Still here!

The world didn't end (again) and we are still here! We have a bumper citrus crop and are gearing up for the early spring plantings. We've enjoyed lettuce and herbs this winter. I don't bother weighing these lightweights, but they sure are tasty. Our egg production took a hit for a sad reason. One night a gang of raccoons entered the chicken coop and dragged out a full-size buff Orpington. We heard the commotion and ran out to find her still alive but suffering. The raccoons had ripped out her tongue. We tried to calm her but she was obviously in pain and wouldn't be able to recover. My husband quickly killed her. We are very sad to have lost Buttercup. Of course she was the friendliest chicken. We always lock up our chickens at night, but this happened at 7 p.m. We are now very diligent to lock them up as soon as the sun sets, which is about 5 p.m. this time of year. Next summer the remaining two hens will go to live at my family's farm and we will replace them with 3 new pullets. We had to buy eggs for the first time in about 5 years due to the loss of Buttercup combined with the natural production loss due to the winter season and age of the hens.

November harvest tally:
23 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies
25  eggs

December harvest tally:
16 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies
11 eggs

2012 total:
524 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies
587 eggs

We live on a 1/10th acre lot and rent a 20x20 foot community garden plot.