After yet another cold snap last week - polar vortex is the term they're throwing around this time - the hens were inside again.  This time it was the bathtub for a couple of nights, don't have a laundry room now.  It was a much quieter event this time, no eggs to chase, but it reminded me how long it's been since I shared anything on this blog.  Or cleaned up after chickens in the house...

My life changed quite a bit over the last few years, faster than I could keep up at times. Spring is on the way in many respects, and I thought I'd share some of the exciting things coming up.  When I was younger, much, I stumbled on a magazine that I grew to love. It was Organic Gardening from Rodale Press, and I faithfully subscribed to it for over 15 years.  I saved every copy, and moved the collection along from Los Angeles to Winnipeg to Missouri.  I bequeathed that collection finally to a fellow devotee in Kansas just before I headed off to college for my adventures in graduate studies at Iowa State.

Over the years those pages inspired us to raise chickens, start a small meat rabbit business, create countless gardens, test composting designs, and even a brief and lively round with goats. However, the most lasting impression comes from a book they offered when I signed up - Five Acres and Independence: The Practical Guide to Selecting and Managing a Small Farm by Maurice Grenville Kains.  (It's available thru Amazon for $12.29, still around after all these years!)

Then life got busy, as life should, and the book sat on the shelf.  As life and its demands have changed, the book is calling again. I can't actually run out and buy five acres right away, but the ideas of building in self- sufficiency and living closer to what I eat still charm me.  Because I live in town and rent, the things I do must be pleasant to look at (and smell) as well as mobile.  Compost lives in aerated garbage pails. The bulk of my plants are in containers, interspersed with flowers (edible of course).  And the "ladies" coop must of course be a tractor style - for numerous reasons.  I only have a front yard - the house I rent has been split into two apartments - downstairs and upstairs.  The yard gets FULL sun most of the day, so I need to be able to move them to shadier spots.

Oh. Note to self: if you install a rain barrel, make sure it is already plumbed before you set it right side up.  They are really heavy once they are full.

Next month, the rabbits are back.  (Well, yes, the ones outside were here all along.  Chasing them out of the yard is Keifer's favorite sport.)  I mean, the rabbit farm is back...   More soon on the intricacies of homes for rabbits.

Wascally wabbits....  http://youtu.be/60kC9WUne08

Who is Keifer?  My service dog.  I did say there have been a LOT of changes...