Merry Christmas!

This year Jeff was in charge of our "Christmas" photo shoot...hence the guns and chicken (alive).  Jeff has decided he'd like to be the official Christmas card maker and that means I have to give up a bit of creative control...which doesn't come naturally to me.  But I'm thankful he wants to take ownership of this so I'm willing to get over it and enjoy the results! Next year we will hopefully order enough to send it out to all those we hold dear.

We have felt so blessed to receive Christmas cards this year, it feels good to be thought of and cared for and I want you to know that we are thinking of you too!

Merry Christmas to you and yours, we hope you have an incredible weekend!

**Just days after taking this photo one of our 3 chickens (Josephine) was killed by a raccoon...we were shocked and horrified.  I'm only writing this for memory sake...sorry!**

Wesley :: Wednesday

(I thought about this post last night, if that counts)

What have we been up to?  Well, we spent the weekend in Cannon Beach celebrating the union of my good friend Keri and her husband.  The weather was perfect, the sand was warm and soft, and the town of Cannon Beach was even more quaint than I remembered- we had fun as a family (minus my car needing a new transmission.)  The first morning we woke up we had a little sweet alarm clock, at 6:15am (which for us is still the middle of the night since Wes typically sleeps until 8:45).  He was sharing our room and I felt a little tap on the edge of the bed.  When I looked up there was his precious little smiling face saying, "yes. it's good morning time!"

We are trying to enjoy what little glimpses of sun we see around here, harvesting veggies and gathering eggs (we are down to just 3 chickens and there are all laying eggs) to savor ourselves or share with friends.  See the garden tour HERE.

Wes is doing so many things daily I'm almost certain I will forget his little anecdotes and want to write as many down as I can...

He is finally getting his 2 year molars at 2 years and 8 months- not bad!  And I'm beginning to wonder if that's what has spawned his recent reversion to "baby talk."  Anyone have any good tips on how to make this stop?

He is also obsessed with the crocodile song from Peter Pan and can be found humming the tune over and over throughout the day...everyday.  If you see him he'll probably ask you to be Captain Hook so he can be the crocodile and if you indulge him, watch out! He WILL eat your hand.  You can see the crocodile video HERE, it's been banned from our house because Wes can't handle it when it's time to turn it off.

We've started one on one swim lessons once a week and after 2 I can already see some improvement...at the very least he is asking less questions (the first class got taken up by Wes asking, "why are you wearing a shirt? can I touch that? what's that girl eating? Is it a fruit bar?")  Last night we tried out his skills at the Mounger Pool and he even braved the big slide all by himself with Mommy worried about catching him at the bottom...he shot down like a torpedo on his back and then let us know that he only wanted to go with Daddy from then on!

He talks ALL the time and we have definitely entered the "why?" stage but have also turned it around on him.  After making a huge mess at a restaurant a couple of weeks back we asked him why he did it.  He replied, "because...um, I was...boring." Is this kid for real? I think it was an honest answer, he was bored.  Jeff and I are both pretty blown away by his grasp of vocabulary...this is an especially exciting time for us in his development...getting to hear the thoughts that are in his head.

He's also been learning a bit about the human body and the other day when a friend's potty trained daughter was using the bathroom Wes asked me, "is that her little one? is that her butt crack little one?"  All I could say was, "yep. that's it!"

I also want to record that he calls the sidewalk the "walking side" - I just love that!

Now I'm off to work on a little quilt for a baby due in September while Wes naps.  Hope you have a great day (despite the weather if you're in Seattle).  Oh and a happy birthday to my friend Alisha and happy Bastille Day to all you frenchies!

{oh, and for those who are wondering about Wesley's long locks...Jeff is in charge of his 2nd haircut (that's right, he's only had 1) and has said that it would be a shame to cut it this summer when it will likely get really blond...so our only hope is September, but we'll see!}

A Garden Tour

Happy July everyone! I can't believe June has come and gone and that summer is just now starting (but feels like it's already over). I'm trying to savor each day...back on gluten (but second guessing that choice since I'm exhibiting head and stomach aches), enjoying 2 eggs layed everyday (Josephine started gracing us with her chocolate brown beauties), and harvesting from our garden which is well underway (Thanks Uncle Jerry & Aunt Pam, this has been so rewarding this year!)

