Spring Peepers: Week five (or maybe six??)

The chicks are now out in the barn in the extra stall next to Roosty and the "big girls". Cleaning out the stall was quite a project (one I opted to do without any "help" from kiddos :-).

The chicks seem to have adjusted pretty well and are enjoying the extra room to move and practice flying. They were a little freaked out at first by the rooster's crowing and the squawking of the hens as they lay their eggs, but they seem to be settling in to the new sounds.

I hope, at some point soon (if the weather ever gets warm), to start putting them out in the yard in a wire dog crate so they can start scratching for bugs and eating grass.

The stall before I cleaned it out:


The displacement factor outside the barn (which I'm still working on cleaning up):


The chicks check out their new digs:


Lily and Sarah:

Visiting the Sheep

As I think I mentioned earlier, we used to have two Shetland sheep. It was a lot of fun and we really enjoyed them -- until we had kids.

Then it became just work and at that time the last thing we needed was extra work, so we gave them away.

I do still dream of dusting off my spinning wheel and getting back into fiber arts some day, and I really do feel a special connection to sheep, especially Shetlands, so when I saw an ad on Craig's List for an on-farm "Adopt-a-Sheep" program, I jumped at it.

The way it works is that we adopted (technically "sponsored" is a more accurate term) a lamb, that will stay with its mother on a farm about 20 minutes from our house. As the lamb's benefactors, we are entitled to visit her once a month, and receive photos and letters from her (translated by the farmer of course).

Next April we will be invited to shearing day at the farm and since I chose a "spinner's adoption" we will also get to bring the raw fleece home with us.

For me the best part of the experience is that more than half of our visit there was spent sitting quietly, waiting for the sheep to come to us.

Barbara, whose farm we were visiting, was very clear about the rules that she has around her animals and no amount of toddler/preschooler cuteness or tantruming was going to change that.

And for the hour or so that we were there, Lily, who is almost four, rose to the occasion. She sat so patiently taking deep breaths to calm herself down, with her hand extended, hoping that the sheep would come to her. And they did! And it was wonderful!
Even, two-year-old Quinn, was able to feed the sheep. (For a short time. His attention span required that he and I left and took a little walk while Lily, Barbara and our mother's helper, Ila, continued to visit with the sheep.) But he still very clearly enjoyed his first contact with the sheep!

One of the things that I think is so special about a program like this is that it really gives children (and adults) an opportunity to experience the animals and get to know them in a way that visits to petting zoos and public shearing days just can't do.

We'll be heading back for our May visit soon, hopefully next week, and we'll be able to share photos of "our" lamb, Heather.

There was not much gardening this week. In fact, I can't actually recall spending any time in the garden since the weekend, though I think I may have visited briefly with the kids to show them the beanpole hideout I made to (hopefully) get them excited about working & playing in the garden with me this summer!

It was a wild ride of a week, heart-lifting joys - a bus ride, a zoo trip, savoring a two year old's birthday, and Blessing the Way for my dear friend's homebirth midwifery practice - juxtaposed with the gut-wrenching sorrow of the death of my friend's newborn niece.

There was a nice steady rain yesterday and today, and I believe it's predicted for tomorrow as well, which will add to the intense sorrow that will be expressed tomorrow at Audrey's Memorial service.

The seeds I planted last weekend (peas and sunflowers), and the Morning Glory seedlings I transplanted, should hopefully be pretty happy.

I look forward to getting my hands back in the garden this weekend. In fact, I think that is what I would like for Mother's Day - a nice chunk of uninterrupted gardening time.

Alone would be lovely, as would being assisted by willing helpers. The key word for me is uninterrupted (as in not stopping what I'm doing every other minute to help someone else with what they want to do ;-).

Actually, that's what I would like, not just for Mother's Day, but as a valued part of our family's weekly rhythm -- regular blocks of uninterrupted time to relax and be creative...with my children, with my husband, with family and friends, and (at least occasionally ;-) totally alone!

Spring Peepers: Week three

It's been quite an adventurous week with our basement-dwelling chicks!

One day last week (Wednesday, I think) I went downstairs to get, ironically enough, chicken out of the freezer for dinner and discovered one of our little chicks hanging upside down with its leg stuck between two metal bars (firewood rack holding the heat lamp).

Lily was upstairs putting our her boots, which I've made mandatory for visiting with the chicks as the wood chips are not quite as fresh and clean as they were last week.

I scanned the plastic wading pool and realized that it was her beloved friend, Cocoa, who was injured, and I thought possibly dead.

I yelled up to Lily to please wait at the top of the stairs and as I did that Cocoa moved a bit. And that is when my first official chick rescue began.

Well, almost.

