Eggs, Chickens, Kitchen, & Kids

While the legality of chickens in Salem lingers on in limbo I have been fairly silent about chickens and eggs. At least fairly silent for me, which is a completely relative measurement. But no more, and especially not today.

You will not take my chickens from me. A defiant statement I realize, but it simply won't happen. I have no intention of fighting with anyone, nor am I attempting to wave a red flag by stating this, I am simply saying it.

We've reached a time in history where pasture raised chicken (chickens not kept in tiny little pens) are $4 lb and eggs from pasture raised chickens can easily be over $3 a dozen, you will not take my chickens from me. I paid over $27 for a rabbit (for eating) yesterday. Animals that once were common are now affordable to only those of flexible, or considerable, income.

It isn't just about the money though. Not by a long shot. It is much more about the beauty and richness that the experience provides us. That can not be measured, it can only attempt to be described.

I've been reading Julia Child's My Life in France. I read about her first dining experience and how customers were asking (she had to get her husband to translate for her) "how was the chicken raised?" This has left me speechless and saddened, for I know how few places I could dine at now where anyone in the restaurant could begin to know that. The world has changed, and along the way we lost something precious.

Something beautiful happened though when I to page 60 in the book. This is the 'Le Cordon Bleu' Chapter and she is talking about how Chef Bugnard taught them how to properly made scrambled eggs. Here is the excerpt from the book:

With a smile, Chef Bugnard cracked two eggs and added a dash of salt and pepper. "Like this," he said, gently blending the yolks and whites together with a fork. "Not too much."
He smeared the bottom and sides of a frying pan with butter, then gently poured the eggs in. Keeping the heat low, he stared intently at the pan. Nothing happened. After a long three minutes, the eggs began to thicken into a custard. Stirring rapidly with the fork, sliding the pan on and off the burner, Bugnard gently pulled the egg curds together -- "Keep them a little bit loose; this is very important," he instructed.
"Now the cream or butter," he said, looking at me with raised eyebrows.
"This will stop the cooking, you see?" I nodded, and he turned the scrambled eggs out onto a plate, sprinkled a bit of parsley around, and said, "Voila!"
His eggs were always perfect, and although he must have made this dish several thousand times, he always took great pride and pleasure in this performance. Bugnard insisted that one pay attention, learn the correct technique, and that one enjoy one's cooking -- "Yes, Madame Scheeld, fun!" he'd say. "Joy!"
It was a remarkable lesson. No dish, not even the humbled scrambled egg, was too much trouble for him. "You never forget a beautiful thing that you have made," he said. "Even after you eat it, it stays with you -- always."

Immediately after reading this for the first time I knew I simply had to make scrambled eggs. And so I did, and I was overcome by how delicious they were. Amazing. The best scrambled eggs I've ever had, and I've always thought I'd had some pretty darn good scrambled eggs in the past. And that first batch has stayed with me. And I am reminded of it each time I remake it. I have been so taken with this part of the book that I haven't been able to read beyond it yet.
Something so remarkable from something so simple. Amazing.

But, of course, the chickens and eggs aren't just enriching in the delicious and healthy food they provide for us. Nor in the benefits that they provide for our yard and garden, which are quite numerous as well. They are beneficial in what they have taught my children.

Tristan attends story time at the local library (a fantastic library by the way!). The week of Easter the stories revolved around eggs and there was an Easter Egg Hunt afterwards in the courtyard. ~Yes, Salem's library has a gorgeous courtyard that is enclosed by a beautiful brick wall and that contains tables situated under brightly colored umbrellas, old gnarly tree roots that beckon you to lean up against them while reading, and landscaping that makes you feel like you've stumbled upon a secret garden. All it lacks is a small pond with fish.~
While we were at the library for story time this week I was pulled aside by the girl who had happened to read to the children Easter week. She wanted to let me know something that Tristan had said.
"I was reading to them a book and in it there was an egg, but it was a robin's egg, and it had a little bird inside," she told me.
Apparently Tristan felt the need to correct her on this and tell the class what was REALLY inside of eggs. He had the full attention of all the children there as he informed them on what was really in the eggs. They began asking questions such as "how do baby birds get in the eggs?"

Since this was beginning to veer into territory beyond the simple Easter themed story the girl reading the book suggested they just get back to the book.

Aside from interrupting story time and someone reading aloud to a class, I am quite proud of Tristan. This is a subject he does know a lot about, though please remember that since we don't have a rooster we don't have fertilized eggs and the chance of chicks.
I am proud of him for being able to speak up and out on an issue he was informed on. On having the desire to want to share that knowledge with others. Of holding the attention of the other children. Especially since these are children who have likely not seen a live chicken, much less ones in a backyard setting, or petted one, or raised one, or who have been responsible for gathering fresh eggs out of the nest boxes.

Never underestimate the power of doing things for yourself. Of taking charge of your lives and the ability to provide for yourself and your family. Never underestimate the endless benefits that can come from such acts.

Random Stuff & Bartering

First, Earth Hour is coming up on March 27th. Individuals, businesses, cities, and more will turn off lights from 8:30 - 9:30pm local time. The energy saved during this hour is astounding. This will be our 3rd year celebrating Earth Hour. Each year we try to actually DO something during the hour, not just watch the clock till we can turn lights back on. It is fun to try and see what we can come up with (and often a challenge when you have little kids). Will you sign up and celebrate with us this year?