I wanted to share some photos before we've eaten it all up.  Actually, the only thing we've plowed through are the radishes and boy were there plenty (I don't think I'll plant as many next year).

Upper left are 3 artichoke plants with a field of kale underneath.  Then we have a big gap where the radishes were and you can't see them yet but I've planted some potatoes in their place and have enough room to grow something new...I was thinking about arugula but I know it doesn't like the sun.  Any suggestions?

Moving from the big gap you'll find golden beets, fennel, cucumber and broccoli...I think we're going to have a space issue once those cucumbers really start coming in but maybe by then the beets will be gone and they'll have more room.  Gee, gardening is an adventure!

Our second raised bed is home to a row of corn along the top and then starting from the left we have rainbow chard (I added some to a smoothie this morning), onions, and red beets.

Next you'll find carrots which probably need to be thinned out if I want them to get bigger (I completely over seeded but I wasn't sure how many would grow, I guess I found my answer...all of them),  lastly we have a little mix of more cucumbers, cauliflower, a bell pepper plant and 3 ever-bearing strawberry plants.  Fun, fun, fun!

 Here's a close up of the bell peppers...I had heard these were hard to grow but if they turn out I'll be super excited because we sure do eat a ton of them.

We've got quite the urban farm going and I couldn't be happier!

I'll be back here with a couple of posts this week...I've been delinquent on sharing some special events that have happened around our home.  Hope everyone had a safe and delightful Independence Day, the weather could not have been any more perfect in Seattle.

Happy Father's Day {2011}

Our little chicken has been laying some double yolk eggs (!) Unfortunately they cracked on the way out...not sure if they're longer than she expects or just a bit thinner shelled since there is more inside than usual (anyone have any poultry knowledge?).  At any rate, she laid one on Thursday and I had to use it right away so I whipped up this gluten-free yellow cake...and then I looked up a chocolate buttercream recipe, which was the best part, by far.  And then I literally asked Jeff, "Do we know anyone who has a birthday tomorrow that is also gluten-free?" I realize it was a ridiculous question, but it was sincere.  My search on Facebook came up short.

The following morning Wes and I lit the candles and sang a round of "Happy Father's Day Weekend to Daddy" (to the tune of the birthday song) and ate cake for breakfast!

Tomorrow looks promising already, with the dedication of our sweet niece, Josie, a surprise gift for Jeff, followed by a bbq at my in-laws...should be fun!

Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there but especially to the 3 main fathers in my life.  I am inspired by your patience and joy.

We love you!

Milestones :: 1 :: Eggs!

While Mommy's away the chicken will lay!

We were beginning to think that Biscuit was another rooster because of her feisty attitude but it turns out that she was just getting ready to become a full blown laying hen.

When I returned home from Texas Jeff randomly decided to open the egg door and was surprised to see that not one, but two eggs had been laid. Soon we realized it was the work of one bird...Biscuit! And she's been laying nearly one egg a day ever since.

We are now proud egg farmers...now if only the other 3 would get to work!

(BTW, this photo of me is after sleeping overnight and on a plane ride on my rag tie curls...see? not bad.)

Parting is such sweet sorrow...

As I've mentioned before, our Juliette turned out to be more of a Romeo, so about 3 weeks ago we pulled a Queen of Hearts (get it? "off with her head!")  Sorry for my lame literary references but how do you make light of slaughtering your most beautiful bird?

I will say that it was a much more peaceful experience than I had anticipated as the rooster didn't make a peep...he simply closed his eyes and accepted his fate, as if he knew that this was what he was meant to do.  We used THIS video as our guide and Jeff's brother, Chris, came over to assist.  I have some video footage that I think should remain off the world wide web...but if you're interested I can show you the next time you're over.

Above we are dipping the rooster into hot water which allows the feathers to be removed easily...it was amazing how well it worked, but what they don't really tell you is that the skin still has the beginnings of feathers stuck just below the surface and you have to squeeze them out...which is pretty gross.  The one saving grace is that after the feathers have been removed you no longer feel like you've just slaughtered your pet...it just looks like a normal chicken you buy at the store...however, I may have lost my appetite for chicken.

