OK, So the recent facebook changes have caused me to accelerate my decision to become friendlier with this thing I call my blog. I hope that I will be better at updating this because now it is the only media portal to our lives. So subscribe and join us in our adventure of life. I will do better updating, because I think I am getting past the feeling that I have to add pictures every time I post. Which was making it more of a chore than a fun update on us. So, every post will not have a picture (that was more for me than you) but hopefully they will be more often!
Feel free to let me know your blogs too and I would love to subscribe and keep up with you. I hope to not "loose" friends by this decision, but feel that the phase in life God has me at it it more important to give my children more of my love and attention.... and not facebook.
Thanks for still being a friend to me even though I am not a facebook junky.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
Chicken Coop and Run
So, it's been a while... a long while. I apologize, but really, I am just bad at this blogging thing. I can admit it, take it like a man.. or woman.. whatever. I suck. Anyway, now to the stuff you all didn't already know. Chickens! In the last post I mentioned that their would be a chicken update soon... well, that was back in February. Evidently I have a 2 year old's concept of time. So, here it is. I am sure you were all holding your breath waiting. They can take you off life support now.
We currently have 16 chickens, 14 or 15 hens and 1 or 2 roosters. The second rooster is still up for debate. We are patiently waiting for eggs... OK, maybe the patient part was a lie, but still, they aren't here yet and I am waiting.... any day now... gotta be. I will try to get pictures of the chickens up. I haven't been good with the camera lately, like you would have no idea that we have been swamped this summer with trips because I have no proof... no pictures. Like you already know, I suck.
The chickens are basically full grown and the rooster is a mean booger who is going to be dinner once our killing cone gets shipped. I had no intentions of killing our own, but I recently found out that our local hatchery's owner passed away and the family is selling it. Trying to have a good attitude about having to have a blood bath on our property. ugh.
Anyway, so easily distracted... the chicken coop and run. I had intended on calling it the Banty Shanty, but the kids keep freaking out when I call it that and refer to it as "the Chicken House". Real original, huh? So, I guess we have a Chicken House housed with, you guessed it, chickens.
The Coop is almost finished. We mainly need to side it and paint the said siding. Also the pop hole ladder is temporary. The stuff we are going to make it out of is currently underneath hundreds of pounds of siding. Then the coop is finished. The run is completely enclosed now. We had to put up aviary netting because the hawks were circling everyday and I swear I heard them forming a plan of attack. So, I asked Jeff nicely to put up aviary netting.... like that? Translation... I freaked out that my chickens were going to be eaten and had a close-to mental meltdown and Jeff caved and bought me aviary netting. That is pretty much how it went down.
Anyway, there is still much to do in the run. We need to put up shade structures and put the food and water outside on the north side (back side by the ladder in the picture). 
I totally just added all the pictures and am beyond frustrated at the layout of this blog thing. It doesn't preview the way I see it. It has them all in different order and the text is way whacked out. Just thought I would clue you all in to why my written voice may get slightly frustrated at times. Because I am ... frustrated that is.
There is a picture in here of Scooter, the rooster. He is black and white. Mean. Plump. You get the gist. He's standing by the pop hole door. Not sure where the picture will be. I am sure you can find it... That's another thing. It keeps changing fonts on me in the middle of typing. No wonder I don't blog more. Good golly.
Anywho, on the back side by the feeders is where the entrance to the peafowl shack will soon be. Because I am that crazy. So that is my blog for today. Taking bets on how long it will take me to post again. Not that I don't have it rigged or anything.
We currently have 16 chickens, 14 or 15 hens and 1 or 2 roosters. The second rooster is still up for debate. We are patiently waiting for eggs... OK, maybe the patient part was a lie, but still, they aren't here yet and I am waiting.... any day now... gotta be. I will try to get pictures of the chickens up. I haven't been good with the camera lately, like you would have no idea that we have been swamped this summer with trips because I have no proof... no pictures. Like you already know, I suck.
