In the garden: The fruit of our labor

It's a (nearly) wordless Wednesday...

In the garden: Signs of spring

I really don't mean to make any of you northerners jealous when I talk about spring arriving in February. Try to remember that our spring ends in May when the 95-degree weather arrives.

Summer here is kind of like winter in the north. Except that we can grow eggplant and chili peppers. We stay indoors a lot. I do all my summer gardening before 9 a.m., or after 7 p.m. when it's shady. Summer is our indoors-or-in-the-pool season. Except, we don't have a pool.

In any case, it's not summer yet, and I'm happy to be enjoying spring, whether you're jealous or not!


We've been outside as much as possible on dry days. I go out to weed or take care of the chickens, and the boys beg me to jump on the trampoline with them.

I oblige, partially because they're so cute, and partially because I'm hoping to lose the 15 pounds I gained in 2008 by the end of April. Otherwise, I'll have to go shopping for a whole new summer wardrobe in a size I never thought I'd wear again unless I was pregnant. Wish me luck.

Scott built a new fence for the chickens this month, at my request. In November I had him put a removable chicken wire fence around the winter vegetable bed. But it seemed like a lot of trouble to do that around all the new beds, too.

As much I love to let the hens roam free around the yard, they've made quite a mess of my perennial beds. And the kids kept tracking chicken poop into the house. Plus I don't want them eating up my new plants when I put in the spring vegetable garden.

Last year I shooed the chickens away from the tomatoes as much as I could, but they got their fair share. They LOVE tomatoes. And carrot tops. They totally dug up the carrot patch. I ended up with two carrots out of the four rows I planted.

But I didn't want my girls confined to the covered coop, either, as nice as it may be. They need some uncovered area to scratch for bugs and weeds. Right now there aren't too many weeds inside their fence, because it was too well mulched.

I let them inside the winter bed a few days ago, so they could nibble on overgrown arugula and young dandelions. Of course, they thought the tiny new broccoli heads were tasty, too.

In the garden: Seedy dreams

Last week I gave in to my yearning for just a few more kinds of seeds, and put in my order with Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. I debated whether to order from there or from Seeds of Change, but the lower prices won out. Because the Baker Creek packages hold fewer seeds and are priced accordingly, I could buy three varieties for the price of two at Seeds of Change. (I'll still order certain things for fall from SOC.)

They're not all certified organic, but they're heirloom and GMO-free, and I loved reading through all the histories of the plants!

So, yesterday I decided to go through and reorganize the seeds I already have. I spent so much time poring over seed packets that two-dimensional vegetable images filled my dreams last night. I probably should have done this before ordering. Fortunately, I didn't duplicate anything, although I'll have more than enough varieties of green beans and tomatoes.

This is what I plan to plant this year:

Peas - Oregon Sugar Pod, Super Sugar Snap, Snow Pea Taichung, and Little Marvel. I grew seedlings in September, but our October heatwave wiped them out. I'm really hoping I'm not too late to begin again. It warms up here very quickly, sometimes 90 degrees in March. But I'm going to try.

Chinese cabbage - Michihli

Onions - I put two kinds in the ground in November, and plan to add another batch of organic cippolinis, Walla Wallas, and red burgundy.

Broccoli - Organic Green-Sprouting Calabrese. My kids love broccoli, especially fresh off the plant. The first tiny heads are starting to form on the broccoli I planted in November, and I'll plant more soon.

Beets -- Organic Tall Top Early Wonder. I'll plant these along the new chicken fence so they can eat the greens. Hopefully the beets will be ready in time for chocolate birthday cakes in April!

Carrots - Danvers. Planted these in November, time for another round.

Parsley - Italian Gigante. Can never have too much!

Arugula - Roquette. This is already overgrown from my fall planting. I wasn't very good about harvesting it, but I'm going to try again.

Spinach - Organic Longstanding Bloomsdale. Coming up now, but I'll plant some more for later.

Lettuce - Organic Bibb. This did really well last summer. Maybe my clothes will actually fit if I eat salad everyday...

