Scratch

So winter suddenly showed up. Thanks, buddy, for the warning! It's been freezing at night which requires a trip to the feed store to stock up mealworms, sunflower seeds and scratch. Or, we could just make our own.

The compost bin is filled with mealworms. Since we use an old trash bin riddled with holes for our compost, scooting it a few inches very couple of days allows a handful of worms to be feasted upon by the girls. They get hopeful everytime I go near the bin. Its rather cute, and frustrating, to be stirring the muck with four birds staring at your ankles!

We always have sunflower seeds in the cupboard of per food. I found a 2 pound bag of black sunflower seeds next to the outdoor birdseed at Albertson's for a couple bucks and give those to the girls every morning as a treat. Lately they've been trying to fly up to the bird feeder to get more!

As for scratch, well I happened across a homemade recipe at Fresh Eggs Daily who's ingredients I happened to have around the house.* So I mixed up a batch and the girls LOVE it!! It's been an hour and they keep looking for that last hopeful bit!

So what did I put in the scratch? Store bought oatmeal, pearl barley, sunflower seeds, raisins, and a multi-grain hot cereal mix no one in the family likes made of flax, soy, wheat bran and wheat germ.

I only give the girls a handful in the morning to warm them up an another handful (about2/3 - 3/4 of a cup) just before bed to help keep them warm on these cold nights.

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* More on the benefits of scratch and the original Fresh Eggs Daily recipe here

.week in photos.

I need to take some pics of the country roads I drive up to Tulsa. But I'm usually on a time crunch and don't want to pull over. If only pictures taken from a moving car were safe to capture or looked descent. Next trip I will plan accordingly.

Birthday Wish

As you all know, my life away from Texas has been visited with death and disease, yet in the midst of that we choose to celebrate life and living to the fullest. Today is my birthday. The greatest gift you can give me is go live and in so doing celebrate the life of another. Be the random act of kindness in a stranger's day. Smell the flowers. Say kind words to yourself and to your children. Believe the words you say. Now go! Live! Raise your beverage high and toast to life! Lechium!

.week in photos.

I spent some time in Tulsa working this week. This means there is a small amount of photos this week for a few simple reasons. 1) if I'm taking photos at work then I'm not working, 2) if I took any photos they would become the property of the company that hired my union (this week that would be Disney) and 3) it would be a violation of my employment contract. With that said here's a small look at life away from work.

Water play

As a kid growing up in the Willamette Valley, watering the yard was never a chore you thought about. If you had the good fortune to end up with a few dry days it was highly likely that temperatures invited children out to frolic in water. Mid-July through mid-September the amount of sprinkler play and the refilling of kiddie pools meant you didn't really have to think about your grass dying, unless you didn't rotate the pool location.

Now I live in Texas. It's a completely different story here. Watering the yard is a weekly check-off point. It's starting to need a creative aspect. It can literally take all day to water the entire yard and garden. At some point the fun of playing in the sprinkler disappeared. To combat this, we've tried incorporating learning play into the job.

Today, we tried various containers, floaty toys and nature items, some sunken things, a net, a hose on low, a flock of chickens and E. That quarter of the yard she was experimenting in got a well deserved drink. And so did she!

This Moment

{this moment} - A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Inspired by www.soulemama.typepad.com

.week in photos.

So I am a tiny bit late with my week of photos. But if you saw yesterday's post, you understand why. If you missed that post, here it is. This last week wasn't all serious deep talks, it was also full of exploring and learning. So, have a look-see if you'd like and we'll chat again soon.

 

Hair cut!

It got cold!

Last week I was chatting to the mister about possibly making some changes to the chicken's set up. Winter is coming. Our first Winter in Texas and I'm not really sure what to expect. I've heard 85 one day, ice layer the next. This got me thinking that the current chicken house is really a summer dwelling, since it was intended to help the girls sleep safely through 86 degree nights. They free range the backyard from dawn til dusk, rotating with the shade and so survived the grueling heat.
Now, about winter... If we owned the garden the shed in the property, we'd modify it and be done. But alas. We rent. We recently had a couple night dip below 40 and the days took a bit to warm back up due to 30 mph winds! I turned my imagination on overdrive and tried this;

The girls seemed to appreciate the snack break out of the wind. I didn't really expect eggs because the weather change was sudden and they get a little preoccupied staying warm on grey days anyway. Fortunately, it warmed up by afternoon for them to comfortably use their preferred nest on the porch. Now we've returned to "normal" Texas fall, a girl on winter egg-strike, and a broody hen who has now started molting. This should be interesting.