Blog love: A local gem

A few weeks ago, I met Kate. We sat next to each other at a birthday dinner at the Palace Kitchen in Belltown. Besides the beautifully mosaiced rooster sculpture in the entrance way, the restaurant has amazing food and coconut cream pie that is to die for. I'm not sure whether it was the meal or my inherent ability to initiate garden-related conversations, but it wasn't long before we were talking about cooking and growing food. And then, as if that wasn't enough, I discovered her blog. I've only been reading Good Egg for a few weeks now, but I know I'll be another one of her future followers. Her writing is beautiful and the pictures are lovely. I haven't tried a recipe yet, but my peas finally have blossoms and she posted a delicious-looking risotto recipe, so it won't be long before I do. And now she's starting a garden, so I can only imagine what she'll do with her own bounty. I don't want to gush, but I just had to share my local blog love. Gardening and turning your harvest into a gourmet dinner is an amazing learning experience and the more resources we can find to help us along the way, the better. Enjoy!

The chick antics continue!

The girls are growing up so fast! It seems like just yesterday they were little balls of fluff and now they're transforming before my eyes.The temperature in my bathtub brooder is now 80 degrees – it started out around 95 when they were just a few days old. Lowering the temperature by five degrees each week helps them start to grow their little adult feathers, which is what chickens use to keep themselves warm. Lucy's filling out the fastest.

The chicken antics continue! Lucy and Penny think it's great to jump on top of the feeder and waterer when I come in. They especially love to fly back down towards calm little Ethel, in a dive bomb-type fashion. One morning this week, she made the leap from the waterer to the side of the cardboard box. So, they got a new addition to their brooder – a chicken wire ceiling. It makes it a bit more difficult to clean and change their water, but chasing chicks around my bathroom sounds like a more challenging task.

I read in one of my books that I might give the chicks a worm as a special treat and that they would act like they were dying of ecstasy. But what it failed to mention is that you better have one for each of them. My innocent gesture created a riot! I dropped one into the brooder and it took only a few seconds for Lucy to realize that it was worth picking up. Then, Penny proceeded to chase her around the brooder like crazy, vying to get some of the goods. I ran outside to get another, but when I dropped it in the brooder, Ethel scored the worm since she hadn't caught on that she should be chasing after Lucy. In the end, they all got their first taste of a worm and it was clear that they'd love to peck around for more.

On another note, when reading the new post on Garden Rant, one of the many garden blogs I follow, I discovered the Mouse and Trowel awards for garden blogging. I love it! What a great way to celebrate the craft! Gardening can be a somewhat solitary activity, which is something I really value about the hobby since it's such a contrast to my job. But while I love the blissful quiet and time alone, I really enjoy commiserating and learning with other gardeners. I feel like I know the gardeners who write the blogs that I follow. The more posts I write and the more blogs I follow, the more inspired I am to keep writing and experimenting in my garden. So, here's my shout out to the creator of the Mouse and Trowel awards, garden blogger and writer Colleen Vanderlinden, for creating a forum that celebrates garden bloggers and shows them some love!