I haven't posted in a while, though I've meant to. Our days and evenings have been spinning by as we scrape, plaster, sand, prime, paint & repeat ad nauseum. The hallway is (I think) all done now, and looking so lovely. The front room is almost all done. The other spots that needed touching up are getting done. With all this accomplishment comes the exhaustion of feeling like it will never be done. As soon as we think we've finished something, there is something else that needs working on. And, I hear you shaking your heads in sympathy saying "this is how it is when you own a house." We know that. Usually it isn't so exhausting. But, right now, it is.
We've changed paths and instead of trying to get a home equity loan (which are getting harder and harder to get) we've decided to refinance the house. It's been a much more pleasant experience so far than what we were trying to do.
Our original "loan guy" seemed to be really dragging his feet. We've dealt with him for years and he's always been there for us, so I don't know if something is going on with him or what, but this wasn't working out. Instead, we went with the lady who originally helped us get the loan for the house. She had sent us a postcard recently and I thought to call her and see what we could do. That was Friday. By Sunday we had talked with her via phone a couple of times and met with her Sunday morning to sign papers. I loved working with her when we first got the house and feel just as pleased this time around.
Now the stress though. We still have to get the house appraised. I am sitting here this morning on too little sleep and too much coffee (any coffee is almost too much for me as I've weaned myself from caffeine in most other areas of my life), waiting for the phone to ring. I was told that the appraiser should be calling either yesterday afternoon or this morning. So far, the phone hasn't rung. It's like waiting for a blind date to call. You don't know what the person will look like or be like, much less what they'll think of you. How do you dress for a date when you don't know what the hell the other person likes or hates?? ~ Yes, yes, I know, you be yourself. Don't give me that hooey gals, we ALL know that to SOME extent we play up aspects of ourselves that we think the other person would like. I should be taking this time to keep working on the house, but instead I keep wanting to pick up the phone to make sure it is working.

In other news. The chickens have bid adieu to their Winter Chalet and are now back in the tractor, out in the yard. The grass is starting to come back and they're eager to get to it. It is nice seeing them back out there, though they haven't been to happy to realize that they can't stay inside on rainy days. Ah .. the life of chickens.
We're also down to only 2 hatching eggs now. We had two more that got broken. Neither had baby chicks in them, and so I am doubting that anything has grown in the remaining two either. If anything has grown we should have about 1 week left of incubating time. .... So, one week to go. Either way, it was an interesting experiment and lesson about life. I'll blog more about it in the next week.

And, my final note for the day is about bartering. Do you barter? If so, what do you barter and how do you determine the "price value"?

~My friend Cat made this purse for me. The outside is from used bags of coffee beans (from Mill Mountain Coffee down the street)~


~A peek inside the purse. I had some really cool, batiked blue fabric with dragonflies on it that she used for the lining, adding a few touches of her own. I love the pocket .. pockets ROCK!!~

This is my most recently bartered for item. My insanely talented friend Cat made it for me. She had made us the best-ever Halloween tote bags (using an upcycled Halloween tablecloth, I believe, for the fabric). They held all the candy the boys could carry along with serving double purpose as a seasonal-esque purse for me. I had already had the coffee bags sitting around, along with the batiked fabric, wanting to make them into a purse but not being able to see it in my mind (does that make sense to you?). After bartering with her for the Halloween totes, I knew it was time to barter again!!
The last barter, for the Halloween totes, included several home-canned items and some yummy homebrewed beer. This time, we're still waiting to see. I've given her a big bottle of homebrewed beer so far. She still owes me one more purse, so we agreed to wait for the rest of the trade till that one was finished. I'm thinking she'll get some more home-canned items, perhaps some fresh eggs, and maybe even some homemade jerky!

Today I am also bartering for something else: a haircut. My friend Sophy, who owns Salon Capelli on College Ave. in Salem (375-0789), is cutting my hair in exchange for a box of homemade goodies. Sophy has done a great job on my hair in the past and recently gave my sister-in-law a very hot new look. I'm excited. So far for Sophy I have (all homemade &/or homegrown): jars of applesauce, ketchup, and spaghetti sauce; a jar of organic oregano; a loaf of bread baking; and so far 11 eggs - if the chickens will please lay one more, I can give her a full dozen! Not too bad I think, and I'm hoping she'll feel it is a fair-enough bartering experience.

On a weekly basis we also barter some homebrew as partial payments for Shannon's drum lessons. His instructor, a very talented drummer named Jason Lee, is awesome and Shannon is doing so well. We're very proud of him.

Bartering is pretty cool in my opinion. What is money other than pictures printed on paper or little discs of metal? I know there is sometimes a stigma of someone bartering goods because they can't afford to actually pay for the service. I think this is something that needs to fade away. There should be no stigma in bartering, there should be pride in it. In my experiences with it both parties tend to feel like they've gotten the better end of the deal, which is a good win-win experience. The goods we barter for have value, and that value and importance should never be denied, undermined, or forgotten. I would even go so far as to say that the ability to barter, the practice of bartering, is essential to a healthy, vibrant, and sustainable community. It helps build a community. It reconnects us with each other. How in the world is that a bad thing?

A Confused Chicken

This is Patti.

Patti is confused.

Why is Patti confused? Well, it seems the silly little biddy has decided to go broody. When a hen goes 'broody' it means that she feels the urge/need to sit on her eggs and hatch them. Think of it as her biological clock is ticking. Of course, we don't have a rooster, so our eggs won't hatch. No matter how long she sits on them.

