The Coop Scoop. .

Remember our chicken adventure that started last April?

We had issues over the summer with raccoons. .

and lately, issues with stray dogs. .

And I mentioned that we were getting ready to replenish our little flock with some larger birds bought from friends. .

We finally got the hens a few weeks ago. .

and kept them shut up in the pens for a week to get them used to our system. .

These are Rhode Island Reds. .mostly. .

and they lay beautiful BROWN eggs. .

The first day that we had them, Cami and I went to check on them after lunch. She was looking around and exclaimed "Mama. .there's an egg!! Sure enough, there on the ground of the pen was a nice, large, very brown egg!! Woo Hoo!!

Since then, the guys have revamped our coop a bit to accommodate the girls, and give them more nesting room. (While I was out enjoying the Lion King. .see previous post!) They are laying about 6-10 eggs per day!! Last weekend we enjoyed Egg drop soup and egg salad sandwiches. .and we made 5 cream pies, which used lots of egg yolks. So we don't have surplus YET. .but we look forward to a steady stash of organic eggs! Tristan has been looking forward to learning to bake an angel food cake (from scratch) so the extra eggs will come in handy!

As for these two girls. .

the only remaining of our original flock. .

lovingly referred to as the "roadrunner chickens" (cause these gals have some serious SPEED!)

One of them blessed us weeks ago with AN egg. .

You may remember Grant's photograph of it. .

And we never saw another egg. .

Until. .

I looked closely as I was watering the sweet potato vine. .

Crazy girls. .I pulled 13 eggs out of this little hidey hole. .

And they haven't laid another one in there since. .

Wonder where we will find them next!!

Enjoy your day. .

and thanks for stopping by!

The New SCoop

June has arrived with all that comes with it. .

Harvest. .

Baseball. .

Birds and Blooms. .

Camp plans. .

Water fun. .

And with lots of weekend events upcoming on our calendar. .

THIS weekend. .

we spent working on a project.

The chickens have been growing by leaps and bounds. .

This little chick coop, loaned to us by our friend. .

is about to become obsolete here.

And we have been checking out different coops and plans on the internet for weeks now.

When you are verbal about what you do in life. .

it is amazing the way events will turn. .

LIKE. .

this trailer full of chicken coop parts. .

FREE. .

to keep them out of the landfill.

SWEET!

Saturday  morning found us out in the temperate weather deciding on a location. We discussed the possibilities and decided to position it near the tree row. .to provide treats and shade. Jeremy trimmed the trees a bit. .You can see the kids' treehouse, so they will have an up close and personal view of the flock.

Grant was around long enough to help out a little before he went to his job on the harvest crew. And he was soooo happy about it. And Miss Thing. ."helped" while wearing her stylish PJ's until nearly lunchtime. .and then only changed because we told her she couldn't go into the restaurant like that.

And, alas, NO one is immune from helping. .

I considered declaring that I was supervisory staff ONLY. .but I KNEW that wouldn't fly. .so I donned my post hole diggers. .and my quiet and gentle spirit (teehee). . 

and reported for duty.

The crazy thing is. .

that we were working off the ideas in our heads. .

two pictures I had printed off the internet. .

and the free materials we had available. .

And thank goodness for internet access. .

so we could quickly google how large to make a nest box!!

We have 10 surviving chickens. .Out of 12. .

Not too bad. 8 hens, and 2 roosters we think.

So we needed between 2-4 nesting boxes. .Jeremy designed a stack of 2 on top and 2 on bottom.

This little door on the side opens up so we can easily collect the eggs from the outside of the coop. Cami is watching the activity from the opening where the chickens will walk up into their home.

Yesterday, they finished the chicken ramp. We hope it isn't too steep for them. .

There are little boards to help them keep their footing as they go up. We decided it would be nice to have the coop up off the ground, like some photos I had seen. .and would be easiest to situate it right on top of the fencing.

In retrospect. .Plans would have been good.

By the end of the day, when Jeremy would say, "Oh, I shoulda done that a little different." I just had to smile! I'm not sure either one of us REALLY knew what was going to happen before it happened. So the fact that it turned out at ALL is probably nothing short of miraculous.

But it all came out OK. .

