Sunday, March 24, 2013

Spring Fever...


Spring fever is catching here on the farm. So many new and exciting additions to our little world.

Last weekend was a tough and glorious weekend. We began building the new garden shed/chicken coop. We completed the floor and and framed the walls up. They are sided and in the coming weekend we will begin to frame the trusses and get the roof on. Then painting and shingling. We had some great assistance from our friend Toby. Nice trade. A days work for homemade cheddar biscuit egg sandwiches for breakfast and chili for lunch. I love love love feeding folks.

The shed, my garden shed, will be a great addition. The entrance faces the garden and keeps my tools close by instead of an acre away. There will be windows in both the shed part and the coop. Two to the south, framing the mountains, and two to the north facing the house and driveway.

The chicks have become unruly and gangly teenagers. And as teens they are anxious to spread their wings and check out the world. It will take a few more feathers in this cold before they can do that. It has been cold and snowing. Welcome to March. They will feel like they are living in the Taj Mahal after their early stint in a reclaimed dog kennel.

We had some losses. Two of the little Egyptian chicks got trampled by their two week older counterparts. Then, our hens killed one of the hens from our friends. They are bunking here until they move into their new home. Introducing new hens doesn't always go over big. While the picture books show docile and quaint visions of hens, they can be brutal stone cold killers. All our efforts for making the incorporation go smoothly didn't work out so well once we went to work for the day and couldn't keep an eye on the prison yard. I may have mentioned before that J uses gangland and prison terms when describing the hen yard. Amusing typically. But not when one of your guests gets shanked.
The final loss was my favorite guinea. She was out exploring the yard when J let the dogs out. We had their training collars, but that was futile. J had to put the bird down and walked it across the field to a hedgerow ditch to complete the circle of life with the coyotes. Needless to say by Sunday eve I was a little over the whole animal kingdom drama. But, this is life on the farm. Not always pastoral and peaceful. Sometimes it is dirty and raw. And even so, would not change a second of it. I only hope I get better at preventing the mishaps I can.

Also in the news, I am the new blogger for farmingfortcollins.com. A regional blog that explores growers and producers and markets for the area. I am thrilled. And happy for the experience this blog has given me. I will continue to do both. As this is my personal journey and the other blog I will be observer and sharer of information. Huge step toward building the life I want to. Which is all farm all the time. Whether mine or working with others in some form or fashion.

Now, time to check the status on today's launch post. Go FOCO!

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