Here Comes the Chicken Coop!

So I told Steve I wanted a chicken coop like this one but with windows:

And he started building me this one - this is the front door:

 

I think he is doing pretty stinking good, don't you? 

And yes Todd, he knows the grain on the plywood on the left side of this is not going the right way, but he said this is an interior support wall and he is sure even you wouldn't cut an entire piece of plywood for that little bitty piece... 

This is how he has been working on each of the walls - he builds it flat on the floor of the coop then props it up on the shop wall when he is finished.  He is building all four walls like this then he will pull it all outside, start putting it up and then build the side walls.

This is the back door minus The Poultry Butler door which he still has to add:

And I went to the Habitat for Humanity Restore (I love that place!) and found this solid wood (except the windows) door for $35! I am going to refinish it for the front door of the coop:

Between the front door and the actual coop part, there will be 4' of storage area for the feed, straw and wood chips. Between the storage area and the coop, we will have a regular screen door with hard wire covering so the chickens can't help themselves to the food.  Somehow I think they just might if I don't protect it... 


I am up to 9 chicks now! I got 2 more last night.  :-)

I am pleased to introduce Miss Molly:

And Hazel: 

I sure think they are worthy of the chicken mansion Steve is building, don't you?


I see a game of chicken football in my future.  Don't worry, it is a fun game for the chickens AND their people. I will share a video soon!

Gotta go stare in amazement at... errr... tend to my farm critters. They are so stinking cute!

And just for reference, Raelee took Margaret home with the 7 chicks she bought last night!

2nd Day of Spring...

And I gotta tell you...

Snow and icy precip is in the weekend forecast... 

Can you believe it?

And the 7 day forecast high? Get this:

48 degrees.

The lows in the 20's

It is not yet spring.

But we are definitely having a nice winter! 

Gotta work in the garden today

And buy new chicks to add to our chicks we have

And build a rabbit cage

And watch hubby's progress on the chicken coop!

Pictures tomorrow!

Enjoy SPRING!

 

First Day of Spring!

And since it is, I guess I had better get a few of my winter pictures out. We had a terrific winter this year - of course, I could always say we wanted more snow, but at least we had some snow. 


Our house is in the background. This was taken from the dam on our pond:

I am not going to elaborate or say a bunch about my pics, I just want to share them:

 

This was taken at Raelee's new house:

She seems to like it too!  Granny was NOT afraid of that snowball! But one came later that I shoulda been afraid of! Oh darn, I didn't have my camera handy...


And this is why I love Oklahoma!  Not too much snow, but enough to look forward to and enjoy.  :-) 

And we all know, I love snow!


Let's see what Spring brings for us!

First Come the Chicks

It has been a month since I posted! I guess my life is just not as exciting as it was when I was in Singapore. However, I have to say, it is just like I like it - relaxed and comfortable.

I will try to catch you up in the next couple of weeks, but for now... 

I guess we are now true farmers!  We got chicks yesterday!  


Let me introduce them:

This is Mabel:

This is Shelly:

This is Raelee's chick, Margaret:

 

Check out her hairy legs! I think she needs to shave!

This is Shirley:

And this is Miss Daisy:

She is kinda mixed up!

This is Aunt Bea - can you tell?

  

And this is Tattle Tail... errr... Ali:

Ali lets me know when anything in the coop is not up to par or if her sisters are acting up. She also calls me if I have been quiet too long just to be sure I am still at her beck and call!


And this is Stacy:

I have seven chicks and Raelee has one, but more are coming!  

Steve is building me a chicken coop right now. He took a weeks vacation just to do that... and about a million other things he thinks he can accomplish in that time. I will share pics of the coop soon.


I have picked out chicks that lay different colors of eggs because... well... because I can. I hope this is what my egg cartons will look like very soon:

Now how cool is that?  I can't wait!  Gotta get the chicks a bit bigger, but until then, anticipation... 

If.  They are girls.

We bought them as a straight run at Atwood's Farm Supply, which means that we may have girls and we may have guys. They have a way to hold the chicks that is supposed to be tried and true. Who knows if it will work, but we are going to find out!

Obviously, the names are subject to change...   ;-)

Stay tuned!

So She Has a Lop Ear Rabbit Now...

Raelee got a lop eared rabbit a few weeks ago. After all, she will be living in the country and she has to start her farm now! Her lop's name is Hanna. Raelee and Steph had previously arranged for it to go to a 4-H show, so in the midst of the cleaning/painting of the new house,

We took her to the 4-H show.

4-H means you stand around a lot... and we did...

Thinking about all the cleaning we needed to do...

Thinking about all the painting we needed to do...

But instead, we stood around for several hours...

And held the rabbit, talked to the other contestants, and waited.

Here is Todd hanging out with Hanna:

He doesn't like rabbits, does he?

Hanna is such a good girl! She hung out with us for hours and didn't fuss at all:

Do you think the kid likes Hanna?

Finally, time for the judging!  Here is the judge pulling Hanna out of the cage:

He gave her a really good check over:

It was a nail biting experience for Raelee!  All granny could think of was, EWEEE!! How many rabbit stuffs... yeah, never mind:

 All that standing around and Hanna won 3rd place in her very first show!


Now, tell me, was standing around for hours worth it? Look at this child's face!

You bet!  Now back to cleaning and painting...


And don't let your granddaughter get your camera! You will have 30 pictures like this one!

But you know what?

Those pictures make me smile and lets me know she is here and still up to her antics

So it is ok... I love the random pics on my camera!

Welcome HOME Steph, Todd and Raelee!!

It is FINAL! The kids signed their papers and bought their home 2.5 miles from us! We are all super excited!

I stayed with Raelee while her mom and dad went and did the paperwork. We had to fill in her time, so we made a sign and shopped for welcome flowers:

Their door is even pretty!

And... drum roll please... the HOUSE!  Steve and I wanted a rock house, but we will just had to admire Steph and Todd's:

I cannot decide what my favorite part is - the drive up to the house: 

Or the parking area of the house:

Raelee loves the bamboo - and I think her mom will too - she will use it in the garden:

The weeping mulberry trees by the back door are super cool:

And the wide open spaces of the property are fun to look at:

The previous owners were landscapers. There are flowers popping up everywhere! We will love being surprised as things start to sprout:

And the previous owners told the 'new owners' that there are pecan, apple, crab apple, blueberry and blackberry trees/plants all over that property - and many, many other things!


I love the living room:

I didn't take pics out the windows yet, but the view is breathtaking... we will get right on cleaning those windows... lol...

Nope, I have no earthly idea what my favorite part is, but I love the place!

 I just know they will love the house and property, too, once we get them moved in and settled.

Now to get the place cleaned and a bit of paint (this weekend), the floors changed (next week),and the family all moved in (next weekend)!  It is going to be a busy week!

One of the things they have to accomplish is to get an ADDRESS! The people who have lived here for years always had a post office so a numbered address was never assigned to the place. Todd had to go apply to the post office last month to get a number. The postal service said they have to confirm it, then approve it and now Todd and Steph wait... In the meantime, Steph has tried to get Direct TV (cannot do this, this is not a valid address), and several other things and since she doesn't have a postal issued address it cannot be done.  There is more than one way to get to Boston, right? Wish her luck!

I will keep you posted!