chickens are really birds, so shouldn’t i hate them?

I would have loved to find the chicken named Penny (pic 11)—can you imagine the photo opportunities?—but alas, it was not meant to be. The urban chicken tour was organized into about 5 groups of urban chicken-raisers that were within walking distance of each other. We chose the group closest to a friend’s house and toured four backyards, all with very different coop approaches. As one informational sign on the tour stated, you can spend as much or as little as you want when raising your chickens. The first setup was fairly simple, with a basic framed-out coop covered in chicken wire. Nearby was another frame of baby chicks. The kids, of course, were thrilled by both sets of chickens, old and young. I always enjoy seeing the kind that have feathers covering their legs all the way down to their feet. Funky.

The second coop was much fancier. Look at that thing!

 

One of the chicken owners treated us to a small show of feeding the chickens some clover. I found it interesting that chickens do not subsist solely on grain feed and grass, but also lettuce, bugs—enough to assist greatly with insect control in one’s garden and yard, as well as shrimp and oyster shells, which fortify their own egg composition.

The third coop was a little less fancy, although it had an apparent second floor where the white chicken disappeared to, mystifying the children. You could hear her knocking around in there, but she was nowhere to be seen. “Where’s the white one?” K.Lo asked so many times that N.Lo began to echo: “White one. White one,” in a semi-frantic way. The coop had a window to look in, but as one little girl noted twice, mainly for effect, “That window sure is mighty dirty.” You couldn’t actually see inside.

I enjoyed the sign, “Welcome to Our Coop.” Also, around the corner, the chicken owners were in the process of building a second coop, which I guessed would eventually bookend behind which the chickens were free to roam? The playhouse was small, but charming, and gave me the greatest. idea. EVER. I’m just saying!

Fourth and finally, we landed in this backyard, which I couldn’t help taking photos of, in addition to the coop. It was such an eclectic little fairy-tale spot, no lawn, but lots of big trees and glass ornaments hanging everywhere and just stuff to look at. I could see myself in such a backyard daydreaming life away. Magical. I would love an outdoor space like this one day, filled with plants and patios and metal art and random stepping stones made of salvaged stone, although I admit I would never use the polished granite used by these folks, knowing that face-breaking would be an inevitability. And in fact, just as I had that thought, it started to rain, and the chicken owner advised that we should all be careful, because those suckers get slippery. …Yeah! I loved that they adorned the magnolia tree with glass wind chimes, prisms, and mirrors, and that plants covered so much of the space, but none of that plant life was grass. Also loved that um, they totally had my sign on their coop! Check that out. I love it. Regardless of whether I will ever raise backyard chickens (my friend J. has grand plans for my children one day joining 4-H and participating in the annual hatchling project, so this misadventure may just be inevitable), I loved the urban chicken tour. Fun stuff!

day 22

This week’s winner for Most Grown is the squash, with the green beans a close second. The tomatoes were ready for their cages, which I managed to disentangle from the heap behind the shed. J.Lo claims the okra looks like it’s stopped in its tracks, but each plant has more leaves this week, so the difference is subtle, but definitely there. The chives look especially hardy, and the plant K.Lo brought home from the Outsourcer looks healthy. Who knows what it will be… flowers, I’m pretty sure.

 

beans

caged tomatoes

 

okra, growing

 

mutant squash, next to a transplanted… zinnia? or something

 

chives, cucumbers

 

 

healthy basil!

 

 

 

K.Lo’s plant

 

 

children in the distance, just before a rainstorm

Retreat Crafts, by M

So the theme was, "putting on the armor of god" and i was asked to come up with a craft in that light. It was between luminaries and quasi industrial - washer ring necklaces, bracelets... luminaries won. I struggled for like months with the lameness of my idea and how the execution would suck and the budget was too little- but tissue paper even in its frailty and and a 50c glass from the 99c store seemed a god send. As I am all about literary analysis- just imagine the intersection of the candle and the flame is God and the Soul and the glass, though equal parts strong and fragile, impermeable but incomplete is our whole being ... and meditate on what we chose to surround ourselves with... deep eh? I know. Totally.

10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Letter to Self, by M

Along with my other documenting ways I've been in the habit of writing letters to my future self. Though granted, there have only been 3. It puts a weighty expectation on my past words, and usually its never enough. I'm a quarter of the way thru the letter, talking about my 28 yr old self in contrast, with what seems an entirely different 33yroldself. 28 was very wry, edgy, heavily sarcastic, possibly flippant. . . And who knows exactly what 33 will have to say to inform 38. If you have any suggestions about what 38 might want to know about- questions? anything. Let me know.