Well, if the chickens like it, that is.

And they have a night or two more in the little pen before we know.

We ran out of paint. .and needed a bit more lumber to enclose the platform under the coop. It will have doors on it and will hold the extra feed and chicken supplies.

And as soon as we finish a couple of spots in the fencing. .

It will be ready to move the chickens into. .

and hope for the best!!

I'll definitely keep ya posted. .

And, since we discovered YESTERDAY that Devin can take a chicken or two to show in open class at the county fair. .

This girl had better WATCH OUT!!

Or Devin had better watch out. .

I'll keep ya posted on that too!!

Have a blessed week. .

And thanks for stopping by to see what crazy family has been up to!

A Tisket, A Tasket. .

So far, the weekend has been a great opportunity to slow our pace a little bit, and catch a needed breath of fresh air!! The weather has been perfect!! The sea of larkspur is in full glory!! We caught sight of a tiny little male ruby throated hummingbird devouring the pollen Friday. .we have seen glimpses of hummers for several weeks now, but hadn't gotten close enough to see them. I have only seen one at a time. .so there may only be one around, and it may be different ones as they fly north! I was able to really see this guy with the binoculars, but just couldn't get close enough to get a photo. .you'll just have to take my word that he was C-U-T-E!! 

The girls are getting big. .and finally don't look so horrid!! Yesterday we let them out of the cage in the morning. .and after seeing that the cats weren't too interested in them anymore. .let them run around all day long!!

They stay busy, busy. .picking through the weeds. .they also enjoy sitting all together as a group in the shade, napping!!

I got most of my containers filled up this past week. .and was glad to have gotten my funnel planters loaded up again!! I chose an asparagus fern and a black eyed susan vine. 

The purple water iris bloomed last week (thanks Becky!) and the water lily has more than one bloom at a time already! The fish are re-trained to come swimmin' at the sound of our voices. .they are fun to watch, especially when they eat!!

And the front succulent garden has filled in well. Everything seems so much larger than life as compared to last year. .so I can't wait to see how much everything grows over the 

summer!

The veggie garden is doing well. .Here is our potato crop. .Yukon gold and Red Norland. 

Behind the potatos, along the fence are 2 Crimson Red rhubarb plants, ready to be made into a pie. .2 red lathum raspberry bushes (one with some berries even) and 2 Navaho thornless blackberry bushes.  The tomatoes are to the right side of the photo. .but aren't large enough to see really well.

The brick planter has garlic (a new crop for us). .and to the right of that are beets, peppers, broccoli; and in front of it are more peppers, basil (self seeded from last year) carrots, and lettuce mixes. I have seeded in melons and cukes, and put some squash seeds and gourd seeds in the greenhouse to sprout.  You can see to the right lower corner, the spiky green grass looking plant. .my old nemesis. .the Johnson grass!! That area still needs some cardboard mulch to go down, and hopefully the melons will crawl out onto the mulched down middle as it smothers the grass (HOPEFULLY) 

In honor of Mother's Day, I wanted to share one of my favorite passages from the Bible. .

Mainly, because this woman they are speaking of in the passage. .

is someone whom I would really like to emulate in my life. .

and strive to become someday!! 

Proverbs 31:10-30

¹⁰ 

Who can find a virtuous and capable wife?

    She is more precious than rubies.

Her husband can trust her,

    and she will greatly enrich his life.

¹² 

She brings him good, not harm,

    all the days of her life.

This weekend the Silver lace vine got a face lift  using jute to tie up the stragglers. The memory garden is across the sidewalk from this vine.

She finds wool and flax

    and busily spins it.

¹⁴ 

She is like a merchant’s ship,

    bringing her food from afar.

¹⁵ 

She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household

    and plan the day’s work for her servant girls.

She goes to inspect a field and buys it;

    with her earnings she plants a vineyard.

She is energetic and strong,

    a hard worker.

The hollyhocks are just starting, and amazingly. .there are three different colors blooming side by side in the front garden bed. Not too often can I shoot their photo with nice looking leaves too!!

She makes sure her dealings are profitable;

    her lamp burns late into the night.

¹⁹ 

Her hands are busy spinning thread,

    her fingers twisting fiber.