So .. where is the confusion part?? Patti won't sit on eggs. She's exhibiting all the signs of being broody - sitting in one spot all day long, refusing to move except for an occasional break for food and water.

When a hen goes broody she will quit laying eggs. Patti has never been a very good egg layer anyway (Cochins are only 'Fair' egg layers), but still. So .. what to do?

We decided that if Mother Nature has told Patti to sit and go broody, we'd allow her to rather than trying the things you can try to get a hen to quit being broody. We also decided that we'd get Patti a few eggs to try and hatch. Think of this as the Spring project you used to do in grade school, hatching chicks and ducklings. We don't plan on keeping the chicks (we'll sell any that do hatch) since we don't need or want any more chickens. We just wanted to let Patti go through the natural experience of hatching some eggs.

Yesterday, I met up with a lady and bought a few eggs for hatching. This means that she does have a rooster, and so hopefully these eggs will hatch if sat on. She was very kind and threw in 3 extra eggs, bringing the number we got to 6. We have 3 Blue Black Splash Orpington eggs & 3 Split Black/Lavender Project Orpington hatching eggs.

So far, however, Patti won't sit on them. I have managed to pick her up and put them on the eggs a couple of times now, but she won't stay on them. We originally put them on the floor of the coop (we don't want potential chicks trying to hop down out of the nest boxes, they're too high), but this morning I moved them into a nest box. Hopefully Patti will figure it out. I picked her up and sat her on the clutch of eggs, even gently nudging one up against her underside. She sat there for a while, but when I went back out just a bit ago, there she was back outside.

This is part of nature though too. We'll see if Patti, or even one of our other biddies, decides to sit on these little eggs. If not, oh well. I'm not sure why Patti is going broody but refusing to sit on eggs, but oh well. Even a confused chicken is worthy of love.

Winter Ramblings

As usual, I've let too much time lapse between blogs. It isn't that I haven't wanted to write, quite the contrary. It is more that the muse strikes me at times when, well, blogging away on the computer simply isn't possible. Times when I couldn't even write it down on paper first, even if I wanted, which I don't as I was never a fan of rough drafts.
But, right now, the house is fairly calm. My music is on, I'm in between cooking stuff for Super Bowl, the boys are napping, the dogs are almost behaving, and Justin is .. well, I don't know what he's doing and I find in those times that it is best to not ask. Just go with it. So let's ramble about a little, shall we?

January 13th was Shannon's 6th birthday. Justin took 1/2 a day off and we picked him up from work and headed up to Mill Mountain Zoo. We try to do trips instead of gifts for birthday presents. Create an experience and memory rather than junk. We did, however, give him on little but very special gift for his birthday: his first camera. He loves taking photos and this was a perfect time.
The cake above is a completely from scratch, organic as can be, Chocolate Zucchini Cake. Insanely delicious. I have to admit that when I first heard of using zucchinis in cake years ago that my first thought was "yuck!" but no no no .. this is some good stuff. This is the cake Shannon gets every year for his birthday. He just asks for a "Zucchini Cake" now. Both boys got to help make this one.
As part of our homeschooling journey, Shannon has been slowly learning Russian. In honor of that, the front of the cake says "Happy Birthday" in Russian. On the back (you can't see it here) it says "Many Years" in Ukrainian. Similar languages, subtle differences. Alla, my stepmother, is from the Ukraine though, so hence the use of both.

Also new, the Blue Nymph just got a little blue-er. For Christmas my brother gave us a gift card to Lowe's, so we put it to good use and painted the living room. Finally. This makes our 5th room that we've painted some shade of blue in the house, and of course the outside of the house is blue. Well, maybe 4 1/2 - one of those rooms was a 1/2 bath and I used the same paint from another blue room. So, between 4 & 5.
The reasons for the two photos above is to show how much the color of the room changes depending on the light. Seriously, I've never seen a paint color like this, it is bizarre. Which makes it a natural fit around here!! hahaha. It goes from a beachy shade of blue, to a very greenish blue, to a gray-blue that is like the ocean. Wonderful and strange all at the same time.
We're trying to work on the front room and hallway as well, but still have to get the right shade of paint for that. Sometimes colors don't work out like you'd expect. Not bad, just not right either. Until we get the paint though there is plenty of paint scraping that needs to be done. Always fun.

Moving on.
If you live around here you're VERY well aware of the snow we've gotten this year. It started mid-December and just as the last of that snow melted we got hit with a couple more storms. FINALLY!! I LOVE the snow!! LOVE IT!! So, I've been very, very happy about all the storms. The only part I'll admit to not liking is when the snow shines bright on the snow and bounces back in all my windows. For someone who has migraines that are triggered by bright lights this makes me feel like a vampire running for cover of darkness.
We've been sledding up at the local golf course, Salem Municipal Golf Course, which is within walking distance up the hill from the house. For the first time since I've known him, Justin and I actually went sledding together. We kept getting turned around and going backwards down the hill, tumbling over and out, laughing all the way. Shannon would come to our "rescue," trying to push us further down the hill, while Tristan sat up at the top of the hill, content to eat snow. At least he was eating the fresh, white snow. That has been a fun lesson to try and teach him this winter. We don't eat snow from the bottom of our boots. We don't eat snow that has been plowed. And, though he didn't try this one (he did do the other ones), we don't eat the yellow snow!
Days of sledding followed by mugs of hot cocoa. Making more hot cocoa mix. Making hot cocoa using Cacao bars and warmed milk & sugar. Comforting, warm foods. All the things that make Winter so truly wonderful.

