Phew!

So apparently blogging is for those lucky individuals who have between scant and moderate amounts of free time to dedicate communicating with an unknown public. That has not been me for the past oh...six months? Speaking poorly of my social life but positively delightful towards the prospect of backyard chickening for newcomers, I still have had time to collect eggs, feed, water and occasionally clean. Moving a few months ago was a breeze thanks to the back garage at Jay's International Food Market, two of their plastic produce containers were taped to each other, creating an open cube which was the perfect size for chicken transportation. They love giving them away - go get some for your farming and gardening needs! Just walk into the back and ask for them, receiving a smile and a small attempt at cross-cultural communication. I can't even understand accents from England, though so I'm not a good gauge.

The new garden on Juniata is in full swing. Now weighing the food produced and the number of eggs documented, the urban farm is fruitful...well...veggieful. The grapes, apricots, figs and raspberries are coming soon. The oh-so-wonderful boyfriend Jerome has repurposed some cedar fencing and built a smaller, much cuter fence to contain the chickens with freshly clipped wings, avoiding turning the yard into an airport once again.

Growing our own food has made me more conscious of where the waste goes and I have noticed that the kale, parsley stems, etc. are hard for the chickens to simply peck and swallow. With maybe 5 extra minutes a day, I have been putting the extra compost into a food processor and cooing with delight as the chickens devour the greens like they've been starved for days.

Small P.S.: Trying to pry myself away from the cereal aisle, I've discovered a tasty, raw, enzyme-filled alternative to Joes-Os:

Soak buckwheat groats for 6 hours, changing the water at 3h. Sprout for 1-2 days. Dehydrate until crispy.