²⁰ 

She extends a helping hand to the poor

    and opens her arms to the needy.

²¹ 

She has no fear of winter for her household,

    for everyone has warm clothes.

She makes her own bedspreads.

    She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns. 

The Mexican hat has self seeded, as has the gray headed coneflowers planted last spring from High Country Gardens. .The buds are formed, and I can hardly WAIT for their colors to pop. .you can bet I'll be posting their pondside display!!

Her husband is well known at the city gates,

    where he sits with the other civic leaders.

She makes belted linen garments

    and sashes to sell to the merchants.

She is clothed with strength and dignity,

    and she laughs without fear of the future.

Such a vivid purple of the larkspur next to the passed along penstemon plant from my friend Pat!

When she speaks, her words are wise,

    and she gives instructions with kindness.

 

She carefully watches everything in her household

    and suffers nothing from laziness.

The zip line got another overhaul last weekend by my dear hubby!!  Now even Cami can climb the ladder to get on if the handles are close!

 Her children stand and bless her.
    Her husband praises her:
 “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world,
    but you surpass them all!”

The red hot pokers bloomed. I was slightly disappointed in the length of their blooms, but they bloomed long enough that the hummer was sighted on them too!

Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last;
    but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.
 Reward her for all she has done.
    Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.

HAHAHA! Can you just imagine the gossip?

Happy Mother's Day!!

A little over a week, and I will be the mom of TWO high school kids. .stay tuned!!

So STINKIN' Cute!!

Our family has embarked on a new adventure this past week!!

We have been discussing the concept of raising some chickens around here for a number of months now. .

But. .with the events occuring over the last month. .it was dropped.

UNTIL. .

Jeremy took his two best girls on a little shopping trip to replace some dead trees last Friday. .

And THEN we did it. .flashed him our puppy dogs eyes and begged. .

Please, please, please, PLEASE!!

And you have never seen a happier crew!! Cami could hardly STAND the ride home with two little "take out boxes" of chickens nestled next to her on the pickup seat.

And then she and I sat next to their cardboard box in the bathroom (the warmest place in the house, since we found out after we got home that the heat lamp was missing) and she chose each chick, one by meticulous one. .and held her close. .giving snuggles and kisses. Say hello to Chicken Little. .the only one that has a name.

Are they not ADORABLE?!? As soon as Tristan was free, he was also into the chicken box picking them out and up. .

And playing the role of "chicken whisperer." We frequently tell him what a dork he is ;-)

Many times I found myself checking in on the little creatures. .as I prepared for bed Saturday night. .I saw the chicks all snuggle down for a nap of their own. .except for the little chick in the middle. .She, truly, has a personality disorder. She was convinced that SOMEONE should be up keeping her company. .and she would peck each of them on the head until they wiggled enough to open their eyes and look at her.

Finally, and grudgingly. .she settled in too. .not finding anyone to hang out with. But they were awake off and on all night long. .just like having babies!! Hmmm!

We brought home 7 hens and one rooster. Like the 3 roosters I have personally borne. .the testosterone effect comes into play VERY early in life. This little guy spends a LOT of time on top of the waterer overlooking his girls!! I got tickled to see how the girls just sit there, obediently watching. .as if they are taking it all in!!

Easter Sunday was SOOO beautiful, that the kids just couldn't resist taking the babies outside to see what they would do.

They scratched and pecked around in the grass, occasionally finding a small bug to snatch up.

Devin enjoyed helping them out. .and he was digging up worms from my compost pile as fast as he could. I was amazed and amused to watch the small chicks gobble those up!!

Tristan and his friend Braden went on a parts run Saturday and brought home a few more chicks. .so now our flock numbers 12.

They are currently residing in a big cardboard box in my kitchen with a borrowed lamp. Jeremy plans to borrow a small chicken pen for baby chicks from our friend this week. .so we can turn them into that with a heat lamp. Day by day they seem to have less fuzz and more feathers. .and I do believe that they will be pretty little girls really soon!!

I will certainly be keeping you all updated with how our new project progresses. .

Bring on the grasshoppers!!!

We're ready!!

Yard updates will be coming soon!!

Happy Tuesday, ya'll!!