Urban Chicks Continued

These CUTE little critters are GROWING! WOW! The chicks have outgrown several boxes and are eagerly awaiting their coop. Rich bought a coop plan on-line and has been busy building it. At week one, they started to try to fly out of their box. As soon as one saw another do that, the other had to copy the attempt. Yesterday, Mina and i made them a mini-roost as i was starting to find them up on top of their watering container.

I should give a chick update though, as we did lose Mina's Daisy around week one. There were a couple frantic calls to my chicken farmer Dad. It was rather SAD. As a result, we went out and came home with two more chicks. So we now have Elmo, Prairie Dawn, Margo as well as Rose and "Daisy", full name Daisy Blue Green Egg Pretty, aka Daisy #2. We'll be planting a brush/tree by the coop in memory of Daisy#1.

Miles with his Elmo, Mina with her Daisy (Daisy #2 to be true). Notice the size difference. They are A WEEK apart in age. The chicks, not the children.

Coop builders!

Life with Chicks

We are getting settled into life with chicks. They are eating and drinking tons. We can see them growing and getting bigger. They have more energy and silly chicken-like behaviour. I'm pretty sure every morning that they have forgotten all about us. I've started a compost system for the manure and we are getting into coop design.

Farmer Miles helping with the morning brooder cleaning. We are waiting for an Amazon delivery today and a bigger brooder box! Mina w Daisy. Mina writing "animals facts" about chicks in her science journal.

Books that we have been enjoying as of late:

Ollie (the whole series)

An Egg Is Quiet (I LOVE this author)

Happy Spring! CHICKS!

Introducing our newest friends/pets/future egg producers! Elmo (far left), Daisy (front, center), Prairie Dawn (middle) and Margo (back). I'll let you guess who named each chick. Daisy and Prairie Dawn, our two Ameraucanas! They will lay eggs that are a blue-ish colour.

Elmo and Margo, our Buff Orpingtons -the yellow chicks. They lay brown eggs and are suppose to be "the sweetest chicken, if you can call a chicken sweet." Picking out our new friends at The Grange. Of note, photo taken at like 8:09 AM! This morning, the kids woke up chanting "Mamma, Chick Day! Mamma, Chick Day!"

All boxed up and ready to go home!

Mina and her long-awaited chick, Daisy

Learning about gentle touches!

I feel that we are off on a big adventure. These little things are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO cute. We had a fun morning of heavy handling and observing.

So we now officially have pet worms and chickens! Gotta love the city life. I have starter plants in my bath tub under a grow light (more on that later) and chicks in my garage.

Some favourite backyard chicken resources:

Seattle Tilth Chicken Info
Last weekend, I took their Urban Chickens 101 class. That was the last dose of inspiration that i needed to start my own little flock!

My Pet Chicken

Backyard Chickens

Deconstructing Dinner - the Backyard Chickens Series

Happy Spring!

Hubby's new tiffin carrier

Hubby's new tiffin box - filled w leftovers, originally uploaded by annierl.

i've been looking for a smart, plastic-free way for rich to take his lunch to work. take it on his bike without spilling all over his clothes, breaking or weighing the ride down.

enter the tiffin box! a series of stacking compartments that are too cute. now i feel like packing his lunch and making a real gesture out of it...and takes pictures of his lunch. how bizarre.

one of rich's coworkers pointed him to this amazing website,
http://www.mydabbawala.com/index.htm

here's a 2007 article about the business in NY Times

Victory Gardens

When the snow and lingering cold temperatures go away, i'm REALLY looking forward to working the dirt. I'm also keeping my fingers crossed for the student garden at school.

I noticed this article the other day, talking about the economy and the increase in at-home gardens... Seed companies have bumper crop.

A friend sent along this video on Victory Gardens. I did have some serious flashbacks to my childhood watching this one -minus all the bug spray.

Recent snow fall/fun

perfect chance for a winter picnic of mango tea and homemade bagels

Eye Doctor

Miles went to the eye doctor the other day. I tried to explain all the things that would happen, how Mina went there too, etc. As we walked into the doorway, he asked me, "Mamma, will she take my eyeballs out?". He came home with a pair of glasses from the prize box. He LOVES these glasses.

I love this little boy so much. Last night at bedtime, he asked "Mamma, why did Pappa take the kitchen wall to the dump?".

I really want a cat but my parents won't let me get one...

Mina's teacher is really big on using "inventive spellings" in their journaling. On Monday, they wrote about their favourite animal and wrote a sentence on this. Mina is really proud about the length of her sentence. Someday i will break her heart and tell her about run-on-sentences. She wrote this quickly and with passion on Monday during our homeschool time. I learned the odd thing myself by her "animal facts" entry. For example, she likes cats! Click on the picture. Or i will try to get the full translation for you below.

My favourite animal is a cat that eats cat food when its owner takes it for a walk but if doesn't have a leash on it might run away only if it is good cat and its fur is very soft and that might try to play with a ball and if a dog don't have a leash on it might try to run away too and i really want a cat but my parents do not let me have one and i really like cats and the whole family has worms and that is enough but we are going to get chickens but i think that is enough too and i think that chickens and worms are enough too I really think that is enough I really do and that are plenty (?) i really do and the red all ?

These days are so sweet.

New Flickr Account

20090304 031, originally uploaded by annierl.

I've started a new Flickr account. You can find me here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/annierl/

Goodbye kitchen wall!

Hey, let's just take out that kitchen wall tonight honey. Okay dear.
The kitchen wall.

I think that the dropped ceiling is next.