Wordless Wednesday (Struttin' Their Stuff)

Day 01: A Self-Portrait

This afternoon I spent a while in the backyard with the ladies. They follow me around, sometimes in a little line, or a crowd at my feet. Mostly they think I have food. They'll also peck at my belt, or camera, or hands if they get the chance. Or they'll hop onto my lap, or roost on my arm.

Between yesterday afternoon and today, they gifted me with seven lovely eggs. It's an absolutely delightful to have them around.

Just call me the crazy chicken lady.

Chickens, Toddlers & Rosie The Riveter

Yesterday was lovely, mes amis. It was the first day in a week that I go to spend my whole day with my baby girl. The last while has been nutty -- between daycare, work, G spending time with her father and both grammas, I've been tot-less most days and I've missed her so much.

Our Thursday consisted of a visit to Chapters, cooking together, cozy naps, chickens, Halloween decorations, rearranging the house, pumpkin carving with friends and lots of snuggles.

After her nap, we spent some time in the yard with the ladies. If, perhaps, you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, then you might know we lost one of the girls just a few days ago. She'd been ill the week before, and on one very sad morning, I opened the coop to find she had passed. My heart still feel so heavy at the loss. She was one of our two Barred Rock hens, which makes me feel sadder for the single remaining gal. The other five hens are Red Stars. I wonder if she feels left out?

So far, Gretchen hasn't come to notice that one's gone missing, and actually, I'm not going to point it out unless she asks. If she notices, however, I will explain things as best I can. My guess is that she won't quite notice that we've gone from seven to six. Life goes on.

I took this snapshot the night we brought our ailing girl inside. I did my best to fix her up, and had thought she was on the mend, before I found her oh so still in the coop that awful morning. We'll miss you, lovely hen! Thank you for the eggs, sweet girl.

Thankfully, the rest of my hens seem just fine, and haven't exhibited any of the symptoms that our lost layer had. So, it looks as though this was an isolated event. Send happy chicken wishes our way.

Tough stuff to lose a pet, livestock or not. Makes me want to hug the remaining six. All. Day. Long.

Best wishes for your day, dear hearts.  

Be well, be wonderful.

PS. How rad is my friend's pumpkin design? Can't wait to see her all aglow.

Do Something Little, Help Something Big

Source: vol25.typepad.com via Jenn on Pinterest

Have you ever wanted to make a positive change in your life, but just didn't know where to start? I think we probably all have, because often CHANGE can be daunting at best. We tend to look for the end, the the product, the proof -- instead of the small steps we can take to get there.

I've been thinking a lot about making up a list of Goals For A Sustainable Life... something a little more concrete than the ongoing one in my head. I've mentioned several times my desires for a more sustainable lifestyle, and lately I've been taking more and more steps toward making this a reality. I believe in taking things one step at a time, and making changes which will truly benefit myself, my daughter, and this earth.

As fate would have it, I was recently asked to participate in the Do Something Little, Help Something Big campaign, to help spread the word about making big impacts through small changes. Energizer Canada, in partnership with Evergreen (a fabulous non-profit dedicated to creating more sustainable Canadian cities), has donated $100K to help make cities more livable all across our great nation. To promote this message, I've put together a list of Five Kind Acts which I will put to motion in my life to benefit my family, community & environment.

Stop Using Shampoo
I've mentioned this one a few times, and I'm really ready to take the plunge. I will be following a recipe very similar to my friend Jenn, who blogs over at The Organic Heretic. (And yes, I'll blog about it!)

Use Family Cloth
At the end of September, I stopped buying toilet paper. Honestly. I can't even begin to think about how much less waste we'll be creating by using a cloth substitute. Check out this post over at Penniless Parenting to learn more about reusable toilet paper.

Raise Free Range Backyard Chickens
I still haven't told the whole story behind my seven adorable chickens, but they came to me at the beginning of May, and I'm now basking in the glory of about 3-7 eggs each day. Amazing. They taste fantastic, the chickens take care of weeds/bugs in my yard, and Gretchen adores them. Win, win, win.

Spread Positivity
Even when I'm feeling down, I know that bumming around and feeling down on myself is never the answer. I vow to be the voice of positivity for my chosen family, and to help others stay positive no matter what they're facing.

Bike Everywhere
My daughter and I are masters of the Schwinn/Chariot combo. Due to the fact that owning a car costs about 10x what I can afford, we bike (nearly) everywhere -- downtown, grocery shopping, to the park, for fun. There's almost nowhere I need to go, that I can't get to via my beautiful, red cruiser. And my legs are stronger than ever! Can't beat that, mes amis.

In addition to spreading a message of change, Energizer will also donate $1 for every pledge that you make and post on their site, NowThatsPositivEnergy.ca! Hop on over now to share your goals.

Disclosure: I am participating in the Energizer Canada & Evergreen “Do Something Little, Help Something Big” program by Mom Central Canada on behalf of Energizer Canada & Evergreen. I received compensation as a thank you for my participation. As always, the opinions on this blog are my own.

