don't count your chickens

today was the day my chickens were to arrive.
i speak in the past tense, because two of them didn't and the two that did have apparently died before i could ever retrieve them! their little chicken home is still warm and cozy back at my house, eagerly awaiting their presence.

what shitty news. i've been waiting for weeks.
my roommate has been telling me that they die easily. that i shouldn't name them for awhile because they might die. well, they died before i ever even got to look at them. i don't know whether to think their death was to humble me (my chickens won't die) or caused by all the "baby chickens die" talk.

every supplier in the area is out and all the online suppliers require an order of no less than 25. i cannot have 25 chickens and i don't know anyone else in the market for chickens.

i guess i'm glad they died on someone else's watch. i would feel even worse if they had died after i got them home.

if anyone has bright ideas on how to get me some alive & kicking fluffy baby chickens, i'm listening with great attention.

spring creeps in

wednesday the chickens arrive.

two buff orpintons and two golden laced wyandottes. the barred rock and rhode island red were back ordered beyond my level of patience. the two breeds i ended up getting are the two i have always been most interested in. they will look good together aestetically. i haven't picked out names but i am starting to think about thinking about it. my excitement over fresh eggs is mounting. my chicken supplies sit in wait. i'm feeling confident, if anything, my experience with milo has shown me to be a good parent, a good librarian, and to produce good animals from that combination.

the yard is currently in a holding pattern.
my early seeds are planting, the weeding and cleaning up is for the most part, done. what remains is the clean up of my cleaning up, the transplantation of the azaleas, securing the backyard and maybe mowing the lucious grass. morla the turtle has an enclosure now, and a makeshift fence has been erected.

the gate and the fence are top priority. then maybe spring planting. i don't think it will frost again this season and i would like to jump into the garden as soon as possible. this hurry up and wait time has been good.

hyacinths are out and i have them in the house to perfume the air.
soon i will need to go through my seeds yet again and decide what i can plant this/next week.

first day of spring

the seeds i planted week before last are coming up.
so far: poppies, radishes, lupines, spinach, chard, lettuce
tomorrow i need to get more sweet peas in the ground and the fence up.

i am so glad that i got the beds worked over when i did.
i've had just enough energy to enjoy the unfolding of greenery. looks like the lilies, peonies, bleeding hearts, roses, delphiniums, daffodils, hyacinth and tulips are all coming up strong. the violets growing in the grass make the entire front yard smell delicious. the liliacs are beginnging to green up and i can't wait to open my window and smell that wonderful smell.

the turtle (morla) is finally outdoors, safely in her pen.
only a few adjustments left, mostly for her own safety.

next wednesday my chickens will be arriving.
what should i name them?
getting chickens is a little ridiculous given my situation.
i should count on staying her all summer, otherwise, everything is screwy.
for right now, i don't care. maybe i'll buy this place after all.
(wouldn't that be lovely? c'mon finance fairy, come and see me...)

tomorrow is friday and fridays are fantastic.
off early with two more days to play.