The beginning...

Cyberspace, community, journaling, staying in touch with the ones you love...these are just some of the reasons that I have succumbed to posting my very own blog. I never quite understood blogging until recently. And strangely what started my fascination - was chickens. If you are scratching your head, I am not really surprised. You see, I have always been a sort of hippie, bohemian rebel - sometimes intentionally, but most of the time just by accident. However at this stage in my life I have consciously decided that I would like to live more intentionally, environmentally friendly, eat healthier and introduce my children to the roots of their food and simple pleasures in life. Now enter the chickens.

First of all, I am a Master Gardener. That is just a fancy word that I took some classes and volunteer (or try to volunteer) to teach people about gardening, water conservation, pest management, you get the idea. At one of the community seminars, another Master Gardener talked about her backyard chickens. They are a natural pest control - they eat your bugs! (I don't spray, so this is really good news to me!) They provide fresh eggs. And, if socialized, they are pets. Wow, where to sign up? I grew up on a very small farm with chickens, among other animals, but I had no idea that chickens could be so useful, except for meat of course...

Second, let me explain that I live in the city. I live in suburbia where my neighbors open their garage doors, drive in and you never see them. I have lived here for 5 years and have met three families. (I'm sure I will complain more about suburbia later.) So, my chicken endeavors are not exactly legal. However, I asked all 3 families that I do know (one on each side and the guy across the street) if they would have a problem if I kept a few chickens, no roosters of course, and they could benefit from the extra eggs. Permission granted, I began to research the types of chickens I wanted to get.

Because I have 2 small boys (4 and 6) I wanted to have some fun. I wanted chickens that would make good pets, be good layers and look good too. This is where I started reading blogs. Two of the most useful sites I have found http://www.backyardchicken.com/ and http://www.the-coop.org/ were wonderful in giving all the information I needed to get started and connected me with other chicken lovers. So off to my local feed store. After several attempts (I will write about this later, because a Pomeranian breaking into the new coop is actually a very funny story) I currently have 4 hens. (I bought a total of 12 pullets, 6 succumbed to the Pomeranian, 2 ended up being roosters, 1 had a severe run in with a new toy poodle, so my mom felt sorry for me and gave me one of her laying hens to add to my three that still aren't laying.)

All of this is to say that I have found some blogs that I really enjoy reading. My particular favorite is Ninja Poodles at http://ninjapoodles.blogspot.com/. This has led me to realize that, I am terrible at creating scrapbooks considering all of my kids baby stuff and pictures are in one big box in the closet, and this would be a wonderful way of journaling and scrapbooking not only for my children but for my family and friends. I read some wonderful articles this week about the Amish and how they decide to use technology based on whether it hinders or creates community. I am terrible at staying in touch with my friends and to some extent my family. I try not to blame it on my life, because these are all my choices, but I reasoned that a blog would help me stay in touch, keep up and create community.

Max after swimming

Ryan after swimming