Trying to outwit a chicken is not easy

I believe I've mentioned -- well yes, many times -- that Ninja's great pleasure is destroying my garden. With her vigorous scratching and pecking, she not only upends plants, but creates a massive mess on my patio. Normally I don't get fussed about a few leaves or a bit of dirt. After all, that's just a sign of life well-lived. And the squirrels do their part to be messy and rambunctious and they're still cute. Let's also not forget the bird poop. But given the amount of detritus Ninja can kick up, and how far she can spread mulch and leaves all over the place, I decided is was time for a big clean and a potential solution to some of the mess. First, the big clean (and you will probably not see it this cleared off again in your lifetime):

There are two major spots Ninja likes to disrupt the most and since I had a few bricks lying about from a former project, I decided to create a barrier. Not just any barrier mind you, but one that adds a decorative touch. I've used this type in various places around the garden and clichéd though it may be, I've always liked the look of it. You might also note the dark blue pot (behind the Buddha) next to the tree. I managed to salvage some of the succulents she upended and by putting them in the pot, they should be out of harm's way. Of course, the squirrels may have something to say about that. In my household we're taking bets to see if the pot and barrier are up to the challenge of effectively allowing her highness to scratch and peck to her heart's content and allow me to have a semblance of a clean patio. If it works at all in that location, I'll be adding a border along another prime spot as well. Fingers crossed.

In other Ninja news, she seems to have settled down into a single nest for laying eggs. Against expert advice, I've now chosen to always leave one egg in the nest and harvest the other. In the past, when I've stolen all her eggs, she just finds another spot and it takes a couple of weeks to locate it. I now take a sharpie and put a dot on the egg being left. When another egg appears, I remove the egg with the dot and add a dot to the new egg. This has worked for a week so far and I'm very careful to make sure she doesn't see me raiding her gifts. Of course this is all based on the premise that chickens can't count. Time will tell.

Something other than chickens

When I started this blog, I had no idea I would be writing about a beautiful hen who took up residence (uninvited) and then became a focal point of my day for weeks on end. We are now in a routine that works for both of us, though I am thinking ahead to the winter and how I can get her to be in a covered safe location. But all things in due time.

No, this is about other projects that make me happy and some that are just tedious. Hours spent trying to remove some cactus from the infamous thicket in the corner of the property -- and most importantly trying not to be impaled upon the truly nasty spikes -- falls in the tedious, but necessary category. Ditto for pulling out the miles of aloe that no longer grace the parkway, but at this point just look sad, burnt, and frankly nasty. But enough about that.

You may remember the rusty hoops in a previous post. They are currently undergoing a transformation with paint. Halfway done with those. As I was painting, I remembered the rusty lanterns hanging on my porch posts and thought how nice it would be to spruce them up. I didn't want garish colors, and the hammered copper paint seemed to be the ticket. Still make them look like old lanterns (which they are -- from a monastery), but give them a bit of shine. From one of the lanterns I had hung a completely rusted and rather sad looking Tinkerbell, that judging from the small remnants was once enameled in bright colors. While I am thinking of adding a bit more bling at some point, I'm happy with the hammered copper and red at the moment. Just perks up some formerly drab decorations. So from this rusted piece:

To these painted ones:

Subtle difference to be sure, but it makes me happy.

In other news, there are some truly magnificent blossoms coming out now:

The next blossom is on a plant that requires a bit of a back story. A neighbor in my building in Northern California gave me a single leaf of this plant. I put it in a small vase with water and it grew some roots, but never got planted. It thrived for years as a single leaf in water. When I moved to SoCal, it came along for the ride, and now having a yard, I planted it. That single leaf grew into a jungle of exotic leaves and blooms. It was just waiting for the right environment.

It's one of the few plants Ninja has yet to destroy.

And for the final word on all subjects, my little terminator would like to add:

Not being able to have nice things #3,492

Remember a couple of posts ago I showed the colorful corks I stuck on the pointy bits of the agave lining the footpath? I even mentioned in that post that I expected that a cork or two might be taken by passersby. I was so wrong! Someone stole every single cork off every plant, and even came round to the front, where my corks had been happily cheering up walkers for months, and took most of those too. Apparently, trying to have fun and make people smile is not allowed. Say goodbye:

Not to be daunted, I am preparing another garden project and so far it looks like this:

Can anyone guess what these will morph into? And don't worry, the finished products will be securely fastened to prevent theft. I mind about the corks, but they are not a huge loss in the grand scheme of things. But woe betide the mortal who messes with my other projects!

Two funnies

So I finished scraping out the drawer/shelf I've been working on preparatory to decoupaging the interior with a different theme. After cleaning it out, I left it to dry and came out to find a present from one of the numerous squirrels I feed. Can you spot the walnut?

My little Sassy, who has been increasingly endearing and loving since her experience in the hospital, has also been exhibiting stranger and stranger behaviors. Nothing alarming - just strange. This is how she decided to nap:

I rest my case.

Custom bath and pool - what a life

OK -- remember the protestations on my part that I did NOT want a chicken, did NOT desire a chicken, and yet, things being what they are, I have a chicken. Naming her was probably what clinched the deal. And intractable as she is, I feel responsible for her well-being.

