ADDING TO THE FLOCK

Last year I purchased four peeps, hoping for pullets. I ending up with only two hens. Wanting more eggs, I purchased four more. These four are supposed to be pullets. However, they are seven weeks old now and I suspect one may turn out to be a rooster. We'll wait and see. Anyway, they are now seven weeks old and getting along with the big girls.

They came home in a box. About two days old.

Eliza at four weeks old.

Ruby at four weeks old.

They grow up so fast. At five weeks they had all their feathers and I was ready for them to be out of the house! The big girls tolerate them. They have been together for about ten days now and get along better than expected.

Six weeks old and very active.

I don't have a dog or cat... or even fish. My girls are my entertainment and companionship. They can be very entertaining at times... and give me eggs!

ANOTHER MOVE...

 Last year my brother moved and offered his home to me. At first I declined the offer because I was happy with the house I was living in. Several months later he asked me again if I wanted to move into his house. After a lot of consideration, I accepted the offer and started the moving process.

The chickens were the last to move over. The roof overhang made the coop too wide to fit through the gate to the backyard. Both the front and back overhang had to be removed. It will be reconstructed before I paint it again.

I put 4 inch wheels on the coop and my son helped me roll it on over. The move was only across the street, so not a long trip. My girls free-ranged until I could get the chicken run built. This run is a little bigger... because I had the room.

They love their daily dust bath.

During this time, my girls had the run of the backyard. They loved it and luckily they didn't tear up too many plants. They did not understand, and were a little frustrated when they were pinned up in the run again. But they are destructive and I have too many plants I don't want destroyed.

This winter, we had a week of very cold weather. The girls made it fine, but they did not like the snow and would not venture out in it.

The coop was originally painted to match the house I lived in. It will get repainted sometime in the near future. 

Chicken Coop

Someone had questions about the coop and I realized I did not mention the construction. I built the coop mostly out of repurposed wood. When I see a good piece of lumber, I drag it home and put it in my garage. I never know when I can use it on a project.

The chicken coop was started way before I got my chicks. I wanted no more than four hens, so I drew plans for this in mind. Each chicken needs about a 3-4 square feet area in the coop. My coop is 3'x5' with a nesting box built out on one end. I ended up with only two hens, so they have plenty of room.

My yard is mostly shaded and the coop is located under a big pecan tree. The sun only hits the west side of the coop for a short time at the end of the day, so the temperature inside is not a problem in the summer. There is a screened window on either end of the coop that can be opened for ventilation. It also has a window above the door. This window doesn't open, it is there for the winter months when the screened windows are closed. 

The roost is close to this window and they usually get close to it at night to see out. When they were small, Henrietta would sit on the window seal. They are too big now, or she would probably do it today. I used metal bracket to hold the 2x4s I used for the roost. They just lift out to make cleaning easy.

The door was place next to the nesting box for easy access to gather eggs. 

The coop is 24" off the ground. This gives a dry place to hang the feeder. The hens like to hang out there and take a nap, or run and hide when they hear strange noises. I am pleased with the design.

MY CHICKENS

When my kids were young, we decided one Easter that we would get a few little chicks. They were adorable and the kids loved them. They grew to adulthood and started laying... at least the hens did. The roosters made it to a pot of chicken and dumplings. Well, all except one and his name was Homer. He was beautiful. My neighbors liked him, until he woke someone up at 4am with a few crows. It really wasn't his fault though. The dumpster lid woke him up and he was just trying to alert everyone of danger. Too late, the police knocked on my door and told me Homer had to find a home in the country. 

About February, I was thinking about those hens and decided I wanted to have a few. I thought maybe 3 would satisfy my want of hens. I learned that Tractor Supply has Chick Days in late February. After work I would stop by TS, but there were none left by 5:30. This went on for over a month. Then one day, my mother said she would go and get chicks for me. I sent her with a list of breeds I wanted. She went down one Tuesday morning (that's when they got the shipment) and called to tell me that there were none of my preferred breed available. I asked what breeds they had. She went back inside and said they had the Amarucana. I didn't remember much about that breed, but told her to get four. They were so cute. 