I kind of hopped around in a circle for a minute or so trying to figure out what the heck I was supposed to do, wanting to call someone (I have no idea who) to help, but realizing, once again (though it still never ceases to amaze me), that I am the Mama. I'm the one in charge who is supposed to remain calm and know what to do in emergencies.

I stopped hopping in place and flailing my arms and took a deep breath.

I was able to slip her leg out (without really looking at it because I was afraid it was going to be broken and horrible to see) and she snuggled right in to my chest. I brought her upstairs and explained what happened to Lily who suggested that we needed to give her Rescue Remedy and lots of love energy, which we did.

Lily examined Cocoa's leg and reported that it was not broken, just badly sprained and that she needed to be snuggled by her best friend Lily.

After about a half an hour, we brought her back down with her friends, where she hopped around on one foot for the rest of the day.

By the next morning she was walking, gingerly, on the leg and within a couple of days, there was no sign of the injury.

All was quiet with the chicks for a couple of days. I started noticing that taking care of them (fresh water and food twice a day) was becoming a bit of a chore for Lil.

But then they started to change. Virtually overnight, they went from cute fluffy little chicks to awkward teenager chicks, which apparently Lily finds even more beautiful than the fluffy babes.


They have lost most of their soft fuzzy feathers and their new feathers are showing their distinctive markings.

They are starting to attempt flying more regularly and are beginning to take interest in what is beyond the blue plastic walls containing them.

This weekend we will move them out to an empty stall in the barn where they will have even more room to roam and partake in their teenage chicken antics!

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Spring Peepers: Week Two (I was writing about the chicks on my other blog, before I started this one, so now I'm just copying to 'catch up'.)

I thought I was going to report that "Mother Hen" was losing interest in the chicks, but I was wrong (as you will see when you get to the last two pictures).

As I had anticipated, raising chicks in the living room ran its course in a week. When I walked in today the odor of wet bedding nearly knocked me over. And then there was the small detail that our little birds learned how to "fly the coop" and were roosting on the arms of our chairs (!).

So this afternoon I set up their new home, a cracked plastic kids' wading pool with our firewood ring holding the heat lamp, all of which is located in the basement!



It's a pretty good set up if I do say so myself! ;-)

Over the week, Lily has connected with two chicks in particular, Sarah and Cocoa. She really doesn't acknowledge the other four fuzzy babies in the group. Just, her best friends, Sarah and Cocoa.

Here's a shot of Lil pulling Sarah around in a tiny wagon. (I'm telling you, I was there, I really think the chick was okay with this.)



Cocoa, of course, wanted a ride too!



And then after not really paying much attention to the chicks the last few days, here is Lil *in* the chick's new swimming pool home (I had just put the fresh bedding in so it was nice and clean in there ;-).





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And the night John brought them home...

John surprised us Friday night by coming home with six, week-old chicks. (He had to stop by the tractor supply store to get a new wheel for our lawnmower cart and couldn't resist the cute little peepers!)

What's in there?

Wow!

Settling them in to their temporary home (a recycling bin in our living room!)

Lily is in love!

I have to dig out my chicken book. It's been a couple of years since we've had chicks. I think they'll hang out in our living room for another week or so, then move down into the basement for a week or so, then out to the barn (separate from the "big girls") for a few more weeks.

Lily, of course, is totally loving her role as "mother hen". She's been doting on her chicks -- making sure they have fresh food and water and lots of love. And Quinn (who is turning two in a couple of weeks!!) is doing very well learning how to be "gentle-gentle" with our new friends.

The Garden

As I said in my intro, this is the first year that I am putting my energy and creativity (and sweat and labor) into the vegetable garden located at the bottom of the basin that is our side yard.

I have always enjoyed harvesting the fruits of John's labor and admiring everything as it grew but I have never been involved with the planning, planting and tending of a garden.

This year I have decided that I would like to have this experience and let John and the kids enjoy the fruits of my labor and admiring everything as it grows!

In the future I look forward to planning, planting and tending as a family!

What I have done so far is:

~ Transplanted raspberries that I dug (with permission ;-) from my friends' yard in a row that runs parallel to (but outside of) the garden.
~ Planted three rows of onions - yellow and red
~ Planted three rows of potatoes - red, yellow and blue
~ Planted strawberries (last fall)
~ Bought pea seeds and green bean seeds
~ Planted carrot seeds in containers to keep on the deck
~ Transplanted two blueberry bushes - one a gift for Lily's birthday last year and one newly purchased this year - on the hill leading from the house to the garden.
~ Raked LOTS of leaves and pine needles and dumped them in the chickens' pen so they can scratch for bugs and eat greens and so we can hopefully grow a decent lawn for the first time since sheep and (formerly free-range) chickens moved onto the scene.
~ Bought seeds and begun dreaming about a beautiful butterfly garden in the middle of the basin - one of the few places in the yard that receives direct sun nearly all day.
~ Picked and scattered dandelion seeds so that we can hopefully have lots of tasty dandelion greens to eat next spring.

