3 eggs!

The week of Christmas we found 3 eggs in the nesting box. I was so amazing to watch Flower Power teaching each chicken how to prepare her nest and communicate to them. Flower Power normally lays every second day but for both chickens she laid everyday for about 5 days. I would often find them in the nesting box together! So funny. So we are now officially not buying eggs! We had fun giving eggs as Christmas gifts! I cut egg cartons into 4 packs and the kids would paint and decorate them.

WOW 2010!

I just can’t believe we are already in the second week of January! Every year on January 1st we do our goofy family photo. Well here we are January 13th and no goofy family photo yet!!! So instead of feeling stressed that there is no photo of yet, I am going to relax and follow our amayllis’s path and be okay with “blooming” late!
Our Amaryllis bloomed the first week of January. Ds seemed to be the one who really enjoyed watching it grow and he was so excited to see the flowers. So my dear daughter, son, and hubby I wish you a healthy and happy 2010 and for moi to live more in the moment!

So Eggciting!

Found 2 eggs Dec. 14, 2009!
One of our leghorns laid her first egg. I thought it may happen soon as she was beginning to squat when we were petting her!!! It is amazing how much excitement we get from finding eggs in the nesting box. Her eggs are white and the first two are very cute and small. I have included photos to try show the different colours. Plus we officially have 1/2 a dozen from our own backyard! Did I mention how excited we are. It also snowed here last night adding to all the happiness.

The star of the show Livy

Destructive Play it is eggcellent!!!!

At farmschool Marylou has the best ideas. One that I found to be a great way for the kids to destroy something in a productive way was crushing egg shells. I have been looking for a mortal and pestal and finally found both in seperate thrift shops. The kids just love crushing the egg shells into tiny pieces and we either compost them or at times put them back into the chicken feed for the calcium. (Note I wash them very thoroughly to ensure chickens get no raw egg contents). I find myself enjoying crushing the egg shells too!!!

It’s beginning to look like Christmas….

This year I found this beautifully made advent calender in our local Cedar/Yellowpoint tour. I have been eyeing out this lady’s calenders for the past 2 years and finally decide to invest in one. The kids are having fun pretending they are mixing and decorating the cookies. I also have this teeny tiny book advent that I found at a thrift shop last year. So the kids have fun taking turns on them. Ds loves the tiny books and will spend a good part of the morning reviewing them.

CHRISTMAS CONCERT

This was dd first school Christmas concert. She was so excited and got herself all dressed and ready long before it was time to go. They sang one English song and one French song. It was so cute. In fact I really enjoyed the whole concert, the kids did a great job. Even ds sat through it all on my lap no problem. He was excited to see his sister up on stage!

Merry Christmas

Make a Smilebox greeting

Chicken Update

Monday night meeting with City Council resulted in 7 out of 9 Councilors in agreement to take our request to amend bylaw 4923 back to staff to determine if it is feasible for Nanaimo. This is a great first step. We now have the opportunity to work with the City to help shape what the bylaw could look like. Will keep you posted.

dd hand feeding the chicks

 Chicks left to right:  Flower Power, Yamaha and Ruby.  Unfortunately, Yamaha and Ruby turned out to be roosters so we found a farm for them.  It was a lot of work raising them from chicks but very rewarding and amazing to see how quick they grow!!! DD would spend lots of time sing and feeding them.  I would love to raise chicks again one day especially as ds will be older and could participate in raising them more this time.

Backyard Chicken initiative to have bylaw changed

Have you heard the news! Urban gardens are producing delicious fruits, vegetables, nuts and yummy eggs from backyard chickens. That’s right chickens; they are not just for farms anymore. There is a genuine movement across the country, as people join the urban backyard chicken movement. This is not a unique concept. There are many cities in the Canada and the United States including Victoria BC, Vancouver BC, New York, Portland, San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, that allow chickens.
Why chickens in your backyard?
Well here are some reasons:
1. Fresh, healthy, delicious eggs, free of pesticides and antibiotics.
2. Chickens eat table scrapes, reducing municipal organic waste.
3. Chickens produce a rich fertilizer by-product, high in nitrogen, which in one of the best fertilizers you can find for your vegetable garden.
4. Educational – teaches children where our food comes from and demonstrates responsible pet ownership (chores). Getting back in touch with nature.
5. Great pets – Chickens are people-friendly.
6. Chickens eat bugs, reducing our backyard pest population.
7. Allows families to take control of their food and “eating locally”.
8. It’s a humane way to raise chickens.
Presently in the City of Nanaimo the current bylaw restricts poultry to parcels of land over an acre in size, which excludes most lots within the city. The Nanaimo Poultry Collective is a local community group formed by individuals who love all things poultry and who desire to be able to legally raise and keep chickens within the city limits, in Nanaimo backyards.
The City of Nanaimo has an intention to promote sustainability. This means making proactive decisions to help people improve their own lives, the lives of their children, and those of future generations. The Nanaimo Poultry Collective (NPC) is slated to go before City Council on November 23rd, 2009 at 7pm in the Shaw Auditorium at the Conference Centre. We will demonstrate the importance of food security and how raising poultry in the City of Nanaimo will fit well with their sustainability goals, as stated in the Official Community Plan.
The NPC meets regularly and are willing to aid in education, providing resources and backyard chicken coop tours.

If you are interested in supporting the change in the bylaw you could do the following:
- Become a member of the NPC by emailing the NPC Secretary, Robyn Quigg, at Quigglet@shaw.ca. Membership is free.
- Join us Monday November 23, 2009 at 7pm.
- Sign petitions found at the Green Store (Port Place) and Island Naturals (Near Home Depot).

He loves to collect the eggs!

Funny places I have found my ds!

My ds learnt to walk at 10 months and then started running and jumping from then on. I love watching how confident he is with is body and have learnt to stand-by and bit my tongue from saying “be careful”!!!! He has such confidence and awareness but also loves to challenge himself!! This has raised my heart rate and at times I feel sick with worry. My husband laughs at me and says this is exactly how he was and will proudly tell dd and ds how he got is many scars and his adventures as a young boy!  Well I thought I would put together a few photos of funny places I have found my adventurous son!

Standing on window ledge watching deer outside

We often find him sleeping with dd, on the couch or with the dog.

Watching the big kids and chickens at farmschool

He wanted in the water works!

watering my gardens. He is not a fan of clothing!?!?!?

Independently bathing!

Playing with the chickens

Making flour angels!

He loves to hammer & will get his glasses on by himself!

He loves to climb and hang out on the bookshelf. Thank goodness we strapped it down!

Halloween fun

We had a good Halloween, lots of fun cutting the pumpkins and visiting our neighbours.

Miss Spider

I have these wonderful face paints and finally got the courage to try them out.  It is hard to paint on a moving face!  DD was very patient and was pleased with the end result.

I really enjoyed painting and seeing her face changing!

My pumpkin pie!

 He had so much fun and I was surprised he kept his hat on the whole time.  It was so cute to watch him running with is little pumpkin custom bouncing around him.

Hello pumpkin