His Brother Gets It

I've said it before, and I'll say it again:

I'm glad each of my boys has a brother who understands and enjoys

their quirky style of play.

Whether it's a dry-erase version of a video game called Bloons

(which Todd is currently into) . . .

. . . or completing every single design in Buildzi

(which we recently acquired through a toy swap at church) . . .

 . . . or some random game involving a calculator

and rules known only to them.

I still don't grasp the intricacies of most games they each create,

but I'm glad they each have a brother who does.

The Forecast of Impending Doom

When I checked the weather forecast on my phone a few days ago,

I saw this rather concerning satellite image:

I'm sure those ominous clouds of darkness

are just a little technical glitch.

Yeah . . . let's go with that.

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.

Rabbit Nirvana

This morning, Todd, Anna, and I went to a Pat-a-Pet event

hosted by the 4-H rabbit club at a local library.

Todd really hoped someone would bring a velvety Rex rabbit . . .

 . . . and he wasn't disappointed.

By the way, that grey rabbit in the background is a Flemish Giant.

They can weigh up to 20 pounds.

At one point, Anna asked me

if I still think about getting our own rabbits.

I replied, "Every single day."

And they'll probably be Rex rabbits,

because petting a Rex is absolute bliss.

Christmas in January

Anna's choir was scheduled to sing at a rest home last month

but they had to cancel at the last minute . . .

 

. . . so the concert was rescheduled for this afternoon.

After all, Christmas carols are still fun and inspiring in mid-January.

July might have been a stretch though.

The performance was a big hit with the residents,

and the room was so packed that the choir parents had to listen in the hallway.

It would have been nice to have a comfy chair,

but the beautiful music and the fun of watching Anna perform

made up for the suboptimal seating arrangement.

Ironic Donuts

That awkward moment

when you attend a class about healthy lifestyle choices . . .

. . . then arrive home to discover 

that your husband stopped by your family's favorite donut shop this morning,

and bought BOTH of your favorite donuts for you.

Icicles and Splints

Outside . . .

. . . it's a winter wonderland.

Inside, my tropical plants have a great view of the icicles . . .

. . . and Reesey has a great view of a small, befuddled parakeet.

Reesey: You must be a mini bantam.

Tia: You're the biggest parakeet I've ever seen! Are you related to The Hulk?

I noticed that Reesey's ankle was bent and might be fractured,

so our chicken-expert friend came over and helped us put a splint on her leg.

I felt sad for our hurt little chickie . . .

. . . but it was a sweet experience to snuggle her while she was wrapped up for the procedure.

Looks like Anna felt the same way.

The Plywood Depot

A nor'easter covered our town

with a thick blanket of snow this morning.

We shoveled a path to the chicken tractor

so we could feed our hens

and replace their frozen water with the liquid version . . .

. . . then we headed up to the bonus room to set up train tracks

on a big piece of plywood Daddy recently bought.

Anna is having fun arranging a quaint little town next to the tracks.

Todd thinks it will look even better 

with a dozen artfully arranged Super Mario figurines.

Parking the Tractor

Winter officially started a couple weeks ago,

but we haven't had much snow to speak of yet.

We're due to get a blizzard tomorrow though,

so it's time to move the bikes to the shed, the snowblower to the garage . . .

. . . and the chicken tractor to the side of the house,

where I plan to park it for the winter.

We usually don't let the chickens out of their coop until after we move the tractor,

but this time we adjusted the tractor's position while the chickens were in their run . . .

. . . and poor Reesey got her foot caught under the frame when we set it down.

She can't put weight on her hurt foot, and chickens are known to attack injured members of their flock,

so she's currently convalescing in a plastic tote bin in our screened porch.

I feel terrible that we hurt her foot (on the very last day we moved the tractor this year!),

and I pray she'll recover.

My friend who has kept chickens for years assures me that chickens are very resilient,

and there is a good chance she'll be able to walk again before too long.