Beans - Organic Kentucky wonder, Henderson's Black Valentine, Dragon Tongue! How could I resist a purple striped green bean named after a dragon!?

Corn - Country Gentleman Sweet Corn, Hopi Pink Flour Corn, Dakota Black Popcorn. All part of my Baker Creek order.

Tomatoes - Organic San Marzanos, Organic Burbank, Beefsteak, Mama Leone, Illinois Beauty, Old Virginia. I started the San Marzanos two weeks ago when the weather was beautiful. Then it froze two nights ago, so we'll see how they do. Duh. The last three are from Baker Creek.

Eggplant - SOC organic Italian White, Rosa Bianca, Ma-Zu Purple Chinese. Hopefully I didn't go overboard on this. Last year we had only one plant which fed us eggplant parmesan and Ratatouille every week for months!

Hot peppers - Chili De Comida. "Pepper of Food."

Sweet peppers - Corno di Toro Rossos. That's a red Italian heirloom pepper. I also saved yellow bell pepper seeds from last year.

Tomatillo - Verde

Basil - Italian Pesto.

Melons - Crimson Sweet watermelon, Chilean Black Seeded watermelon, Native American red seeded watermelon, organic cantaloupe. I saved the organic cantaloupe seeds from one we got from our CSA last year. The NA seeds are from my friend Mark. And the Chilean seeds I ordered from Baker Creek.

Summer squash - Cocozella di Napoli, Zucchino Rampicante (Zucca d'Albenga). From Baker Creek: "The famous Italian heirloom vining zucchini and pumpkin, long, slender 15" fruit have a flat bulb at the bottom. They are one of the best eating summer squash, very tender, mild and sweet tasting. The flavor is superb! This squash is also great as winter squash. The Italians use it for stuffing in gnocchi and ravioli; the flesh is rich and flavorful, great for baking and pies! The vines produce good yields of this great all-purpose squash."

Winter squash - Early butternut, Delicata

I also ordered Arikara Sunflowers, Borage, Lovage and Cumin seeds. And I have gobs of flower seeds I haven't decided what to do with. I'm not very good with them. Nasturtiums did okay last year. Somehow I'm not as motivated to give flowers the attention they need! But the Borage is supposed to be good around the tomatoes, etc. And the Lovage can be used as straws and for celery flavor!

Now I have to stop dreaming, and get to work!

Why compost?

Let me tell you why I compost.

First, I hate taking out the trash. I used to trade my sister for any other chore, even cleaning the bathroom, just to avoid the garbage cans in the alley. I'd much rather take a pretty bucket of kitchen scraps out through my garden to the compost pile. More compost means less smelly garbage!

Second, I'm cheap. Why pay for compost for my garden when I can make my own? Now, granted, I still buy compost. Our soil started out pretty awful, and I haven't been composting long enough to make up for it yet. But I'm getting there quickly with all the manure our chickens added this year!

Third, I just really like the whole cycle of life aspect. If I can return our food scraps to the soil and enhance it, why would I have them trucked to the landfill instead? Or give our leaves and grass clippings away to the city so they can make compost and sell it back to me? There I am being cheap again.

I'll let Wiki explain how to compost. He does it much better than I could. Also, check out this great slideshow which shows just what to do so simply your kids will want to take over the job!

Pumpkin blessings

I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

--John 12:24 (NIV)

We attempted to grow pumpkins this summer, and were not very successful. But I learned some things:

1. Do not try to grow 8 pumpkin plants in the same mound just because all the seeds sprouted and you hate to kill a baby plant. Thinning is crucial to healthy growth. (That goes for my list of to-dos, too.)

2. Compost is wonderful, but steer manure is even better for pumpkins. The food should fit the seedling. (Chocolate soymilk for one. Beef jerky for another.)

3. Don't get lazy when it comes to watering. (Or listening.) Pumpkins need more water on hot days, not less, just because you don't feel like getting off the couch.

