Bigger Isn't Always Better

Our parakeets have been squabbling a lot lately,

so we decided to move Cici into the spare cage for a little while.

We thought she might be a little lonely in there,

but at least it would give Tia (and us) some relief from her constant pestering.

Well, things didn't work out the way we expected.

Cici is perfectly content in her little cage,

but Tia leaves the big cage every chance she gets . . .

. . . and spends hours parked on Cici's roof.

We hoped that meant they could resume dual occupancy of their primary residence,

but alas, as soon as we let Cici back in,

they forthwith reverted to their typical pettifoggery.

(pettifoggery n. 

1: the actions of a petty and unscrupulous lawyer;

2:  a trivial quarrel, squabble, tiff;

3: an obscure word I learned this evening,

which I have never encountered before in my life,

but which is very fun to say)

Sometimes I think birds are almost as irrational as humans.

Almost.

The Reesey Run

When I decided to acquire some adorable chickies last year,

I little imagined the things I would need to learn

about the challenges of chick containment,

the uses of watermelon boxes . . .

. . . and building additional livestock shelters.

Videos like this one make homestead carpentry seem simple and easy,

but although I grasp the basic concept of their plans . . .

. . . it literally took me hours to get this far

because I only kinda know how to build stuff, and what order to build it in.

It frustrates me to know that there must be a better, faster way to complete this project,

but in the end, what really matters . . .

. . . is that I produced a big, secure shelter for Reesey, 

and got it covered with a tarp before snow fell last night.

She seems happier now that she has room to move around

and a patch of fresh grass to scratch and peck.

I parked the new "Reesey Run" near the chicken tractor,

so the other hens can get used to Reesey being around them again.

Hopefully, that will help things go more smoothly

when I make my next attempt at reintegrating her into the flock.

Martha: "Who's that?  She looks familiar."

Abby: "How come she gets her own room? I want one too!"

Mary: "Speak for yourself.  It looks kinda drafty."

Sometimes Chickens Aren't Very Nice

A few days ago,

Joy texted me a picture . . .

. . . of a chicken wandering around our screened porch.

Reesey is still reluctant to put weight on her hurt leg,

but she is able to hobble around and she's really tired of sitting in a plastic tote all the time,

so she hopped out to take a stroll.

I sympathize that she wants a change of scene, 

but I don't want her to . . . make lots of little messes in our porch.

This afternoon, I decided to try reintroducing her to the chicken tractor run.

I sprinkled in some kitchen scraps and oats when I put her in, 

hoping that the other birds would focus on the treats and not give her grief for being injured.

Things went well for about thirty seconds, then the other hens noticed she was limping

and started chasing her around the run.

I hastily climbed in, grabbed Reesey with a towel, and carried her back to our porch.

I don't want her to be bullied, but I also don't want her to spend the next weeks

confined to a little plastic box,

or free ranging in a porch that I have to clean.

I think it may be time to build her a temporary shelter

that will allow her to safely live outside and have more room to roam around.

I already have a plan for what I want to build.

We'll see if this new project is as simple as I expect it to be.

Probably not.

Rookie Art

I don't consider myself much of an artist,

but a few years back I discovered that paint nights can be fun.

I love the fact that I can follow someone's simple instructions

and paint something that at least resembles art.

When I heard that our library would be hosting a winter painting class today,

I immediately put the class on my calendar.

I still display my pumpkin painting in autumn,

and I thought it would be nice to have a winter scene too,

so I could switch my paintings as the seasons change.

We started the class with little puddles of paint on our paper,

which we smeared from side to side to make a misty background . . .

. . . then the teacher showed us some simple ways

to make pine trees that look like they're closer or farther away.

We then dabbed snow on the branches,

added footprints in the foreground, and splattered on some snowflakes.

Although the end result isn't perfect, I'm happy with it.

Anna liked my tree painting too,

and she asked if we could try making art together.

We found a video with instructions for painting some flowers,

but it took a lot longer than we expected (probably because we're both rookies),

so we didn't even finish half of it this afternoon.

Hopefully we'll get to the rest soon--it would be nice to have a spring picture

to replace my snowy trees in a month or two.

Winter Homesteading

Now that temperatures regularly drop below freezing at night . . .

. . . I often find the chickens' water frozen solid when I let them out of their coop each morning.

I've even started setting an alarm to check their water early in the afternoon on cold days

to make sure it hasn't turned to undrinkable ice.

The shorter days also mean that egg production has slowed down.

Some of our friends' chickens have stopped laying altogether,

but we still get about one egg each day.

Even Reesey occasionally lays an egg in her recovery tote!

Since the chicken tractor is parked for the winter and our hens can no longer forage much,

I've decided to experiment with sprouting to vary their diet

and give them something interesting to peck at in their run.

I'm starting off with lentils, since I have them on hand.  We'll see how that goes.

I'm also taking another shot at growing herbs under grow lights.

When I tried it last winter, the only thing that did well . . .

. . . was a thyme plant stretching toward the light from its mason jar.

It seemed pretty happy though, 

so hopefully I can find ways to help other herbs flourish too.

Whether my winter homesteading experiments pan out or not,

it's fun to try new things and I'll have "snow regrets."

Hiking with Sleds

There's still a good amount of snow left from a recent storm . . .

. . . so some of us decided to go sledding near the library today.

Sledding is actually 95 percent hiking . . .

. . . but the thrilling bursts of speed 

are worth the effort it takes to get back to the top . . .

. . . especially when you share the trek with someone you love.

Off to the side of the main sledding run was a huge mound of snow 

the snowplows piled up when they cleared the library parking lot.

Anna thought you'd have to be crazy to sled down that steep slope,

but after Joy did it and survived,

Anna tried it too and discovered it was a fun ride.

We often stop by Gourmet Donuts after sledding,

but we decided to try Donelans today.

Their donuts are good, but we arrived late in the day

so they had a pretty small selection.

Hmm, chocolate with vanilla glaze, or chocolate with chocolate glaze?

Tough choice.

(Unless you're a chocolate junkie. Then it's easy.)

Chicken Field Trip

Anna decided to let the three uninjured chickens . . .

. . . out for a field trip before we get more snow this week.

I wouldn't expect there to be many delicious bugs in our lawn right now,

but somehow the chickens found plenty of things to peck at.

Meanwhile, Reesey's recovery bin is currently parked on a bench in our hallway.

It's kind of cool to come around a corner and see a chicken there,

but whenever she flaps her wings she sends wood shavings flying everywhere.

Reesey, it's been fun having you inside, but I think it's time for you to move back to the screened porch.