Michelle Legler

Oh Chickens!

So I have figured out where the name calling of when someone is scared of doing something, they are called a chicken came from. Chickens are scared of EVERYTHING!! If you add something new to the coop they totally freak out. It can be something as small as a new watering dish. I'm not kidding!

This morning was one of those I'm a CHICKEN and I am really SCARED about what you have just put into my coop days!! You see, we have a mice problem. I've seen them in my compost bin for the last couple of weeks and they even made an appearance at my garden tour this last Saturday. Mice are not good to have around chickens as they can carry Salmonella and spread it to your chickens. I was instructed to turn my compost bin more often and to cut up my compost additions in to smaller pieces to get my nitrogen level up. Well, I did this and it did not help. Next step was to put out mouse traps, which we have and we are catching them (I will not poison them as I would not want to possibly harm other animals in the process). I thought to myself that I'm sure the mice are attracted the the chicken feed that the chickens dump all over the bottom of their coop as well. So this morning I decided to clean up the floor of the coop and attach a hook in the coop, so that I could hang the chicken's feeder instead of having it sit on the ground. I'm hoping this will keep the chickens from spilling so much feed on the ground, thus not giving the mice a free dinner.

Here is the feeder hanging in the coop. As you can see, it is only hanging a few inches from the ground.

 

Here are the chickens hanging out in the yard while I worked in the coop

Red and Delta

 

And the babies who I've yet to give names to. Look how BIG they are now!!

 

Well!!! When it was time for everyone to go back into the coop.........Wait! What is that new thing in our coop??? We don't recognize our own feeder as it is hanging a few inches above the ground now!!! We are soooooo SCARED!!!! We DON'T WANT TO GO BACK INTO THE COOP!!!

10 minutues of me chasing chickens around the yard and capturing them one by one....by the tail.....have you ever tried to catch a scared chicken........with a little dog trying to help you???(sigh) Lots of chicken screaming going on......all neighborhood dogs are barking now.....

Mission Accomplished!!!

 
 
 
Notice how they are all to the left of the feeder. The babies even decided to go up! LOL!! I even put their favorite Greens next to the feeder to encourage them to get closer. It will probably take about 24 hours for them to get used to it.

In the meantime, this little girl Emmie (aka: chicken helper)(I don't know why she squints when I take her pic)

 

brought me a little dead mouse that she had caught.

I hope your day is a little less eventful than mine!! LOL!!

xoxo!!

Michelle

Repurposed Bird Cage

I found this awesome Bird Cage at Zinnia's, which is a very cool junque store in Phoenix. It was a pretty price of only $34 too!!! I bought it not knowing what I was going to do with it, but I DID KNOW it needed to come home with me!! After bringing it home, I didn't know if I wanted it inside or outside...decisions decisions. It sat around for about a week until I came up with the idea of where it was going.

Outside it went

 

I bought a post and painted it perwinkle :-), put in the ground, attached a hook at the top for hanging the bird cage. Next, off to the garden store to buy some pretty flowers to put inside and Voila!!!

LOVE IT!!!

More Garden Pics Soon!!

xoxo!!

Michelle

Thanks to ALL who came to my Garden Tour!!! It was a wonderful turnout!!!!

GARDEN TOUR TOMORROW

Come visit the Mosaic Cottage Tour tomorrow, Saturday March 26th! Info Below

What happens when you take a basic cookie cutter home,and spend ten years adding fruit trees, a white picket fence, junk recycled into usable planters, birdhouses, a few chickens, some hollyhocks and artichokes?   You get the Mosaic Cottage, a place where whimsy meets function and the flowers in the front yard tumble over her white picket fence.  Pieces of art peek out at you from every corner; funky discards have been given fun new life.  Cinderblock fencing has become just another canvas-- space for more mosaic art.   Her average-sized backyard includes two ponds with large koi, several raised vegetable gardens, fruit trees, fruit vines, unique walkways as well as five chickens and composting…and it never feels crowded.  In fact, Michelle says the more plants she crams into her yard, the happier they all seem to be—and cooler during the hot summers.

