facts and other interesting things

well, a lot has happened the past couple weeks.
:: 1 more week until Holly & Tony's wedding.
i really must go pick up my dress from my mum who altered it for me. thank goodness for seamstresses in the family! i've picked up a brand new pair of lovely birkenstock's for the wedding too. i simply refuse to spend money on a pair of heels i would never wear again. my birk's are comfort+style+i'll have em forever! Holly picked up a silver pair for her big day too! oh how comfy our feet will be together!

::the chickens are now a couple weeks old! oh my! they nearly tripled in size, im tellin ya! i just moved them today from the 25 gal. aquarium i had them in, to a larger rubbermaid bin; mainly to give them more space, i noticed they continuously kept 'flying' or making attempts to, get out!! the top is covered now with some chicken wire. this was mainly to deter my parents dog dakota, whom we were dog sitting for the other weekend, and well, the chicks sure sound like a squeeky dog toy to her! we've been having such fun and amusement in watching these chicks! it really has surprised us all their funny little behaviours.
For example; the two chicks who are of the same breed seem to lay together and follow one another moreso then the odd one out (who i've called Mabel, the other two don't have names yet) who is a diff. breed than them.
Mabel seems to be the more calm one of the 3. When i hold her, she gets settled and quite content, sometimes even drifting to sleep!
The dominant lady chick, and jan has noticed this too!, seems to really rule the roost! it's quite funny. When she is taken out, she chirps SO loud!
ive been giving them small amounts of greens to get them used to scraps, so far they've gotten lettuce, red pepper, and grass clippings. they seem to enjoy it so far!
the coop is also halfway to completion! thanks to Scott, for pretty much doing all the construction, he is so great at it!!! thank you SCOTT!

:::and finally... i would love to post some photos but, the camera was WASHED is the washing machine. and i didn't do it!! so it pretty much is good for nothing now, so must wait until we can get a new one.... too bad too because i really want to take photos of the coop!
well, such is life!

goodnight

:::new arrivals

:: sleeping by the food
::two of them seem to huddle together more,
i think they might be sisters. did you know chickens are able to
recognize their siblings and chicks they've been raised with at 3 days old?

Chickens! i picked up three lovely little hens today at Bonnie's Hatchery in Elmira.

This hatchery is awesome! such friendly service, and fast too! This family operated business has been around since 1941.

I've wanted backyard chickens ever since we thought about buying a home! and now here we are, a year and a bit after purchasing our home, and not even a year of living in this house, (and after a long time convincing jan that backyard chickens will be a great idea... and after his realization on how serious i was about it!!) and i've got 'em! i couldn't be more excited!! I have two barred rock chicks and one black sex link.

chickens are great for so many reasons, other than the obvious of fresh, eggs. chickens will start laying at approximately 17-20 weeks old, and can lay anywhere betwen 1-2 eggs a day! which means these lil girls at only 4 days old, will start laying aroud november-december. when colder weather comes, hens don't lay as many eggs, so we won't truly start seeing many eggs until the spring time, where we could get as many as 30 or more eggs a week from just three hens!!

that means our friends & neighbours will surely also be able to enjoy fresh eggs! and also plenty more things to bake in the kitchen!

chickens also do wonders for the garden, eating pests and fertilizing too.

many thanks to my wonderful aunt carolyn, friend leah, and karin of little city farm see their blog here! http://www.littlecityfarm.blogspot.com/, for their advice and answers to my questions as i researched backyard chickens for a long time! and of course wonderful thanks to our dear friends who are helping us to construct the backyard coop!
the number of ppl with backyard chickens in steadily increasing in the KW region!
it's also helps with those trying to eat a local diet.

so far, these lil ladies have quite the personalities; one likes to jump in and out of the water dish, another loves to sleep with her legs stretched out, and the third gal, with the longest legs, is a bit fiesty! she nipped at the camera when i tried to get some close up photos of them! im reading a wonderful bok right now entitled "The inner world of farm animals" by Amy Hatkoff with a foreword by Jane Goodall. It's all about farm animals and their social, intellectual, and emotional capacities. it's a very sweet book and very informative! and honestly making me very much look at what i eat...

im sure these hens will acquire names once i get to know them a little better. i was a little hesitant to name them, due to my fear of predators getting them once they are outside.

but.. with the help of my dear friends we are going to build a wonderful coop to protect them!

for now the chicks will stay inside as they grow until about 5-6 weeks, or when they have their feathers.

more about the chicks later.... for now, i must go clean the house for a goodbye party being held here tomorrow with my coworkers in honour of my dear supervisor who had to leave us :(

Memories !

