Inspiration

Vino Veritas

You may have noticed an ad at the top of the blog, which is something I’m trying out for a while. It’s not a paid ad, but rather, I’ve donated the space to Three Crows Media to help them promote their wine movie, Vino Veritas. Clicking on the ad will take you to their Facebook page where they are currently hosting a drawing to win a bottle of wine! If you follow the link below – which goes to a Kickstarter fund raising page – you can see a nice little trailer for the film, plus some footage of the filmmakers talking about the project. If you can’t see the widget above, try this link.

Our girls were in the local paper!

By Kate

The Gazette Times ran a story about city chickens on October 4th and quoted my husband and me. There were photos – including one of my husband feeding our hens — in the paper version but they unfortunately did not make it into the online version. Talking about being newbie chicken-raisers is enjoyable, but there’s a lot to it that can’t be communicated in the limited space of a newspaper article. If you are interested in raising hens, I would not hesitate to encourage you to look into it, but really look into it and plan ahead. For instance, with regards to building a coop — we did not plan far enough in advance and ended up buying all our materials, rather than obtaining recycled items, which would have been my preference. We were just taken off guard by how suddenly they needed to be out of the house,...

Today's post brought to you by chickens.

By Kate

“Regard it as just as desirable to build a chicken house as to build a cathedral.” ~ Frank Lloyd Wright Remember when I posted back in March, and these guys were all nothing more than little puff-balls? They are 13 weeks old today and each about the size of a medium house cat. With beaks. We really lucked out, not knowing what we were doing when we picked these out — the Barred Rocks are pretty even tempered and hardy. They don’t pick on each other much. The Accidental Rooster keeps everyone in line, but isn’t too mean. Except that he’s selfish when it comes to treats. Oh, we’re giving out a strawberry? WOOSH… that streak was the rooster, grabbing the berry before it hit the ground and darting off to a corner to gobble it down before the girls are any wiser. Oh, Rooster. We haven’t named them...

Look what I found

By Kate

What timing — last night I was noodling around online, following links, and came across this postcard: It is apparently from an artist named Karen Kerney and the postcards, and a poster version, seem to be available from a variety of sources. I like the sentiment. It’s not too moony (though dancing in the street might be a bit much for me!), and it’s nothing earth shattering, just simple actions. I just wrote about this topic yesterday and found this the same day… maybe the universe is telling me I should follow through with the block party I’ve been thinking about.

Being Neighborly

By Kate

When my husband and I purchased our home in North Albany last summer, we found ourselves moving in to quite an established neighborhood. Most of the families have been there for years, and some even own multiple properties along our little dead-end lane. Everyone is always at the ready with a wave and a smile, and I think everyone has stopped by to chat or admire the chickens or let us know that there used to be a cherry tree in our yard and boy are they disappointed the previous owner tore it out. Well, shoot, so am I. (So we planted two new ones!) I think we’re both feeling a little pressure (entirely self-imposed, I’m certain) to make our garden something to be proud of, and one from which we can share. You see, all this buy local stuff is great, but it’s the community aspect to all...

Cooped Up in Corvallis

By Kate

Saw this tip on the Green City blog: Coming up on Sunday, March 15th there will be a self-guided chicken and duck coop tour in Corvallis. From 12pm-4pm, eight chicken and duck coop sites in the Corvallis community will be open for visits. Talk with the backyard fowl keepers and get tips for integrating chickens or ducks into your own backyard. Early ticket purchases: $6/person or $10/family Day of the event tickets: $8/person or $14/family Get maps and tickets at the First Alternative Co-op (North & South Stores) or the Corvallis Environmental Center (214 SW Monroe St., Mon.-Fri. 11:30-3:00).

Living Culture television series

By Kate

Living Culture is a monthly television series based in Salem that focuses on the food, gardening and culture of the mid-Willamette Valley. I’ve really enjoyed catching up with the segments that they have featured on their video archive page, and look forward to watching in the future!

Backyard bees

By Kate

Here’s a Portland blogger who has begun keeping bees. He built his own hives and everything! I am suitably impressed and looking forward to reading about his journey with his bees. And… hey… he has backyard chickens too. The backyard chicken post has been one of the most popular posts here so far, so I think we have some definite interest on that topic. Check it out!

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Inspiration

Vino Veritas

Our girls were in the local paper!

Today's post brought to you by chickens.

Look what I found

Being Neighborly

Cooped Up in Corvallis

Living Culture television series

Backyard bees

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