 This tour is for anyone looking for ideas on how to incorporate animals and gardens into a small space and making it all work, and for anyone wanting great ideas on how to turn their own space into something unique and fun.  

 This is not an Open House; the tours will begin promptly at 9:00am and 10: 45am.  Please indicate which time slot you will attend in your RSVP. $5 donation requested (cash or check only, thanks).

If you are interested in attending, email me and I will send you my address. :-)

See ya soon!!

Michelle

Back from Glitterfest

Glitterfest was a BLAST!! (as usual) and now I'm home and preparing my garden for the tour this coming Saturday. Phew!!! Honestly, I'm looking forward to March being over so I can get a little rest! LOL!!! I may not have a choice in that matter, as those looming biopsy results on my thyroid will be in tomorrow and one way or another, something is going to have to be done about this mass in my neck! Oye! I still have dang taxes to do too (@%##^^%^$$#$^&^&$&*) Please excuse my language ;-)

Thanks to Diann and Sheryl for another wonderful Glitterfest!!! You guys ROCK!!!!!!! To all of the customers who were so disappointed that I did not bring mosaic jewelry this time, I am so sorry. I truly ran out of time (too many dang dr appts) I promise that I will have lots of mosaic jewelry next time. PROMISE

 

Special THANKS to daughter #3 for helping me out at Glitterfest!! You Rock!!! LOVE YOU!!! I did miss my Miss Maija too, as she attended the fabulous Moulin Rouge event hosted by the sweet Kim Caldwell. I hear it was an AWESOME event!

To my Glitterfest buddies Tricia, Lisa and the funny Rita, you guys ROCK my world and I adore each and everyone of you!!! Check out Tricia's blog for more Glitterfest pics. She takes the best pics!!!

I will be posting items to my Etsy shop hopefully today and tomorrow :-) That is if my computer cooperates. I need to go computer shopping as this one is getting ready to DIE!

See ya soon!!!

Michelle

In a Beautiful Garden......

Do you Believe???

 
In Garden Fairies???

 
Yeah, Me Too!!! :-)

There will be a village of Fairy Houses awaiting adoption at Glitterfest Saturday.

 

Hope to see you there :-)

xoxo!!!

Michelle 

Bzzzzzzzzzzzz

This will also be coming to Glitterfest :-)

A little dessert anyone??

 

What could be under that lid?

 

Maybe not what you think :-)

 

Working many many hours right now. I will try to post more soon!

xoxo!!!

Michelle

Fungi in Fairy Land

Glitterfest is right around the corner! I will be sharing sneak peeks until then :-)

 
 
 

Happy Monday!

See ya soon!!

Michelle

Garden Tour

Garden Tour at my place March 26th through the Phoenix Permaculture Guild.

 

 

Here is the write up that Denise from the Permaculture Guild did for my garden tour:

What happens when you take a basic cookie cutter home,and spend ten years adding fruit trees, a white picket fence, junk recycled into usable planters, birdhouses, a few chickens, some hollyhocks and artichokes?   You get the Mosaic Cottage, a place where whimsy meets function and the flowers in the front yard tumble over her white picket fence.  Pieces of art peek out at you from every corner; funky discards have been given fun new life.  Cinderblock fencing has become just another canvas-- space for more mosaic art.   Her average-sized backyard includes two ponds with large koi, several raised vegetable gardens, fruit trees, fruit vines, unique walkways as well as five chickens and composting…and it never feels crowded.  In fact, Michelle says the more plants she crams into her yard, the happier they all seem to be—and cooler during the hot summers.

 This tour is for anyone looking for ideas on how to incorporate animals and gardens into a small space and making it all work, and for anyone wanting great ideas on how to turn their own space into something unique and fun.  

 This is not an Open House; the tours will begin promptly at 9:00am and 10: 45am.  Please indicate which time slot you will attend in your RSVP. $5 donation requested (cash or check only, thanks).

If you are interested in attending, email me and I will send you my address. :-)

See ya soon!!

Michelle