Fly the Coup

The other day I took some fruit and veggie scraps out to our chickens. They are kind of like pigs in that they will eat relatively anything.  

I dumped the scrap pan and latched the door to the laying house and went back inside.  Having been sick for a few days, I found my spot on the couch, curled up under a blanket and began taking in a Christmas movie. Hubs, being the wonderful man he is, came home to check on me (and find food) during lunch. I was surprised when he busted through the door and immediately noticed the look of concern on his face. Here was our conversation:

Him: Uh babe, did you know the chickens are all over the yard?

Me: NO!! I latched the door!

That was it. Short and sweet. I peeled my sick rear off the couch, put on some boots and headed outside to round up hens. Shockingly, the dogs didn't eat them. Once an animal gets a taste for chicken, you can't keep them out of the coup. I mean, that's what happened to me. Someone put a plate of hot wings in front of me and I have been a chicken eater since then!

We only found 3 of the 5 chickens.  Either there are a couple very happy, free birds out there or they made some wild animal a very nice dinner.  

The DIY Project

To start off, I must first say that the hubs and I are not do it yourselfers.  We once tried to put one of the metal strip thingy majigs that covers the seam between the carpet and tile down ourselves and three trips to Home Depot later, we were ready to sign up for marriage counseling. See, I'm the type of person who is a perfectionist to the point of annoying.  My other half, on the other hand, is the type that wants to get the project done ASAP by whatever means is necessary so he doesn't miss the Hog game!  However, considering we wil be one income less just a week from now, we decided we would venture down DIY lane again and save some money.  When hubs broke out the chain saw to make a simple cut in some lumber, I feared not only would marriage counseling be in our future, but we may not make it out alive this time. After some compelling arguments from yours truly about why a skill saw was more suited for the job, he borrowed one and off we went again.  We hit some snags and we did a few things the hard way, but not only did we make it out unscathed, we are still married...happily! And we have this little jewel:

Yep we built a safe yard for our laying hens and their rooster, Mr. Cogburn. This may not seem like a huge project but this is the first successful husband/wife DIY project in our 11 years of marriage. I couldn't be prouder. Maybe next time we will go really big and build a birdhouse together! 

Lumberjackin'

Most people don't look forward to, or even plan on cutting wood on the weekend.  But, we aren't most people! Hubs and I actually enjoy cutting wood for our stove. Weird, I know. There's just something about being on the middle of the farm, smelling the mixture of chainsaw gas and cow manure that really makes me feel as one with nature. No, the fumes haven't gone to my head!  Cutting and chopping wood and tossing it in the back of the truck is therapeutic.

What better way to relieve the weeks frustrations than chopping stuff up and then setting it on fire later??  I'm kind of a wimp so the hubs does the "man work" and I do the loading! See my outstanding loading technique below:

Then again, maybe the stress relief isn't the only reason I like to cut wood. I mean who can resist a man in overalls wielding a chainsaw? 

Can't forget our faithful sidekicks:

The life of a farm dog is so rough! And all that work was with it to be able to relax by the first fire of the season. 

A Saturday well spent.