Our biggest news may be that we are no longer backyard chicken farmers. Rosie was aging and becoming less thrilled about guarding them, and we weren't too keen on starting another guardian. They had stopped roosting in their tractor, and they were roosting on a metal rack below the deck and on the treehouse. The poop was prolific and any place we needed to step. Last Friday, New Daddy had taken the day off, and we butchered the last eleven birds. They aged in the fridge for a few days to tenderize, and now they're in the freezer. Here are some memories of our chickens over the past ten years.
It is never pleasant to take the life of a creature, but we tried to do so as humanely as possible with the cone method. We actually use a cut-away, upside-down milk carton for our small-ish birds, and it works well. There were two details that made this task slightly more pleasant. One was the presence of one of Precious' friends, who is an absolute jewel and helped keep Precious motivated with the plucking and made us laugh with her quips. One time, she observed, "I don't know whether to breathe through my mouth or my nose!" We laughed and laughed. Can I adopt her?
The second, highly entertaining detail was Tater's grief at what we were doing. He started wailing, and we thought we had sent him inside. Instead, he had gone around to the front, to the driveway! But he wasn't just standing in the driveway. He was standing on top of a gator- a ramp for working under a car, wailing at the top of his lungs-- a truly spectacular display of grief. New Daddy and I looked up from our work, STARED at each other; and I walked around and pulled Tater into the house to continue bawling. I took his arm and led him to his room, told him it was perfectly fine to be sad, but not to come out until he was finished crying. This time, he understood and complied :D.
We're really looking forward to the kids going barefoot in the backyard again! There's also a Christmas present coming that will be going outside on the poop-free patio... Like seriously, as soon as New Daddy confined the chickens, he pressure washed everything before we'd even done the deed. Hahaha. We were definitely ready. Bubby wanted to keep a few chickens, and he has a list of yard fowl he'd like to have sometime. But today, he remarked that he is glad to not be responsible for them anymore. We're going to be composting our leftover vegetable scraps again, Rosie is happy to be getting all of the available leftovers, and yes, I'm getting used to throwing away food again (when needed).
Update on home projects:
The bathroom downstairs has drywall and cement backer board! New Daddy finished plumbing and electrical work this fall.
We bought a robot vacuum on a Cyber Monday deal. It makes us keep junk off the floor because it cleans on a schedule that we can't predict. Our wool rug's constant shedding is now under control. It was like having an indoor pet sheep. I love the robot vacuum.
Update on life:
I'm still enjoying my online teaching gig. I'm learning to set boundaries to take care of myself, though. Overall, it's been a very positive thing for our family. I'm up in the mornings, instead of lounging in bed :). And thankfully, I'm a smiley, annoying morning person who can channel that happy energy into teaching! I signed my second six-month contract at the beginning of November, and I have a good many regular students who take classes with me each week.
Bubby made the first round of district band auditions on bassoon and is headed to All state tryouts in January. Tater is doing rec basketball this winter. His team is cute and not that great so far. But he's having fun, getting his wiggles out, and meeting new friends. It's meeting an appropriate set of goals for our extroverted 7 year-old.
The girls have started horseback lessons with a new teacher. Their former teacher was expecting another child and wanted to work with her husband in his FCA ministry. So the girls are still enjoying shows, but with a different teacher.
The new chorus that I'm accompanying gave a terrific concert at the beginning of December! It has been tons of fun to play for them (the three older kids are singing in it). A few days later, the director posted this on their Facebook page. It was so sweet of her to come up with this and it made me smile. We rehearse after our CC days, and playing for them always gives me a lift.
We got tired of stepping on piano books on the floor (because they didn't want to stay in the bags that hung from the piano stand?)... whatever. We needed a solution. I found some farmhouse-style magazine racks that New Daddy approved of (he does not trust my decorating skills, and I concur). Kohl's cash helped pay for them, and the price was right from ongoing coupons that Kohl's has. Yay!
Our original batch- Mr. and Mrs. Tableson, Mrs. Rumphius (The kids gave these names.)
