Spring Spring Spring!

Down here in Tennessee we can feel, smell and see spring coming. The birds are returning, the bugs are waking up, the bulbs are starting to push their way to the sky and the chickens are doubling their egg laying. And although spring isn't actually here yet- it's obviously on it's way.

I'm enjoying every moment of this part of the season and I hope that spring stays around for as long as possible. Once summer hits, it's gonna be like living in an oven inside of a sauna. We were going to get rid of the above ground pool, part of the pump broke and some pipes need to be replaced. But the more I think about how hot it's going to get in the summer, the more I think I'd like a cool place to get some relief from the heat. But before we get the pool in order, the greenhouse must be built!

This week we will be getting our little greenhouse for our test site. I'll be starting to sow the first of the seeds- indoors of course. First I have to quickly finish the quilt I started so that my work table is all ready for the baby plants. Finishing one kind of sewing to move onto another kind! We will also have to go and get our baby fish, called fry or fingerlings. They will need a few weeks in the tank to get the water full of yummy nutrition for the plants, so while they are working on that, the baby plants will start to grow safe and sound in my studio.

In chicken news, Wanda has been having a slumber party for the past two nights with one of her sisters. I've been keeping the chickens in their run a lot more lately because I'm just so tired of chicken shit EVERYWHERE. And then it gets in the treads of your shoes and then you track it indoors and though we are very good about taking our shoes off at the door, it's still smelly. Also, Atticus eats a lot of it. Which is just disgusting. Anyway, so the girls have been kept in their chicken run lately. Except for a few of them who have figured out how to get out! At first I was not sure how they were doing it- was there a hole in the fence that I missed? Door left ajar? Nope! They are flying over the gate. They flap up to the top of the gate and then flap down the other side. There are two to three girls doing this but only one decides she doesn't want to bunk with the others and has started bunking with Wanda. They don't snuggle or anything- Wanda likes her nesting box for sleeping (even though Aaron made her a beautiful perch for roosting) and the other chicken likes to sit on a shelf by the light switches. I'll have to come up with a new pen for the chickens because soon I'll need that space Wanda is living in for my chicks. Yes, that's right! In the next few weeks I'll be getting some pullets- which are young chickens a few weeks old. I'll be getting a bunch more guinea fowl too.

In creative art news, I'm still learning the art of book making and still enjoying it. There is a set process to it and I'm still working on that. I decided the best way for me to approach this was to just make little books the same way over and over again so that I master one process before moving onto a different technique. It's a challenge, but I enjoy it!

I'm also (as I mentioned before) working on finishing a quilt. I found the pattern in a book from the library and it's called diamonds and crosses I think. It's scrappy and I'm doing it in very trendy colors. I'll post a photo once I'm done.

Of course I'm still painting and drawing. Most recently I've been working on the logos and title for our farm business. Here's what I have so far:

This is what we would use for stationary and other things that just need a simple design. I think I'll flip the leaf so that the darker half is on the bottom….

This one is still in sketch form. When I'm done, it will be a full watercolor painting and I hope it will end up being our main logo on our products and our vehicles. 

Well, that's it for now! I usually have a lot of photos to share but I've not downloaded any in a while so I'll make that a separate post later. 

Something About Something

I've had the song "Too Much Time On My Hands" by the rock group Styx stuck in my head for about a week now. If you don't remember the song, here's a taste:

And I've been avoiding telling anyone about it, especially my Mother, because it's just too personally ironic for me. It would be hysterical if someone else in my exact situation had that song stuck in their head, but thinking about the irony as it pertains to ME just makes me simmer in a vat of guilt laced with a fair amount of dread. I'm unsure of where the feeling of dread is coming from. I'm not the most extreme worrier I know, but it's in my blood… hello Aunt Jeanie! Anyway, I can easily and quickly get myself whipped up in a froth about many insignificant and distant situations. One of them is about how, and to whom, we will sell our produce to. In all honestly, there are SO MANY steps between where we are right now and where we will be when we are ready to start selling to grocery stores and working with distributors; that it's truly ridiculous to worry about it now. It's not ridiculous to do research, write out promotional materials, sales pitches… things like that, which I've done and continue to refine.

This whole aquaponics adventure is such uncharted territory that it's exciting and terrifying all at the same time.

Now on to the regularly scheduled update….

