chicken tractor

here is the chicken tractor hubby finally had to make. our layers and the rooster will be in this from now on. boogie woogie the rooster attacked baby ian again! well we can't have that! hubby stopped working on the waggy (in the background) to whip up one of these. we got the idea from one of my newest heroes, Joel Salatin of polyface farms. the tractor well be moved everyday to give the chickens fresh ground and grass to scratch at. there is a roost and 2 nesting boxes under the roof. a door in the roof above the nesting boxes will provide easy access to the eggs. i'm sure the chickens will be very unhappy at first, but oh well. it has to be done. although i think the rooster will find himself in the stew pot soon.

cheep cheep peep peep

our chicks have arrived, TWICE!! seems the hatchery has double hipped our order and now we have about 60 baby chicks. we are having a hard time accommodating them all. every tote in the house is being emptied and use for chick brooders! there is always peeping and cheeping going on!

these little cuties are called polish or chooks. they get big feather hair dos! ike wanted to show these as his 4h project. i think they may turn out to be a little more work than he bargain for. we'll see how he handles it. he can be very helpful in feeding and watering, but he does have his moments. :)

this is a turkey chick. apparently the accommodations for these do not have high enough sides!!

poor chick, to tired to even leave the food dish. they are so cute when they're little.

bad luck on cars

well, once again the car bad luck has shown it's face here. apparently the wagoneer has a bad engine, yikes! we ended up buying a "new" one that is 11 years older than the current one. hubby and step daddy were able to hear it run and say it sounds awesome. i only hope it is reliable! that's all i ask for in a car.

creating community

jan at the mothers institute wrote an awesome blog on community.

Creating "Community"Merriam-Webster recognizes the individual in its definition of community, showing such fellowship and organization as a reflection and manifestation of individuals’ needs, desires and interests. Accordingly, communities or groups should be created, sustained and thought of as an adjunct to the individual, rather than an entity maintained for its own purpose.

please check it out !!

MfL at the frederick meijer gardens

we had an excellent time at the gardens today. the butterflies were in and they were flying all over the place. they came in a number of colors and sizes. they had a case at the exhibit that showed the chrysalises. we even had the opportunity to see newly emerged butterflies. did you know their wings are curled ans soft and they have to wait for them to straighten and harden. very interesting.

there was a room just for insectivorous plants and we were able to see many different types of pitcher plants along with sun dews and venus fly traps.

the day was just beautiful for a march day. the sky was blue and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. we were able to walk to trails of the garden and play in the kids area. everyone really enjoyed themselves.

frederick meijer gardens is a fun place to take the family, it has something for all ages to enjoy. whether you are a resident of grand rapids or just visiting, this should definitely be at the top of your list of places to visit.