chickenhaaaawk!!!

(I just love me some WDVX in the morning.)





We got our chicks from the co-op last night, and they are so cute! Thirteen pullets (that's girl chicks) and one lonely rooster. Hopefully when he gets bigger he'll protect the ladies from the aforementioned chickenhawks. It just so happens that we have a pair of hawks that have a nest on our land, so we'll have to be extra vigilant. Although, I don't know if they're chickenhawks or not. I figure any hawk would think these little gals would be a tasty snack.

Even at this very young age (3 or 4 days old) they show all the stereotypical characteristics of hens, pecking and clucking (well, more like peeping right now) and then picking up their skirts and running to the corner when they're even the slightest bit scared. So cute to watch.

Right now they are living in our guest bedroom in a brooder box we built out of a plastic bin:

It was pretty simple to make, just cut the top out and then we put a piece of chicken wire on top, secured with craft wire (so I got to practice my rusty wireworking skillz a little) to keep the kitties out and let some fresh air in. Speaking of the cats, they've set up a base camp outside the bedroom door and are currently plotting the best way to get into this strange and magical box with all that tasty goodness inside. Dream on, suckahs.

Once they're big enough and/or the weather is warm enough, we'll move them (the chickens, that is) out to the coop to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine, and hopefully start getting their egg laying on.

I still can't believe we have chickens. It's waaaaay crazy. But in a good way.

spring cleaning

(that's one full dumpster, ya'll!)


Check one more off the list of things to accomplish: we got ourselves a dumpster.
And spent pretty much the entire weekend loading it up.

One of the first things we noticed (I mean, it was hard to miss) was the enormous amount of trash on the property. Piles of junk everywhere.

(this was the yard before)



We assumed it was all just old stuff that had been left sitting out and never picked up properly, but we very quickly learned otherwise. Everything in the outbuildings and on the ground was broken TRASH. Just absolute garbage. Nothing salvageable except 2 bowling balls and a handful of carabiner clips, and a frame with a broken mirror I'm going to repaint and fix up. There were tarps buried in the leaves out in the woods, with cinder blocks on them, and under each one was piles of disintegrating bags of household garbage. I mean, I get that driving your trash to the dump is a pain in the ass, but come on. Diapers, motor oil, car parts, beer cans. It was absolutely disgusting.
I didn't expect cleaning up the yard to be an emotional experience, but I was alternating between absolute rage at the sheer laziness and ignorance, and heartbreak for the land, the poor, abused land. At least one tree that was growing in the garbage is dead. Under the piles I found daffodils and daylillies struggling to come up. It made me want to punch someone. And it made me more determined than ever to love this land and care for it.
It's the most awesome feeling to pull up the drive now and see a nice clean yard. It looks and feels a thousand times better.

(the yard after)

We still need to do some repair on the two buildings we kept, and put sides and doors on them so no one can see all our junk when it goes in there. But our junk will be nice junk, organized junk. :)

The only one who was maybe a little sad about the cleanup was the dog. Lucy's part labrador and she LOVED going thru the trash to find "toys" to play with, which of course ended up all over the yard. No more old paint rollers for you, suckah! Ha ha!