The chickens are basically full grown and the rooster is a mean booger who is going to be dinner once our killing cone gets shipped. I had no intentions of killing our own, but I recently found out that our local hatchery's owner passed away and the family is selling it. Trying to have a good attitude about having to have a blood bath on our property. ugh.
Anyway, so easily distracted... the chicken coop and run. I had intended on calling it the Banty Shanty, but the kids keep freaking out when I call it that and refer to it as "the Chicken House". Real original, huh? So, I guess we have a Chicken House housed with, you guessed it, chickens.
The Coop is almost finished. We mainly need to side it and paint the said siding. Also the pop hole ladder is temporary. The stuff we are going to make it out of is currently underneath hundreds of pounds of siding. Then the coop is finished. The run is completely enclosed now. We had to put up aviary netting because the hawks were circling everyday and I swear I heard them forming a plan of attack. So, I asked Jeff nicely to put up aviary netting.... like that? Translation... I freaked out that my chickens were going to be eaten and had a close-to mental meltdown and Jeff caved and bought me aviary netting. That is pretty much how it went down.
Anyway, there is still much to do in the run. We need to put up shade structures and put the food and water outside on the north side (back side by the ladder in the picture). 
I totally just added all the pictures and am beyond frustrated at the layout of this blog thing. It doesn't preview the way I see it. It has them all in different order and the text is way whacked out. Just thought I would clue you all in to why my written voice may get slightly frustrated at times. Because I am ... frustrated that is.
There is a picture in here of Scooter, the rooster. He is black and white. Mean. Plump. You get the gist. He's standing by the pop hole door. Not sure where the picture will be. I am sure you can find it... That's another thing. It keeps changing fonts on me in the middle of typing. No wonder I don't blog more. Good golly.
Anywho, on the back side by the feeders is where the entrance to the peafowl shack will soon be. Because I am that crazy. So that is my blog for today. Taking bets on how long it will take me to post again. Not that I don't have it rigged or anything.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Littles Update
So, I figured it was time for a Calla update. I forget to do this, because, well, frankly, it is hard to find the time to really do anything productive when you have three littles at your feet. So anyway, for the grandparents and great grandparents sake, here is an update.
Calla is 8 months, yup, 8. Time has flown with her. Maybe because there is so much to do or maybe because time just does that. She is the most happiest baby I have ever met. Everyone seems to say that about her. She has the biggest most contagious smile I have ever been around and I love it. She is army crawling around the house these days. She is a VERY good eater. Loves to play with her big sis and brother. Screams at people to get them to look at her and then charms them with her toothless grin. She has been sleeping through the night for quite a while now. She shares a bedroom with both Bren and Ikee. They all do great. Really she is a very content baby and I have to remember to spend one on one time with her because she rarely demands it. It goes without saying that her name fits her perfectly and she has won me over.
Isaac turned 2 before Christmas and had himself a tractor birthday, or as he calls it "GaGa". He is such a fun boy to be around. He is getting his two year molars which has been rough, but almost over. I find it hard to believe how much he is growing to be like his daddy everyday. He is at the oh so very cute stage where everything he does has that adorable factor to it. I will purposely give him cereal and milk just to watch him put the bowl up to his mouth to drink the milk. It makes me smile every time. He is talking more and more. His sentences are becoming so much more complex. It has been a relief to be able to communicate with him now. He is enjoying learning about the Bible in BSF and has mastered his answers of "Church", "God", "Jesus", and "Bible". He is beginning to pray for meals with the family and loves to shout AMEN and throw his hands up in the air. He is becoming such a little man. Currently his life is consumed with tractors and construction excavators. It is pretty much all he thinks about.
Bren is 3 1/2 and becoming a little lady. She goes to preschool two days week, and BSF once a week. She is also involved in AWANA and loves to say her verses. It amazes me how much she is absorbing and how she is connecting the dots to so much in life. And to think I was worried that she wasn't talking much, boy, I didn't have anything to worry about AT ALL. She is very talkative and will pretty much tell you how it is, at least in her mind. I have enjoyed her growing personality, and though it has it's rough days, she is very much like me. She has really taken to her sister and adores her. I have to be pretty watchful because she will try to pick her up and carry her around, precariously, I might add. We are starting to raise chickens and she has been very aware and excited. She has pretty much gone up a rung in development that I am having to adjust how our days go. She's even lost her baby face and looks like a little girl.
