Ok - so I have wanted chickens for a long time now. Have done a whole lotta research on them. Got Jenna's book and read it cover to cover. Looked into coop designs. Had my husband build a coop (which is almost done - maybe this weekend if the weather holds out).
Now, we cannot start with baby chicks, for obvious reasons - you have seen most of the cast of characters here. Can you say chicken nuggets?! So, I have been looking and looking and looking for a place to buy started pullets or point of lay hens (are they the same thing??)...all over the Internet, in our paper, CraigsList, eBay classifieds, Backyard Chickens website, Chicken Trader, chicken swaps sites (which never seem to be close to me or they have already taken place - ARGH!)...I found 2 places fairly near to me (one is 25 mins away; the other is 45 mins.) but guess what - they only have babies that still need the heat lamp!
WILL I EVER GET CHICKENS??!?!?!
Friday, April 29, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Happy Easter!!
I hope you all had the chance to spend a great day with family and friends. We were able to spend the weekend with my husband's fabulous family. Everyone descended on Uncle Frank's house from as far away as New York State. There was too much to drink, many laughs to be had, and lots of love, hugs and kisses to go around. Always a fantastic time!!
And since it was a holiday weekend, we did absolutely nothing around the ole homestead this weekend :-) We were much too busy having too much fun! Hope you all got to take a break and enjoy some laughs and love with yours too.
And since it was a holiday weekend, we did absolutely nothing around the ole homestead this weekend :-) We were much too busy having too much fun! Hope you all got to take a break and enjoy some laughs and love with yours too.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Progress!
Sunday turned out to be a DRY day :-) We got a lot accomplished...
We got the doors and most of the trim on the coop and got it painted barn red - yay!
My hummingbirds have come back so I made some solution for them and put up the feeder.
I also got the second raised bed in the greenhouse planted with tomatoes, peppers, carrots, squash and some leaf lettuce. We picked up some plants at the home improvement store - dahlias, azaleas and another gardenia. We both love the August Beauty gardenias. Can't wait until they bloom!
We got the doors and most of the trim on the coop and got it painted barn red - yay!
My hummingbirds have come back so I made some solution for them and put up the feeder.
I also got the second raised bed in the greenhouse planted with tomatoes, peppers, carrots, squash and some leaf lettuce. We picked up some plants at the home improvement store - dahlias, azaleas and another gardenia. We both love the August Beauty gardenias. Can't wait until they bloom!
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Rainy Days...
Once again, we are getting rain....on Saturday...this has been the trend for a few weeks now. It is so hard to get anything done outside when you only have the weekends to get it all done. And at least one, if not both days, end up being washouts. I know we need the rain in order to make everything in the flower and vegetable gardens grow, but still....
Once again, they are forecasting storms for us - hopefully not as severe as last weekend - but there is still a good chance we will have severe thunderstorms, with wind and hail. April has come in like a lion this year. We even had a light frost the other morning - in the middle of April!
This has been a long, long winter - and it seems to want to keep hanging on this year. I seriously need some sunshine to help lift my spirits.
We did manage to get the roof on the chicken coop last night after my husband got home from work and before dark. So we are one step closer. We still need to put the doors on the front and over the nesting boxes, build the ramp, and put all the fencing around and over it. But, can't do it when it is RAINING....at this rate, I won't be getting any chickens until July! Well, we can only do the best we can with what we have to work with.
Sorry to be so "glass half empty" today...especially since it runneth over from all the rain ;-) Maybe we can get some things done tomorrow when they say the sun will come back. Keep your fingers crossed!
Once again, they are forecasting storms for us - hopefully not as severe as last weekend - but there is still a good chance we will have severe thunderstorms, with wind and hail. April has come in like a lion this year. We even had a light frost the other morning - in the middle of April!
This has been a long, long winter - and it seems to want to keep hanging on this year. I seriously need some sunshine to help lift my spirits.
We did manage to get the roof on the chicken coop last night after my husband got home from work and before dark. So we are one step closer. We still need to put the doors on the front and over the nesting boxes, build the ramp, and put all the fencing around and over it. But, can't do it when it is RAINING....at this rate, I won't be getting any chickens until July! Well, we can only do the best we can with what we have to work with.
Sorry to be so "glass half empty" today...especially since it runneth over from all the rain ;-) Maybe we can get some things done tomorrow when they say the sun will come back. Keep your fingers crossed!
Monday, April 11, 2011
Saturday Night
Each Friday and Saturday night, my husband and I sit out at the firepit. This is our relax and unwind from the week time. We are able to do this no matter what the weather - he has built a gazebo with a roof over it, and has installed tarps that we can roll down to keep the wind, rain or snow out; or roll up when we don't need them.
This past Saturday night was a different story all together....the weatherman said there was a 30% chance of severe thunderstorms. Usually, that is a pretty low percentage...however, we have learned that anything above a 20% chance, is probably going to happen. So as we were sitting outside, enjoying the fire, all of a sudden the wind started to pick up. And to the north, we started seeing flashes of lightning and hearing some rumbling of thunder. Then, my cell phone started getting a flood of messages (I am signed up to received severe weather alerts on my phone) - severe thunderstorm warnings, tornado watch - which then turned to a warning. So, we doused the fire and went inside to ride it out.
Then came the hail....it was sooooooo loud; and kept getting louder! I looked out at the porch and saw it - started out pretty small, maybe pea-sized. Then it started getting bigger:
It got really scary, but passed quickly. The speed of the storm was the only GOOD thing about it. We were thankful there was no damage to the cars or windows. But, the weekend was pretty much a washout with all the storms and rain. I don't know if we will ever get the chicken coop completed :-(
This past Saturday night was a different story all together....the weatherman said there was a 30% chance of severe thunderstorms. Usually, that is a pretty low percentage...however, we have learned that anything above a 20% chance, is probably going to happen. So as we were sitting outside, enjoying the fire, all of a sudden the wind started to pick up. And to the north, we started seeing flashes of lightning and hearing some rumbling of thunder. Then, my cell phone started getting a flood of messages (I am signed up to received severe weather alerts on my phone) - severe thunderstorm warnings, tornado watch - which then turned to a warning. So, we doused the fire and went inside to ride it out.
Then came the hail....it was sooooooo loud; and kept getting louder! I looked out at the porch and saw it - started out pretty small, maybe pea-sized. Then it started getting bigger:
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| Hail on the pool cover |
 |
| My husband holding a handful of hail |
It got really scary, but passed quickly. The speed of the storm was the only GOOD thing about it. We were thankful there was no damage to the cars or windows. But, the weekend was pretty much a washout with all the storms and rain. I don't know if we will ever get the chicken coop completed :-(
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| Progress as of a week ago - too much rain since then to get any more done on it |
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Bad news
As I was making my breakfast this morning, I got a phone call from my daughter. On her way to school, she was involved in a car accident. She apparently rear ended a pickup truck. She is ok. Her car is not. I remember how it felt when I got in my first accident when I was 16, driving my parent's car. It was a large car - as most were back then - and I felt terrible totalling it on my dad. But all he was worried about was whether I was ok. And I was - no injuries.
So this morning, I was on the other side - I was the parent hugging my 19 year old daughter at the crash site and making sure SHE was ok. The car can be fixed - and if not, it can be replaced. She cannot.
It's a hard pill to swallow, lesson to learn, but hopefully everything will be fine.
So this morning, I was on the other side - I was the parent hugging my 19 year old daughter at the crash site and making sure SHE was ok. The car can be fixed - and if not, it can be replaced. She cannot.
It's a hard pill to swallow, lesson to learn, but hopefully everything will be fine.
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