Fortunately, the local farm we visit each fall had no trouble producing enough pumpkins for what appeared to be our entire city. (Everyone in town seemed to be visiting the same day we were.) The farmer's daughter even gave us an awesome lesson on how pumpkin grow. (Though I thought she made it seem easier than my personal experience.)

Plus, they had some really cool tractors to look at, including this enormous machine:



We even got to follow the Children in the Corn Maze:


After the pumpkin patch, we headed to a nearby park to meet some friends for treats and crafts. The kids made Monster Hands with popcorn and candy corn stuffed into gloves. They decorated (and ate) sugar cookies. They glued cotton ball teeth onto Jack-O-Lanterns. They bobbed for apples. (And hopefully didn't spread too many nasty germs.)


I made vegan pumpkin cookies for the party, and while I probably posted this last year, I'll share it again. Because I'm just nice that way.

Vegan Pumpkin Cookies

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup pure pumpkin puree (canned, or roast your fresh pumpkin and scoop out a cup)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups flour (I use half all purpose, half whole wheat pastry flour)
1 tsp each: baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon
1/2 tsp each: salt, ginger and nutmeg
1 cup chopped, toasted pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix sugars and shortening. Add pumpkin and vanilla and mix well. In separate bowl, mix dry ingredients. Blend flour mixture into pumpkin mixture. Add pecans.

Scoop spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet, press down with a fork, and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for approx. 12 minutes at 350 degrees.

Enjoy!

For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.

--Isaiah 61:11 (NIV)

Silly chicken.

Do you see the little bit of red on black inside the feed bucket? That would be Jackie Blackie looking for a private, cozy spot to lay an egg. Silly chicken!

We've been finding eggs everywhere but in the three $10 nesting boxes I installed last month. After discovering Jackie's latest spot, I put a pie tin over the top of the feed canister so she wouldn't try that again.

Mystery, our Rhode Island Red, started laying this week, too! And I think one of the Barred Rocks is close. The Buff Orpingtons are older than Mystery and the Rockettes (as we call them), but they might be the last to lay.

In other news... We picked the last of the peaches off my mom's second tree on Sunday, and finished off the last cobbler of the summer yesterday. I canned six jars of peaches, so we'll save those for wintertime, when we actually NEED the extra calories. Now I have to go on a diet so I can fit back into my summer clothes! Apparently I've been enjoying my own cooking a little too much lately.

We have eggs!!

A few times in the last week, I'd heard Jackie Blackie squawking out in the chicken coop, and commented on how noisy she was. I knew it was her, because she's always been the noisiest of our seven chickens. Black Australorps have a tendency toward loudness, I've read at least once.

She's also our biggest pullet (young female chicken), and I knew she was close to beginning to lay. (We actually wondered if Jackie Blackie might end up being our only rooster because she was so big and noisy from the beginning!)

I put the nesting boxes in the coop a few weeks ago, and meant to stick some plastic Easter eggs in them to show the girls where to lay when they were ready. But I've been tired and busy this week, and while I checked the coop from the egg collecting door a couple of times, I didn't do a thorough search. Friends had stopped asking about eggs, for the most part, although I'd been telling everyone a month ago we should have some by the end of June.

Last night we had friends over for dinner, so we were out in the back, barbecuing and watching the kids swim, and letting the chickens out to forage. My oldest was checking the nesting boxes, when he noticed a tiny round brown thing on the other side of the coop under the sleeping perches. Our first egg!

I was so excited, I forgot for the moment that I was supposed to be heading inside to fix the veggies. And that I was wearing a white skirt and knit top -- not exactly attire for climbing into a chicken coop. Actually, I didn't care. And thankfully, my arms were long enough that I only had to go in from the waist up to reach in and collect, not just one, but EIGHT eggs!

Apparently, Jackie had been laying all week, and hid her little clutch of eggs in a spot under the window. The single egg we saw from the collecting door was separate from the clutch.

So, there we have it! At least one laying hen! I'm assuming they're all Jackie Blackie's because they're all the same pretty shade of coffee-with-cream brown, and the same sweet, medium size.

I'm in love.

