Lots happening...

Including a hen transforming into a ROOSTER!
He is a pretty thing, but even more than that he is going to be an excellent roasting chicken!! It all happened about 3 weeks ago. Our "hen" starting crowing like a rooster, and then started getting more and more aggressive. I had a neighbor over and she said "look at your rooster", and it all clicked. We have yet another rooster.

Spring is also coming, and with it my Bradford pears are blooming. I love these trees!!
Also, Todd finally got the shed he has been dreaming of. We ran across it at Home Depot for 40% off, and top that off with a 10% coupon I had, and botta bing botta boom!!
My grapes are to the left of the shed and I cant wait to get those in the ground. If only it would stop raining long enough for the ground to dry out so I can till once more.
Look what I walked into the other night. Todd had just gotten home and was finishing up his paperwork, but he had a little help. The cute hen was enjoying some one on one time with Todd. So cute!!!

Stay tuned Im sure to have many more updates. Todd has all the tools and supplies ready to build out my food storage room (yay!!), I bought a can of paint (yellow), and trees are going to be planted soon!! Yay, so so fun!!

The Truth About Your Eggs....

I have been enjoying my hens and baby chicks these past few weeks, and I started to wonder why I hadn't done this all my life. Unfortunately, the sad truth is, I wasn't educated on the egg production process, or really the food production, in this country until very recently. I want to take a moment and let you all in on the secret world of mass egg production in the United States. Like I said I haven't always lived like this. I too would shop at the grocery store trying to read labels, even though I didn't understand the majority of what is on the labels, but I tried to be a savvy consumer. When buying eggs I would look for labels like "organic", "vegetarian fed", "free range" and "cage free", but with most things in this society labels are meaningless marketing tools. The majority of eggs are produced in mass production poultry houses much like this one...
These birds spend their lives in confined spaces, standing in their own waste with zero exercise. They become aggressive and fight with each other for space. To prevent cannibalism, their beaks are often cut off. These birds are very stressed and diseased. Antibiotics are used to prevent the chickens from succumbing to these diseases. Their quarters are not cleaned until the birds are removed from the poultry house. They usually live under these conditions for two years and then are sold at auctions for butchering. For the most part, they will never see the light of day or feel a breeze blow through their feathers, until they are shoved into a tractor trailer and sent to the rendering plant.
But, you say..."well I buy free range and cage free birds." Well sadly these situations are only a tad better circumstances.
These hens are considered free range. And what that means is they are shoved into a HUGE storehouse and are allotted on average 1-2 square feet of space per bird. These hens are also forced to stand in their own waste, and barely have room to lie down or turn around. There are doors at the end of the building that allow the hens to have access to a small run, but the majority don't even know its exists because they are unable to see it. Only a lucky few who stand next to the door have access to it. These birds are also under a ton of stress and given multiple antibiotics to prevent rampant diseases.
When this was looked into by the FDA and Department of Agriculture they found that the main reason we were having so many salmonella outbreaks, is because rodents have access to these poultry houses. The rodents are bringing in disease, and the birds need to be protected from them. So whats their solution, close up the outside doors and seal off the majority of the fresh air supply. That way the rodents cant get in right? When I read this report I couldn't help but giggle. Yes that may be a contributing factor, but it is not a solution. You need to know, my hen house has access to rodents as well. Birds frequent the coop, field mice can make there way in, but my birds are healthy and have zero diseases. I believe the main issue that should be looked into are the living conditions these hens are having to live with. With that little space, and hens getting agitated and pecking, on top of the unsanitary conditions, of course there is going to be disease. I clean out my coop once a week and place fresh shavings at the bottom of their roost and nesting boxes. I clean out their water and food containers regularly to ensure no bacterial growth. My hens have ample space to roam and scratch at the ground. What about labels that claim organic and vegetarian fed? Well that just means that their hens were fed organic food and have no antibiotics in their system. It says nothing about their living conditions. What can you do to get good eggs? Make a statement with your checkbook, find a local farmer and ask if you can purchase eggs from them. Even if they arent fed organic feed their hens are sure to be healthier. Shop at your local farmers markets. Make sure you ask if they are farm fresh and not commercially grown. We live in a time when people market unfairly and most times untruthfully, so ask questions. If possible get a few hens for your own backyard. You would be surprised at how little cost and time go into chickens. We have 5 laying hens right now, and get 4 eggs a day, not bad. The difference in the eggs are HUGE. The shells from farm fresh eggs are thicker and more solid. The yolks are brighter and more vibrant. The taste is actual egg, not some watered down version. Plus, farm fresh eggs are fresher and healthier. Yes eggs can last a long time if stored properly, but the eggs you are buying at the store are sometimes months old. Plus, farm fresh eggs are more nutritious. Hens that have access to insects and scratch lay eggs that are higher in Omega 3 fatty acids. Give it a try and let me know what you think. Todd and I have enjoyed our hens so much. They not only provide us with nutritious fresh eggs, but also hours of comic relief. They are so fun to have. With everything going on in the world we need to start educating ourselves. Its time for the American people to learn for ourselves and to expect higher quality things. Whether it be eggs, food, education, or politics. Its time to take a stand and demand higher quality. Its insane to me that we live where we do and yet so many of us are still in the dark. Good luck in your journey...