Welcome to the farm!

The first time I mentioned "our farm" to our almost-four-year old, Lily, she said, "But Mama, we don't live on a farm."

"We have chickens? And a barn, don't we?" I asked. "And we grow vegetables in our garden, don't we? And we even have baby chicks who live in our basement, right?"

"Well, yeah, we do. So...wait. That makes us farmers? Cool."

From that moment on she has been happily referring to "our farm", 1.5 acres on the rural edge of suburbia on which we are slowly creating a sustainable homestead, as often as possible!

So what does it look like at Nadalada Farm right now?

I recently took some photos, which I will share once I get them from the camera to the computer, but until then, I'll describe it.

It is what many might refer to as a "diamond in the rough" and at the same time what others lovingly see as one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

I have long been observing and dutifully making note of all that our two-bedroom, woodstove (only) heated, closet-lacking, tiny bathroom-having, doorknob-missing house and it's mangy, overgrown, pine-needle covered yard is lacking. (Until recently when I discovered the Law of Attraction via the movie The Secret and I started observing and noting all the wonderful features of our beautiful space. And let me tell you I cannot recommend this switch in perspective enough.)

Long ago my boyfriend-now-husband, John, and I used to love to spend hours dreaming about all the possibilities of our home, which we rented for several years before we purchased, and it's oversized yard and barn.

One of our favorite things to dream about was the children we would share this beautiful place with.

We began shaping some of what we thought we wanted our family life to feel like with the addition of chickens several years before our first child was born.

The chickens quickly went from hobby to passion (one that the birth of our first baby quickly re-prioritized back to hobby) and we have been raising chickens (RI Reds, Plymouth Rocks, Arucaunas, Black Sexlinks and Red Stars) ever since.

In the fall of last year, we got our first rooster (a gorgeous Dominique), who Lily named "Pretty", then "Susie" and, more recently, "Roosty", because we (read I) decided it would be a lot of fun to let the hens hatch out babies so we can have a self-sustaining flock.

Up until two years ago (when our second baby was born) we also kept two Shetland sheep for companionship and wool (that will some day be spun into yarn on the wheel collecting dust in my basement) because we (read I) thought it would be fun to have the (future, imagined, extremely helpful) kids grow up around animals.

A few weeks/months (it's all a big blur) after Quinn, who is now two, was born, I ran an ad on Craig's List and sent our sheep to live on a farm that has much more land (and fewer young children) than ours. (The children who were sent to us require significantly more attention than the ones I used to daydream about. ;-)

In those days, it felt like running a marathon to just put food on the table and (relatively) clean clothes on our bodies, and there was just NO energy or patience for fence-hopping, loudly-bleating-during-napping, toddler-charging woolly beasts.

That's it for animals (other than our loyal but neglected canine companion, a black lab mix named, Gilligan).

Chickens are generally cooperative and require very little effort on the part of the humans -- other than modest shelter, drinkable water (and believe me drinkable has often been a very subjective term around here), a hopper full of food, and access to bugs, leaves, grass, worms.

That and the frequent consumption of the most amazing, deeply orange-yolked, energy-charged, nutritionally-packed eggs you could ever imagine.

John and I are both always talking them up to people. We really think that everyone who lives free of "homeowner association regulations" should consider keeping a couple of hens (but never just one) in their backyard. They are really that much fun!

In addition to the chickens, we have a large (20' by 60') garden in which we (read John) have annually grown tomatoes, basil, peppers, zucchini, summer squash, butternut squash, green beans, hot peppers, hops, and a couple of sad looking ears of corn.

My husband has always been the gardener in our family but since the kids were born and free time and extra nurturing energy have been in short supply, he's let it slide.

Last summer we grew some fantastic looking weeds -- but not much else -- in the garden. We did, however, grow some lovely green beans, peas, and carrots in containers on the front deck that got watered almost daily by the kids emptying out the wading pool.

This year, with the help of a wonderful Waldorf-inspired preschool for my daughter and an equally wonderful Waldorf-inspired home daycare for my son and our amazing circle of family and friends, I am bringing my creative and nurturing energy into our the yard and garden (soon to be gardens), which I think I will write about tomorrow.

Time for sleep. There's nadalada sleeping-in that happens here at Nadalada Farm and it has nothing to do with Roosty. Our 6 a.m. alarm comes in the form of a super-snuggly, but not especially graceful, toddler bounding into our bed.