Backyard Chickens & Quiche

The ladies have been generous lately. They've been laying for less than a month and I'm getting at least 2-3 eggs per day. It's already more than I'm using, so every now and again I like to make up a couple "egg pies" since they use a good armload of eggies and whatever veggies need to be used up from the fridge. Those last few green peppers? Toss 'em in! Leftover corn from last night? Yes! A dollop of salsa? Mmm mmm. Usually I'd add cheese as well, but I was out, and so my latest batch was cheeseless, but still tasty. I also add milk, or sometimes cream to the recipe. And whatever spices I fancy at the time. As for the veggies, I generally do them up in the frying pan with a little oil just to get the flavours flowing.

Gretchen adores quiche, though sometimes I have to stop her from JUST munching on the crust. (Store bought... don't hate!) I feel pretty satisfied using only eggs from my own chickens -- it's incredibly fulfilling. And filling! Ha! If you've never tasted a fresh egg -- well, there's nothing like knowing you're enjoying an egg that's less than a day old, and was laid by a rather cheerful chicken.

Do you have a favourite eggy recipe?

Wordless Wednesday (Grateful For My Gals)

We Must Be Hatched

“It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.” C. S. Lewis.

The Moment I've Been Waiting For

Greetings from a happy chicken mama! I am beyond thrilled this week. The gals have laid their first eggs! I came across the first two on Thursday afternoon, then one Friday, one yesterday. I had been checking each day, just peeking into te coop to see if there were gifts to be found. What a treat! I adore these tiny little brown eggs, slightly specked, and I'm feeling a bit reverent. I feel as though I've been waiting a lifetime for this day, and with it's arrival, a new phase. I'm in awe of nature, I'm thankful and humbled and bursting with pride.

Excellent work, ladies.

Edit: Five delightful eggs in total, as of Sunday morning. 

Teetering On The Edge of Autumn

The days are getting cooler and I'm a happy mama. "Sweater weather" gets me downright giddy, and the colours all around me are already shifting. There's one particular tree in the park, which always seems to get a head start on autumn. Its red leaves are drifting down to the path, more and more each day. I crunch over them with my bike when I ride home from downtown.

Ahh, the crispness of fall. Apples, brisk breezes. I'm looking forward to enjoying the season to its very fullest... it's just such a wonderful time of the year... and then Christmas. Oh yes. But I shouldn't get too far ahead of myself.

We're still having some rather summery days here. However, I'm toting a cardigan wherever I go -- and a scarf too -- because I can. I like to toss them in the crate on the back of my bright red bike. And off we go.

How are you feeling about the end of the season, whichever season may be ending for you? Did you make the most of it? Are you satisfied?

This summer was a toughie for myself, and my family, but just as soon as September 1st peeked into sight, I decided things would be different. Happier. Less stressful. I'm certainly doing my best right now, and I believe the weights are lifting.

I hope your weights are lifting too.

To me, autumn always feels like the beginning of something fresh and fabulous.

Wordless Wednesday (Naughty Girls)

Guess What I'm Doing This Afternoon?

After a few naughty chickens have decided to perfect the sport of fence-hopping into my neighbour's yard, today they'll be getting the snip. It might be a bit of riot on my end, trying to catch each one individually, but I think I'll do just fine.

How are you spending YOUR Sunday?

Seven Hens & A Wedding

My Little Fawn is off with her grandmother this weekend, and in about an hour I'll be heading to my dear friend Sarah's wedding, to photograph this beautiful day for her. I'm so thrilled to be a part of it, and the weather is being especially cooperative, consider the grumpy rainy day we had yesterday.

I'm feeling rather pleased with September so far... just three days in and I've already achieved so much, including finding a new housemate, which means I don't have to leave my home. Can you all please breathe a sigh of relief with me? Ahhhhhthat'sbetter. I've also been feeling about some other things... things that've been rattling around in my brain these last few months. Thanks again, for sticking with me.

Are you loving the chicky pics I've been posting more and more lately? I realize I still haven't told you their story, but it'll come soon, I promise. I will tell you that there are seven of them... four have names... and they ought to be laying by the end of the month. What a beautiful thing.

Does anyone else still feel like the year starts with September? Maybe it's my years and years of school, university & such... but when Autumn peeks it's head out from under the heat of summer, I start to feel refreshed, renewed & completely invigorated.

I see good things happening in teh very near future. For me. For you. For ideas. For life.

Wishing you all a delicious Saturday afternoon. Now it's time to figure out what I'm wearing to this shindig... ta ta.

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Wordless Wednesday (Good Morning, Ladies)

Great Minds

My yurt-talk must be catching on.

Last night, as she was falling asleep, Gretchen said: "Mama, when we move inna new house wif da chickens? Da yurt? Dat be nice."

I'm glad we're on the same page.

PS. More about these cute little butts soon, I promise.