And, while I think I talked about this last year, it is worth noting again. Life is a little different when you have an urban homestead. It's gonna dump snow?? Well, better get out there and cover the chickens' tractor so that their winter run area stays dry. Once the snow stops, gotta get out there and uncover them, even if that the cover has more than a foot of snow on it.
Mornings find me out there, in flannel pj bottoms, an old sweatshirt, and worn-out faux ($15) ugg boots, checking on the chickens. Navigating not-cleared off steps down the deck with fresh water in one hand, feed in the other. Scraping snow off the top of the hay bin to make sure they have fresh hay. This morning Justin was out there with me: scooping the spent hay out of the nest boxes and walking it across the yard to the snow-covered garden.
The biddies aren't liking this weather. The last egg we got was on February 1st, and even then we only got one egg. I've tried enticing them with treats and even a plastic Easter Egg in the nest box. The plastic egg only seemed to annoy them. The treats were gobbled up, but we haven't yet gotten any more eggs, and so yesterday I resigned myself to buying a dozen from the store. Such is life.

A Little More Rambling.
Our next door neighbors have a huge Holly tree. It is taller than their two-story house, just the biggest Holly tree I've ever seen. It makes me think of my great-grandmother. She loved Hollies and planted several (all of which are now gone) here when she lived here. Their tree is gorgeous. I can see it from our bathroom window quite well, where it seems framed perfectly with bright blue sky behind it.
The past couple of mornings when I went out I noticed that the tree was swarming with life. Hundreds of robins were in it. If you made a loud noise they'd quickly fly out and into nearby trees. Yesterday morning I had to get the kids to see this. I ran back inside and grabbed everyone. I was in my pjs and held a barefoot Shannon on the deck. Justin was still barefoot too, so he held Tristan from the back doorway. We listened to the birds in the tree. Then we clapped very loudly and yelled "BOO!" at them, and watched as hundreds of birds quickly flew everywhere around us. It was magical.
The tree had been full of bright red berries (I have a picture of it that still needs uploading, as do all my snow pics). Within a couple days, all the berries are gone. The birds have eaten their way from the top of the tree to the bottom. Randomly dropped red berries stain spots of snow in our yard. Nature is buzzing all around us, and at the same time is dormant and silent.

Perhaps this is why I love this time of year. Life abounds, but is silent. It forces us inside. Inside to the hearth, where we cook foods that warm our bellies and souls. It forces us to be with one another. It forces us take the time and be quiet, to look within ourselves and reflect.
Like flower bulbs that require the cold so that they can bloom in the warm Spring sun, we too require Winter so that we may bloom anew and refreshed.

I think I may go do one of my truly favorite Winter activities now: take a nap.

New Year's Eve & the 2009 Tally Wrap-up

We hope you all had a safe, warm, and wonderful New Year's Eve yesterday. With the exception of me tripping, falling, & nearly impaling myself on camping chairs last night, we did too. We took the boys downtown for the Science Museum's Bouncy Ball Drop at noon, quite an interesting event. Here is a link for a quick video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfARXgvTbh4 We also grabbed lunch at Roanoke's famous Texas Tavern, and then visited the Market Building for a treat afterwards. Nice family fun, even if it was rainy and slushy out.

But a really big thing for us this year is the grand Harvest Tallies, along with our 2009 Egg Tally. Keeping tallies has really put things in perspective for us. We realize we could've gone into much greater mathematical tallying, but we didn't. And it is still pretty groovy. Here is a recap from what I posted in November:

Here are the Tallies:
*Tomatoes - 187lbs 12.1oz - prices really varied here, so we picked a mid-way price of $2.82 a pound pound = $529.46
*Bell Peppers - 7lbs 11.4oz - these are priced by quantity, not weight, we had 34, and again prices varied, so we went mid-way @ $2ea. = $68
*"Hungarian Sweet" Banana Peppers - 8lbs 6.4oz - @ $3.29 a pound, non-organic = $27.31
*"Anaheim" Peppers - 11lbs 8oz - @ $2.99 a pound, non-organic = $34.39
*"Charleston Grey" Watermelons - 21lbs 5.6oz (this was only 3 melons, and one was pretty darn small!) - @ $3.99 each (this price is from the Co-Op) = $11.97
*Cherries - 3lbs 8oz - @ $5.99 a pound, non-organic = $22.76
*Beans - 13lbs 8oz - these are a blend of the following: Mitla, Boston Favorite, Charlevioux, Hidatsa, and Roma II - again, a mid-way price of $2.50 a pound = $33.75
*Zucchini - 8lbs 5oz - @ $1.79 a pound, organic from Kroger = $14.86
*Oregano - 3lbs 4oz - ok, this is cool .. a 1/2oz jar of organic oregano from Kroger is $3.99 - at that rate, it's $127.68 a POUND = $434.11 .. AND, we could've harvested TRIPLE that amount, EASILY!!!!!

These are the things we remembered to check price on. So .. you wanna know how much total it would've cost to buy all of this stuff???$1632.75 ... WOW!!!!!!!
Ooh, but let's not forget costs to grow this all. Ok, well we didn't pay for seeds this year because we saved seeds in previous years and took advantage of the Earth Day Seed Swap. We paid $30 for a bale of hay. We paid roughly $49 for some new canning jars. We did buy some plants. So, let's round the total spent up to $80. Ok, well subtract that from the above total. That brings us down to $1552.75. ~ Since I posted this in November we've harvested over 15 lbs more vegetables: mainly potatoes and Jerusalem Artichokes. I can't find the Jerusalem Artichokes around here but here is the tally for the potatoes:
*8lbs of organic potatoes (mixed varieties) - a 3lb. bag of organic russet potatoes @ Kroger can be bought for $2, so let's go with that price. = $5.33.