Who has time....

I have been soooo busy these last few weeks getting everything ready for spring. It is 11:30 AM right now, and already this morning I have...

Washed, folded, and put away 2 loads of laundry
Packed Todd up and said goodbye for a week
Gone grocery shopping
Put groceries away
Started 60 seeds
Cleaned out the baby chick coop
Watered and set up lights for my seeds
And started a new compost full of chick manure

And I still have 100 thousand things to do today. I hope it slows down a bit, I am getting tired thinking about this spring. Who has time for all of this...

Here are some pics of the cute baby chicks growing up, I have them in a Christmas decoration sized container while I clean out their home. I love looking at them all scrunched together!! So cute...

And they are back.....Im so excited for the big garden this year. I have started about half of my seeds for the year. I will start the others over the next month!!
Hope you have a fantastic Monday!!

Its Almost here...

My favorite time of the year is coming, I love early spring!! The weather is not too cold and its not too hot. The Bradford Pears are blooming. The grass is dark green. The fruit tress can go in. The garden is starting up. The nights are perfect for star gazing....oh man, I love it all.

6:30 AM...

Where do you find your husband at 6:30 AM?
I find mine down the driveway on his tractor. We had some pretty nasty storms roll through here Monday, and our poor driveway took the hit. Todd worked Monday and Tuesday and today he leaves to go out of town until Friday, so this morning was his only chance to fix the driveway. I have been using our neighbors driveway and cutting through the past few days, so I am thankful Todd woke up early to fix it for me!!
With the storms came flash flooding, which caused our cute dried up creek to burst at the seams!! One point during the storm the creek was overflowing onto the road in front of our place..
And of course this meant the pups wanted to swim. I did everything in my power to keep them out of the water. It has a pretty good current and LuLu is not the best swimmer. Plus, it is 38 degrees outside!! However Kaylee could not resist, she loves to swim. So of course, I took a video to document the first swim of the year....Happy March!!

6 Year Anniversary

So, this past weekend Todd and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary!!! I can not believe it was six years ago that we got married. Some days it feels like yesterday while others it feels like 20 years ago. Regardless of what it feels like, it has been a blast. I love him more than I can express, so I wont even try. Just know that he is the one and only for me.

We decided to take the day off and travel to Pigeon Forge to go the Ripley's Believe It or Not Aquarium. It was pretty impressive and I have to say a ton of fun. Here are the pics...
As you can see Todd is uber excited to start the day off with pictures. I don't know what it is, but getting him to take a picture with me is ridiculous!
This is a Sea Dragon. She (or a very feminine he) is gorgeous!! I think we stood at this tank for around 20 minutes just watching in awe.
This guy was scary from the top, but hilarious from the underneath. I swear he was smiling the whole time!!
See all smiles!!
Kisses under water. This tube was soo smelly thanks to the kids whose parents have zero control. I know I know, I'm not a parent, but seriously if you count to three and nothing happens its time to get serious. And also, if you recognize that your kids are wild don't apologize to me and continue to let them be crazy. Snap them up and walk out. What happened to consequences for bad behavior?? Sorry, moving on.....
Finally, we had fun in the hands on area. I remember going to this exhibit in Myrtle Beach with the family, and my Mom would pick these guys up. I swear she was (and still is) the coolest.

It was a fun way to spend our anniversary. I love you Mr. Cottle!!
One from the archives....February 26th 2005!!!