Summer is here!

white geraniums lining our porch


mini organic sunflowers, beside some hens n chicks
fresh from the market!
i can see a little critter had a nibble already!

virginia creeper in full force over the purogola

the 'edible' garden; lettuce, kale, basil, garlic,
peppers, chammomile, feverfew, evening primrose,
hyssop, and what i didn't capture (to the right in
the raised bed) were the tomatoes (4 different
heirloom varieties) and more peppers!

the shed with it's new walkway we built


Oh the joys of summer! it is finally here!
the tulips and crocus' are long gone and have made way for the daisies, lillies, sunflowers, herbs and vegetables, all which are taking over the garden now! in a good way!
we have been very busy since coming back from Europe. Since being back for a month already (feels like longer...!) we have managed to get much accomplished around the house!

unfortunately, that has left us with little time to get up to the cottage yet, but, we must be grateful for what we can do, and not rush. So much of our lives are rushed already it feels so lovely to be able to roam freely in the garden, sweep the patio, plant 'just one more' thing, hang fresh laundry on the line, smell the flowers, watch the birds and squirrels, and of course, just 'sitting'. Rarely we have have to just 'sit' so we have really been making an effort to eat outside when its nice; on the porch or under the purgola, and be outside as much as possible! and of course, BBQ season has begun! we've managed to get to three bbq's already, ohhh the smells of fresh food on a bbq! yum....
It's the first summer in our new home, and, well, i just can't get enough! The inside cleaning has gone on the backburner, although i did manage to wash the kitchen floor (primarily in an effort to rid the kitchen of our new furry little friends-mice! yup, we've caught 5 in total...i think they are gone now!) and dust the floors.


other than that i've really been focusing on the outdoors! one of my favourite things being here is all the new 'sounds' i am discovering; squirrels at the bird feeder, flutes, saxaphone's and tuba's (what talented neighbours we have!!) kids playing, people walking, biking, insects, the wind in the leaves, birds, OH the BIRDS!!! cardinals, blue jays, nut hatches, woodpeckers, finches, robins, oh the birds... oh my, i just must say it sure beats the sounds of the apartment; european ladies talking (and yelling!) from the restaurant downstairs, trains, cars, intoxicated people at ALL hours of the night... wow, its just such a vast and very welcome change, i really feel lucky to live here and have such wonderful neighbours! I've notice one of Jan's favourite things to do is lie on the wicker bench on the front porch and read, do his crosswords, and nap!


There is truly a sense of community here. i know the names, and faces of all those around me and we say hello on a daily basis. we've managed to borrow the following from at least 2 different neighbours; eggs, milk, vinegar, numerous plants and even earth from their garden! and we've given back to these neighbours by giving them baked goods, tomato plants, flowers, helping them install outdoor water supply (all jan's doing of course!!), babysit.
something i really think is great and thanks to Karin and Greg's blog at 'Little City Farm' (a GREAT b&b and urban homestead a mere 5 minutes from here,) for finding it on their site;
http://www.riverbankneighbors.org/howtodisappear/
it talks a lot about building community, its an illustrated book and really, really gives a good message with meaning, i REALLY think you oughta look at it

So, i've been trying to do even more of this in my own neighbourhood. Sure, the store is literally a 5 minute walk (funny, really everything is just 5 minutes away!) but why go when i could go ask a neighbour? what's the worst that could happen? they don't have it? well ask another neighbour, try for it until you get it, and if its something common, like milk, or eggs, you're bound to find it!

so i'll leave you with this thought;
when is the last time YOU borrowed something from a neighbour?, whether it be a service (grass cut, etc.) or a product (maybe it's food product, maybe its earth!) or when's the last time you gave something or recieved something without even asking from a neighbour?


if you haven't, try it! it feels good. and good feelings are the best kind, aren't they!

friends

IMG_4543
Originally uploaded by clearthearea83

i absolutely LOVE this photo...
what memories we made altogether in Europe

spring is everywhere!

IMG_4350
Originally uploaded by clearthearea83

i just love these micro seedlings growing on top of a mossy rock
Klasterec, Czech Republic

settling back into life

well it sure has been a long time since my last post!
we are now well back from a wonderful holiday. we returned May 19, had a couple days off in which we chose to spend planting, gardening, and taking care of the usual post-holiday chores; i.e. laundry, putting things away, organizing.
with all the work outside we did, combined with the jet lag, it SURE was a hectic week! Thursday meant back to work, and this week marks the second full week im back at work...
and it sure doesn't feel like i even left work! so busy, oh-so-busy....
hence why i haven't had time to blog. even this entry will be a short one, since im long over due for a good night's sleep.

i will post some photo's shortly of our wonderful trip spent doing lots of sight seeing, having great fun with friends, catching up with family, eating lots of delicious czech and dutch dishes, and a little relaxation time at a hot springs spa. ohh it was devine!

im going to post my pics to my flick acct. theres just too many to sort through!

peace and goodnight