Now for the 2009 Egg Tally. In 2008 we were happy to have our tally be 72 eggs for the year. This year, our sweet biddies managed to lay 808 MORE eggs, with a grand tally of EIGHT HUNDRED EIGHTY eggs!!!! 880 eggs = 73 dozen eggs. From six little biddies. To buy this at the store would've cost us (@ $3 a dozen) $220. We bought maybe eight bags of feed at roughly $18 a bag, equaling a cost of $144. Let's say we've bought 6 bales of hay for them at $6 a bale = $36. $144 + $36 = $180, so we've still got a good savings of $40 there. I'll add that to the Harvest Tally.

Some more things. From what we've canned so far we've already "saved" well over $100 if not a lot higher than that. So far I've already canned Spaghetti Sauce, Tomato Sauce/Soup, Ketchup, BBQ Relish, and the Strawberry Jam from early Spring (even if we did buy those strawberries from a U-Pick Farm). Not too shabby. This fall we did spend $15 to can lots and lots of apple butter and apple sauce. I'd give us, easily, another $50+ in saving there.
Also, for holidays and general gift giving, we gave away a LOT of homemade/homegrown goodies (and eggs!). I can say at Christmas-time alone, this probably saved us close to $200.

So, let's do some math now, shall we??

*Approximate total 2009 Harvest Tally - 280lbs 4.5 oz
*2009 Egg Tally - 880 eggs

*Approximate Money Saved in 2009 = $1948.08 ~ remember, this is with costs spent taken out, and costs saved via gift giving, not having to visit the doc (because of better health from all this goodness), and etc!

The thing that really amazes me the most though is that we don't have a huge garden. We don't devote our lives just to this. This really has taken nothing "out" of our lives, but it has given SO much. We're already planning next year's plantings. Onion and garlic for spring picking have already been planted. I'm working on a medicinal herb garden in my mind.
But this is still small stuff. Imagine if the majority of families started something small on their own too. One plant is still more than no plants.

Happy Chickens

We have happy chickens right now. Gloriously, crazy, happy chickens. Why are our biddies so giddy? Yesterday Shannon and I cleaned out their nest boxes and coop, sent the spent straw to the garden, and put fresh straw everywhere for them. This means in the nest boxes, in the coop, and in the tractor. That probably doesn't sound like much of a "woo-hoo" cause for chicken giddiness, but it is.
Normally we rotate them around the yard and so every couple of days they get a fresh green patch of Earth to go at with wild abandon. (did you know chickens have wild abandon?) But now, they're in their "Winter Chalet" ~ which means they're up against the house, tractor eased up next to their little coop, so they can escape the blizzards we don't seem to get around here anymore. They are loving it.
It also means that they have torn their little plot of Earth to shreds already. So, suddenly having it covered in lots of fresh straw is like coming home to find your house/room covered in lots and lots of down blankets and pillows. YAY!

~The "Winter Chalet" - the tractor eased up next to the coop, with the chickens enjoying the fresh straw~

~You know what?? CHICKEN BUTT!!! sorry, couldn't resist~


~Deliriously happy chickens, digging their fresh straw while the sun sets~

An opportunity

~Shannon holding Ann Bancroft, our Dark Brahma hen~

When we made the decision to get chickens, more specifically hens, it wasn't without thought. In fact, an entire year's worth of thought, research, reading, learning, and more research went into it. We saw it as an opportunity. An opportunity to help produce more of our own food, to be more connected with the Earth, to teach our children about nature, where food comes from, and some nice biology lessons too. We saw it as an opportunity to take another step along our path of self-reliance and self-sustainability. We saw it as an opportunity to perhaps help show others that might not know about keeping chickens that you can do so without ruining the neighborhood. That it can bring neighbors together.
Unfortunately, as happens sometimes, it didn't bring all our neighbors together. As you know, one neighbor out-right hates us for not living the way she thinks we ought to: cooped up inside the house with windows always down, never venturing into the yard except to pick up a stray stick, and with landscaping that isn't over a couple inches high unless it is a tree. If she wants to (or anyone for that matter) live that way - go for it we say, but it isn't for us.
So now, today, we got our official letter from the City about the chickens since "technically" their illegal. We, of course, are going to try and convince City Council to ammend Zoning regulations to allow residents to keep a small, well-kept, backyard flock of hens.
Despite the instinctive reaction to run into my room, throw myself onto the bed, and cry into my pillow (or to go next door and just kick some butt), I'm going to see this as an opportunity.
An opportunity to learn more how the City works, to be involved in our community, to try and affect change. An opportunity to show our children all of those things, and to allow them to be part of it. To hear your 5 1/2 year old and your 3 year old say "Please don't let them take our chickens" breaks your heart. I might as well be shooting Old Yeller. So, it's an opportunity to show them that when there is something you really believe in, you do everything you can to support it.
It is an opportunity for us to become more involved in our community, and that community doesn't end with City lines, it is world-wide. That is inspiring.

What The Cluck - it begins again ..

