One step closer to chickens . . .

Here is a picture of the house--can you believe those trees? There is no air conditioning, so the trees are the cooling system. Lucky for us, it's about 10 degrees cooler in the summertime here than what we would get in Salt Lake or Utah County. (Please do not ask me about the winter comparison, because my mind is more agreeably engaged and I don't want my buzz harshed.) 

The light-colored tree on the left is a Russian Olive and it smells amazing. I'm not the only one who thinks so--there are so many bees in there that it's humming. This is the view from the garden, where I was raking in my 6 bags of compost and hauling out an almost equivalent amount of rocks. Have planted my seeds but still need to get the seedlings in there.

It's difficult, though, trying to do things with the Dark Lord in tow. The easiest time to go is in the evening once he's in bed. We are staying with my in-laws for most of the time until we can "take possession" and the poor man can tell that his life is in a bit of an upheaval. He has responded by attaching himself around my neck like a lamprey or similar. (Also my sister Jenny's neck, which is how she got to spend 3 enjoyable hours while I was off getting my hair done.) So that's how I watered my seeds and my lemon cucumbers this morning--hauling my watering can and my toddler between the outdoor faucet and the garden and back three times like some beast of burden. On one trip across the lawn, though, I did notice a nice fire pit that I guess some cousins put in a couple of years ago when they were renting, so that's one more thing to get excited about.

Also, see how much room there is for the chickens? My landlord cousin responded to my email and thinks chickens sound awesome, so I've signed up for a class they're doing in a few weeks at the Stokes Nature Center about backyard chickens to get a better feel for what's the what.

Only two more weeks!