Henny Penny Farmette

It’s that time of the year when we mark the shortest day of the year, the beginning of winter, and the return of the light. I like to think of it as a day when I decide what I do and don’t want to take with me into the coming New Year.

The moon casts its cold light over the farmette through trees hanging onto their leaves.

We’ve had a run of cold nights with temperatures in the upper 20 degrees Fahrenheit. But the light will soon return and warm the Earth. Late January-early February marks the beginning of bare-root season. My work now includes pruning and spraying and clearing out the old to make way for rebirth and renewal.

Among the plants that renew are the fruit trees.  The pruned branches, garden clippings, and old vines are being recycled into compost for next spring’s garden. Come late spring, I’ll have trees with gorgeous canopies and tons of fruit to make into jam.

This DIY birdhouse is crafted from a repurposed fence board. Not all birds will take up residence in a house, but many will.

Garlic and onions are growing now and will through the winter months, thanks to our mild Mediterranean climate. But there is so much cleanup of the property that needs doing, I can only hope to start that today.

I’m putting out seed balls for the birds as well as refilling feeders and suet holders. Easy-to-find food keeps our feathered songsters around through spring when they start their families. For directions on making a birdhouse for your garden, check out https://hobbyreads.wordpress.com/category/crafts.

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Enjoy reading about farming topics? Check out my cozy mysteries–A BEELINE TO MURDER and also THE MURDER OF A QUEEN BEE  (both in the Henny Penny Farmette series from Kensington Publishing).

JOIN THE CHRISTMAS EVE FUN–Read a short excerpt from my newest book, THE MURDER OF A QUEEN BEE and check out blogger Brooke Bumgardner’s interview of me at http://www.brookeblogs.com

My farmette and bee-based novels are chocked full of recipes, farming tips, chicken and beekeeping tips, sayings and, of course, a charming cozy mystery. For more info, click on the links under the pictures.

The books are available through online retailers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, BAM, Kobo Books, and Walmart as well as from traditional bookstores everywhere.

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This debut novel launched the Henny Penny Farmette series of mysteries and sold out its first press run. It’s now available in mass market paperback and other formats.

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NEWLY RELEASED! This, the second cozy mystery in the Henny Penny Farmette series, is garnering great reviews from readers and industry publications. Get your copy while you can. It’s sure to sell out like novel #1.

A rustic, simple birdhouse has attracted a lodger

An old birdhouse made by the Boy Scouts seemed like ornamental yard art until we attached it to a pole on the back fence and planted the Sally Holmes climbing rose beneath it. When early spring rolled around, we noticed a fine little specimen of a bird began flitting about the little wooden birdhouse. He liked the proximity of the house to perching places, among them, the climbing rose and nearby fig, apricot, and pepper trees.

The amenities were also nice. There was the birdbath below in the middle of a flower box, plenty of seed in the bird feeder, and clumps of bushes in which to flit about. He and his lady friend promptly moved in and began building a nest.

Moonrise over a row of birdhouses next to our chicken house

My husband Carlos, the architect, decided to refine the birdhouse with a snazier design. He used painted boards. But the birds liked the rough-hewn, unpainted wood of the house the Boy Scouts had made.  Other birds came to check out the new row of houses, but so far none have moved in.

Carlos has remained undaunted. These little birdbrains just didn’t appreciate the beauty of what he was trying to give them, he reasoned. So he created what we have begun to call “the low rent district,” a series of unpainted birdhouses of simple design built together onto a trough that Carlos fills with seed to attract them. So far, this cluster of houses out in the open do not seem to have the appeal of the more rustic one atop the pole on the back fence.

Checking on the family inside

Birds like security and safety for their nests, just as humans do. Hence, location of a birdhouse to woodlands and brush-filled fields is preferable to a birdhouse out in the open. The entrance into the birdhouse (the hole) size is equally important. Our little feathered lodger doesn’t want a nasty blue jay or other marauder raiding the nest he and his mate have painstakingly built for their eggs and hatchings.

Lately, we’ve noticed the little bird who moved in last year (and filled our yard with lovely song) is back. It’s only November, so he and his mate must be planning an early move-in, maybe before other birds notice the house is currently unoccupied. What’s that old adage, the early bird gets the worm? Well, around here, it’s the prime real estate; unless, of course, you don’t mind living for a bit in the “low rent district.”