Moon Garden – 5/22/2015

Now, where did I leave off? There was lots and lots of rain. So much rain. And mud. Pretty much all of the squash bit it, and the tomato bed is pretty sparse…but everything else seems to be growing well. I’m waiting to see how things start to fill out before my next planting.

Marigold

I’m a little stalled out on the remodel. I’m finding myself thinking of more things I want to do outside, but I’m needing to rein in the budget a bit, so I have to figure out where I can cut corners to get what I want done. Right now, I have a clear idea of the remainder of the priority outside work, and the next project is the laundry room. Now that it’s not constantly raining, I think I can come up with a timeline for that room that doesn’t interfere with too much. There will be a period of time in there between washer and dryer sets that will require careful planning. Waiting for the Tao of Bird to go to his dad’s for his summer break would probably prove to be the best bet. There are a couple of handyman type jobs that need to get done in that room, though. And lots of cleanup. Cleanup is “free” if I’m doing it, so I guess that’s how I will kill the time – continuing to work on the yard with what I have, and cleaning up.

Dogloo Chicken Tractor (pre-frame)

And I’m still trying to figure out the color scheme. I’m thinking about artichoke colors – Green, magenta, puple. But which color where? I imagine I’ll need to mosey over to the paint store at some point and look at swatches. Also, I’m considering linoleum in that room. It’s such a high-traffic area with lots of muddy feet running through. I don’t want to have to deal with grout, and I need it to be durable. So…still considering.

Blondies: Chef Vordivask (cinnamon queen) & Lion (Buff Orpington)

Also still considering storage for that room. I have a nice set of cabinets above the washer and dryer, and the room is pretty cozy. But…I’m considering. I need to re-zone my house and figure out what will go where before I figure out what I need to add. And since that will be the common area, I don’t think I’ll be storing anything of any personal value to me…so…perhaps just artwork. I have plenty of that!

(almost) all of the girls

The chicks are all getting bigger. Now that it’s stopped raining, we’ve developed a routine. In total, there are 6 chicks. 3 are clumped around the 4-5 week mark, and the other three are 1-4 weeks. In the morning, I bring the older chicks – the “bigs” – outside to the outdoor pen. The “littles” stay inside with me until it warms up in the afternoon, and then they go out.

The toilet garden

By the end of the day – around 8ish PM – they are all ready to come inside, so I put them in their bin and bring them in the house. I don’t use the heat lamp anymore, even though there’s a little little in there – the rest of the birds keep her warm. They all seem pretty happy with this arrangement. I imagine the littles will start joining the bigs more and more as it warms up and they get older. And then the bigs will join the hens and the littles will follow shortly. And that will be my flock. 🙂 They are such delightful little ladies. I’m really fortunate to find myself in a position to raise up a small flock of chickens. I’m looking forward to sharing yummy eggs with everyone I know. And I’m just so happy my girls will be free to roam, even if they do sometimes cause garden chaos. It will be a fun challenge to learn to mitigate chick rabble rousing. And I fully intend to get a pirate flag for their “chicken coup.”

Prom King

This weekend, I’m hoping to do some full-on cleanup of the yard. There’s a ton of trash back there and scrap wood and other useful tools. I want to assess what scrap I have so I can see about slapping together a fence for the moon garden. I feel pretty sure I have all of the ingredients to make that happen, it’s just a matter of taking the time to do it.

Meet the new girl! (Note adorable fuzzy legs)

Framing the chicken tractor is another story. I might actually go and buy honest to goodness wood for that project. It’ll still be much cheaper than it would have been to buy one.

Artichoke Flower

The Tao of Bird has only 2 more days left of middle school (we hope) and Buddha the Grouch is about to fly the coop. I’m leaning back in my chair. Relaxed. Looking forward to what comes next, but enjoying what is happening now.

Moon Garden – 6/2/2015