Being the researchy type, of course I found out what chickens like to eat and adjusted appropriately. Apple bits - check. Celery tops - check. Broccoli - double check. And sprouted mung beans of course. All this on top of regulation chicken feed and mealworms and any assorted veggies I happened to come across.

I was also aware that chickens take dust baths as their version of fluffing up their feathers and getting rid of parasites and such. Ninja makes quite the production of it. During my research, I discovered that making a bath with sand and soil and diatomaceous earth (and wood ash which I don't happen to have), was a terrific thing to do for the prima donna type.  So, one trip to the hardware store for all-purpose sand, play sand, and diatomaceous earth later, I was sifting dirt from the backyard to make it fine enough to mix with the other ingredients. BTW, this is as close to cooking as I get. Operation sifting:

Living on the corner as we do, people are so kind to dump all sorts of trash and junk they don't want. Every now and then, it's actually something we can use. In this case, it was a tire. Apparently they make great bathtubs for dust baths. Several buckets full filled it nicely and I even added some dried lemon balm to entice her highness in. Well, what did you expect? She only drinks out of the pool (a pan) I made her to cool down in for the summer, so why would she use the dust bath? Oh she stands next to it and sort of looks it over, but so far has resisted the lures of a well-appointed tub. Sigh.

Possum and Ninja and projects, oh my

Well, the possum decided to move on in short order and declined the food and water. Fair enough. And that night, I saw another possum who was not so thrilled that my big bear wanted to get up in her business. Seeing one possum in a day is remarkable, but two means the universe is trying to right itself. When we moved to our neighborhood, we saw raccoons, possums, skunks and coyotes regularly. In fact, there was a racoon family that liked to lounge on our patio furniture and looked askance when one of the mere humans wanted to take advantage of a cool evening. The last few years have seen a huge decline in wildlife, so to see a couple of very cute critters who've been absent for too long is a blessing.

Tonight was watering the yard night and Ninja was fine with that until I stopped watering to work on a project or two. Since evening was rapidly approaching I suspect she wanted to get settled for the night, so she stood on our wall and read me the riot act. The mouth on that girl is astounding.

Speaking of projects, I discovered an old dresser drawer that someone had made into a keepsake shelf. I liked the idea of that and am in the process of scraping off their background to figure out what I'd like to do instead. Here it is partially scraped off:

When I complete the transformation, I'll post a picture.

More Critter Drama

Dateline 8 a.m. I get a frantic phone call about a possum in distress on the sidewalk just down from our house. Mind you, at 8 a.m. I'm barely coherent, much less dressed to go on a rescue mission. But there I am, throwing on clothes, grabbing a towel, and heading to the back of beyond to the storage that houses multiple crates and other critter paraphernalia. Crate and towel in hand, I head out to the cutest possum who is looking a bit dazed and confused and who very willingly allowed herself to be shooed into the crate with zero fuss. Our house is next to a road I call Killer Alley and feared she  was hit by a car. Thankfully, a cursory exam showed no major injuries or blood, but her breathing seemed a bit labored.

Back we come and she's given water, some dog food and the avocado she was guarding when I found her. Again, a look to see if there were visible wounds or blood. I did notice a couple of scratches on her face and head, though they didn't look brand new. Looking more closely though, I noticed something else I didn't expect to find. Stuck to her whiskers and her tail were bits of the bedding we had for Ninja when we still dreamed of taming her. I had discarded the bedding in the backyard. Earlier I had noticed there were were feathers about. At the time the thought that a predator had been around did occur to me, but since Ninja was hanging out unharmed, I pushed the thought aside.

Even though the location of the possum was outside my yard, I believe that somehow Ninja and she tangled at some point. A quick text to the humane society's wildlife center, and they directed me to release her since she was alert with no visible damage. Okey dokey. Took her back to the area I found her and opened the crate, expecting her to make a hasty exit. Backed away and...nothing. In fact, she hunkered down even further back in the crate. Well it is full day and possums are nocturnal, so maybe she's as sleepy as I am in the morning. Fair enough. But I couldn't leave the crate there so I hauled it to the back of beyond where I could open the door, leave food and water and her avocado just outside, and let her take her own sweet time to leave. I'll check on her from a distance to make sure she's OK and hope for the best.

Duh! I FINALLY figured out why Ninja chose to live here .

I'm not a big believer in signs or superstitions, but as I was coming back from my dog walk after making a wonderful free find (more on that later), it suddenly dawned why Ninja was attracted to living on our modest homestead. Why the penny didn't drop weeks ago -- well I'm chalking that up to retirement haze (yes that's a thing I just made up).

When we moved into our home, there was (is) a cinder block wall for the backyard, which, while affording some privacy, was certainly not attractive. Reluctant to take the time and expense of painting, stuccoing, or some other more decorative covering, I decided instead to start covering it with found objects. These include things like an old scythe and pitchfork, old clocks, and assorted miscellaneous objet d'art. Lo and behold, one of the first items I added to the wall were the following plates:

And in context :

Clearly the majesty of the seriously stylish (silly) roosters would call to any self-respecting hen. Then to clinch the whole thing, on my dog walk, I picked up two wonderful plates from a box that said FREE:

Anybody else notice the resemblance to Ninja? I sure do.

To say this was destiny may be going some, but there they are -- all the signs that Ninja would seek us out and then decide to stay. Invited or not.