Summer in the garden

We've been moving slowly around here since returning from our weekend of camping at the beach. It was 95 degrees yesterday, after highs in the 60s in Morro Bay. I might be wilting, but my garden is loving the heat! We came home to our first pink tomato out of at least 100 green ones, and my oldest gobbled it right up. I'm not sure it was actually ripe, but he enjoyed it anyway.

We also had two giant sunflowers bloom this week, and they sure bring a bright spot to the yard. We planted four packets of flower seeds this spring, but I'm not the best at sprouting flowers from seed. Apparently they like to be watered. 'Course, I wasn't expecting the rainy season to end the first week of February.


I pulled up a few carrots yesterday, and my middlest picked the first green bean. The carrots haven't done as well as I'd hoped. Many of them never sprouted at all, and a few rotted before I got to them. The ground was a bit uneven, and the water pooled in one spot. Also, that corner of the veggie patch got more shade than I anticipated, and they probably needed more sun.

The heat was also a good reason to dig a mud hole -- in my neighbor's backyard this year, instead of ours! I filled in last year's mud hole for the veggie patch this spring. It made for nice, loose soil, though the boys were a bit disappointed. I told them they could dig another hole on the other side of the yard where the soil needs some work, but they haven't yet. Maybe they'll be content to play across the street this summer.


I'm already making plans to expand the garden for fall planting. About the only thing I could put in right now is eggplant, which I might do if I can find some soon. Otherwise it's time to order more seed to start indoors where it's not so hot. Then I can put them in the ground in September. In the meantime, I'm waiting on Scott to bring home old newspapers from school so I can start mulching over the weeds and preparing the new beds. I've got a pile of old boxes my neighbor Cassandra left me when they moved last month, which I'm planning to use under mulch for the paths.

We'll see if I actually get that all done! The best time to work outside is turning out to be after 6 p.m., when the sun has gone behind the house. The sun is on the yard from 7 a.m. on. We're staying up later, and waking up later, which isn't my favorite. Maybe I should start napping in the afternoon so I can more done in the morning!

Growing things

Maybe someday I'll be a dependable blogger. Lately I've just been trying to be dependable in real life.

It's been a good couple of weeks, actually. Even with the flu bug that swept its way through our house and is still working through the neighborhood. (I hope everyone feels better soon!)

I finished painting the coop. Mostly. I worked on it the week after Easter, and then got busy washing bedding and keeping an eye on my pukers. But the chickens are growing steadily, and don't seem to mind that I haven't finished the eaves or the back studs.

Here they are devouring some treats -- leftover lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes are their favorite!



Here's Josephine first in line for visitors. She's the queen of the coop, but she rules gently.



Mystery tends to hang back and let everyone else go first. She's the most wary about new foods. She keeps an eye on the littlest girls (the barred Rocks), who don't seem to be afraid of anything.



The vegetable patch is doing well! I was starting to worry that all the carrot seeds we planted wouldn't come up, but they finally peeked out a few days ago. We have one row of seedlings I started in February that are several inches tall. Then four or five more rows that are only tiny little grass-like babies.



The lettuces started from seed look really good. The tomatoes and bell peppers are also doing well. I got them as seedlings, so they had a head start. And the Jack-o-Lantern pumpkins are growing like crazy! I'm going to have to transplant several of them to another mound.

But only three green bean plants, and none of the cucumbers, watermelon or cantalope came up. The kids must have made off with the cantalope seed packet, so I couldn't start those again, but I started some more watermelon and cucumbers, plus cilantro and Italian parsley, fresh in my seedling starter kit. That seemed to work better than sowing them in the ground. I'm a little disappointed that my amendments to the soil aren't making as much difference as I hoped. But this was really a very basic first effort. I haven't had our soil tested, but I know a lot of it is pretty bad.

We also have one plant each of peas, zucchini, strawberries, leeks, basil, and eggplant. Not nearly enough, but I ran out of room in the bed I'd prepared, and ran out of time to work more soil.

