Monday, February 25, 2019

My Little Urban Farmstead: Raising Chickens and Gardening in the City


I would like to show you around my little backyard homestead.

Growing up in Ohio I was always used to putting in the garden around early April and almost ignoring it while still getting a good crop of vegetables. I've struggled with having a productive garden here in Texas for the last couple of years and I think it's mainly because I start my garden too late in the season. The plants don't have a good start before the heat sets in. This is the earliest I've ever planted a garden. It's in the spot where my original chicken coop used to be for the last few years so it's quite fertile. I'm feeling hopeful that this year I'll be able to harvest plenty to feed my son and me, and maybe even a little extra to share.

I planted tomatoes, romanesco (if you don't know what this is, Google it. It is beautiful), lettuce, carrots, zucchini, cucumbers, dill, basil, spinach, thyme, and beets. I always plant marigolds to repel pests. The dill usually gets sacrificed to caterpillars. Five days from now I should have little sprouts coming up from the seeds I planted. I never cease feeling excitement and wonder at the little sprouts pushing up towards the sky. Life renewed.




My old coop was a disaster and I worried nightly about predators getting in. One night a young opossum did get in and cornered one of my hens. Luckily I woke up to hear the screams my poor frightened girl was making. If you ever hear a chicken scream in fright you will never forget it. I ran out barefoot, scooped her up, and herded everyone into the kitchen where they spent the night. Everyone has kept chickens in their kitchen, right?

The new coop is much nicer, but it was quite the challenge...



I was excited to be the first in line when this coop came up as a freebie on a chicken group I'm in. The catch was I had to move it. The original person who was supposed to move it for me had a nice trailer and all of the equipment to properly move a building this size but he backed out last minute. I posted on Craigslist and found someone else who promised he could move the coop on the back of his truck. Moving day came and he was late meeting me at the site to pick it up. When he finally showed up he's driving an older pickup with a small bed. I had a bad feeling.

I wish I'd saved the photo of the coop loaded onto his truck. It looked like Beverly Hillbillies moving into town. It was a disaster waiting to happen, but he and his partner insisted that they didn't need to take it apart to move it. It didn't sit properly on the bed of the truck and it towered over the road. We didn't even get a half mile down the road when the wind caught the door and whipped it off, sending it flying directly at me and my son who were following in my Jeep. By sheer luck, it didn't hit us or anyone else and instead shattered all over the road. They had failed to properly tie down the door. I was a nervous mess the rest of the way home. 


Somehow we made it the 30-minute drive to my house. We passed a police officer and it was with great relief he didn't pull them over for having an improper load. I explain to them where I want it to go. They unloaded it at the side of the house but insisted they couldn't get it to the back yard because of a low hanging tree. By this time I was done with them, so I told them to just go and I'd figure out something on my own. I might have muttered a few curse words under my breath as they left. 


The coop sat there with the roof off and no door, totally useless to me, for four months. I had to stare at its behemoth teal form every time I stood at the kitchen sink. It was with the gracious help of a friend that it was moved in to place and the door another friend gifted me installed. If it wasn't for his help I'd probably still be staring at the darn thing out my window. Now that it is all set up where it is supposed to be and my chickens are all settled in, this hippy girl is happy. I have four hens contently roosting in the coop and now that the days are longer all four are gifting me daily eggs. 

As I told my friend, I'm quite content being the neighborhood crazy chicken lady.


Monday, February 18, 2019

I'm Back and I've Missed You

Moonrise over Seminole Canyon State Park, Texas

It's been about a year since I've written a blog post. I had posts I wanted to share, but it just didn't happen for a couple of reasons. One, I was overwhelmed with life in general and two, I was putting everything into growing my photography business. But I have so many things I want to share with you. Things about my little urban homestead (I'm up to four chickens now and am currently planning my garden), favorite recipes, and home and garden tips.

A lot has happened in the last year. I replaced my original chicken coop and raised a chick who is now a part of our flock of laying hens. Her name is Poe, after the character on Star Wars. We thought she was a roo because of her attitude. Oops! She's just a spunky hen. She also happens to be gorgeous. Here she is:

Poe

We also added another family member. Luna came to us after a dear friend of mine passed away from cancer. After a little bit of adjusting, she's now settled into life in our home quite well. She is the diva and loves soft surfaces as well as eating the leftover chicken food. She's also quite the little trooper and hangs just fine with us and our big dog, Julius when we go on adventures.

Luna Enjoying a Hike

I've also made some new friends, refocused my photography business, and watched my son grow taller every day. When I first started this blog he was just a little guy. Now he's a year and a half away from middle school. Ugh, time really does go by too quickly.

Anyway, its good to be back. My goal for the year is to find a balance with running this little hippy home, my photography business, and this blog. I'm not going to lie, finding balance is hard when you are pulling the single parent gig, but I wouldn't trade this life I'm living for anything.