H2Ohyeah.

Andy has been working hard to get our drip system up and dripping before we head out of town.  He is almost done and it is awesome!  The tubes run straight to the base of the plants, so they will be watered directly where they need it most. They are also set on a timer.  We will save money doing it this way as we will be wasting less water. It's such a brilliant idea. We will still need to run the hose across the sidewalk, but I'm sure somewhere down the road he will come up with a viable water solution. We'll entertain any ideas for that in the mean time, so send them over! 

In Bloom

A duck pond.

We couldn't resist putting the decoys in the thawed out pond. We'll see how many passerbys take a second glance! 

Busy, busy.

I took a few days off from photos because of the holiday. I hope each of you enjoyed spending time with family and friends.  We had a blast here at home!  Lots of visitors, dancing, laughing, and baking! Anyway.....here are a couple photos from some of the happenings at our home during this celebratory week! 

Andy rigged the waterer to the outside of the upper coop/hutch for Eve while she was recuperating from the loss of her ten kits.  It is easily accessible on the outside for Evan to fill, and pokes inside for Eve to drink from. Another great idea!

This is my first attempt at making bread without the convenience of a bread maker. (I broke the machine after many, many tasty loaves! It died a glorious death.) 

I received a dutch oven for Christmas. (The 12 year olds can stop laughing now. You know who you are!). I couldn't wait to try it out! 

It was fantastic!  The bread smell that filled my home was worth the work. Plus, I can't get over the fun of watching bread dough bubble and rise! 

Evan just about ate half the loaf, so I must have done something right! 

This is just another photo of the same loaf in my new dutch oven. It was yummy!

My second attempt was with 100% whole wheat flour we had in the house. It didn't rise the same as the first loaf, but I was reminded that wheat bread is denser. It still looks and smells great. I'll wait to slice it until we have finished the first loaf. 

My new goal is to make all of our bread, but with my love of sourdough and the Franz outlet so close we'll have to wait and see how I do. 

**I am looking for some advice with sourdough starter. Please send any info or advice you may have.  I'm scared to grow my own as I'm not the best at remembering to feed things that aren't children. ;) Wish me luck, friends! 

Weatherproofing (yesterday & today)

We decided to weatherproof the waterers we have in place by emptying the rain barrel and the rain bucket. With temps dipping last weekend and soon to return, it needed to be done. We covered our spigots as well. I'm not sure what needs to be done about the beds, but I'm sure some plastic covering wouldn't hurt.

It was pretty cold out, so Papa and his baby bear decided to make an outdoor fire to keep warm. He said it was their only source of heat outside so it was perfectly legal. ;) 

So thirsty!

This Betsy was so thirsty!  I was having too much fun watching her try to keep all of the water in her mouth. She kept drooling. Eventually, she realized her thirst had been quenched and gave up. All of the Cornish Cross hens drink a lot more water than the egg layers.  I'm not exactly sure why. (I'm pretty sure I'll be looking that up soon.)