I am one proud mommy and wouldn't trade them for anything. Though there are moments, days, whatever, that I may throw my hands up in the air in frustration and joke about posting them on craigslist I love them dearly and they are my life; as chaotic as it may be. Well, that's that. Another day in the lyon pride. Stay tuned for a chicken update. Coming Soon!
Calla is 8 months, yup, 8. Time has flown with her. Maybe because there is so much to do or maybe because time just does that. She is the most happiest baby I have ever met. Everyone seems to say that about her. She has the biggest most contagious smile I have ever been around and I love it. She is army crawling around the house these days. She is a VERY good eater. Loves to play with her big sis and brother. Screams at people to get them to look at her and then charms them with her toothless grin. She has been sleeping through the night for quite a while now. She shares a bedroom with both Bren and Ikee. They all do great. Really she is a very content baby and I have to remember to spend one on one time with her because she rarely demands it. It goes without saying that her name fits her perfectly and she has won me over.
Isaac turned 2 before Christmas and had himself a tractor birthday, or as he calls it "GaGa". He is such a fun boy to be around. He is getting his two year molars which has been rough, but almost over. I find it hard to believe how much he is growing to be like his daddy everyday. He is at the oh so very cute stage where everything he does has that adorable factor to it. I will purposely give him cereal and milk just to watch him put the bowl up to his mouth to drink the milk. It makes me smile every time. He is talking more and more. His sentences are becoming so much more complex. It has been a relief to be able to communicate with him now. He is enjoying learning about the Bible in BSF and has mastered his answers of "Church", "God", "Jesus", and "Bible". He is beginning to pray for meals with the family and loves to shout AMEN and throw his hands up in the air. He is becoming such a little man. Currently his life is consumed with tractors and construction excavators. It is pretty much all he thinks about.
Bren is 3 1/2 and becoming a little lady. She goes to preschool two days week, and BSF once a week. She is also involved in AWANA and loves to say her verses. It amazes me how much she is absorbing and how she is connecting the dots to so much in life. And to think I was worried that she wasn't talking much, boy, I didn't have anything to worry about AT ALL. She is very talkative and will pretty much tell you how it is, at least in her mind. I have enjoyed her growing personality, and though it has it's rough days, she is very much like me. She has really taken to her sister and adores her. I have to be pretty watchful because she will try to pick her up and carry her around, precariously, I might add. We are starting to raise chickens and she has been very aware and excited. She has pretty much gone up a rung in development that I am having to adjust how our days go. She's even lost her baby face and looks like a little girl.
I am one proud mommy and wouldn't trade them for anything. Though there are moments, days, whatever, that I may throw my hands up in the air in frustration and joke about posting them on craigslist I love them dearly and they are my life; as chaotic as it may be. Well, that's that. Another day in the lyon pride. Stay tuned for a chicken update. Coming Soon!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Order Up!
Today we have officially committed. No turning back. The chicks have been ordered, reserved, and paid for. Jeff said I could get 10... I ordered 12... Jeff doesn't know this yet... Please pray for me :)
In my defense, it turns out that some breeds are very hard to determine the sex, they are called straight runs. Unfortunately 6 of the 12 chicks that I ordered are straight runs. So there is the possibility that I could be receiving 6 hens and 6 roosters. AND we won't know it until they start crowing at 8 weeks... ish.
Aren't we lucky? You may be seeing some craigslist postings for roosters come June.
This is why I internally justified ordering12. I couldn't help it. I know this also means that I could be receiving 12 hens, but the odds are not too high.
So, I thought that maybe you would all be just as enthusiastic to see what kind of breeds I ordered as I was to order them. So, of the 12, only 3 have names at this point. We are still working on that. I might wait to see what kind of personalities they have. Nonetheless... in order of arrival...