I had a big box from an online order. That was their home for the first six weeks. At about four weeks, their dander was more than I could take in the house. At six weeks the weather was warm enough to move them to the finished Chicken Coop.

I had started on the Chicken Coop long before I ever got the chicks. There was a perfect spot behind my garage for the coop and run. I calculated the size needed and drew up plans.... and then modified them many times. The materials used were mostly scrap lumber gathered from two boxsprings from the alley, furniture, plywood scraps and pallets. 

R.I.P Abner

After 8 weeks, I suspected two were not going to be egg producers. And I was correct. Loco and Abner went to Freezer Camp. In the city limits of Lubbock, you cannot have a rooster. If it's due to the crowing, the dogs in my neighborhood are a lot louder than my roosters were. I did silence the roosters before the police were called with a complaint. Loco was... not right in the head, but Abner was so pretty.

At exactly 21 weeks, I received the first egg. It was what is called a Fairy Egg. The first few eggs are usually small, thus the name Fairy Egg. In the first five days, I received seven eggs. The last one was full size.

My hens do more than produce my breakfast, they are my entertainment. They run to the fence to greet me when I come in the backyard. I enjoy sitting with beverage in hand and watch them peck and scratch. They are fun.

Eleanor

Henrietta

TIE QUILT

I love quilts. They are warm and cozy. I made this one from the T-shirts that I have collected through the years. It was a good way to get them out of the closet and out where I can enjoy them and re-live the memory of the shirt. They are places I worked, places I visited or shirts given to me. I love it.

This one is dear to me. When anyone else looks at it, it probably just looks dull and boring. But I see the  little dresses I made my daughter, the maternity dresses I made for myself, the lining for the coat I made for a Christmas gift, and scraps from miscellaneous projects. And this kept me warm while crossing the Gulf on S/V Kairos in 2013. There are a lot of memories wrapped up in one quilt.

My father had quite a collection of ties. After he passed this summer, I wanted to make a quilt with them, for my mother. I invested many hours piecing and then hand quilting it. Today it was completed and delivered. 

Now my sewing table is cleared and ready to start another project. I need to vacuum all those little pieces of thread that didn't quite make it to the trash can, and oil my machine.

My Paddle Buddy

Ten years ago, my brother and I took a Brother/Sister trip to Belize. On the trip we kayaked down the Mopan River. It was just our guide and us in inflatable kayaks. My brother hadn't kayaked since then, but I bought another kayak so he could go paddling with me.

A few weeks ago we went to a small lake here in town. It was a very relaxed paddle, very little wind and the water was calm. Yesterday, we went to Lake Alan Henry. We had about a 15 mph South wind and there were quite a few boats on the water. The water was not calm and we did have to paddle quite a bit up wind. I tend to lose track of time when I'm on the water, but in my defense I did tell him to let me know when he was ready to head back. 

Our route on Lake Alan Henry

He said he had fun, but I haven't talked to him today to see how sore his muscles are. Hopefully he will go with me again.

I have to at least put my feet in the water.

VACATION

 Finally, I took a week off and got out of town. A trip to Key West was just what I needed. Saw friends, former co-workers, and got out on the water. My friend, Bert, was very generous and let me stay at her house. We went out on a sunset sail aboard S/V Argo Navis. The drinks were flowing and we had a very relaxed sail.

A couple days, I rented a kayak and went out paddling for the afternoon. I saw baby nurse sharks, star fish and tourist. I tried to get away from the tourist as soon as possible. That clear blue water was just what I needed.

This is a canal I paddled a hundred times. It brought back fond memories of my time in Key West.

The old State Road 4A was abandoned in 1938 when the Overseas Highway was opened, connecting Key West to the mainland. There is a 3 mile stretch that I used to ride my bike. Through the years, storms and time has washed away most of the road. All that remains is a trail, though there are still areas where the asphalt remains.

Bert hosted a dinner and drinks at her house for Sheri and I. We three had a great time, lot of laughs. Bert is a good bartender!

Bert, Lezlie & Sheri

As the saying goes, "Nothing lasts forever", and my vacation week came to an end. It was a fun week, but now I'm back in the real world.