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 I had thought that the chicken coop would be entering a time of extreme chaos by now. I now have these six itty bitties and their protective mama, six of these medium bitties,    and these two big ol' bitties, who have remained unexpectedly tolerant of all the kiddos wandering around these days.... Every morning and evening and in between, when i visit my growing flock, i am re-surprised by the peace in the coop.  I'm super thankful.  Caring for chickens is great therapy for every kind of stress, and even more so when they're peaceful and happy. On Monday, i have plans to begin incubating a heavy addition to the flock population, which may indeed fulfill my chaotic expectations.  That will be fun too. This is another picture of the mama and her babies because they're beautiful. In other news, our scaredy cat has found a hiding place behind a drawer in our laundry room and does not seem to have a great desire for relationship wi

Ever since it sunk in that my beloved Columbo, my yellow tabby scaredy cat, who i raised from a kitten, really wasn't coming home anymore, i have been keeping my internet eyes open for who might be the next feline presence in our little home. Cats are the exception.  In my home, on our wannabefarmer, we have always had a rule that everyone has a job.  Chickens lay eggs and provide meat.  Dogs protect chickens and guard the homestead.  Ducks make baby ducks for eating. Bees make honey. Crickets feed chickens.  Etc.  Etc.  Etc. But cats.  Their presence makes me happy, and so they get to stay.  And if they can do so without throwing up in the super hero's chair or going doo doo on the floor, they can stay in the house where it's warm...or cool....depending on the season, and they can frolic in the woods as they wish. While we were still in Michigan, i saw a post from someone local who was looking for a country home for a mama kitty who had been rescued from

On the morning of Friday, February 21, hubby and i set out on the long trip home from our visit to my family's home in Michigan.  We had gotten a somewhat late start and were on the freeway for only a few minutes when we stopped at a gas station to gas up and get refreshments and a few souvenirs to take home. We weren't in a huge hurry, and i guess we were in the gas station a little longer than your average gas station visit, and when we were finished and attempted to get back on the freeway to head home, there was a police officer and his vehicle blocking the entrance ramp, pointing in some direction other than the way we wanted to go, and yelling, "go that way!" Since we aren't exactly native Michigandians, or Michiganders, or whathaveyou, we didn't have a clue where we were headed, and blindly followed the other redirected hoards of cars, while i frantically inquired of gps on my cell phone, to try to find the best the back road route, from wherev