March 30th
2 Golden Campines
April 6th
1 Brown Leghorn
Noted as a prolific layer. I am thinking the name "Omelet" may suffice here.
1 Silver Wyandotte
1 White Crested Black Polish
She, if it is a she, will have the name "Lady Gaga", per Jeff. I thought it was a stroke of pure brilliance. Safe to say I am gaga over this one.
April 13th
1 Buff Orpington
2 Black Australorps
1 White Australorp
April 20th
1 Rhode Island Red
1 Barred Plymouth Rock
1 Araucana
All pictures have been borrowed from the internet, with the majority coming from www.backyardchickens.com. A wonderful website, if I don't say so myself.
Stay tunes for when we will have our very own pictures. I am sure they will be much cuter than these, coming from a mother.... hen.
In my defense, it turns out that some breeds are very hard to determine the sex, they are called straight runs. Unfortunately 6 of the 12 chicks that I ordered are straight runs. So there is the possibility that I could be receiving 6 hens and 6 roosters. AND we won't know it until they start crowing at 8 weeks... ish.
Aren't we lucky? You may be seeing some craigslist postings for roosters come June.
This is why I internally justified ordering12. I couldn't help it. I know this also means that I could be receiving 12 hens, but the odds are not too high.
So, I thought that maybe you would all be just as enthusiastic to see what kind of breeds I ordered as I was to order them. So, of the 12, only 3 have names at this point. We are still working on that. I might wait to see what kind of personalities they have. Nonetheless... in order of arrival...
March 30th
2 Golden Campines
April 6th
1 Brown Leghorn
Noted as a prolific layer. I am thinking the name "Omelet" may suffice here.
1 Silver Wyandotte
1 White Crested Black Polish
She, if it is a she, will have the name "Lady Gaga", per Jeff. I thought it was a stroke of pure brilliance. Safe to say I am gaga over this one.
April 13th
1 Buff Orpington
2 Black Australorps
1 White Australorp
April 20th
1 Rhode Island Red
1 Barred Plymouth Rock
1 Araucana
All pictures have been borrowed from the internet, with the majority coming from www.backyardchickens.com. A wonderful website, if I don't say so myself.
Stay tunes for when we will have our very own pictures. I am sure they will be much cuter than these, coming from a mother.... hen.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
The Price for Cuteness
OK, so along with this goal of a chicken coop and the chicks to inhabit it, we also decided to try to build the whole thing out of 50% recycled material... because we don't like to make things easy on ourselves. I might have mentioned that in an earlier post but can't completely remember. Anyway, it seems as though this may actually be much harder than we thought. People seem to place a monetary value on sentiment or emotions or whatever, because they are sure charging a lot for USED crap. I mean, don't get me wrong, I am willing to pay you for your stuff, but how much? Really?
Not to clump everybody we have interacted with into one type, there have been some very generous people out there who are even giving their stuff to us for free. We are very grateful. We are very blessed, and relieved that we won't go broke trying to lay a few eggs.
So, if you know anyone who wants to get rid of some materials please let us know. I feel like I am kicking a dead horse with this, but the squeaky wheel gets the oil.
On an adorable note, we have asked Bren and Isaac what they wanted to name their chickens. We received the names "Hannah" by Bren and "Meat" by Ikee. Couldn't help but to chuckle.
Not to clump everybody we have interacted with into one type, there have been some very generous people out there who are even giving their stuff to us for free. We are very grateful. We are very blessed, and relieved that we won't go broke trying to lay a few eggs.
Something else that didn't make it into consideration would be just how hard it would be to build with recycled material and still meet the "cute" factor. A cute factor purely set by Kate. If Jeff had his way the thing would be an overbuilt cardboard box, all in good jest. I hesitate to show you a picture of what we are going to do, because it is obviously made of new material and ours will, more likely than not, have a considerably lower "cute" factor.
So, if you know anyone who wants to get rid of some materials please let us know. I feel like I am kicking a dead horse with this, but the squeaky wheel gets the oil.
