Tombstone Underground

Today we put up the first two posts for the fence. There is water about two feet down so filling the post holes with concrete was a little challenging, we’ll see if they set tomorrow.

Here are some pictures of our slightly over 1 week old chicks. I snuck up on them while they were all napping. We have auracana’s, rhode island reds, buff orphingtons, partridge rocks, and silver laced wyandottes. They are growing so fast, they already have feathers.

Last weekend Chris got starting digging the holes for the fence around the house. We borrowed an auger to go on the tractor and made sure to have all the lines and pipes marked by the utilities. Unfortunately they only mark to the property line. Needless to say Chris found where the new sewer line goes under the house…with the auger. Fortunately for me I was in Seattle and it was fixed before I got home, however despite all my grumblings about no trenches this pregnancy, I found myself shoveling gravel and filling in the damn thing this week. At least this time I had Louie to help.

Seems we have a new evening hobby. Kite flying, Chris has even rigged a set up were we can get the kite up in the air and it will fly itself, sometimes for over an hour.

The Barn Owl’s are back nesting in the side of Craig’s Hill. Today Lou and I went for a walk to get a first hand view of one of the parents sitting on the nest. Unfortunately my camera doesn’t zoom as closely as my binoculars, but trust me it’s there in the center big hole in the cliff and if you come for a visit I’ll share.

The keets are maturing nicely, they are starting to get their adult feathers, which are a really beautiful black and white speckle.

These are photo’s from last week, new surprises are popping up everywhere, the grape hyacinths are all over the lawn and old flower beds, tulips of red and yellow and narcissus as well. We also have 2 types of Aspen (?) coming up as a nice hedge on the south side of the property, an old lilac bush and a fruit tree. Can’t wait to see what comes up next!

Aunt Janel and Uncle Steve came over Saturday morning to see our new digs and go on a “hike” with us. “Hiking” with Elouise is a little bit of a challenge these days as she wants to walk but she has super short legs and a shorter attention span. So she strolls, sits, picks flowers, sticks, rocks, etc, then strolls, throws flowers, sticks, rocks, etc., you get the idea. Anyway they were good sports and we got a little more than 1/2 way to the top when Lou had had it and we stopped for lunch. We still got to see some amazing views, share in great company and since I hauled Lou on my back most of the way up at least I got some good exercise.

We have moved the keets outside Sunday night. They were getting quite stinky and were ready to spread and strengthen their wings. We hung a heat lamp for them at night as it’s still getting a little chilly but they are so much happier on the grass and getting to taste everything in their new habitat.

We have decided that we will probably build them a second little house when the chicks that are coming tomorrow morning are big enough to move outside. They are just so aggressive and they will be so much bigger than the chicks we figure we’ll try to avoid some bloodshed.

Hopefully more pic’s of the keets outside soon.

And this is what happens when you leave a 2 year old unsupervised for all of 10 minutes, shoes on the wrong feet and pants full of…

When we moved in the kitchen was a lovely shade of pink. It had to go, fortunately my sister and cousin took pity on me and came over for a day of servitude and now it’s yellow. Trim isn’t finished so we don’t have any finished pictures but hopefully someday soon I’ll get it done.

So these are from a few weeks ago, life around here is turning green, we have a little less than 1/2 the veggies in, squash, mesclun and basil are coming up in my windows and the first batch of chicks are ready to move outside.  Lou absolutely loves riding on the tractors (the ride on mower is the “little green tractor”) and frequently asks to go get the mail with Daddy. That is where they are headed in the pic’s above.

And We’re Back!!!

We moved in at the end of February and so far we have

-mowed the field (twice)

-mowed the lawn (with our newly inherited ride on mower)

-scrubbed the pink kitchen

-lit the attic

-unpacked a bazillion boxes

-painted the pink kitchen

-scrubbed the bathroom

-hung curtain rods

-hung closet rods

-dug out a veggie garden

-ordered 18 beautiful pullets and a handsome rooster to join our little homestead

Hopefully these new additions will be arriving April 25^th and the coop will be finished by then. However the brooder is ready and waiting.

This week before I head over the mountains I’m hoping to get some seeds started in our window nursery.

Here are some pictures of the garden project this weekend.

 ”Every gardener knows that under the cloak of winter lies a miracle … a seed waiting to sprout, a bulb opening to the light, a bud straining to unfurl.  And the anticipation nurtures our dream.”
                              -  Barbara Winkler

This winter we have felt a lot like that seed waiting to sprout. Lots of stuff going on under the surface, nothing showing yet but Big Stuff coming down the pike. 

We are finishing up with Project Hoarders-Springdale and we have now hauled over 2 tons of garbage out of there, not counting the stuff we sent to the thrift store to save on dump fees and the land fill and have redone all the plumbing in the kitchen and to the bathroom. We will be listing it with a Real Estate agent soon. We have decided to not rent it out again, managing that property even with a property manager is too much work and too expensive. Keep your eyes peeled for a steal of a deal on rural waterfront property in North Eastern WA.

In the mean time, we have put an offer in on a small piece of property in town in Ellensburg. It’s on 2.3 acres with Mercer Creek running down it’s west border. It’s got an old farm house on it that has had the same owners pretty much since it existed (I think that speaks well of it). It’s only 3 blocks north of Central and should be a good place for us to breath and grow. Chris really needs to use this time to devote to learning and perfecting his trade as he really enjoys being an electrician, and with him commuting 45 min each way to Yakima daily and me commuting to Seattle biweekly, large farm projects will have to wait. So this little plot will hopefully give us enough room for a decent flock of chickens and maybe some goats next year.  We are all looking forward to our morning coffee by the creek this summer!

And last but not least the biggest news of all, not only will the new house be home to new chickens and goats but Lou is getting a new sibling. Come August our little group of 3 will grow to four.  We hope to deliver at home again, however this is proving quite challenging in Ellensburg. Despite all the alternative health care choice around here, midwifery doesn’t seem to available. I’ve been putting calls out all across the state and hope to hear some encouraging responses in the next week or two. If any of you know of somebody please pass along my info.

Since our last post we all got to spend a lovely Christmas on Mercer Island. Lou had a great time this year, discovering all of mom’s Christmas dolls and dancing to the “Holly Jolly Santa” that goes off  every time you walk by it.

Chris and I both came down with whatever nasty GI bug is making it’s way around the northwest but were both recovered enough to enjoy a quick trip up to Leavenworth to finally find some snow before Chris had to head back to work. We had a great time eating sausage, listening to live accordion music and playing in the snow. Lou was really jealous of the kids sledding on the hill next to the pergola, so next time we go, we’ll be sure to bring our sled along. Also we discovered a great little butcher shop called Cured. The shop is filled with delicious sausages and some amazing bacon, worth a stop if you are in Leavenworth.