I won't go say more as i don't want to cramp my infrequently used blogging spirit, except to say I will try to bring her out a little bit more.

let’s shop!

In celebration of m’s b-day TOMORROW, I want to hold a shopping contest!

The quest: a birthday present for mendacious

The prize: m’s delight

The forum: ETSY

I’m keeping it to Etsy just to give us some parameters. We’ll be supporting an artist, just like m, who should also really sell her stuff on there, too, but I digress. There are so many fabulous little rabbit holes to fall down into on this site while searching jewelry, clothing, art, etc, and it will be a lot of fun to window-shop with our friend and hero in mind.

You have one week to post your ideas in comments. I suspect m may be brutally honest in her responses, and as she is the Birthday Girl, and m, she is allowed. But, I make the final call on selection, since I’m paying. Speaking of which, price limit is “within reason.” I’m not a rich girl, because obviously if I were, I’d be paying m a visit in person on her b-day, rather than mailing a gift! We would play the Wii and everything. I dream, I dream…

Now: shop! Go go go! It’s time to celebrate m!

day 14

I know you’ve all seen plants grow; I have, too. But I can’t help being especially proud of my garden this year, and overly fascinated with those mutant green beans. This week, I put up the trellis, which has maybe one year of life left in it. It’s rusty, and I didn’t want to use it, originally, but those beans need something to grab onto before they decide to choke my okra.

 

Also had to repot the basil. I wanted to give it more room to grow, regardless, and then it turned out to be root-bound and growing into the ground underneath. This is the second repotting in… three weeks? Maybe?

 

And: roses! Roses have been added to the mix. They are my Mother’s Day gift from the children, and as much as I love cut flowers, I love that I can plant these in the ground. I’ve never grown roses, and I’m a little bit worried about keeping them alive. Any tips?

 

 

The squash is quickly competing for Mutant Status as well. It always does.

 

The whole enchilada:

on to-do lists, by pen & m

[Reading this discussion, which took place over the course of several emails, I have concluded we are either really brilliant, or deeply neurotic.]

 

pen: have written a to-do list! in a notebook! the dunder-mifflin notebook. and this will be the beginning of an era. i can't get by without them, it is clear.

 

m: to lists!!

it’s a life long pursuit of lists- you might have something on there a year- but it'll get done. perhaps in the back of said awesome notebook you should have a 'long term' to do list. ?

 

pen: yeah, it's like, i don't know why i ever stopped with the lists. they free my mind up, and i feel less stressed knowing it's on paper and not slipping through the cracks. because stuff is slipping through the cracks, and the worst part is that i've stopped caring! not cool. i mean, it's good that i'm not as panicked about shit (i guess??), but i'm really surprised at the length of my list. like all those particles were just floating around in my brain, and i had this vague sense of urgency about them? but i would never have remembered everything. and it feels good to cross stuff off. i'm not sure about this wayward, boundless notebook, but it will work for now. eventually maybe a planner again, but the day boxes need to be the right size. not too small. or too big. definitely a long-term list is in order. [omg, i sound like a cross between goldilocks and rainman.] the background projects. i've already started one. :)

 

m: and listmaking -- i started it for the very same reason- all the things i want to do eat up my head and short circuit my brainpower. it’s terribly inconvenient not to mention the rampant undercurrent of anxiety.

 

pen: listmaking! how i ever thought i could manage my own life, much less 2-3 others w/o a list?! i don't even know. definitely we are just some very active minds and can't be consumed with the trivial details, it will stand in the way of our greatness. best to put it down on paper, cross off, and be done.

 

m: i'm so happy for you and your [gym going/loop walking—separate part of convo]/list making self- it seems like ordered and good and nourishing.

 

pen: my list is long. how did it get so long? also, there are a few different tiers to the list, and i'm worried items will be lost... but at least it's all down on paper.

watching the garden grow

I find it such a cool, amazing process to witness. Just 6 days after planting our garden, we have all sorts of sprouts. I had these seeds laying dry and dormant in packets for a year in my laundry room, I bury them in some dirt, add water, sun, and voila. My own fresh-veggie producer is born.

Here are the beans:

 

The tomatoes have grown:

 

Two rows of okra! They were the first to pop through.

Squash medley:

Cucumbers:

And the basil has grown as well, I feel. I am thinking it may have to move up to the bed soon, as I don’t want to limit its growth.

Gardens are like magic!