So far, all the girls seem healthy and active.  They’re growing so much that the 100-gallon brooder was getting small for them so David rigged up a posh new abode. 

It was fun to watch them get used to their new digs.  The younger ones stretched their wings much more and tried out the roost branch.  Since there was so much more room, they really fluffed around the pine shavings.  Then they realized they were exhausted and had a couple of extra-long naps.

We’ve been taking the four older Australorps outside when it’s sunny.  Selfishly, it’s so much fun to spend time in the garden with creatures who are as interested in the digging as I am!  Today, they were timid and stayed well away from my shovel, but they followed behind for awhile looking for bugs and things that I uncovered.  Is this why people love chickens so much?  They affirm us in the garden?  (I felt like I had a cheerleading squad out there this afternoon!)  But I caught their ruthless techniques and am glad we’ll be able to keep them out of the main garden most of the time.

Here’s a photo of one of the little Buckeyes investigating a dandelion:

Ellie wants to give the birds things to eat or for amusement so we’ve had some great, in-the-moment discussions about herbs this week.  She came bounding into the garage with her two fists full of Veronica/speedwell because it’s blooming in a lovely way right now.  I cautioned her that this is a powerful medicine plant, and she shouldn’t give it to the birds like that — but a couple of dandelion flowers and a few sprigs of clover would be okay.  Later, she asked more questions about all of these plants, and I appreciate how closely she follows along and cares about the details.  She is very good at plant ID — if I give her enough information so that it lodges in her mind as a story of sorts — and I’m becoming much more confident about her ability to keep to the plants she knows when she’s outside exploring.

The digging has been an ongoing soap opera.  The fourth bed and the paths around it are almost finished, and I’ll write more about that after the weekend.  Thank god for that broadfork, though.

Happy spring!