I love Portland.

I really really do. 

Sometimes it's the little things that make me happy...like being bummed that the gas light came on in the car only to realize I can't pump my own gas anyway so it's not so bad to pull into the station and have someone do it for me!  Driving with the windows down is fun to me since it seems like I always had them up in Vegas to keep the a/c in, or was driving on a highway and it was too windy to keep them down. 
The pedestrians and bikers FRIGHTEN (I'm afraid I'm going to clip one) but I really enjoy seeing them out and about ~ they look so natural & happy.  Mount Hood's silhouette in the distance, driving over a bridge and looking out at the water and seeing more bridges in the distance; these things make me smile both inside and out.  Flowers, grass, outdoor markets, apple trees, and pear trees on the side of the rode that you can just pull up to and pick a fruit off and eat in your car - even going to the stores seems different here.  It's laid back and carefree and seems as if everyone knows each other, or would like to.  A woman checking out in front of me today was talking about her black and white dog named "Gravy".  The clerk was surprised Gravy wasn't a brown dog and was curious how the name came about. "It just seemed right" was her reply.  Tiny moments like that make me appreciate my new home. 

Days full of doing nothing!

For doing "nothing" on my days off I sure manage to get a lot done!  But simple stuff, fun stuff.  Last weekend I stayed home all day but when the day was over I couldn't believe how quickly it passed by. "Where did the day go?" I wondered.  And then I realized that I really, truly enjoyed it.  Life is so amazing when you kick it down a notch and take it slow.  I let the chickens out first thing in the morning and instead of running back in the house just sat on the bench and watched them peck around, spread their wings, talk to each other.  It was nice.  Mosied on over and checked on the garden which continually amazes me no matter how many times a day/week I look at it.  Went back in the house and layed on the bed with the hubby and looked out the window and listened to the chickens and birds, and the trains passing by.  It's nice not always rushing around. 
I had cut and hung up a bunch of lavendar a couple weeks back, and since it was now dry I attempted a Lavender Oil recipe I found on Pinterest.  It was a crockpot method and it came out pretty good!  I put some in Epsom Salt for lavender scented bath salt, made some soap balls with dried lavender buds in them, and also made a "Calming Room Spray" for my friend Cami who just had a baby.  For the new mom I made a "Mud Scrub" of coffee grinds, turbinado sugar and a touch of oil.  I made a card from a brown paper bag, cut with pinking shears and decorated it with stickers and stamps.  It was a really cute gift and I wish I would've taken a picture of it.  I enjoy filling the days with simple projects and homemade items.  Today I'm canning tomatoes and making more soaps.  Last week we made our own cucumber and they came out delicious! I like full days of doing nothing :-)

EggBerta is a Momma Hen!

She's a stressed out mom...as I would be!  She's a worry wart!

I couldn't resist, I had to make our broody Wyandotte a mom!  I'd toyed with the idea of getting a half dozen fertilized eggs and putting them under her to hatch, but we're not quite ready for that yet!  We only have room for 1 more full grown hen, and I wouldn't know what to do with the extra chickies...and what if one hatched a rooster?!  One of these days we'll have a house with a big yard and coop and for sure a handsome rooster, but currently we're only allowed 3 hens. The only other option was to get a 3 day old chick from the Urban Farm Store and pull the ole' switch-er-oo!  When we originally got EggBerta she was supposed to be an Americauna so we thought it fitting for her to mother one :)   I did some research and called the Farm Store and the babies were arriving on Friday.  The only problem was that I work until 7pm and the store closes at 6pm, so I put the idea out of my mind and figured we'd just wait until her next period of broodiness ~ it just wasn't meant to be. As luck would have it, right before I went to lunch that very same Friday my supervisor asked me to leave 2 hours early to make up for OT.  It didn't even hit me until the ride home at 5 that we could make it to the store! It was a sign! I called Cam and told him I'd be pulling up shortly and to meet me out front, and off we were to get Shelly!  There were a lot of different breeds at the store but we only looked at the "Easter Eggers" and picked out the newest member of our flock, headed home, and waited just a little bit before we made the move. 

Oddly enough when we went in the yard EggBerta was out and about and I feared that her broody period was over. The chick was cheepin' away and when EggBerta finally went back on her nesting box we got the chick and placed it under her!  Shelly took to her new mom right away but EggBerta wasn't sure what to do!  She was pecking the chick to keep it underneath her and kind of started to purr, or coo.  It was cute.  We stayed outside until dark to make sure everyone was well behaved, and I was up at the crack of dawn next morning anxious to see how the night went.

We weren't too sly about it!

