Updates on the Projects

We've been in a whirlwind lately!! I don't know what we're going to do when the weather actually warms enough that we can get outside and work on the garden. We're so busy already :) It's a wonderful busy though. Maybe some of the busy-ness is because of my personality; I have to get something right or I don't want to do it at all! Here's the latest:

1. Chickens - our family has gone 'round and 'round with where exactly to house the chickens! First we were going to build a coop (and by "we" I very possibly might mean my patient husband). Then, "we" decided to convert part of our existing shed into a henhouse. Finally, we (and I mean all of us here) found a cute coop for a reasonable price at our local AgWay. Now, we just have to get it transported to our house! I myself have gone 'round and 'round trying to track down the little chickies. What a process: most hatcheries need a minimum order of 15 or 25 chicks. We were hoping for 7 or 8! It's too cold to ship smaller amounts of babies without a much higher shipping rate I've discovered. Another twist is that I really, really want to have 4 kinds of chickens! I've researched a bunch, and my list includes Barred Rocks, Golden Comets, Araucanas, and Buff Orpingtons. So, our hope is that our local feed store will be stocking live chicks around Easter. We're not sure what breeds we will come away with, but we are prepared with our heat lamp and chick feeder!

2. Honey bees: a hive has been ordered, a jacket and veil are on their way, and my dear Big Fish has built a stand to accommodate the hive. I stopped by a local army surplus store and found some canvas-type pants to go over my jeans (for 10 bucks!).

3. Soap making: I've made 2 batches that are curing. No verdict yet as to how the bars have turned out, for I want to hand mill them and add some wonderful essential oils. I did provide some comic relief in my safety goggles, pink gloves, and apron when I was mixing in the lye!

4. Completely unrelated yet keeping it real (stop reading if you have a weak stomach): I smelled something earlier today - you know, the smell you smell when you step in "something" from the yard. Well, turns out my little dog seems to have some tummy troubles. I had to do a major cleanup of him including donning my latex gloves (I'm finding more and more uses for those things), giving him a cleanup and trim around his bottom, and also cutting the hair off his back feet. While in the middle of this project which I was doing in the bathroom, my daughter came in to use the potty. She told me she was having tummy trouble. Then, my son filled his diaper. In the space of about 20 minutes, I cleaned up poop from 3 sources. Yuck! I've said it before and I'll say it again: I can't wait to open the windows!

Off to check the baby's diaper....