Another gross post, just in time for Halloween: One disgusting by-product of composting is the beetle grubs. I wrote about the other gross insect in the compost, black soldier fly previously. As a novice, when I first started composting, I really hated these bugs. Now, for me, they have become such a common part of composting and gardening, I will pick them up with my bare hands. What has become of me? Yuck! Ewwwgh! However, to the delight of the…
I found this in the yard recently, perfect timing for Halloween. This species is one of my 3 favorite native spiders I often see in the yard. The unfortunate thing about them is, when I find them with a captured prey, it is always a butterfly. They seem to catch a lot of Fiery Skippers on the daisies and lantana flowers. Nevertheless, I leave these be where I find them and enjoy seeing their natural camouflage on the flowers. With…
My kids sometimes consider my preference for vintage decorating, totally uncool. Plus, if I was single, I would surely become “a crazy cat lady.” I have dropped numerous unsubtle hints over the last year that I would like a “Kit Cat” clock. It combines my love for cats with my passion for retro details in our home. I first pointed one out to the kids when they were watching the movie “Cats and Dogs: Revenge of Kitty Galore.” Lucky for…
Fairy Ring in Southern California neighborhood We apparently have fairies dancing at night in the neighborhood! I found this in a neighbors yard last fall, late one night, and I have been meaning to post the photo I took of it. Prior to finding this ring, I had only read about them, and never actually seen a fairy ring in person. Of course, I made sure not to step inside the ring. Being of Irish decent, I knew better. There…
Just so you know, Hanbury House blog is supported by its audience. Hanbury House may receive compensation from the links on this page if you decide to shop from them. Adding a Light Why did I choose to add a light source when I was building My Chicken Coop? When I got chickens, eggs were one of the main reasons for keeping them. A light in the coop keeps egg production going during the shorter days of winter. Domestic chickens are…
For many years, my family has been blessed with dozens of cans of homemade jelly from our concord grapevine. However, I can not take credit for anything other than the simple acts of planting, pruning, and infrequently watering. My next-door neighbor has been doing the time-consuming and messy part for us, in exchange for a share of the grapes’ bounty. Most years, she even does the harvesting. I felt like we were definitely getting the better end of the deal,…
The hardest part of letting my hens raise bantam chicks is we can’t keep them all, especially males. Penguin just recently decided she was done being mommy for her brood of chicks. Since I still have not gotten up the courage to process a rooster, it was time to rehome the extras we can’t keep in our little coop. They were 9 weeks old. This little fellow in the above picture went to a new home today, along with a…
Awhile ago, I posted about my guesses on sexing Bantam Cochin chicks based on my visual observations as they grew. With bantams, it is the only way to sex them, that or spending $25 a chick to get them DNA tested like Silkie breeders sometimes do before selling chicks. I raised, well Penguin raised a clutch of chicks recently. They turned 8 weeks old on Monday. Penguin had 6 chicks, but one is an Easter Egger. 4 cochins (white, partridge,…
Two weeks ago, I got an exciting package in the mail. It was a backyard chicken coop construction book! I know, I know, I already have a coop, why would I be excited? Because… my coop was used for one of the chapters in it! The publisher contacted me back during Girl Scout Cookie season in the Spring. I was so busy then, I never got around to posting about working on the pages for the book. I barely made…
I have to give my husband’s best friend’s grandma a big thank you when I see her. Back in the 1940s and 1950s, after she and her husband bought their home, she created a scrapbook full of clippings of home decorating ideas she liked. It has hundreds of either black and white or color images from a variety of old magazines and catalogs, everything from cute kitchen nooks, to furniture, to baby nurseries. Sadly, about 5 years ago, her home…