Chicken Math 2026

Okay y'all. It's chicken time again.

How did we get here? I'm sad and embarrassed to report we are here because of predation, and it's my fault. Our chicken run is 16 years old and NOT critter proof. I believe during all this rain, a very smart raccoon decided to live under our covered porch and then realized it could get a nice chicken snack if it waited for the coop door to open when the sun came up. :( Ugh, there's nothing quite like finding my flagship chicken Sesame mangled and dead with a raccoon trying to drag it behind our neighbor's Airbnb. I hope I startled their guests while I was screaming and hitting a raccoon with a broom handle… :(

I did seriously consider not getting any more chickens and just waiting out the 2 remaining ladies. But have you seen baby chicks? They are too cute to ignore. I hopped on to the chick page for Urban Farm Oasis and ordered 6 chicks.

Behold.

Here we have 2 Easter Eggers, 1 Buff Orpington, 1 Black Sex-Link, and 2 Copper Marans.

Like I said, the lust for chickens is real. A few days after getting these, I went to Concord Feed and picked out three more. I thought 3 little Wyandottes. They integrated with the 6 other chicks even though they were a bit bigger.

They lived in a box for a few days until I realized that I would need somewhere larger to stash these chicks. I went to Urban Ore and bought what I thought was a dog crate. However, when I got the thing home I realized it was a 2-story cat condo. No problem — it was bigger than I needed and a bit unwieldy, but it worked. Oh, except the chicks were so small they could just pop out between the bars. smdh

Look at these little nerds!!

Orange cat looking at a cage full of baby chicks

I was keeping them in the front entry room so I also wanted to make sure they got some good outside time to explore and peck around. They need to get grit from the local soil and learn about grass and bugs, etc.

The side yard is growing in nicely

“Everyone needs a sideyard”, as my boss tends to say. Usually she is talking about people needs a messy work area - a place to keep shovels and buckets, etc.

In this case, as we only have one side yard, I wanted it to be a beautiful entrance to our garden. The crappy stuff is hidden in a back a bit.

We are finding that this side yard stays nice and cool during the summer The bamboo is growing in to add shade and will hopefully screen the house from our very nice neighbor at some point. I love the way the path turned out. It is very weird to remember that this whole area was mostly underground previously and then WAS a trash area for quite a while as we did the deck construction and laundry room rebuild in the back.

A fine and shady spot to drink a cocktail and have some snacks.

I am a tad concerned for the changing light over the seasons in this area. It is mostly full sun on one side in the summer and then in winter it really does become all shady with some morning and evening light. Originally I wanted this inch to be a live edge bench but with all the chaos and decision fatigue of construction we just went with whatever. It’s nice enough!

Cotinus ‘Grace’, Ceanothus ‘Diamond Heights, Bulbine ‘tiny tangerine’, Achillea and some Armeria

Tim got me that egret at Burning Man in 2012. As we were driving out someone had a bunch still up in their camp and he got out and asked if we could have one. I love it so!

A hike down the street

Plectranthus ciliates

Cute little Plectranthus ciliatus. This Plectranthus is a South African plant often used as a ground cover around here. It likes shade but wants a bit of sun to keep the awesome red/purple underside. It is more shrubby right here, is in part sun, part shade and seems to be thriving with little water and on a steep grade.This is our little road cut hike near our house. Actually, I can see the entrance to the path from my room RIGHT NOW. Mr. Who and I go there to inspect the state of things fairly often. Snacks can be the best part of a hike when you are 5. Especially if you have carried them in your very own backpack.

Sometimes all you need is a big ass field

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Amiright? A big field of clover is so pleasing, especially when it is empty of other people. As is the field near our house. During the week it is often surprisingly empty.J was going all Charlie Brown on this soccer ball. He would run at it very fast from very far away and try to kick it but mostly ended up on his back. hehehh.This is Mosswood Park near my house. It's quite a good park. There are two playgrounds, a baseball diamond, basketball courts, a community garden, a huge field, plenty of trees, a neat stone amphitheater, and buildings with bathrooms (SCORE!) and activities for the community.Mosswood Park is also home to two bird houses built by the FLUX Foundation and local schools. The project is called TweetHaus and is an art and ecology project. Read more about it here. I took pictures of the birdhouses bu can't find them right now. So far, the houses are unoccupied by birds but I have hope for them!