the chicks are here!

Twenty chicks arrived at the farm during our visit. They are so cute and fun to watch. I didn't know that chicks can be other colors besides yellow! There are four varieties: Rhode Island Reds, Buff Orphingtons (doesn't that sound like the name of a 50's movie star?), Silver Turandots and Dominicks. According to photos I've seen, they will grow up to be beautiful chickens.

All twenty chicks came in this small box. They were shipped at one day's old and arrived the next day.

Here they are lined up at their handy-dandy feeder.
They drink water out of a hanging water bottle dripper thingy for rabbits. There's also a hanging light to keep them warm.

They will all lay eggs in beautiful shades of brown.

There are a few really old apple trees around the farm. (from Johnny Appleseed?) This one has a very big hole in the trunk. My daughter and her husband hope they will still bear fruit. They have already planted many newer fruit trees - cherries, pears, and I forget what else.

Here is their vegetable garden. Can't see much yet! While we were there, the asparagus crowns arrived (same day as the chicks), and Jack has already planted them.

We saw daffodils everywhere we went, and there's a lovely bed of them by the farmhouse. They have tulips, too, and there will be peonies in June. I'm jealous!

Here is Martine pushing a wheelbarrow full of firewood down from the woods. Jack has been cutting down dead trees and chopping them up. You can see their house and one barn below.

This is an outdoor furnace they use to heat their house and their water. Martine's adding more firewood to the fire. They keep the firewood in the second barn, which seems more like a large shed to me. The second barn was originally used to cure hops; the hops kiln is still in there.

Here Jack is working on a pump. I think it's for the pond? It's funny because it's made by Jacuzzi. ;-)

This is the rear view of the pond. There are dried up cat tails around the sides of it, which will be removed. There are frogs in and around the pond which "sing." I think there are also little fishies. We'll have to check it out this summer.