On the shortest day of the year we signed some papers, consumed enough pizza, beer, and carrot cake to feed a small army, and slept in a little lakeside cabin. It was definitely the best wedding I have ever been to, and a sweet way to legally join myself to the man I love so much.
Since becoming poultry parents our ladies have enjoyed free reign over the backyard. This has been great, as I've never seen such happy hens, but we don't own this property, and the chickens have worn the yard down. So, in the interest of letting the yard recover, not further exacerbate the situation, and to offer full-time security from predators, we have decided to confine the ladies.
While cooping up our chickens was the obvious choice, it has been a bit sad for us, as they really love to range as free birds. To console them, and us, Matt (with friends) built the ladies the luxurious, expansive, and super secure CoopRoyale.
The ingenious Coop Royale design connected our original tractor (to still allow them as much sunlight as possible and a cozy roosting box) to the dilapidated boathouse at the back of our yard. There is a high school a few blocks away, and we couldn't seem to keep the teenagers out of the boathouse. They like to skip class, smoke cigarettes, and guzzle energy drinks back there -- so now it will be locked and full of chicken shit. That should do the trick.
The coop features a veritable chicken playground, with lots of places to climb and roost. There is also a secluded nest box for the ladies to do their laying business in.
We hope our beloved hens will appreciate the Coop Royale.
So, it has been a little while, huh? Now, I don't presume that any of my 5 (4? 3?) readers are put out by my month long absence, but I initially intended to update this joint about once a week. And you know... it's good to have goals, so here I am, recommitted. I aim high, you know?
So to catch all 3-5 of you up...
About a month ago we headed east to spend Thanksgiving weekend fishing, eating pie, and visiting with assorted members of my family. It was a pretty tasty time. I won't even mention the utterly disgusting staph infection I contracted somewhere along the way, but jesus, I can't help myself... sorry folks.
Back home, I finally made it onto the überexclusive VIP substitute teacher list (you think I'm joking...), the ladies started pumping out hella eggs, and vacation rolled around once again (oh, education).
Then, despite recent raccoon sightings, we left the ladies home alone in their fortified coop (just think of the coons as Joe Pesci), and headed south on the train. We made stops in Eugene, Portland and Cannon Beach-- the donuts were delicious and the weather stupendous.
We made our triumphant return late last night, and boy oh boy is it nice to be home. I can finally focus on working my way through the last few episodes of TrailerParkBoys. Like I said, I aim high.
(watch this, but not if you are easily offended...)