As I write this, I am sitting at my new table. I had been eyeing a table at a second hand store. I'm so much like my Grandma Jan with my love of second hand shops. I could spend hours in a shop scouring it for treasures long forgotten. A few weeks ago, after a lunch in town with my brother and Mom, I begged them to go into the West Side Antique Shop with me. I saw this adorable little table that is just the right size! It's old- probably from the 30's or 40's and has a white enamel top with black edging and white wooden legs. The price was $95 and I went home and thought about it. Did I really need it? Was there another table that was just as good but less expensive out there? After a while, I decided I really did like that table and I should at least go back and look at it once more. Well, lucky me! Not only was it still there, but as I was looking at it the owner said she would drop the price to $80.  So when I went to go pay, the bill actually came out to be over $80 with tax.  I only had that much money on me and the lady couldn't take credit cards. She offered to take a check, which stumped me for a moment because who still walks around with a checkbook in their purse? Who, even, still takes personal checks? Anyway, I told her I'd come back with more money and asked if she could just hold the table for me for the day. She didn't want to, and instead just took my $80 and called it even- she said she'd take the tax out of that. So now I have this awesome little table that looks perfect in my studio and is (finally) a place I can eat breakfast.

The chickens have been free-roaming around the farm for a few weeks now. They love it. And for me, it's fun to have a entourage since they pretty much follow me everywhere while I'm outside. They have lost their initial fear of Wiley, so most of the time I am walking with a dog following me and closely behind him there is a horde of 9 chickens running along. Every once in a while Hilda will get in on the act and trail behind the chickens, stopping for her occasional grooming obsession but eventually she stalks off looking annoyed. She has zero patience for anything that isn't directly related to her eating or being held and petted.

The problem with free-ranging chickens who like to follow me around, is that they will follow me right back to my studio and then hang out on my front porch. At first it was cute and funny. Then the poop. Oh the poop! LOTS of poop. Poop EVERYWHERE. And when it dips below freezing? Frozen poop nuggets! Actually, I prefer when they freeze because then it's easier to scrape them off the deck. So the poop is just everywhere and I'm sick of it so for the past two days I've kept the chickens in their coop and chicken run, which is a huge enclosed space. It's still technically free-ranging. They have plenty of room to wander around and do their thing, which is apparently pooping a lot, but it's contained. Wanda is not so happy about this because even though the flock often freaks her out and she can't forage near them because it's all too intense or something, I think she does enjoy their company. The guineas are useless for socializing.

So I'll let them out in a few days. I just need a break from all the poop.

The only other thing I will say is that I have started to learn the art of book binding and I am LOVING it. Don't be surprised if you receive a homemade book from me sometime this year. I wanted to pick up a hobby that wasn't painting and I tried a bunch of things but this… this is great fun and combines my love of art, books, sewing and, making useful things.

So that's about it for now.


Instead of the usual photos, I'll start off with a few videos. These are ones that I have taken over the past few months and have only now uploaded to youtube. The quality isn't awesome, sorry! Anyway, the videos first:

Hilda caught a vole or something like that and Aaron was able to catch some footage of her running past him with it.

The guineas make a huge alarm call for a lot of different things. In this case, one of them had gotten himself separated from the flock.

Wanda One-Eye found a guinea feather and seems to be playing with it.

Atticus gets Wiley to play with him in the upper mid field.

Carl suns and grooms himself on the hood of my truck.

And now for just some photos:

Atticus and Wiley on a snowy day.

After a long morning of playing with Atticus, Wiley takes a nap.

The chickens are massing…..

….I think they heard me…

Spagetti squash seedlings in the back, cosmos and zinnia in the front.

My girls' egg on the left, the store bought one on the right. In the winter the chickens don't lay enough for both Aaron and I to eat so we supplement with store bought. These ones are free-range, grain fed, organic… the whole nine yards. Both eggs were tasty. I assume the eggs from the store are made by chickens of a different breed and younger than my girls. It's interesting how different they are.

Wiley wasn't feeling well one evening and so I found him like this. He pulled the blankets off of the couch and made a nest.

Another amazing sunset.

This one is a bit tough to see- but that's Chairman Meow in Wanda's coop and you can see Wanda just behind him. He was hanging out with her on a very rainy day, which was sweet because I wouldn't let the chickens out since it was pouring. If I had, they would have all taken refuge on my porch instead of the coop.

Carl and Lucy on the lookout.

All 5 cats! It's rare for them all to be having their kibble at the same time. Hunting must have been tough the night before. From left to right: Lucy, Chairman Meow, Hilda, Carl and The Himalayan. I should hold a contest to name the Himalayan. 

And that's it! Thanks so much for reading and I will be posting a map of the farm soon. Also, I welcome all feedback!