~Justin wearing one of the new chicken t-shirts~


~A close-up of the back of the shirt~

No sooner had we gotten our first batch of t-shirts in (don't they look great?), but we got a courtesy phone call. There have been more complaints, this time not only about our chickens, but about someone else's in Salem. I do think they have a rooster, but still. The City feels compelled to act since, after all, they're technically illegal to have. I say technically because of the discrepancy between City Code and Zoning, which has had animal control officers (aka - Law Enforcement!!!) telling people that they could have them for 20+ years now! When all this came up last year, the City acknowledged the conflict between Code & Zoning and went to the City Attorney who determined that Zoning trumps Code. Regardless of what law enforcement has been telling people.
As of today, we haven't gotten our official letter yet, but I've been told it will be here soon. We will have 90 days to comply (I do believe that is 60 days longer than last time). We have no intention of giving up our chickens. During this time is when we will have a chance to try and go before City Council. If they agree to hear me, then we will have a chance to try and convince them to allow Salem residents to keep a small, backyard flock of urban hens.
So, what's going on till then?? Well, lots of stuff. First off, I'm trying to be like a duck on the water -- calm on the surface and kicking like all hell underneath.
Second: Good ole grassroots activism. We've got a group on Facebook now: http://www.facebook.com/tos.php?api_key=ca55612231318500789c068e036619e8&next=http%3A%2F%2Fapps.facebook.com%2Frealpolls%2Fvote%2Fforce%2Fngqkfwtz4%2F15&v=1.0&canvas#/group.php?gid=98217238610 - We've got our petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/salemchickens/index.html - And, we've started a website: http://bluenymphbiddies.weebly.com
I apologize for these not being direct links, but lately blogspot has not been making the links active, so I've had to revert to just putting the address in here and hoping you'll take the extra step to cut & paste.
What else besides the link-stuff?? Well, I'll tell you:
*We've recently had a realtor come out and look at the chickens. No, we aren't buying them a house, and we aren't selling their coop. He came out to see the chickens & determined (which he actually did BEFORE he saw them, but he wanted to see them & we like visitors!) that NO, chickens in and of themselves do NOT drop propery values of the neighbors/neighborhood. They have no impact on it at all. The only impact they could possibly have is on a personal level, just as anything else could affect a potential homebuyer on a personal level. But property values, nope! -- We've asked him to right a letter for us to that effect, and are also talking to more realtors for the same.
*We're working to contact professors who specialize in chickens to help us dispel some common "hen myths." You know, those ones about noise, smell, attracting rodents and pests, and holding up any stores that might be nearby. We're asking them for letters as well.
*With the Facebook group & website, we're working on building information that helps people understand just what backyard, urban chickens ARE. Most people don't know and can't begin to fathom. This will include facts, pictures (I just got a great shot of Shannon holding "Ann Bancroft," our Dark Brahma hen), and links to sites on the internet. There are MANY, MANY wonderful sites, and we want to support them.
*Selling more shirts - we're going to keep selling the shirts too! They're awesome shirts, even if you don't live in Salem, VA. Proceeds will go to helping us throughout this campaign and, if we sell enough, building a nice privacy fence between our neighbor and us!

So, check out the website, buy a shirt, let me know what you think in general. Got ideas, know how to help, we're all ears! Got some great chicken photos you're willing to share, we'd love to see them and let other people see them too.

And, finally, we got a new email address for this whole mess: bluenymphbiddies@gmail.com

Spread the word, drop us a line, and, PLEASE, help us save our chickens!

More Eggs!

On Christmas Eve I walked out to the coop and was amazed to find two eggs instead of just one. Ann Bancroft, our Dark Brahma, had finally decided to start laying!! You can imagine our shock then to go out on 12-29 and find a blue egg, meaning one of Americaunas (we don't know whether it was Easter or Bunny yet) had also decided to start laying!! YIPPEE!!
Shannon was very impressed by the arrival of the first blue egg. He will be 5 in January, and he is suprisingly very gentle and careful when handling the eggs. Both boys do quite well with them. They were each so enchanted with the egg (Tristan was still napping when the photos were took, hence his absence), that I had to let them put it into the egg carton together! Quite a feat that it wasn't broken considering they're 2 1/2 and almost 5! Everyday since the 29th Shannon has been insistent on going out and looking for the eggs himself.
It is really funny, but it seems that once the birds begin laying the become much friendlier. We've never had a mean bird (and we never will, at least not for long!), but they aren't pets really either. However, the ones that are laying get much more curious and interested in us. They all will come out and follow us around as much as the can in the tractor, but if you open a nest box, or the door to the coop, it is a different story. LadyBird in particular, as our bird that has been laying the longest, will immediately come into the coop and near you. When you reach out to pet her, she sort of drops to the floor, but allows you to pet her none-the-less. If you open the nest box they will often hop up onto the roost in front of it and stick their heads into the nest box and allow you to pet them. Ann Bancroft has started showing more interest in being petted as have the Americaunas, hence my theory. The Pattis (our two Partridge Cochins, both named Patti) will come look at you but will walk off if you try to pet them. When Shannon opened the nest box on the tractor the other day, LadyBird immediately hopped in there. I was quite worried about her hopping on out and getting loose in the yard (dogs were both out with us and I was holding Tristan, it wouldn't have been good), but instead I saw his little hand reach down and begin petting her gently, and her allowing it. He then shut the nest box up properly, which is impressive since it has a latch that must be locked.
Our Buff Orpingtons began laying on Sept. 6th this year. That was the day of our first egg. At the time we had two Buff Orpingtons and though they weren't officially named, they were both "LadyBird" to me. A week or so after the first egg there was an attack that killed one of our Buff Orpingtons and left one Dark Brahma having to be put down. Since then we've added the two Americaunas who are both 2 months younger in age than the other biddies. It wasn't too bad a transition phase, though Bunny seems to be the lowest on the totem pole now. After that we had another attack which left LadyBird and Ann Bancroft, and possibly Bunny, injured. Luckily everyone has healed well, and we've fortified the tractor against (fingers' crossed!!) future attacks. However, it was 3 weeks after the last attack that LadyBird took as hiatus on her egg-laying. I state all this because, as part of our urban homesteading, we've been daily noting how many eggs we get on the calendar. Today I added it up ~ we've gotten a total of 72 eggs this year.
I'm sure to those who've had chickens for years this number is nothing and piddly. I hope to view it as quite a meager number myself next year. But, considering all we've been through with and for these birds, right now it is a number that we are quite proud of. We've had to deal with attacks not only from wild animals (raccoons, possums), but also attacks from a neighbor who has just flat out decided to hate us now. We've had the City called on us, had the news crews out here, and have been in the paper. We have an online petition. We've told our story over and over. We've also had to work hard to educate those close to us who don't understand about urban homesteading, much less keeping chickens.
So, at the end of the year, we've got 72 eggs, at least 3 out of 6 chickens laying, our kids learning how to help care for the chickens and contribute to our lifestyle ("Everyone Helps" is our motto), and our friends and family going from being aghast to being somewhat impressed and proud. We think this is enough. Definitely a plus, and enough for us to know we are living a truly privileged life!!

