Chickens: End of week one

Well we have officially concluded the first week of chicken ownership. It has been so fun watching them grow, and getting to know each chicken's personality. We have already had to move them from the original brooder we took them home in. They were already flying out. A couple of days ago I heard a very distressed little chick peeping and peeping, when I went in the chick was all alone on the floor out of the brooder, and very unhappy.   I could have just put a top on it but felt like they could use more room anyways. So we are using a plastic kiddie pool and the guinea pigs wire fencing (we use to let them roam in the grass) So far no one has flown out. We have also added sticks for perching which they seem to enjoy.

Their tastes are expanding. In addition to corn on the cob and swiss chard, they love cucumber, meal worms, and radish greens. I just give them small amounts at a time so they can try different things, with out upsetting their digestion.

There was a house fly cruising around their brooder and they chased it around and tried to catch it. I am so impressed with their instincts. :)

Already I have left them alone for a whole day. Some work friends of Joey's were camping near by and we went to meet them for the evening, we ended up staying that night and most of Saturday until some one mentioned something about my chicks... and I suddenly had visions of tipped waterers, loose chicks, and hungry chicks and we got home that evening. I rushed in to check on them, and they were all snuggled down for a group nap, excited to see me as I am the barer of all things tasty, but otherwise perfectly content.

The kids have been a bit disappointed the chicks no longer enjoy being held and snuggled like on that first day, and really get distressed by being separated from each other, peeping loudly until they are back with the others. I think we will need to get a snugly kitten next :)

Homesteading

I put away the four loads of laundry I washed and hung on the line yesterday,

Cut swiss chard and the the bolted spinach from our garden, laying the seeded sections of the spinach back on the ground to start a new cycle of spinach

Made a mental note to weed the carrot bed, grass is trying to take over

Fed  the chicks, rabbit, and guinea pigs some of the swiss chard and the spinach.

Took out the recycling and compost

Started working on sewing diaper covers, bibs, and a blanket for our coming baby

Our house is cozy and small, but plenty big enough for us to live comfortably.

We don't have a dishwasher, toaster, microwave oven, or television (we watch movies on the computer).  I thought we were pretty high tech with a coffee maker.

and this morning it hit me. I am homesteading.

According to author John Seymour, "urban homesteading" incorporates small-scale, sustainable agriculture and homemaking. I have always adored the idea of homesteading, and being self sufficient, and always thought it would be hard and complicated and a lot of work. But step by step we are getting more and more self sufficient. We have a huge garden which we often eat from, several fruit trees, blue berry bushes, I planted a butterfly garden as a natural barrier between our yard and the neighbors. We compost, just got chicks which will soon be giving us eggs.  A bunny that is mature enough to start producing babies for my husband to eat... she just needs a boyfriend. There is still a lot we want to do, and get planted but it all takes time and work. Small step by step we are homesteading. Very exciting realization!

New babies

Since work has slowed down for me, I thought it would be a good time to focus on something else.   So after talking about it since the winter, and meaning to get some all spring, Sunday we got finally got 4 adorable baby chicks.

Their names are (Left to Right) Groovy, Chicky-chick ( a temporary name until Ocean can come up with a one she really likes) Daisy and Penguin. They are about 2 1/2 Weeks old, sturdy but still fluffy and very cute :)

They are so so fascinating to watch, intrigued by every little thing.

Day 1   Sunday

We picked out four chicks from Eagledove Greenhouse and Nursery. (two Ameraucanas, lay blue eggs and two Black Australorps, power layers that lay brown eggs) We gave them lettuce from the garden to try and at first they were all extremely afraid of it, until one brave chick was too curious and pecked at it, finding out it was actually tasty. Soon they were all pecking at it, fighting for a good pecking spot. So funny.

The kids loved holding them. I was not sure how much they should be handled on their first day, but they seemed fine and settled right down and fell right to sleep snuggling their respective child while they watched a movie. Completely adorable.

Day 2 Monday

 Today's experimental toy and food is a corn cob. They have loved  it, walking in circles to take turns pecking and stepping on it.

The book recommends checking on them at least 5 times a day. I have checked on them at least 20 times just this morning!  Every time I hear them I want to know what they are doing.

I had intended to keep them in the living room, but don't want the daycare kids terrorizing them so I put them in Raine's room, which is just adjacent to the play room with a window that gets a lot of light to keep the room warm.  As they get a little bit older I look forward to taking them on excursions outside.

