That time of year. . .

Well, folks, it's that time of year again!

I can hardly believe that we are starting of second year on the farm and it is already chick time at Even Meadow!

We went and picked up our new peeps yesterday after our library trip into town.

We went with five more Golden Comets, which will bring our total up to 12.





We still have one Rhode Island Red, but we decided to try out a new breed this year. We now have a total of 18 chickens. Eight "older" ladies and ten new babies.

Introducing one of five Australorps. When these girls grow up they will be all black, beaks, feet and all, with red combs. . . I think we have a black and gold thing going around here!!!

Black dog and Golden retriever, Australorp and Golden Comet, black cat and. . . yikes!!!
We need a yellow cat asap!

I think these little gals look like penguins. . .I shall call them, Happy Feet!

And just to prove that it is not all sunshine and daisies around here
(even though we do have a dog named Daisy). . .

Try not to be jealous of the chick poo on my hand. . .

So, for now, I will leave you one last picture of our huddled masses and a glorious,

"Helloooooo, Spring!!!"

Things You Can't Get From The Grocery Store. . .

There are certain things about farm life that give you little surprises.

The top egg is a little tiny egg.

The bottom egg. . .let's just sum that one up in one word. . .

"OUCH!"




It is even a little lumpy. Like maybe the poor little hen had to pause for a minute to decide if she had the womanly ability to get this monster out! I wonder if she was crying for a C-section at this point?

(Sorry for the labor humor. . .I am a nurse on the maternity floor!)

Here is a picture to give you some perspective. 

Perhaps the iPod is a more current way to show you the size?

Now,  the moment you have all been waiting for. . .


What do you get when you crack open an extra-extra large egg?

Twins!!!!

You don't always get what you pay for. . .

Our girls started laying this week! 

As of this morning three out of the nine hens are giving us eggs. 

They are awfully cute little things. 

Like little presents we get to go and discover each day.

This leads me to the title of this post. We have been buying "free range, organic" eggs at the grocery store in an effort to give our family the healthiest egg we can buy. 

Below is a picture of one store bought "free range, certified organic" egg and one free range (non-certified) organic egg from our girls that spend their days scratching under bushes and clucking around the pastures at our house.

Can you see a difference?

You don't always get what you pay for!

Here are some interesting facts about backyard chickens eggs:

• 1/3 less cholesterol

• 1/4 less saturated fat

• 2/3 more vitamin A

• 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids

• 3 times more vitamin E

• 7 times more beta carotene

You can read more here at MotherEarthNews.


The moral to the story? If you are able to have your own chickens it is definitely worth the effort! If you can't (or don't want the responsibility) have your own flock try to seek out a local farmer that offers true free range eggs. The difference is something you can see with your own eyes.

Summer evening. . .

Went for a walk with my fellas around the pond a few nights ago.




I then had to run back into the house for my camera!!!

This was the amazing sunset over our pond through my camera lens.

Not to be out done, Farm Boy took his own version from a different spot. Perty!

Next thing we knew the kidos busted out the Barbie Jeep

And went for a cruise. .

Happy trails, Lil Pardners. . .

Cousins. . .

As grateful as I was to be able to move to KY, I knew that there were going to be things that I was going to miss when I left SoCal. Beyond the obvious things like family, good friends, our church and a job I loved, there was going to be this little guy.

I grew up watching for birds outside our window. My mom always had bird feeders around, so it was natural for me to grow attached to seeing him. 

This is a Black Phoebe. It is only in the Western US and if you see one outside your window it is probably the same one everyday, since they are territorial and solitary nesters, often remaining year-round in an established territory.

I knew that when we moved I would no longer get to enjoy watching him.

http://www.audubonbirds.org/species/Birds/Black-Phoebe.html

About a month after we moved into this house I started hearing a bird out on the front porch. We were sitting at dinner one night when I finally saw her. I grabbed the bird book to look her up and lo and behold. . . .

Meet the East Coast cousin of my little Black Phoebe. . .

the Eastern Phoebe.

