integration

Sooo

I’ve haven’t been blogging because I’ve been integrating chickens. Which is significantly more complicated than it sounds. We knew there was going to be some bullying while the pecking order was established, but I didn’t count on the older chickens keeping the babies away from the food troughs. Babs, who I thought was the head bird because she used to pull Ginger’s feathers out, is surprisingly indifferent as long as the younger chickens stay out of her way. Ginger is a different story. She is best described as a very lazy hen. She follows Babs around the yard and tries to snatch whatever the other chicken finds instead of searching for her own bugs. Also, she once laid an egg in the bottom of the coop right next to the food. I guess she didn’t want to stop eating??

Anyway, the past few days she has spent most of her time herding the chicks around the run. She darts at them and makes them flee into a corner and the she routes them out and runs them into another corner. I think this is the most self-motivated exercise she’s had since I got her. Not that exercise isn’t great, but I’m praying things settle down in a few days and I can quit heading out to the coop to separate the birds every few hours so the chicks can eat and drink without being pecked. Sounds vicious, but we haven’t had any bloodshed yet, which is actually a pretty good sign.

Also. Over the weekend I broke my ban and set foot inside the Home Depot. We were out of 1 1/2 inch screws, which in this house pretty much constitutes an emergency. I sort of snuck out while the guys were occupied with the wii. I did tell Caleb where I was going and suffered the raised eyebrow. We are supposed to be taking a break from projects for the rest of the summer. Because my kids kind of need to get out of the house once in a while. And because I already pretty much destroyed the projects budget for June. So I was all, “We really need 1 1/2 inch screws” … and 2x4s … and wood conditioner … and … and…

I’m banned for real this time. That was my last trip. Seriously.

BUT. I’ve had this huge mirror sitting in the garage for years and I really wanted to put it on the wall in the living room. It was looking rather bathroom sink-ish with the beveled edge and lack of frame. The solution was to find the best location for it on the wall and then frame it out with 2x4s and molding. Yay for $12 updates that make a huge difference!