July 25

The tour de coop--more to come.

The color of dinner

I picked a zucchini and cooked it up within 5 minutes of its trip indoors. It was sweet and fruity raw, then meaty sauteed with a bit of olive oil and pepper. I made this! And as I cut it I realized my bedroom is the exact, vibrant greeny-yellow of the gently dewy insides. I'll sleep well tonight with courgettes inside and out.

Chicken song

I love my friends! And I guess they love my chickens... I didn't even realize they'd been playing old timey music for the ladies until Val showed me this today.

Luna and Sol (aka The Heathers)

When I did all my research into chickens and breeds, Wyandottes came up again and again as a good choice. They apparently take to captivity well, lay through the short days of winter, and best of all are supposed to be lovely, calm, and very friendly.

So home I came with two Wyandotte chicks. From day one they hung out together, chased Ruby and Minerva around, refused to be picked up, and demanded first crack at any new food or outdoor adventure.

All this female cliquishness brought to mind one of my favorite movies of all time, Heathers. Though I can tell them apart, I just mentally refer to them as Heather 1 and Heather 2. If the guy from vector control comes to count my chickens that's the story I'll stick to--Minerva, Ruby, and Heather. The allowed 3 hens, and no sir, not one more. Maybe he's been drinking at lunch if he thinks there are 2 beautiful black and white birds.

Anyway, not wanting to give up altogether on this bossy pair, in the interest of redemption, they are more formally Luna and Sol--as babies, one was silver and black, the other the color of butter and black. They're lovely and ingenious, and the glamour girls of 4630. And for their sake, I hope none of the local raccoons goes by J.D. or Veronica.

What's this got to do with the price of eggs?

So this week, I can begin to imagine the fruits (vegetables?) of my labors. The chickens look huge now, and the Wyandottes are starting to get wattles and combs. Some very weird noises have been heard over the last week, but nothing I can, even with my urban ear, mold into a crow. Generally sounds akin to strangling and acute distress, usually the result of one of the four not noticing that the group has moved on and left her behind. WHERE are they? HOW can I find them? WHAT were they thinking with their tiny bird brains, leaving me here???

Sadly the group rarely cares, and the bereft lady is left to her own devices, or herded with much laughter back to the backyard by the wingless ones.

So that's a bit of a digression. In my chasing the ladies around the vegetable garden, I've finally noticed a first zucchini and some tiny tomatoes. Our single struggling basil is getting larger as well. In another month or so, the girls should start laying. At $4 a dozen for free range eggs, and $1.50 a pound for summer squash, we'll be rich and well fed. Bring on the fritata recipes!

a trip to the farmer's market