The new prairie garden is in - and a chicken update

Well, I finally finished getting the plants in the ground. And I've pulled all the invading grass and added the first layer of mulch. Of course, I'm not really finished. There are always loose ends - like the un-mulched rain garden. But it's nearly there!

Here's a photo of the garden along the path that I've finished:

Looking toward the house from the parking area

Looking from the front porch

It's pretty exciting to have almost all the plants in the ground. Some of them are already sprouting new growth. We've had many rainy days thats helped a lot to keep everything well hydrated while the little transplants waited for mulch. I just finished yesterday - a good 3 weeks after I purchased the plants.

In addition, there are a lot of seedlings making their appearance in the areas where we spread the super-expensive native wildflower and grass seed. I don't think they are losing the battle against "weeds." But, given that everything is coming up at once, it's pretty hard to tell - except where we spread buffalos grass seed. In those "lawn" areas it's very easy to see the weeds. So far, the little grass seedlings seem to be pretty darn tough. And, with any luck, I can pull the weeds and fill-in with plugs from other areas as soon as the ground has a few days to dry out.

Meanwhile, our little chicks are looking more like fully-feathered chickens everyday. We moved them into their new temporary home a week ago and they love it. They are much more active with room to run. And it's been very fun watching them on their new roost. They are also getting a few greens now and then which adds a new form of entertainment to our evenings: watching chicken rugby.

Here's a picture I posted on Instagram of the ladies as they first explored their new space:

The ladies in their modified dog kennel/chicken run.

I'm still trying to find time to build their coop. Balancing the urgency of the different things needing attention has been tough because I'm wrapping up the last few days of my corporate job. I think this is the weekend for building their new home, though. It kind of has to be. They are nearly covered with feathers!

It'll be hard to leave the little ladies out in their official big-girl house/coop - especially the first night. I'm going to have to fortify their run to make it a little Fort Knox, I think. And maybe I sleep in a tent next door or something. Yes, a camp out, that should help, right? :-S