowhere, with the city so far away.  Now I get to hear birds singing and leaves brushing up against each other; I am in awe that the world can be as pristine as it is right here.

kalewmesclun2

I am so lucky to eat food from my garden and breathe clean air in this place.  Here in my adopted home things look and sound so beautiful, I can’t help but breathe deeply and play in the garden as much as possible.  A good move for me, and I am reminded of that every day, even in the quietude of winter.

So here’s to Summer, with its many sweet sounds of life unfolding!


johnnyjump1