Jeff had me remove the innards and that was probably my favorite part...I'm a want-to-be surgeon, what can I say?

We cooked him up using my Dad's chicken and noodle recipe and though I overcooked the skin, it really wasn't bad.  In fact, Wes seemed to enjoy it even more than he typically cares for chicken.  He actually said, and I quote, "Hi Juliette, I'm going to eat you" and he chomped it down like a champ.

I won't say I could get used to this but I am proud of the fact that we truly embraced the whole circle of life...we hatched our dinner from an egg!

Meet the Cluckers

I am one proud chicken farmer!  I'm happy to report that our girls have grown into full size chickens (though their feathering hasn't matured completely). We have also said goodbye to our rooster (but I'm saving that for another blog post). They've graduated to living in an outdoor chicken coop that Jeff built with his own hands with some help from his Dad (also gearing up for that blog post too). Backyard life has gotten interesting and I'm long overdue for an update.  So, sit back and meet the cluckers, mugshot style.

{Sheila}
australorp

She's our most tame and easiest to catch.

{Delorean}
silver laced wyandotte

Our mischievous one.  She can be found trying to sneak into neighbors yards.

{Josephine}
black copper maran

She's the one we saved in her shell.  She misses her brother.

{Biscuit}
australorp

She is Sheila's sister and can be distinguished by her red face.

{Juliette}
black copper maran

We named him before we realized she was a HE.  He was the most beautiful of all the birds and we were sad to see him go.  He was a very tame rooster!

More posts coming soon!

10 on 10 :: February 2011

Our Little Foodie

Here are two videos that capture Wesley's adventurous palette.



When Wes was saying his goodbyes to li'l Lorraine, out of the blue he said "I wanna cook her." So we started recording!



And today while he was playing with some flowers, he decided to try one out. (Jeff switched to picture mode right before Wesley took the bite, which explains the still shots in the middle of the video. He was able to capture video right afterward though). Wesley's comments and expressions are priceless!

A Bird in the Hand

It began with 14 eggs that whittled down to 6 and in the meantime we picked up 2 day old chicks...but when hatch day approached for our sweet little eggs we waited with baited breath and unfortunately our first day came with little action but by the evening we saw that 3 eggs were showing progress (meaning small cracks from the inside out)! And it was like...whoah, our water broke! I know that's taking it a bit far, but honestly it was exhilarating.

We went to bed that first day after seeing some good progress thinking that by sometime tomorrow we'd have a couple of chicks and then bam...we wake up and there are two chickies (Silver Laced Wyandottes {SLW})! We.missed.it. But there was more action on several of the eggs and with the arrival of 2 furry little chicks came the knowledge that THIS actually works. We CAN hatch chickens! How rewarding and wonderful.

So we went about our morning with a family breakfast at the Ridgeback Cafe and dropped Daddy off at work. When Wes and I returned we put on Cars and waited for more...and did I mention that they were cheeping inside their shells? That was pretty incredible and so so encouraging. So there Wes and I were enjoying the adventures of Lightning McQueen when all of a sudden an egg took the cheeping up a notch and low and behold a little claw was pushing out against a huge crack in the shell of our only Golden Laced Wyandotte {GLW}. I thought, "this will probably take awhile" but I couldn't stand there by myself so I decided to call my Mom and in the middle of our conversation the little lady completely popped the top off and within seconds had made her way out of the shell, a shriveled wet mess with a belly the exact same shape as her egg!

That left the 2 Black Copper Marans {BCM} (one of which had been showing signs of hatching since the very beginning) and 1 SLW. The daytime action slowed way down and we entertained the Myrons for dinner but as soon as they left BCM #2 began to "go" and Jeff was finally able to witness the hatching first hand...we then stayed up until 2 am- very confident that BCM #1 was going to hatch any second...but she didn't.

The next morning we woke up to our little Wesley...he had thrown up all over his crib in the middle of the night (poor thing, but he was ok) and I was so distracted by the clean-up that when I went downstairs and looked in the incubator and saw 2 little dark chickens I assumed it was both BCMs...but I was wrong. Our last SLW, the one that seemed like she might not hatch, had done a tremendous amount of work during the night. But what did that mean for BCM #1? She seemed exhausted, I should note that we had assumed she was going to hatch because we had heard her cheeping and saw her pushing, plus she had pipped more than half-way around her shell...but I think after nearly 2 full days of work she was done. still breathing. but done. I looked at Jeff and said, "I know that in nature they might just let this chicken die...but if c-sections didn't exist then Wes could have died, and I could have died. We need to do something."