Away from home... Last week we met friends at the local native animal zoo, which is always fun to visit. My littlest boy was finally big enough to see into the reptile cases on his own. "Sssnake!" was the word of the day. He is talking a TON. More than I remember the other two doing at this age -- or at least more clearly. 'Course, my memory could be off. :)



On Saturday, we joined friends at the local MS Walk for Life in honor of my friend Sarah. It was a gorgeous day, and we all had a lovely time. Puffer also did his own fund-raising the weekend before when his kung fu studio held a Kick-a-Thon for St. Jude's Children's Hospital. He raised the most money of all the kids! Thank you so much to all our donors for helping both causes!

I've been doing a lot of reading lately, too, but I'll have to save that for another post.

The chicken coop

This is the story of a little henhouse built by wonderful friends and a devoted husband...


Last Saturday, our home improvement co-op came over for our first Work Day since 2005. The men, with the help of the kids, put up the walls and roof of the coop. The kids also helped my friend Emily and I put in the spring/summer garden. Everyone worked really hard!


UberDad was on Easter Break, but it wasn't much vacation! He shingled the roof, fitted the enclosed portion of the coop, put in windows, and trimmed all the openings.


My friend Cassandra spent all day Thursday helping me paint the beams and trim, so Scott could get the hinges and chicken wire on. She even stayed after I had to leave for an appointment I'd forgotten about!


The chickens got to come outside with us while we worked. We couldn't just let them run free, unfortunately, because the neighborhood cats were definitely aware of their presence!



The chickens got to spend their first night in the coop after the doors were finished. They were very excited to have so much space to flit around in! They went from 6 square feet in the brooder to 32 square feet in the coop.


Saturday was sunny and warm -- the perfect day for the girls to come outside to play for the first time! Another 80 sq ft of space to play in -- plus grass to nibble on and bugs to search for.


I still have to finish painting the eaves and walls this week, but for now, we have seven happy chickens in a henhouse built with love!

See how they've grown!

Here's a peek at how big the chickens have gotten! They're officially "pullets" now because they have all their feathers. They'll be pullets until they're one year old, then they'll be grown-up hens.

How to make butter

UberDad is home for Easter Break, and we've been busy building the chicken's new house and planting the garden. But before I post more about that, I realized I never answered Angela's request for how to make butter! We just winged it, but Crunchy Chicken has some nice, specific instructions here:

Handmade Butter Recipe

What we've been up to (besides raising chicks)

(I've since thought better about this photo post and moved it to the private blog.)

I usually save photo posts for the boys' private blog, but I thought I'd share these here this time. I realized I didn't take many pics in January, probably because we spent a lot of time indoors playing Legos and watching movies. But February has been busier, so here's some imagery from the last few weeks...

(Photo removed) Making butter. (Shake, shake, shake!)



Some of the seeds we're planting in the vegetable patch.

Zurvika (an orginal Bionicle creation) by Puffer

(Photo removed) The boys have been using the Duplos again. Even Baby's building with Legos now!

(Photo removed) Juicing oranges from our organic co-op.

A huge rainbow filled the horizon on our way to Lancaster to visit friends and celebrate their birthdays last week.

(Photo removed) The boys helping their friend work on his new Lego project. We missed Kate's kids' birthday party the week before because I was sick.

(Photo removed) We spent Sunday afternoon working in the backyard, getting the veggie patch ready for the seedlings we started last week.

Grouper helped me move bricks for a path through the veggie patch.

Grouper took this shot of me cultivating.

The trampoline gets a lot of use -- it's definitely time to order a new one!



(Photo removed) The boys also picked five gallons of Meyer lemons off my parents' tree that afternoon.

(Photo removed) Juicing lemons this morning. The boys want to set up a lemonade stand on Friday. Hopefully it'll be warm enough to interest people in a drink!

(Photo removed) UberDad's building a platform bed for the new mattress we ordered. He's been sleeping on the couch for months because our old mattress is too soft and lumpy for his back.

It was a beautiful day for more gardening today, so I planted the hydrangea Scott gave me for Valentine's Day and another one my mom gave me, and put a new rosemary plant in the herb patch.

Tomorrow we run errands!

