The world needs ditch diggers too, Danny.

The gnome supervises

Our original gravel driveway had one thing going for it: it doubled as a natural drainage field for all of the water coming down the hill onto our property. The newer paved driveway is lovely, and let me tell you it is way easier to rake all of the leaves and maple tree-whirlies off of it, but it sheets water like mad. About half of it goes off to one side of the house, but the rest of it pools along one curve and then flows directly under the house. This makes me a little nervous. I know that we live in a very wet place, and that our house isn't going to slide down the hill while I sleep, but all of that water can't be good.


So I decided to install a drainage pipe. Something that would take that pooled water and shunt it off to the other side of the house where it could blend back into the ground. One long pvc pipe, one curved joint, and two grate attachments later I let the chickens out and got the pickaxe out of the shed. After watching the chickens and realizing that they weren't going to dig the ditch all on their own I finished the job.

scruffy chicken looks for bugs to eat

The chickens are so amusing when I work in the yard. When they roam around, they are constantly scratching with their talons, bending over to see what they've unearthed, and picking something to eat. When they see me with a huge rake or any other gardening tool, scratching industriously at the soil they assume that I have found Incredible Treats and am ready to share with them. So after every pickaxe stroke, I look to see if there is a chicken diving into my upturned earth to check for worms. It is definitely easier to dig a ditch while you are laughing.

fashionable yardworking footwear, and mud covered legs: business as usual!

The chickens are also going through their annual molt, and are in the very unfortunate stage. They've lost most of their feathers, and if you look closely the blank spots are covered with one-inch long stiff new feather tubes. New feathers start out in a casing that looks almost exactly like a shoelace tip (if you've ever owned a parrot, you've probably watched them industriously try to help you by freeing the end of your shoelaces). These casings are jammed with new growing feathers that have blood circulating in them and they itch like crazy. This equals cranky chickens covered with prickles that want nothing more than to roll in the dirt. I've been letting them out more than usual just so that they can get some sort of relief.

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Eggs laid in the coop lately: none! Molting chickens use every single mineral and vitamin that they eat to build new feathers. They don't care that I would like to make a coconut angelfood cake.