This Is Us

  Our chickens used to just free range and roam around our yard.  Brichette got Rooben, and unfortunately that had to end.  We didn't think he would hurt them, but he has.  So, we can't just let them out in the morning, let them play around, and then close the coop at night.  We decided to build a chicken run.  We can put them in it in the morning and then take them back to the coop in the evening.  Nick built it out of wood and latus and put a door on it.  So far so good.

  Our sweet little chickens, Bluey and Bingo, are doing so good.  They are getting so big and they are so cute. We let them out of their brooder for a little while today and they were so funny to watch. Here they are...

  Day 1 of our March Photo Challenge ( This Post Here ) is: Your Garden Now Here is our garden right now. Covered in a blanket of snow and so very cold!

  I couldn’t find a photo challenge for March, so last night I threw one together. We will be doing this on Instagram, so come join us! There aren’t any prompts for the Sunday’s because I rest from social media. 

Do you join in seed swaps?  Well, you should! Why? Here are 3 reasons to join in a seed swap… 🌸 You get to save money. Most of the time you just pay shipping and get a lot of seeds. 🌱 You get to make some amazing new friends. 🍅 You can get seeds from plants you’ve never heard of or a new variety!

  We bought new chicks (pullets). We decided that we needed to be more self sufficient, especially with the price of everything going up.  We bought two, Black Copper Maran and an Easter Egger (Ameraucana). I got them home, put them in heat and after Nick got home he built a brooder in an hour! Yeah, Nick’s amazing!! You can see their pictures and read more in This Post Here   They seemed to be doing good, but the next morning the Black Copper Maran had died. The other chicks was so sad, she was “crying” all morning.😩😭 So I went back, because chickens are social animals and can’t be alone, and bought a Blue Plymouth. She is so sweet and they get along so good! We decided on names for them… Blue Plymouth - Bluey Easter Egger - Bingo Yes, those are the names from the show Bluey! 🤣 I wanted to name the Blue Plymouth Blue, like the raptor in Jurassic Park, and then the kids decided that they should be Bluey and Bingo. So they are! 😁 Here they are… aren’t they so cute?

Yep! We bought more chickens today. A Black Copper Maran and an Easter Egger. We are going to get and Olive Egger in a couple weeks.  They are so cute! Rooben is very curious about them. He keeps watching them and laying by them.  Lydia and Tyler were so excited when they got home from school today!  Here is the blog post about our  First Chicks Things to know before buying chicks: 🐥 They will need a brooder to live in. Preferably in your house, so they can stay warm. 🐥 They need to be kept at 95° Fahrenheit 🐥 They can go outside when the temperatures are 55° or above. You will need to slowly expose them to these temperatures (in and out) so they can acclimate to the new climate change (kind of like you would with plants you’ve started inside). 🐥 They are noisy, but so cute! 🐥 They can get pasty butt. This is when their poop gets stuck and dries on their little bums! Then their poop has no where to go and stays inside them. If this happens and you don’...

It’s almost spring time. Yay! So I wanted to share about cool weather crops and when to plant them. We live in Zone 7a, so we have about 190 days this year for our growing season.  Cool weather crops, like carrots and sugar snap peas, need cool weather to grow in (obviously, right). They can not tolerate heat. Which means they need to be planted in late winter/early spring, here in zone 7a. If you live in a warmer climate you can plant them in the “winter” when your temperatures are cooler. We can also plant them in the late summer/early fall for a fall harvest.  So, if you live in Zone 7a, like us, we can start planting those cool weather crops now! 🎉 

  In March of 2021 Nick bought me a tool box from the hardware store for all my gardening stuff.  It's the best gardening box I could ever ask for.  It has a little box on the top that I can put my seeds in to protect them from the wind and water, while I'm out getting everything planted.  Inside there is a little removable shelf that I can put my tags and pens in and the rest of it holds my knee pads, gloves, shovels, etc. It is so helpful!

This is what our backyard looks like right now. Sleeping. Mostly colorless… except for the browns, yellows, a little green, and sometimes blue (from the sky).  Cold. Pretty Empty. Needs Cleaning Up. But that’s okay… Come spring it’s going to really come to life! 🌻 Everything needs to rest, so it can thrive again!  Happy Friday! 

  I am so excited for spring and summer. I’m doing my best to enjoy winter, snow, breath in the cool air, have the fun light from the fireplace going, the heater on, cuddle in blankets, but I am missing spring and summer! How about you? So here are a few pictures to get us through…