They have already seriously bonded with each other. I took one out to sit with it and it started peeping loudly, so I got him out a friend. Then the two left in the brooder started peeping and peeping. So I got them out as well but 4 fidgety chicks was too many to hold with out help so they all went back.

Its a....

Well I had an ultra sound yesterday and we are having a girl!  We am so excited!  I was slightly surprised because I had a very vivid dream about announcing that we were having a boy but I always said I wanted to have a girl first. :) Raine was a little bit sad about being so out numbered with girls and Layke would have preferred a boy but her and Ocean are very excited to start clothes shopping with me.

My sister is coming to visit for two weeks then I am flying back with her to go visit the rest of my family. I am SO excited! I haven't been to visit since November, so I is definitely time!

Other than that I am very excited for the warmer weather and have been working on getting our garden all planted... which is a slow process because our garden beds need to be prepared and re-prepared to help plants survive the sections of rock hard clay soil.

I look forward to having a large garden this year, and doing more preserving.  Things I am planting or growing include watermelon, beans, pumpkins, tomatoes, rainbow chard, spinach, dill, cucumbers, spaghetti squash, zucchini, carrots, radishes, Sugar peas, lavender, marigolds and nasturtium. I probably missed few but those are the main ones. :)  Very ambitious, but I am very excited!

Well life is not always what you plan it.. but that keeps things interesting!  I had planned on focusing on running  and training for a half marathon with my sister and taking a break from "trying" to getting pregnant, but instead I got pregnant the first month of my "break".  I am actually very happy, that is just the way I wanted it, naturally without stress or overly trying.   We are so excited!  I am due mid October. So almost 3 months along now... So far pregnancy has been miserable... Morning sickness not just in the morning but all! the! time! I have been feeling better this last week or so, but today am back to feeling truly awful, and puking all morning. I have finally got my stomach settled and now am exhausted.  I am so thankful for a light day at work!

Life has been moving right along. Ocean had her birthday in March and turned 13! Our yard is already in full bloom and I am attempting to get our garden together. I love watching all the spring time animal activity. Birds and squirrels courting and making nests, baby birds squawking for food.  This is our first spring in this house, so it has been fun to watch daffodils and other flowers unexpectedly pop up.

It is spring break for Ocean, Raine, and Layke and it has been so fun to spend extra time with them. Yesterday we had breakfast in the tree house, jumped on the trampoline with the sprinkler, worked on Layke's fairy house, I finished mowing the lawn, then when there was a crazy rain storm went out in the rain (after the lightning stopped) and got ice cream from the ice cream man who cruises our street. They successfully ate just about ALL the food in the house so we stopped by a non named fast food joint that I swear never to go to for "dinner". What can I say they wear me out! But it was a wonderful day. I feel like I don't always get to spend time really being with them, but running around to soccer and here and there. They decided they wanted to stay at the house all day, so it was fun coming up with fun things to do without going anywhere. Its nice to just stay home sometimes.

Joey has been back to working out of town, it was so nice to have him home during the winter when work was slow. He is looking at going back to school for a career change so he can be around more. Weekends aren't enough!

I have been loving the warm spring weather, and the dramatic almost daily thunder storms. I am looking forward to the summer and enjoying the sunshine as much as possible!

Happy New Year!

This year feel so fresh and new! I look forward to this year.

All in all 2011 was challenging but I am very grateful for all the opportunities my family and I have been given. It has been a more difficult transition than I ever would have known picking up everything and moving across the country.

Although I never saw my family much more than I do now, they feel farther away and I miss being "close". I also went through a major career change, and am still in the first year of running my own business. That has been very challenging, but I am so thankful to live in a country where running my own business is a viable option.



Some goal for this year include:
Really settling into our house, better organizing the house and unpacking the last of the boxes in the garage
Continuing to reminding myself of all the _good_ aspects of running my own childcare business out of our home
Fully embracing living in North Carolina, and making more friends
Running the Riverton half marathon in March with my sister
And focusing on enjoying every moment, every breath, not always looking forward to " I can be happy when this happens... "

I wish you a very happy New Year!

Autumn Time

I'm sure I say it about every season, but I love and adore Autumn.
I love warm sweaters, and scarfs.
I am getting excited for knitting and just need to come up with a project using some of the yarn I already have.
I love the brillant colors of the changing leaves.
I love seeing squirrels running around burying snack for winter time.
I love watching the birds devour the sunflower we grew. I look forward to feeding our cardinals and other non migrating birds this winter...