Mercury retrograde, integrating chickens, pruning the garden

Chicken integration is going well....sort of.  Mostly we have Detente.  Everyone gives everyone else space and stays out of each others way. The older girls are still strutting and posturing, but no attacking. The two new girls  are pretty much staying to themselves. Hashtag is still trying to  to make friends with everybody but mostly she hangs out on top of the potato box and runs to Jimmy and I when we are about. 

Jimmy and I ruthlessly  pruned our squash, cucumbers and tomatoes this week. We did it because our plants were producing a lot of fruit but not much of was maturing. 

We took off the leaves so the fruit would grow.  I think its working. I'll let you know in a week.  But beans?  We got beans!  The bush beans and Pole beans we staggered all   came up at the same time (thanks to the  cold summer we have had.)

I'm still looking for an etching press .  I would rather trade than buy ,but I'm open.

I'm doing some theater right now so my blogging might be a little sporadic.  I had intended to give a heads up on this Mercury retrograde.  Dates to watch for are the full moon on the 13th and the Mrx conjunct sun on the 17th.  I'm thinking about starting a blog just for astrology.  But I'm not sure yet.  It might be too much effort.

Integrating new chickens to an established flock

Gyah! Jimmy and I both worked late last night. And we both got home within 5 minutes of each other. I went outside to check on the girls cuz the 2 new ones had only  had 1 night in the big coop.    They weren't there.  And they weren't in the pen. I searched the 8 X 14 pen for 10 minutes.  I looked behind every fern and bush and bucket of water.   I was starting to get really concerned  when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye.  They had somehow managed to tear down a corner of the pen netting and were roosting on the fence under the eve of the front of the house.  I went in to get Jimmy, who was not happy  to have to put his clothes back on  (the man peels in record setting time when he walks through the door after work)  to come out and be tall.  The red was easy to retrieve and Jimmy handed her down to me.  The leghorn, who has been named Miss Prissy (foghorn Leghorns girlfriend), unfortunately was awake by now and she proved to be a challenge.  Jimmy got a face full of flapping feathers all the way back to the coop.   Once in the coop they settled in quickly.  This morning  everything is fine.  No one is fighting...... yet.   The good thing  about adding two more birds is that Hashtag is no longer  the primary target. She hasn't quite figured it out yet though.  Every tempest  sends her running under the coop where she peeks out and watches.  Poor little Hashtag, She just wants everyone to get along.  She is nice to everyone.  I keep waiting for the day when she gets tired of their crap and goes to the top of the little chicken clock tower with an itty bitty  automatic rifle.  It will serve 'em right...the cranky old hags.