Ava Grace

She makes me laugh.

Of course, if you've read my blog at all, you know this.

But seriously.

She's like me in many ways.

One of which being that she's not a very "girly" girl.

Unlike her older sister, who is the girliest girl there is.

Ava likes to be pretty...

and sometimes likes her nails polished....

And that is the extent of her girl-i-ness.

She doesn't care about clothes, or shoes.

Hates her hair being done.

Doesn't like playing with dollies or Barbies.

Doesn't like wearing jewelry.

For Christmas I got both girls a little bottle of perfume for their stocking.

Emma would spritz a little on every day,

and beam when she was told she smelled beautiful.

The most fun Ava had with her bottle was chasing her brothers with it,

threatening to "Mate you smell lite dirls..."

(make them smell like girls)

Wanna know what Ava's favourite toys are?

I'll show you.

These are it.

A broken Swiffer Sweeper handle,

and her Dora garbage pail she got for Christmas from her Granny,

that she never uses for garbage.

'Cause using a Dora garbage pail for garbage is completely wrong.

She's a knight.

In case you couldn't tell.

She walks around like this for a surprisingly large amount of the day.

She peeks out the bottom to see where her feet are going...

but I still don't understand how she navigates around without bumping into everything.

Excuse the dirty (filthy) clothes.

This is my real life.

Every so often she lifts her "helmet" to see what's going on.

But being a knight is not the only thing she does with her toys.

Oh no.

Here she is in her ship.

She doesn't sit for too long, 'cause she says it "Hurts Ny bum."

So then she stands, and rows.

And sings, "Row, row, row your boat."

Another favourite toy.

An old pair of sunglasses.

She's a bug.

I asked her if she was a Ladybug,

and she said,

"Ny HATE Ladybuds."

So then I asked what kind of bug she was.

She thought for a bit.....

Then said, "Otay fine.  Ny'm a Ladybud."

A Ladybug face.....

A Ladybug Fail.

I want to keep her three forever.

I have a pretty good chance, 'cause she doesn't want to grow up either.

She still says she's my baby.

And she is.

The end.

Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens

Anybody remember that song?


It was Eric Nagler,
On the Elephant Show, with Sharon, Lois and Bram.


I loved that show.







Okay.





Pictures!




Of chickens.

Lot’s of chickens.








Here they are, in their coop.
You can see the little door to their run.
It took them a long time to get brave enough to venture out…
We had to throw a couple out there.
But now they are getting the hang of it.


As you can see, I use river sand as bedding.
And I LOVE it.
It keeps them dry, and clean.
And provides grit.

These are my cleaning tools.
Every day, I scoop out the poops,
takes me about ten minutes.

I sift through all the sand,
and gather all the poop.

Then I rake it, to keep it nice and loose.

When it’s really hot, the chicks dig down
and find the nice cool sand underneath.

Once a week I sprinkle DE on the floor.
Keeps the mites away.

Chickens at the feed trough.
I’m going to be adding another feeder this week.

They are changing over from chick starter to this special blend of feed.
No corn or wheat in it.
Our allergies to corn is so bad,
that eating store bought chicken usually makes our stomach hurt.
Cause those chickens are fed corn.
So, hopefully this will work.

These guys are a Special Dual Purpose breed, not the fast growing White Rocks.  They will take 15 weeks to be butcher ready, instead of the 8 weeks for White Rocks.

But they are a healthier bird, and I’m guessing the meat will be better.

I have 80 of them, and only lost those 3 that were killed by something.
I plan to keep 40 for me, and sell the other 40.

And here is their run.
Yes, I used snow fence.
Because it was free.

You can see that there is lot’s of trees in the run.
To provide shade, and cover from hawks and such.

Happy boys.

If you look closely, you can see the back fence between the trees.

Chicken heaven, no?

They’re gonna be yummy…..

See my stylin’ boots?
They’re camo.


I’m the “Stealth” Farmer.

Even though I’m going to eat them,
I like them.

And I really enjoy caring for them.
Of all the jobs I have to do,
being out in the barn is my favourite.

And here is the ladies quarters.
I only have to scoop their poop once a week.

Their bed.

Their door

Their side

Their poop.

The front of the Shack.

And here are the Ladies.

They have certain spots for certain times of the day.

It’s a giant circuit of the yard.

These were taken right at midday.
At this time they hang out under the giant pines.

It’s nice and cool.

Can you see them?

Freddy.
He has a rock in his mouth.
He is always hopeful that he can get someone to throw it for him.

Cyrus.
He’s not dead, just hot.

Pretty Thelma.

Beautiful Agnes

And adorable Ava.

 Here's the Song.



I couldn't find Eric Nagler's version.

The Three Amigos

I went to my lovely sisters house today to get my hair done.




I’ve posted about her doing my hair before, but I’m too tired, or lazy,
to link it up.

She is quite the hairdresser.


She has all kinds of credentials,
that I don’t understand.



And it’s awesome, because she’ll work for chicken products.
(From me, anyway.)




She was happy today, ‘cause I wanted a change,
and gave her almost free reign.



She’s always been artsy,
and she loves the creative aspect of doing hair.



Creating something beautiful,
through cut and colour.




When I told her to do what she wanted,
her eyes absolutely sparkled with glee.






And let me say,
my hair is different.








And I absolutely LOVE it!







I so needed a change.





There’s nothing like the pick-me-up from having your hair done.

I did it after each one of my babies was born.





Usually, I colour it myself.

And cut it myself.
(Or don't cut it at all...)


But, it’s really nice to have someone else do it.


Especially someone who knows what they are doing!



And will be paid in chicken.













On to the blog title.




This particular sister has twins, a boy and a girl, basically the same age as Ava.




And Ava LOVES them.



They are her bestest friends.




It’s cute, because she likes both the same.

She likes Matthew as much as she likes Heidi.



These three are so much fun!




I have to say though, they do get into trouble,
and Ava is usually the ringleader.






It will be fun to watch them interact with each other as they grow.

Here’s some pics of them last weekend.

(I love how Matthew is holding up his shorts… can’t get wet!)

Two girls in a swing.

I’ll post pictures of the new hair tomorrow….

a self portrait!