Baby chicks update!

We've had a full week, and I have plenty else to post about, but I thought I'd better give an update on the chicks first.

They are all doing wonderfully, growing every day and getting new wing feathers. They seem to like each other quite well. If we weren't planning to get a few more, I might decide to name them "Meg," "Jo, "Beth," and "Amy." But the boys are pretty set on Vampire for the littlest Black Aussie.



They are starting to recognize our voices, and came peeking out to greet us this morning. The little Australorps still run when I stick my hand in to pick them up, but the bigger Buff seems to know what's coming -- an adventure!



A top shot of the brooder, which we made out of a Rubbermaid storage bin, duct tape, and 1/4-inch wire mesh. They have plenty of room to run around and spread out when they feel like it, but they prefer to hang out together most of the time.



The daily routine is pretty simple. We go in to say "good morning" and change their paper. I'm using newspaper with a layer of paper towels on top, and I change the worst pieces twice a day. They poop a LOT!! (And I dump it all, paper included, in the compost bin!) I hate to use so many paper towels, but it's temporary. I'll pick up some wood shavings this week to give them more to play in, and the poop will fall underneath so they won't be sitting in it when they nap and I can change the newspaper less often. I have a spare Rubbermaid container next to the big one that I move the chicks to while I clean.



I have a one-gallon waterer, and so far I've just dumped out the brim once a day and let the waterer refill itself. I changed the water completely the fourth day just to keep it fresh. They don't drink much yet.

In the evening, we go in to say goodnight, and I put a flannel receiving blanket over the window in the top of the brooder to keep the warm air in. They're in a room that doesn't get heated, so it cools off a bit at night.

In a few weeks I'll start taking them outside on nice days so they get some fresh air. They still need the temperature to be around 85-90 degrees. UberDad should have the coop finished by Easter.

That's it for now!

We have baby chicks!!

We are now the proud adoptive family of four two-day-old chickens -- two Buff Orpingtons and two Black Australorps. Aren't they adorable?!



We are all totally in love. The boys and I picked them up this afternoon. We haven't decided on names yet. "Blackie," "Vampire," "Shadow," "Buffy, and "Goldie" are all possibilities the boys have come up with.



The feed store didn't get Wyandottes in this week, so we'll go pick out three more chicks next week. Probably two Silver-Laced Wyandottes and a New Hampshire Red. I planned for six, but there's a chance we'll end up with at least one male because sexing is only 90 percent accurate. So, I'm doubling up on the breeds I like best, and adding a seventh chick just in case we have to sell a noisy cockerel (young rooster) in a couple months.

A week's worth of life.

I have a headache, but I realized I haven't posted in a week and a half, so here's what we've been up to...

Baked 5 dozen cookies. Gave away 3 dozen to sick friends.

Made chicken stock from scratch. Made chicken noodle soup for sick friends.

Decluttered a corner of the enclosed porch (aka UberDad's room, aka the so-called third bedroom), so we'd have a place for the chick brooder, which we don't have set up yet. This involved pulling out bags of clothes, boxes of photographs and books, Christmas decorations, etc., and generally making a mess of my dining room. Then putting most of it back, but in neat plastic tubs instead of piled haphazardly.

Stayed home Monday, did almost nothing.

Spent most of Tuesday running errands.

Took the kids to the park on Wednesday.

Finally got out the bread machine our friends passed on to us a year ago. Made one lovely loaf of bread. Rejoiced at the potential for fresh, whole grain daily deliciousness! Bought 5 lbs of bread flour. Started another loaf. Killed the bread machine with overly-stiff dough. Wept bitterly. Sent UberDad to the store for bread.

Moved furniture around to make room to extend the dining room table for our Lenten Shabbat guests. Listened to Baby say, "Yuck!" all day as I swept up crumbs and dust bunnies that had been hiding under the sofas.

Made vegetable stock, vegan minestrone soup, and roasted squash and potato soup. Felt better about the store-bought bread.