Surpises & Slow Food

Well, today turned out to be quite a shocker! We had originally planned to go camping this weekend since the game wasn't being televised ~then along came Hannah and much-needed rain. So, no camping. We decided instead to go pick up some chicken feed, as well as some straw, and move the tractor to the coop so that the gals could go inside and (hopefully) use the nest box for laying. We know the gals should begin laying anytime now & this would buy us some time until we build a nest box onto the tractor itself.

We were getting into the car when I heard it: a very faint crowing. As I've stated before, we live in "the City" and no-one nearby has chickens. Which means, if it is crowing it is our chickens. Apparently, what we thought was an Easter Egg hen turned out to be an Easter Egg Rooster!! We ran and got the feed, then came home and took care of the rooster. It was somewhat ironic as this was the only bird I had really named, and it was one of our prettier birds, I thought. Plus, the idea of getting blue & green eggs had really begun to grow on me, so that was a bit of a bummer. On the plus side though, we're now back up to 4 meat birds (since we still have 3 Speckled Sussex we're letting fatten up), and that is good. We cooked it for dinner and it was very tasty!! If you're going to eat meat, pasture raised is the way to go!

As the dinner was cooking, we all went out to begin work on the coop and tractor. Some re-figuring needed to be done, a wall taken out of the garden, and so on. As Justin was getting the hay, I walked over to the tractor to get ready to move it. Imagine my amazement to see a little egg there!! A friend told us that the first time her rooster crowed, the hens began laying the next day -- apparently that is a good indicator!

While we don't believe in "washing" the eggs (they are laid with a protective barrier that is removed when they are washed, leaving them vulnerable to bacteria), this one was pretty darn muddy, so I quickly & gently rinsed it off with my hands.
Shannon was particularly impressed with the whole thing. He has always loved going to get eggs from our friends' coop, and today he even carried a chicken (a Cochin, of course!) from the tractor to the coop! We were able to get him to eat all of his dinner by promising that, if he did, he could go out and look to see if the girls laid anymore eggs this evening. They hadn't, but tomorrow is another day and I am sure we'll be out there quite often!
Speaking of dinner: we were able to have a complete Slow Food meal, most of it local! We had the chicken/rooster (or Eugenie, since that had been it's wrongly-sexed name), some chili that I made with organic dry beans bought at the co-op and tomatoes we got at the Farmer's Market, topped with raw milk garlic-colby cheese!! What a fantastic feast!!

The cheese we bought from a local farmer-friend, but it did have to cross state lines to get here so I suppose it isn't truly local. But, still, raw milk cheese from pasture raised & organic cows!! DELIGHTFUL!
I know to some of you it must seem odd that I can type about killing a named bird and cooking it for dinner (and then show a photo to boot!). While I repsect everyone's right to choose what is right for themselves and their family, we have that right as well. We don't kill what we don't need. We make sure our food, when it was alive, led the type of lives animals were meant to live. With our chickens, we've even taken the step to raise heritage and rare breeds, trying to help ensure that these breeds aren't wiped out.
It is truly the deepest feeling of satisfaction to know the life our food lived, to know that not only were they happy but they're healthier for us to eat and significantly so! To know that I can fix my children a meal made from these things makes me feel like I have succeeded. And, too often, like most parents I assume, I tend to feel like a failure as a parent. To know that the food my kids eat (or a majority of it) is some of the best and healthiest food they can ever possibly hope to eat, well, it is a primal goal that we have accomplished. It leaves me content to the very core of my being.