It felt wrong to pry that little egg open but I don't regret it. I think she was turned the wrong way, was maybe a little too big...at any rate she was stuck and wasn't coming out on her own and now she's alive and well and I know we did the right thing.

The chicks have adapted to their knew home well and appear more eager for Jeff and I to hold them than Biscuit and Sheila ever did. I think it's because they recognize our voice, we're their Mama and Dada!

Biscuit and Sheila joined the rest of the gang about a day later and I've been so impressed with how easily this flock has come together.

And now...the big name reveal (in birth order minus Biscuit & Sheila):

1. DeLorean (SLW- yes, all the SLWs names are based on a Back to the Future theme, this particular bird has distinct racing stripes down the back, of course)
2. Foxy (SLW- she is more black with yellow wings and has a little spunk)
3. Winnie (GLW- this is the one I saw hatch in the afternoon, she has a brown beak and is dark with golden hues)
4. Juliette (BCM- this is the one that Jeff got to see hatch, she has a black beak and is larger than the other BCM, she also likes to sleep on her side)
5. Lorraine (SLW- she's the smallest and sweetest we've got, she used to get stuck on her back and it looked like she was making snow angels in the pine shavings...but the other chicks liked to peck at her so we're pretty happy she's gotten stronger and can stand on her own two feet)
6. Josephine (BCM- she's the one I had to help but she can hold her own in there...she came out with a scratch on her claw and the other chicks tried to peck at it but she fought right back and they eventually backed off...she's our fighter!)

We're quite happy with our little flock of 8 (and you can see them periodically via live video feed in the post below) but if we're being honest...8 is enough, or rather...too much. And although we aren't sure which of our 6 will be male or female we think we'll risk it and say goodbye to 3 (2 SLWs and the 1 GLW).  Does anyone know of a good home these chicks can go to? FREE.

Thanks for sticking with this super long post.  I'm sure we'll have more updates down the road, but I'm looking forward to less chick-centric posts in the near future so be ready for that.

But before I go, please enjoy this video montage.

Chick cam! (and I mean chickens)

Watch live streaming video from ballardchicks at livestream.com

All 6 hatched! I'll be back with more "birth" story details soon. But for now, enjoy watching them grow! And text me if you see any fowl play.

{Jeff wants me to mention that visiting livestream.com/ballardchicks on your iPhone is better than watching it on your computer because it works more often, isn't cluttered with ads, and appears crisper...plus you can do it on the go!}

Don't Count Your Chickens...

...before they're hatched! Literally.

Today is hatch day and though I don't expect too much action until around 10:30 tonight I'm sad to report that we only have 6 viable eggs that made it thus far.  It might be a blessing in disguise (because seriously, who wants 14 chickens in their backyard?) but it was sad to see those 8 eggs go.  I was, however,  very thankful that when we opened them up they ALL seemed to be unfertilized.

If you happen to think about us today and tomorrow please keep our little baby chicks in mind.  If any of these 6 don't hatch I don't think I can bear what we will find left behind since I know for a fact that each egg currently has a thriving chick.  We shall see! And hopefully we'll catch it on video!

In other chicken news...we decided last week to pick up 2 day old chicks of a particularly strong and egg productive breed (Australorp).

So, without further ado, please allow me to introduce you to Biscuit and Sheila! We've made them a comfortable home fully equipped with a barn, farmer, tractor and livestock.  They've become acquainted with most of the family.  And we've enjoyed getting to know their little personalities (Biscuit is the dominant one and Sheila the sweet one...but I think I like Biscuit's feisty spirit).

Now we're hoping that they won't be too much bigger than the new guys when they arrive.  I have been amazed by how quickly chickens grow. Sheila and Biscuit already have most of their wing feathers in and they're just one week old today!

 I hope to post soon with some exciting news about our hatch (fingers crossed).  Hope everyone is enjoying this gorgeous sunny winter day!