Chicks!

Chicks arrived one week ago today! I've gotten completely addicted to the show Lost (watching via Netflix) and have been really slacking in a lot of areas recently. The picture above was taken at three days of age. When the chicks arrived it was apparent from the packing list that we didn't get any of the Cuckoo Marans I wanted so badly. We also didn't get the 'free rare chick' but they did include an extra Australorps chick which took the sting away a bit. The Speckled Sussex chicks were much smaller than the others - I don't know if they are a smaller breed or if they aren't as hardy a breed. I ended up losing two of them. All but one of the other chicks are doing great. The chick in question is one of the Easter Eggers. She is still really small though she is eating great and acting normal. We'll see if she ends up being strong enough to make it. The Buffs, Australorps, and most of the EEs have been active and voracious from the start. Next weekend we should be getting the hen house ready for occupancy and the following weekend building the run. I will post more pics later.

First seedlings have sprouted!

This weekend I planted some spinach, lettuce, and radish seeds. I wasn't expecting to see any sprouts for 2 weeks or so (according to package directions) but as of this morning, many of the spinach and lettuce seeds have sprouted! When starting seeds indoors, I lose nearly all of them due to damping off. This year I believe I'm better prepared, so here's hoping for salad in a few weeks. The radishes were planted in a pot outside and don't look to have sprouted yet.

Slowly building

We made some progress yesterday.

While out buying chick starter and a heat lamp, we noticed the store had good prices on fruit trees so we bought two, an apple (with Red Delicious, Granny Smith, and Fuji) and a peach (Florida Prince). I've never planted trees but tried to be as gentle as possible with the roots and amended the soil as we filled back in the hole. I'm a little worried about the fact that neither of these trees had much of a root system. We'll keep 'em watered and see how it goes.

Hubby started mending the pasture fence while I did the laundry and other house chores. Our neighbor approached him and actually offered him a free gate! He got the hot-wire spacers set up and we should be able to bring my horse out next week.

One thing I noticed yesterday is that I'll have to rethink where to put the bee hives. I thought I had the perfect spot, on the east side of the house where no one really wanders - until I noticed some sort of meter there, possibly gas. I doubt the meter man would enjoy climbing over a hive when trying to read the meter - might be entertaining to watch though.

We removed one of the oleanders - we now have two small ones to go. I would have pruned the pomegranate and walnut trees but I can't find any of my pruning shears - not looking forward to buying new ones; they're so expensive.

I can barely keep my eyes open, so that's all for now.

All moved in with chicks on the way!!

We got the keys to our new house shortly after my last post and immediately started moving in. Chris had to do nearly everything himself because I was still on crutches at the time - it was pretty tough on him. Luckily we have some really great friends. We're mostly settled in now, I'm off the crutches, and when it stops raining we'll be starting on outside projects. First thing, hen house and chicken run - our chicks will be arriving the second week of February. Most hatcheries have a minimum order of 25 - we ordered 5 each of Buff Orpington, Black Australorp, Cuckoo Maran, Speckled Sussex, and Easter Eggers, all pullets. We'll keep all the chicks for a month or so then start selling them to friends. I plan to keep 2 of each breed until they start laying in case one decides he'd rather crow than lay eggs. I will post pictures when they arrive!

Edited to add a photo of the soon-to-be hen house!!

Still waiting...

On the house, that is. We supposedly only need one more signature and should be signing ourselves this week. I surely hope so. We were supposed to be in the new house before Christmas but honestly, we needed the extra time. We are getting quite antsy though!

Speaking of Christmas, I received some great gifts from the DH. A breadmaker and a KitchenAide mixer. The breadmaker will really help out - I hate feeding my family bread loaded with preservatives and other chemicals. I've also never really gotten kneading down right so I'm really happy with it. The mixer will help me to make so many more things from scratch as well. I'm looking forward to really breaking them in.

I contacted someone on Craigslist about some chicks they have for sale. They are asking more than hatcheries do, so I'm hopeful that they have truly purebred birds. I would prefer to buy local due to the small number of hens we need. I have planned for 4, one Easter Egger, one Buff Orpington, one Black Australorps, and one Cuckoo Marans. Starting with a variety will give us more of an idea about what we need - it'll also make things a little more interesting. There is a nice little place in the back yard where the coop and chicken yard will go - this will be one of Chris' first projects.

I have been re-thinking our rabbits and for now have nearly decided to go with a breed of Angora for meat as well as fiber. We will be building pens for the does and youngsters in our little red barn. There is someone locally that sells a few breeds - I plan to check him/her out sometime in the next week. Rabbits are a ways out yet, I'm afraid.

I don't think we'll be ready for bees this year but we'll have to see. Chris is going to build me two of those top bar hives. We aren't too worried about production, more about pollination and bee health so top bar hives seem to be the way to go. I haven't yet figured out where we're going to put them - more pondering to do.

Trees - we'll be looking at fruit trees this week. I want apples and peaches at the least. We have pomegranate and walnut trees already on the property - both need pruning badly. I wonder if the walnut trees have a disease as many of the branches are dead. Guess we'll be finding out.

