more dirt bed

I love these birds so damn much.

My Life's Work

In this video, first you will see the chickens building a dirt bed colony. They have like, ten different dirt villages but this one is the best. You will also see Tammy has found the other chickens which is no small feat for her.

But things really get exciting fast when I noticed a squirrel beating up a paint roller next to the fence. Don't ask why we have trash floating around the yard for wild life to play with- we just do. The squirrel started out laying on its back, hugging the paint roller to its chest and kicking it with its back legs, but it ended up rolling around all over the place and acting like a wild man. Then when it's all over I turned around and the chickens were right next to me, watching the action.

You're welcome, internet.

Daily chores

Here's my day at the acre:
1. let chickens out of coop
2. coax tammy out of the coop with treats and some swear words
3. hand feed chickens raspberries
4. worry about the carrots
5. mound dirt over the potato patch
6. water the trying-to-be-vegetables
7. yell at birds in the cherry tree
8. eat all the snap peas
9. let the chickens back into the coop
10. shoo Jacky out of the beds
11. let the chickens out again
12.  think about weeding
13. feel bad about the gai lan
14. eat the rest of the ripe raspberries
15. let the chickens back into the coop (for the last time, damn it!)

Unusual Livestock

Can you see my hens all in a row? Loretta is on the last rung down, almost invisible. And Tammy is on the cold hard ground because she is the outsider (sad face). They like to sit on that ladder and talk shop.
Also please admire Jacky's obscene attractiveness and Tammy's under-appreciated gorgeous feathers.

Chicken Fail

I gave the chickens a large slug today as a treat. The slug was a threat to our garden and a prize for the chickens. Or, it should have been. Instead, the chickens watched it slither away while they pecked at the dirt. I was like, girls, pull it together! And they were like, its not gonna happen. So I rolled the slug in their food. Now we had a cornmeal crusted delicacy. They couldn't afford to pass this up. But again, they did. The slug got away, and hopefully went home, kissed its wife and quit smoking! God!
If these chickens refuse to lay eggs until late summer then I expect them to help out around the house a little bit. Eating slugs would be helpful. They best be working on their appetites ASAP or I'm making a stew.

Beyond Fancy

These photos are from last week so things are even fancier now- if you can believe it (I am certain that you cannot). Doesn't it look like Patsy and Loretta are shit talking? They are.

Reason for Concern?

The chickens still haven't figured out how to get into their coop! Last night when I went to check on them to see if they had put themselves to bed they were cuddled up in a pile next to their food bowl! One one hand I see it as "Like mother like daughter" but on the other I'm like, get a clue ladies. You can't always sleep next to your food bowl- it's not smart or ladylike. Hopefully tonight they will climb the ladder to success, but I must say I'm not counting on it.

It is kind of cute to tuck them in at night.

Raising the Coop

The first step to building any backyard farm project (after waking up) is to put yourself in line at a reliably good restaurant for some tasty brunch viddles. As in the case of this Sunday, that restaurant would be the Country Cat and the viddles would be eggs, of course, with baked beans, collard greens and corn bread. This meal served as a reminder as to why anyone would go through the trouble of building a coop and raising chickens — good eggs.

With our freshly filled bellies and some surprisingly good weather, we were all set to begin building the much anticipated Fancy Acre Poultry Pavilion. OK, let's see. We need some pieces of wood of various sizes and some metal thingamajiggies to hold it together — oh, and some of that wire stuff with the hexagonal holes, and some — whoa! This sounds complicated.

Fortunately, just inside Nic's brain were the designs and materials list, and Topher is really good at using tools and building stuff — so it looked like this was going to come together really easily. Jenny really cracked the whip and together they got a lot of it done before it started to rain again. Check it out.

I'll admit. I wasn't as hand-on as I thought I would be. The three of them were working so well together — each one anticipating the needs of the other. It was really astonishing. Besides, I have really weak wrists and I would have just been in the way. There was some planting and a lot of thinning to do in the garden, so mainly stuck to that.

Sunset rips us off again

First it was our official Fancy Acre vacation spot (got the cover the month after we got home) and now its our ideas! Sunset SUDDENLY has a "one block diet" blog in which they discuss growing your own food, raising chickens, etc, on your own land. Fancy Acre would like to make a statement about this. "We were the first people to ever do this. Sunset was still in diapers when we thought up the idea of raising chickens in our yard. Also we don't like it that you call it a diet. Everyone knows the only acceptable diet is the Karl Lagerfeld Diet."

Get out of our heads Sunset. Focus on the top ten best hot tubs for infants or whatever it is you were doing before.

Portland Guide

Do you want to have a fancy acre? Good luck. But you can at least get some chicks or grow a couple of carrots. Here are some good places to go if you are looking for trouble:

The Urban Farm Store this is where Patsy, Loretta and Wynonna arre from. They also have edible plants and fruit trees.

Pistils this is where you get fancy chicks and expensive plants and wish you lived there.

Costal Farm Supply this is like farm walmart and is where Tammy is from (doesn't that just explain everything.)

Naomi's Organic Farm Supply My uncle gave me this reference! But I have still never been. He says it's the best. But he also is totally nuts. You be the judge.

Garden Fever This is the garden store near my house and I LOVE it there. They have great veggie starts and like six different blueberry varietals. I always spend too much money there so I am on probation for the week.

Growing Gardens This is another great edible plant store with all the fixin's, also in NE Portland.

She's Always Has the Best Advice

Um..so...this is real you guys...

The Chicks

Patsy Cline of Infinite Beauty and Composure


Loves a good belly rub


Tammy Wynette is basically an outcast due to her hair


You can try Tammy... but it's not gonna work.


Pasty, Loretta and Wynonna (the bitch)