Honey and Rainbow, a rooster (Precious was 5 here.)
Our 2nd batch- Buff Orpingtons (Bubby was four here.)
Our 3rd batch- Australorps
Sweet Honey was a great mama. All Silkies are great mamas.
A splash Silkie that hatched out in the yard (Cutie was 2 here)
Our last mix of Silver-Laced Wyandottes, Easter Eggers, and Production Reds
It is never pleasant to take the life of a creature, but we tried to do so as humanely as possible with the cone method. We actually use a cut-away, upside-down milk carton for our small-ish birds, and it works well. There were two details that made this task slightly more pleasant. One was the presence of one of Precious' friends, who is an absolute jewel and helped keep Precious motivated with the plucking and made us laugh with her quips. One time, she observed, "I don't know whether to breathe through my mouth or my nose!" We laughed and laughed. Can I adopt her?
The second, highly entertaining detail was Tater's grief at what we were doing. He started wailing, and we thought we had sent him inside. Instead, he had gone around to the front, to the driveway! But he wasn't just standing in the driveway. He was standing on top of a gator- a ramp for working under a car, wailing at the top of his lungs-- a truly spectacular display of grief. New Daddy and I looked up from our work, STARED at each other; and I walked around and pulled Tater into the house to continue bawling. I took his arm and led him to his room, told him it was perfectly fine to be sad, but not to come out until he was finished crying. This time, he understood and complied :D.
We're really looking forward to the kids going barefoot in the backyard again! There's also a Christmas present coming that will be going outside on the poop-free patio... Like seriously, as soon as New Daddy confined the chickens, he pressure washed everything before we'd even done the deed. Hahaha. We were definitely ready. Bubby wanted to keep a few chickens, and he has a list of yard fowl he'd like to have sometime. But today, he remarked that he is glad to not be responsible for them anymore. We're going to be composting our leftover vegetable scraps again, Rosie is happy to be getting all of the available leftovers, and yes, I'm getting used to throwing away food again (when needed).
Update on home projects:
The bathroom downstairs has drywall and cement backer board! New Daddy finished plumbing and electrical work this fall.
We bought a robot vacuum on a Cyber Monday deal. It makes us keep junk off the floor because it cleans on a schedule that we can't predict. Our wool rug's constant shedding is now under control. It was like having an indoor pet sheep. I love the robot vacuum.
Update on life:
I'm still enjoying my online teaching gig. I'm learning to set boundaries to take care of myself, though. Overall, it's been a very positive thing for our family. I'm up in the mornings, instead of lounging in bed :). And thankfully, I'm a smiley, annoying morning person who can channel that happy energy into teaching! I signed my second six-month contract at the beginning of November, and I have a good many regular students who take classes with me each week.
Bubby made the first round of district band auditions on bassoon and is headed to All state tryouts in January. Tater is doing rec basketball this winter. His team is cute and not that great so far. But he's having fun, getting his wiggles out, and meeting new friends. It's meeting an appropriate set of goals for our extroverted 7 year-old.
The girls have started horseback lessons with a new teacher. Their former teacher was expecting another child and wanted to work with her husband in his FCA ministry. So the girls are still enjoying shows, but with a different teacher.
The new chorus that I'm accompanying gave a terrific concert at the beginning of December! It has been tons of fun to play for them (the three older kids are singing in it). A few days later, the director posted this on their Facebook page. It was so sweet of her to come up with this and it made me smile. We rehearse after our CC days, and playing for them always gives me a lift.
Speaking of music, this Monday, we drove to Columbia and met Poppy and Mimi for a Handel's Messiah sing-along! I felt like I may have been the only one who really wanted to go, but at the end, all three of the older kids agreed that it was great fun. I had done this once at Clemson while I was in high school, and afterwards we went over to my grandparents' house and decorated their tree. It was a sweet memory. We spent Tuesday recovering from the drive, but it was worth it. I've had "He shall purify" bouncing through my head for the past two days.
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