Chris has met our soon-to-be neighbors and said they seem like nice folks. I hope to meet them myself very soon.

Well, it's about time to get this house ready for my amazing husband's return from work. Fried pork chops for dinner tonight :)

Why is it...

That people think it's ok for their kids to be rude, disrespectful, and mean to others??


I wasn't going to post this but my need to vent got the best of me. This may be a long post....


My husband and I have several sets of friends and friends of friends who have children (of course). Our own children are quite young (4 and 6) and are generally the youngest kids when we get together with friends, no matter the occasion. Can you believe I have not met a single respectful and genuinely nice kid under 10 since we moved here 3 years ago? It really blows my mind. These kids are disrespectful to their parents and most are down-right mean. Yesterday my 4-year-old son had his head forceably squashed in a door (with line marks down his cheek) by a child nearly twice as big as he is. Was that child punished or even scolded? Why no; why would she be??? Afterall, my son should not want to play with other children - yes, the reason this happened was because that girl did not want him to play in the room with all of the other children!! This same child wrote a note and posted it on the refridgerator (not her own, btw) saying that my children were not allowed to get anything out of it while she pulled various snacks out of it herself. This type of behavior is not uncommon by any means. I constantly have to protect my children from older, larger, more aggressive children - the other parents rarely get involved!


I was raised in the South, where children address adults with Mr. and Mrs., say yes and no ma'am when talked to, and don't have to be supervised around other children because they know how to handle themselves! The parents that I've met seem to be intimidated by their own children and therefore do not teach them manners of any sort.


Unfortunately, it's my own kids who are getting the short end of the stick. They share their toys and snacks with children who will not reciprocate by sharing their own. They are polite to kids who are rude, they don't hit/bite/kick back when that is what has happened to them. What a fine line to walk with my children - Honey, I need you to follow all of Mommy's rules even when another child is allowed to jump around on the furniture (not on mine, btw)/curse/make a mess/push/scream/be a menace and nobody does anything about it. I need you to be polite without being a push-over. I expect you to keep your hands to yourself until another child hits you first. That's what it's coming to with these kids that are not being taught that hitting is not ok. If the parents are not going to step in, then I'm going to allow my own children to protect themselves and stand up for them when they do.


I'm also going to start breaking one of my own rules. One of the things I was taught growing up is that you do not interfere with other people's children - but then, my parents' friends always corrected their children themselves. I guess that I'm going to have to start filling in for the other parents. I will give the other parents the opportunity to talk to their children - if that doesn't happen, I'm going to do it myself. It's likely to end some friendships, but so be it. I will no longer stand by and let my children be bullied by mean little brats. Don't get me wrong, I will not lay a hand on them but I will let them know that what they are doing will not be accepted. If they continue to act out, they will no longer be allowed to 'play' with my children or allowed over to my house. I'm sure this is going to go over like a lead balloon but I am sick to death of looking into my children's questioning faces when they are scolded for something that other kids are allowed to get away with.

Moving soon?

I hope so. We put in an offer on a house that was accepted about 2 weeks ago now. We are in escrow and things seem to be moving right along. This house was a compromise between the husband and myself - he wanted a house that was large that was very sound structurally so that he could immediately start remodeling (beautifying). I wanted a house that was large enough without being too big, with land to have the animals, trees, and garden that I would like.


The house that we are buying has about an acre and a half. It has a small pasture (maybe half an acre) that my horse will use. Because I am keeping the horse, we will not have goats - another compromise between hubby and I.


One of the first things I looked for when we went to see the house was fruit-bearing trees/bushes/vines. There are two walnut and a pomegranate. I would consider keeping the walnut trees but they don't look very healthy - several large, dead branches on each. We'll make the final call in the spring but right now it looks like they may have to be removed. I would rather have other trees than pomegranate so it may be removed as well. Wish-list trees include tangerine, apple, and nectarine. There are a few small oleander bushes that will have to go. They are nice-looking but I don't want poisonous plants on the property.


In the back yard, there is a very nice fence to grow grapes on. In a very shady corner (too shady?), I noticed some brambles growing. Not sure yet what kind they are but my guess is they are blackberry - they grow wild around here. I haven't yet figured out where to plant the blueberry bushes.


There are two rather large outbuildings, the largest of which will be used for hay, feed, etc. The other will likely be used for tools. There is even a small building that will be modified into a chicken coop. The current plan includes 4-6 hens, including Buff Orpingtons, Easter Eggers, and perhaps Black Australorps.


I'm not sure if we'll be able to keep rabbits as hubby is now acting odd about them. I would like to keep two does and a buck in an outdoor, colony-type setting. I have the perfect spot in mind if I can re-talk Chris into it - he may be wondering what our friends and neighbors will think.


There are several possible spots for the garden, but there's still a lot of time to figure that out before spring. I would like to grow heirloom tomatoes, peppers, and a few types of cowpeas next year.


I still would like to have a honey bee hive or two. Chris has agreed to build a top bar hive for me sometime this winter. I realize that we will get less honey with these hives but from what I've read, it would seem that it's healthier for the bees to build their own comb. Guess we'll find out.


That's it for now, I'll write again when there's something to talk about!