Piper and Camilla

Jewels in a Basket

I was thinking about the eggs that our chickens lay each day, and then I pulled them out of the refrigerator to look at them. They are really beautiful. Each one is different, each hen does not lay the same egg twice. Sometimes they are slightly spotted or bumpy, sometimes they are perfectly smooth and uniform in color. They are also precious, life sustaining, nourishment for our bodies. Chickens and cows are probably the two most useful farm animals to keep, as they provide sustenance on a daily basis, and they also can be eaten themselves. But, unlike a cow, chickens are easy to keep. They don't require alot of special care, they do not need to be milked twice a day, and they don't need alot of room. They provide us with entertainment (have you ever seen a chicken run?). I am also waiting for their manure to fully compost so I can start using it in the garden. I hope to always be able to keep chickens. I hope to bring in a few jewels in a basket for the rest of my days.

Random Pictures of Us

Happy tongue baby.

The Monarchs are back!Dahlia

Pretty lettuce plant.

Piper & Delilah.

Lime tree blossoms.

Garden beds in the backyard.

Tristan in the coop.

Happy Joyon.

Jolyon in his super baby suit.

These are Jolyon's "faces" that he likes to make. Very entertaining.

"O" baby.

Angry baby.

Fiddle

I'm trying to learn how to play the fiddle. I have wonderful visions of sitting out in the backyard in the evenings playing lovely tunes, while the chickens peck around. I'm sure this will be far from reality with three children, but it is fun to dream right? Anyway, I thought a picture of my fiddle should be taken, and the chickens just happened to wander in front of it. At least I can say that the fiddle has been in the backyard while the chickens are out. Thank goodness for small things!

Bug Patrol

This morning, the girls (a.k.a. the chickens) spent some time in the garden for the first time. Sam was pulling some weeds around the base of one of the raised beds, and found a nest of pinchy bugs. Well, the girls went crazy, snatching them up as fast as possible, playing keep away with each other, and just having about as much fun as a chicken can have. Besides eggs, this is one of the best reasons to have chickens. Our lettuce was getting full of pinchy bugs, and now their numbers will be severly reduced. After a while, they were looking a little worn out, and it was time to put them back. Tristan carried Delilah (his favorite, because she is the easiest to catch) and I caught him kissing the top of her little fluffy head. Oohh! Chicken love!!

Four new Friends

We have chickens again! Yesterday we came home with 3 fluffy little chicks. Two Aracandas and one leghorn. After doing some internet searches though we decided to trade the leghorn in for two mor Aracandas. We read on several sites that leghorns can be aggressive and noisy. Not a good choice for backyard chickens. Right now the girls are one week old and they are living in a plastic tub in our kitchen. Their names are Delilah, Camilla, Flora, and Stella.