It's fun to watch EggBerta come down the ramp and that little ball of fluff peepin' and cheepin' to keep up!  During the day mom and baby have been staying in the chicken run with their own food and water, but on my lunch break and when I'm home in the am and pm they graze around the yard under our supervision.  Right now I'm gazing out the kitchen window watching them in amazement. Shelly will be able to fend for herself and be on her own in 6 week.  I hope EggBerta looks after her until then!



Shelly grazing on
her own.

Plum Tree Time

made these into Plum Jam

One of my favorite things to do when I come home from work is to go outside and sit under the plum tree.  EggBerta is still broody so I say hello to the hubby and dogs and go right out to the coop and get her off her imaginary eggs.  I usually throw her in the air and she flaps her wings and gently lands on the grass.  Then I pick a couple of plums from the tree and sit on the wooden bench beneath it ~ and we eat.  Two bites for me, the rest for the hens.  One bite for me, the rest for the hens.  The dogs come around and try to see what they're missing out on, but then realize that it's just fruit and opt to clean up the chickens droppings...mmm tasty :-/  The husband usually joins us and picks a fruit off the tree, takes a bite and tosses it to the birds, which are right at his feet!  I like when EggBerta's out and I really want to make her a mom (but I'll save that for another post!).  Then we head over to the garden and just point things out to each other: 

"Look how big that tomato got"  "Did you see the little peppers on here?"  "I can't believe how tall the corn got!" "Look at all those beans!" "I think the head of red cabbage is ready"

Runner Beans we grew from seed.

 And it happens every day.  My husband just got back from a 5 day business trip and it was so fun to see his reaction to things!  Made plum tree time even more fun!  And he's so creative in the kitchen. Tonights dinner was a 5 course meal!  Carrot and Radish tops, Cheese Plate, Sauteed Beans, and amazing salad with lettuce and carrots, onion, red cabbage, radishes and beans from the garden, and a brownie for dessert. We're off tomorrow so who knows, Plum Tree time could be all day.

Plant it and it will grow!

I love being in the garden.  It's just so peaceful.  Having recently moved from the desert and originally being from New York I am just so amazed by it!  It's hard to believe that just 4 months ago we had a 12x6 raised bed of dirt and now pretty much every day we can go out and get something to eat from it!  The tiny little seeds that I planted in the dirt have become towering bean stalks, and broccoli, and radishes and lettuce.  The little 1ft tall corn starts and pea starts that I bought at the Farmers Market have turned into 6 foot tall plants with beautiful veggies on them.  The corn isn't quite there yet but it's getting ready to flower.  We have at least 6 different types of tomatoes that are all starting to come in, as well as different varieties of peppers. 

On a walk to the park a few weeks ago we found a couple of seedlings sitting out by the community garden.  I wasn't sure where we were going to fit them but I couldn't just leave them there!  We thought for sure that they were tomatoes so put one in the topsey turvey and bought a couple of containers for the other guys.  When we checked on them yesterday they are doing SO WELL!  We think one of them might not be a tomatoe though..looks like more of a cucumber or something in the melon family (maybe a pumpkin)!  I love that we don't know what it is right now and can't wait to find out!

Friday the 13th...again!

Funny that there are two "Friday the 13ths" this year...and it's only July!  Lots has changed since last 13th of Friday..well I guess not "lots" but I sit here writing with a broken foot and a new job!  I now work as an Animal Care Technicial at the Oregon Humane Society.  I started on the 2nd and am loving it so far!  I work in the Cattery and have learned how to give medication and vaccinations to kitties as well as draw blood, microchip, and just making sure they are healthy and adoptable.  Unfortunately the day before my first day I broke my FOOT! I have a spiral fracture on the 5th metatarsal of my left foot.  I guess it doesn't help that we went to Vegas for 4 days and I was hobbling all over the place.  Right now I'm on strict doctors orders not to bear any weight at all on the foot for 6 weeks ~ she wanted me not to work at all but I can't stay away from the Humane Society!  Luckily they are working with me and can accomodate my injury.  If I were still in the service industry I'd be in big trouble.  Cam and the pups have been doing an amazing job of keeping me company and taking care of me :)  Here's to a speedy recovery!

I think my birds gone crazy!

UH-Oh!  I've heard of it but thought it was just a myth!  EggBerta's maternal instints have kicked in and she is determined to sit on her (imaginary) eggs and hatch them into babies!  I've tried explaining to her that we don't have a rooster so none of they eggs are fertilized...I've even removed the eggs from the nest but she still sits in her roosting box all by her loneseome ~ and she is ANGRY!  We noticed that she was missing a lot one day (longer than it takes for her to lay an egg) and when we went to the box she squawked at us!  She sounded like a dinosaur so we were calling her the Jurassic Park chicken.  She's stopped laying altogether because in her mind she already has her "clutch" and she's even slowed the others production because they are afraid to go lay next to her!  It's very tempting to buy her some fertilized eggs and let her carry out her motherly roll...stay tuned!