On an adorable note, we have asked Bren and Isaac what they wanted to name their chickens. We received the names "Hannah" by Bren and "Meat" by Ikee. Couldn't help but to chuckle.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Oh Dear!!!
The chicks are coming! The chicks are coming! This is my mantra now that I went to the local feed store today and found out that chicks start arriving on Feb. 23rd!!!!! I have so much research to do. Where will I find the time to figure it all out. Will we start building in time? Will I get everything figured out and bought and set up in time? AHHH, The chicks are coming, the chicks are coming!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
New Year's Resolution
Hello Blog! Nice to meet you again.
So, last time I wrote I wasn't sure if I was going to continue... and really, until just a bit ago, I wasn't. And then Jeff and I made a new year's resolution. So here I am, blogging about it. First things first, I don't do new year's resolutions. I fail... miserably, whenever I make one. So, about 10 years ago I made a new year's resolution to never make another new year's resolution again. Pretty sneaky, huh? Until now, I used to say that it was the only resolution that I stuck to; but as I told you before, I fail. So again, I have failed. We have a 2011 new year's resolution. I will defend my position in that it is a fun and exciting resolution. One I have never explored and am learning so much about. To some it may be nothing new, to others I am crazy.
So, here we have it.... we are raising chickens!
I have done so much research that I overfloweth with information. Seriously, chicken facts flows out of my mouth with no effort. I have lived and breathed chicken for 3 whole days. My house is a wreck and laundry is exploding. OK, so today I had to dial back with some convicting from my BSF study, but my mind is definitely consumed when not in deliberate thought about something else.
And the laundry really needed to get done.
Jeff is possibly regretting his decision to let me take on this adventure as I have been talking about it as often as he talked about his fantasy football team. I say "fair's fair". Actually, he is pretty excited. More probably because I am finally getting amped up about something rather than just going through the motions of life-as-a-mom-with-toddlers. And he gets to build something.
So, now a few details. I will spare you extreme details, and just give you a little to wet your appetite... with chicken.... can you hear the snickering? OK, I'm sorry. The details.
So, last time I wrote I wasn't sure if I was going to continue... and really, until just a bit ago, I wasn't. And then Jeff and I made a new year's resolution. So here I am, blogging about it. First things first, I don't do new year's resolutions. I fail... miserably, whenever I make one. So, about 10 years ago I made a new year's resolution to never make another new year's resolution again. Pretty sneaky, huh? Until now, I used to say that it was the only resolution that I stuck to; but as I told you before, I fail. So again, I have failed. We have a 2011 new year's resolution. I will defend my position in that it is a fun and exciting resolution. One I have never explored and am learning so much about. To some it may be nothing new, to others I am crazy.
So, here we have it.... we are raising chickens!
I have done so much research that I overfloweth with information. Seriously, chicken facts flows out of my mouth with no effort. I have lived and breathed chicken for 3 whole days. My house is a wreck and laundry is exploding. OK, so today I had to dial back with some convicting from my BSF study, but my mind is definitely consumed when not in deliberate thought about something else.
And the laundry really needed to get done.Jeff is possibly regretting his decision to let me take on this adventure as I have been talking about it as often as he talked about his fantasy football team. I say "fair's fair". Actually, he is pretty excited. More probably because I am finally getting amped up about something rather than just going through the motions of life-as-a-mom-with-toddlers. And he gets to build something.
So, now a few details. I will spare you extreme details, and just give you a little to wet your appetite... with chicken.... can you hear the snickering? OK, I'm sorry. The details.
- We are starting with 10 chicks, of different varieties.
- We will raise them in our garage until they can live in the hen house.
- Our hen house will hold up to 30 full grown chickens and bantams.
- Our hen house will have a name and be cute, more on this in another post.
- Our hen house will "hopefully" be built out of 50% recycled material, more if attainable.
- Our chicken coop will provide even more manure for our compost, and ultimately our garden.
- Our chickens will all be named, and collectively be called "the girls". I thought I was clever with this one. Jeff rolled his eyes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)