Last night we had our first Family Shabbat supper of the Lenten season. On Friday nights during Lent, our small group traditionally gets together for soup, bread, wine, prayers and fellowship. The women begin the prayers while lighting candles. Then the men break bread and pour wine as they pray. Then we eat soup. And drink more wine.

We laughed a lot. We had somber moments. The children were outrageously noisy. It was better than Cats. I imagine. I've never seen it.

I'm sure I would have more meaningful or interesting things to say if my head wasn't still fuzzy from the two glasses of wine I drank.

Really, we are very blessed to have such close friends. To have been in the same small group for nine years. We haven't stayed at the same church that long. We're on our second parish. And now our second parish is on its second denomination. Go figure.

Life is complicated. But it's definitely better with homemade cookies, soup made from scratch, and friends to share them with. (Wine is good, too, in small doses.)

Gardening day!

Sometimes I think gardening is even better for me than yoga.

I walk out the back door, and suddenly my thoughts slow down, and I breathe more deeply. I use my body differently doing yard chores than I do for housework, so it's good exercise. And once I get into a project, I don't want to stop. An hour and a half can fly by just like in yoga class. Plus my garden looks better when I'm finished!

The boys and I spent a nice long time outside today, cleaning up the leaves, toys and junk that was blown across the yard during the week's stormy winds. Even the playhouse roof was blown off! But today it was sunny, calm, and beautiful, and I would have spent all day outside if I hadn't had other things to do, too.

I love that my littlest is big enough now to hang out with me, happily, while I work. He played in the playhouse, chased his ball, and took every chance I offered for a wagon ride. He had to take turns with the loads of leaves I carted across the yard to mulch the bare ground which will eventually be garden. I raked a LOT of leaves, and hoed and pulled weeds from every low spot that had pooled rain. The big boys helped pull weeds, too, throwing them into the giant hole they dug in the fall. We plan to cover them with soil after the sun cooks them a bit, and even out the ground again for a garden patch. Right next to the chicken coop!

We still have some things to do in the house before we'll be ready to pick up our chicks from the feed store, but we're getting closer! They'll need to stay in a brooder in the house for a month or so while they grow feathers and the weather warms up outside.

The area behind the garage where UberDad and the boys will build the coop is level and ready. It's supposed to rain again this weekend, but hopefully they can start building the weekend after. In the meantime, the boys and I have more work to do to get our spring garden going. I have seeds waiting patiently, hardening in the fridge.

Here, chick, chick, chick!

As the name of this blog implies, I have a crunchy side. Underneath my slightly bland, t-shirt and jeans suburban mom exterior, hides a radical hippie chick/earth mama/urban farm girl just dying to raise her own chickens.

Yes, chickens.

Despite my lack of experience with any kind of live fowl -- and despite the worthy efforts of our friends to lead us down the path of vegan righteousness -- I have not been able to give up my dream of raising those fluffy, waddling birds that paint the Norman Rockwell picture of rural life.

I want pet chickens, dag mannit (as Grouper likes to say). I love eggs. I love their pretty feathers. I love the idea of my hens clucking beside me while I water the tomatoes and pick the green beans, tossing them plump, green hornworms as I go. I love the idea of raising our own food, encouraging genetic biodiversity, and fighting the atrocities of industrial animal production (not to mention Big Brother) with a daily trip to my backyard hen coop.

It's political activism that truly "starts at home."

So, this week I've been engrossed in learning everything I can about raising chicks, chicken breeds, chicken coops, municipal chicken laws, etc. There's a surprising amount to know, actually. For instance, who knew that sometimes chickens need DIAPERS?! Uberdad likes to tease me that I have a thing for hobbies involving poop. But I'll tell you now, I'm NOT washing chicken diapers with Baby's Fuzzi Bunz.

Happily, UberDad and all three boys are just as excited as I am. Puffer can recognize and name both a Silver-Laced Wyandotte and a Buff Orpington. And Baby Fish goes around "bawk bawk bawking" all day, and begging to look at pictures of chickens on the computer. We've been watching the Hen Cam during breakfast while we await our own happy flock.

Maybe I'll have my own chicken cam for you to watch someday.