Sore, sick, and more news crews

Yuck, that's an awful title, but I just couldn't think of a better one. Sorry! Last Thursday I was quite suprised to see a news crew pull up in front of the house. Thought it was news 10 coming back, but nope - it was WSET/ABC 13. They were hoping for a nice, impromptu interview. I agreed, but damnit - I had on the t-shirt I had worn the day before (thankfully with no food spills on it!) and I was NOT wearing my good bra (you know the one - it keeps your girls up & looking perky, rather than looking like work-horse/milked-cow udders). Oh well. I thought I actually did a really good job with this interview. I made my points, remembered to include some important issues and so on. They took various shots of the hops, pumpkins, corn and herbs growing and then headed on their way. I wasn't shocked to hear that their next stop was City Hall & meeting with the Zoning Dept., but boy was I ever shocked to see them return and start trying to visit the neighbors!! I think that they only talked to a couple people who live across the street, but honestly, I don't know who all they talked to or what they were told by them. I really don't want to know (ok, part of me does) - I'd rather be a little ignorant here and be able to maintain a harmonious relationship with everyone rather than have sore feelings.
Mom arrived to get Shannon as they were leaving. I was getting ready to walk back into the house and get something for Mom when I tripped myself up and took a nasty little fall onto the front porch. Hit my knees pretty hard, as well as the top of my foot on the edge of the porch. Knees are as bruised as if I was earning my living in a not-so-respectable way. Along with my back where an old injury has re-inflamed, I'm a pretty sore mama these days! Who knew though that fall wouldn't be the biggest hurt suffered that day??
When I was able to see the tv report I honestly was humiliated and cried. They made it out to sound as if this was all about money, and that the reason I made our soap, shampoo, and bread was because we couldn't afford to buy it. Humiliation and sadness turned to anger and I posted a comment on their site. You can read it all here: http://www.wset.com/news/stories/0708/533254.html
Thankfully, this isn't the main station people around here watch - but still. I did notice however that they quoted Chuck Aldridge (from zoning) as saying how people admit that the chickens aren't causing a problem via smell or noise, just that they don't personally like them. Well, I don't personally like how my house stinks like burnt food when the coffee shop two blocks away burns their beans, but it really is none of my business. Geez people!!
As if all this silliness and strife weren't enough the boys are in full mode. Tristan has cut his second two-year molar and the poor baby has been miserable. Snotty nose, fussy, diaper rash - he's got all of them. Shannon, of course, thinks he is sick as well and has been coughing for several days. This morning he was coughing pretty bad so I broke down and gave him some cough medicine. If anything hopefully it will make him take a nap!! I think the humidity has really gotten to them as well. We don't have AC here, just a window unit in the rooms where they sleep and nap. It usually is comfortable in the summer though, except when the humidity gets bad. And that is has been lately. So, by late afternoon we are all at each other's throats.
So, here's to the wishes of cooler weather and the lesson learned to always keep your good bra and a clean shirt handy for when the news wants to pop by!

All the new news ...

Ok, well today has been quite a busy day around here! First, I went to City Hall to see Lisa Garst become the 3rd woman to serve on Salem City Council (YAY LISA!!!), and to see our newest mayor become elected. Congratualtions to our new Mayor, Randy Foley.
Then, at 11, channel 10 (WSLS) came out to interview me about our chickens, and how the current laws are in conflict with each other. I have to say, I felt that the piece ran a little on the negative side, but in all it was fairly good. The best thing though would be that within an hour of the piece airing on tv we had 8 more people sign our petition!!! YAY!!!! Here's to hoping THAT will continue! Here is a link for anyone who would like to check it out: http://www.wsls.com/sls/news/local/article/chickens_wont_fly_in_salem/13370/
After this I invited Vickie Daulton over to see the chickens. Mrs. Daulton works on the Planning Commission in Salem and will be part of the board that 'yay' or 'nay's the decision to go before Council to allow chickens. We talked for about an hour. I tried to impress upon her, as I have other City Officials, that the current laws in the code dictate how chickens are to be kept. Currently they're worried that, while we may be responsible chicken owners, others will not and how to enforce that/what to do. I've told them they already have that in place. Perhaps I see it more simply than they do.
After this I talked with Melinda Payne who works with Planning Development in Salem. She said the current situation is that they don't know what to do, so for now, our chickens have been given a reprieve to cluck away happily. This is only mildly comforting.
Finally, we've had a slight set-back in our kwh usage & solar power commitment. Jomo, our newest puppy, is full of mischief and has COMPLETELY destroyed our solar-powered pump for our pond. Luckily, the pond came with an electric pump so we've been able to hook that up. The odd thing is that the solar pump didn't really have much of a filter on it and the water was full of algae; we knew we needed to do something, we just weren't sure what we could do cost-wise. I guess Jomo made the decision for us. When the pump was turned on the odor that began coming out of the pond was fairly foul, so we're hoping there aren't lots of dead fish in there. I suppose we'll see soon. Till then, I guess we will have to add "saving $$ for a new, improved & proper solar-pond pump & filter" to our list of things we need to be doing.

We're on the map!!

I've added our flock to the map of Urban Chickens. Check it out:

View Larger Map
We've had lots of feathers ruffled lately as we have had the City over, checking out our flock. They seem to be in agreement that our "gals" aren't the rebel-rousers they've been made out to be, and as one city official put it: "seeing it really puts it in perspective." We're now working with the City to try and change the official zoning regulations to allow any and all (who so desire it) to have their own backyard flock. This is very exciting (albeit stressfull) stuff.
We've also started an online petition for anyone to sign in support of this. Here is the link: http://salemva.epetitions.net/ - when you sign you will get an email confirming your signature. If you do not get an email (check your junk/spam boxes!), please go back and try again. Our apologies for any difficulty.