cluck

    I woke up this glorious May morning at 6 A.M. I took my freshly made french press coffee out on my deck and admired my view of Deer Lick in the spring sunshine.  I drew in a mouthful of mountain fresh air… Eww. I quickly got a lungful of meth smell all burny and chemically. Gross. My neighbors must be up early too! You know, Meth doesn’t make itself!  As I sip my coffee on my porch swing I had a great view of Bubba, my sleazy neighbor,  down at the bus stop on the corner. Like Father of the Year, that he is, he stood  with his  children and the other ex-con dad’s of the area; cursing, grunting, coughing stuff up and smoking cigarettes. Poor little kids; they’re going to grow up to be EBT using crack smoking hillbillies just like daddy. So sad.
    Makes me want to better my neighborhood…By trafficking in less drugs and more livestock and maybe a fresh grown veggie or two? I filled my yard yesterday with fragrant colorful stock flowers and lavender, little baby tomato plants, spicy  cilantro, that left a pungent spiciness on my fingers as I set in the moist mountain soil. Around my oak trees I planted  colorful, tall snap dragons in reds, yellows and pinks.  Take that crackheads! I’ll show you! I’ll plant flowers!
       Okay, well actually, I replanted all those plants lost in last weeks snow and frost. Yet, even with the flowers, herbs and veggies newly planted in the moist soil, I still feel like something is missing. I think  need some chickens.
        I just started thinking about chickens seriously yesterday. I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but I’ve been reading  Made From Scratch, by Jenna Woginrich  and this book has motivated me a bit. This book is about a web designer from Idaho who works in an  office all day, but decides she’s going to homestead at night. She has chickens, bees and grows all her own food.  Its an interesting book, check it out. Jenna makes raising chickens sound so easy. So I started looking into it this morning.

      My backyard is pretty small, but I defiantly have room for a coup, and I guess chickens don’t need that much room. So I’m thinking I’ll get three chicks. I’d like to find some that like the cold climate, are friendly, quiet (My neighbor has a rooster- no way am I ever getting a rooster!) kind of ornamental and have cool looking eggs like a Welsummer, that has choclately looking speckled eggs.  I’ve heard that brahma’s are good for a cold envoirment, and the place in Big Bear supposedly has them.  They look pretty cool with their red becks and calico bodies.  I think I want some Ameraucana’s also, they lay fancy Easter egg blue and green ones.  I don’t really need a bird that’s a heavy layer (Did anyone else giggle just now?) as I don’t eat that many eggs. Maybe a half dozen a week?  I’ve also heard that some people in this area have a problem with hawks catching their smaller birds, so I’m going to have to put a top over the chicken run to make it harder for hawks to have free chicken snacks.
     There is actually a dog run on the side of our house that might make a perfect chicken run. Hopefully in the next few days i can make it up to Big Bear and check out the chicken store!
          So I pulled my laptop out on the porch with me and the first webpage that came up was Ebay.  Don’t get me wrong. I’m all about the Ebay, but it just seems weird to buy an animal on Ebay. A live one anyways. I think I’m interested in procurring some chicks for my backyard. I tried goggling inland empire chicks, my computer came up with Inland Empire Escort Service (Gross) and buying live chicks on Ebay,  just sounds so wrong. Okay both of those options sound wrong.  Rumor has it there  might be  chicks to be had in Big Bear. At the feed store. Baby chickens that is.