 

http://www.greglasley.net/easternphoebe.html

Turns out all of the ruckus was her finding a place to build a nest! She decided that the transom above our front door would be a great spot. While we knew it would be messy, we couldn't help letting her finish and lay her eggs.

We had such a unique view, and got to watch throughout the day as she built her nest and then sat on the eggs.

A few weeks later they all hatched!

And the feeding began! She flew back and forth bringing them flies and bugs.

They started filling the nest to the top

And finally started overflowing. . .I swear there is a fifth bird in there!
 I think it was stuffed down into the middle.

I got up this morning and started working on this blog post. I realized that some of the pictures were still on my camera and as I walked through the living room to get it I couldn't believe what I witnessed!

I got to watch every little bird take its first flight from the nest, and

 I actually had my camera in my hand!!!

First one out!

Second one.

Number three.

Here are the last two.

Number four ( you can see the tail of number three).

The last one getting ready to take to the air!

Fifth and final flight!!! 

We now have an empty nest.

 I feel so blessed to have gotten to witness God's little gift from the first piece of moss

 to the very last flutter of wings.

The Teen Years. . .

Our little peeps are growing up.
They have now entered that awkward stage we all know and love. . .



Adolescents!!! What is it about this stage of life that produces the gangly, ratty appearance regardless of gender and apparently species?



The girls are doing well and will soon be able to experience the great outdoors.

Here is our littlest one that I blogged about a week or so ago. You can read about it here on
The Hands Of A Farmer. She is very healthy now, but is still a lot smaller than the others.

I have named her Chica.

 In my very best Spanish I like to walk into the barn and say, "Hola, Chica!"

And that is about the extent of my very best Spanish. . .

Soooooo. . .So far, so good! Between farm life and Awanas we are settling into our new routine.
That makes for one happy girl!

Love ya,

Buttercup

The Hands Of A Farmer. . .

What do you think of when you picture the hands of  a farmer?

Dirty

Rough

Grease Stained

Calloused

While all those things may be true, perhaps the most crucial is the ability to be. . .

Gentle

Protective

Tender

Safe




My man's hands are all of those things.

I was awoken from my nap to the sounds of "peeping" coming from my kitchen.
Earlier in the day I had told Farm Boy about one of our girls that I thought wasn't doing well.
I had noticed the day before that she seemed sleepy and slightly smaller than the rest of the chicks, but when I went down this morning you could tell that she was noticeably smaller (they are getting bigger everyday) and kept huddling in the  edges of their box.

He brought her up to the house and filled a small cup with water and dipped her beak into it.

She drank, and drank, and drank some more. . .It appears that this little girl has not followed the lead of the other chicks and figured out the water system that we are using, so she hasn't been drinking. It is amazing that just the lack of water would affect her size so much.

After she drank her fill several times she perked up quite a bit and was content to rest on Farm Boy's arm and "peep" away happily.

Our plan is to check on her several times a day and make sure she gets fresh water along with trying to teach her how to use the water-er that the other girls are doing quite well with. . .you can read about the technical stuff here on the Even Meadow site.

No matter what happens, little fluffy chick, you can rest knowing that you are in good hands.

Meet Our New Peeps. . .

After reading and studying and talking and planning we got in the Jeep yesterday, drove to the feed store and became farmers.

We welcomed 12 little peeps into our ever expanding family!



There are 10 Golden Comets and 2 Rhode Island Reds
(they are the two darker chicks on either side of the feeder).

Hello, girls!

When Golden Comets hatch the males are white and the females are yellow, so we know for sure that we brought home ten girls.

Eat up ladies! You gotta get big and fat and start layin' mamma some eggs!
If you do the math we will most likely end up with about a dozen eggs a day. . .
I imagine I will start being called the"egg lady" as I peddle my eggs around town.

So, what do you do for now with 12 chicks?

 

 

You stare at them. . . a lot. . .

And you keep them warm, and fed and watered. . .and away from the cats. . .