On Thu, 14 Jun 2007 21:41:36 -0600, Tom Bri <[log in to unmask]> wrote:


> Where and in what circumstances do you live in?
We live in Northern Colorado, in a foothills valley, on an acre lot.
The Big Thompson river is in our valley.
>
> What foods grow near you that you eat?
We have apple, peach, cherry and plum trees.  Black and red raspberries  
volunteered
under the trees and are bearing.  I also have strawberries.  In the shrub  
dept,
we have Nanking cherries, gooseberries, and serviceberries.  We have a  
native
mulberry (Texas mulberry) that volunteered in the yard and produces small
amounts of delicious mulberries.

I haven't been gardening much lately.  I have established perennial
arugula (sylvetta) which is delicious and grows by itself in our hot
dry summers.
>
> What animals?
We have had chickens for about 8 years now, mainly for eggs, but
occasionally meat.  As far as predators go, we have hawks, eagles, and
owls, coyotes, foxes, swift foxes, black bears all summer long, and the
occasional mountain lion (I haven't seen the mountain lion, but our  
neighbor
lost their dog to it).  The chickens are inside a 5-foot chain link
fence, with a solid chicken house at night, and we have lost few to
predators.  Oh yes, we also have raccoons.  We have elk in meadows near
us, but fortunately (for the sake of the fruit trees and shrubs) none
in the yard yet.  We used to see a lot of deer, but there are few now.

	Lynnet