Chicken Coop OVERHAUL!

What a day! It was so pretty today, I knew it had to be spent outdoors. I convinced my dear husband to help me move the nesting boxes around. I wanted to place most of the nesting boxes out underneath the eves of the barn and move another smaller set into the adjacent coop. Then, I would take all of the roosts and put them in the one stall together. I think it's going to make cleaning out the coop a lot easier. Time will tell.

The first two pictures are shots of the existing structure in the barn. We had all of the nesting boxes and the large roost in one stall. The area underneath the eves had some lumber leaning against the side of the barn. We moved those out and hung some of the remaining siding.

Then, we removed all of the nesting boxes from the walls. They got a good cleaning while they were down! We sized up the situation and agreed the four sized nest box would go inside the adjacent stall. The other twelve boxes would go outside. We added some boards to the fronts to keep the litter in the boxes. After getting all of the nesting boxes moved and in place, we moved one of the roosts over into the stall with the larger roost.

Here's a picture of the stall with all of the roosts.

After finishing that, I decided to move the feeders outside, as well. The chickens just prefer being outside most of the day anyhow. So, out they went. We also have a hay feeder that the chickens enjoy laying in, too. So, it got put out under the eves, as well.
Here's a picture off all of the chickens up against the wall wondering what in the world we were doing!



I think it turned out pretty nice! I'm excited to see how this works out. Funny isn't it? Most women like moving their furniture around inside their house (I like doing that too). However, I sure get a kick out of making my outdoor area more productive, too!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope your day was blessed with family, friends and merriment!


As most of you know, we had a blizzard of a snowstorm last night! Whew! We left church around 8:00 pm last night and the wind was whipping the snow everywhere! The kids were thrilled, to say the least. Barn chores were c o l d! This morning, I did my usual chores after the children opened all of their gifts.



The alpacas and horses were very happy out in the snow eating their hay. Both of our horses, an elderly alpaca, and the two babies all wore coats through the night. We went ahead and left them on today, for good measure. As you can see by the pictures, it was beautiful. The "twin" alpacas were romping around like crazy in the snow and slipping and sliding on the ice. I was worried they would break a leg! The "older" alpacas were more cautious, taking the walking ever so slowly. The horses...well what can I say? Their weight cracked right through the ice. The were thrilled when I turned the heater on in the waterer!




I feel so amazingly blessed. Politics, friends losing jobs, broken relationships, etc. tend to wear me down some days. Whenever I'm down, I just look up! I have Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour! No matter what happens in this world, I'm just passing through. This is not my home. I praise God that He gave His one and only Son to come to this earth to die on the cross for my sins. I am a sinner and need a Saviour. I will follow Him wherever He leads me, until He finally leads me home to be with Him forever. Do you know Him? Do you REALLY know Him? I pray that you do. May you all experience the love of Christ today and always! He's always waiting for you to come to Him. Come...

Praying your Christmas is blessed. "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father." James 1:17 NIV

What a year!

Well, we finally got our hay for the winter...150 bales. We're set! The kids were a big help getting the hay unloaded and into the barn. Here's a little picture taken BEFORE the work began. See how happy they are here? The picture was quite different when we were done. :o)


We began getting carrots from our garden. Here is a picture of the kids holding one of the carrots. They aren't the biggest, but they sure are tasty! What a treat getting these from our own garden! I've got arugula, green leaf, spinach, parsley, onions, and carrots growing this winter. We hosted a luncheon for the Mendenhall Elementary staff on Friday. I was able to make a very, very large salad with the greens, carrots, and onions from my garden. What a treat!




Today we hosted a gathering of people from Chase Oaks Church to package 120 gifts for the residents of the Collinwood Nursing Home in Plano. After the packaging was complete, we made a trip to the pasture for everyone to see the two babies that were born last month. Both are doing well and are the attention of the visitors! It was an absolutely gorgeous day for packing / farm visiting! We are very blessed indeed!