LOWE'S made me happy today.

Quick update on my poor little vegetable garden. I wrote an email to Lowe's customer service regarding the poor condition of my garden, and I just got a phone call from the manager of the garden center in Burbank. She couldn't have been nicer - and she's setting me up with all new stuff!! She said that the product I bought is meant to be mixed in with existing soil, and is too strong to use exclusively. All I have to do is come in and pick out my new plants! They're even going to deliver it for me! How cool is that. Can you add a hashtag to a blog? #greatcustomerservice #Lowes #happy
Thank you Lowe's! Muah!

HOT CHICKS XXX

The last few days have been a doozy - Santa Ana winds brought the mercury up to about 100 degrees, and it's stayed in the 90's for the past couple of days. My chickens are HOT! They have a Chicken Fountain that I mistakenly mounted in direct sunlight, and the water was boiling! So I moved it inside the coop where it'll never get sun. I also filled a one-gallon plastic waterer with fresh, cold water and a tablespoon of Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar (organic with the mother) and placed it on my back porch in the shade. I recently read a blog (I should link it but I can't remember which one it was...) that said we chicken keepers should keep fresh water in different places throughout the free range areas. I always figured they'd come n' get it in the coop if they wanted it, but they aren't that smart. And natch, as soon as I put that new water out, they all came and hung out on the porch like it was happy hour! I love my chickies.

Update on my raised garden - At the recommendation of a Lowe's employee, I used Kellogg Organic Garden Soil  which was a BIG mistake. This stuff is NOT very good. It's compact, so the drainage is poor, and there's something unbalanced about the pH that's making every plant turn yellow and die. All my beautiful tomatoes, zucchini and herbs are stunted, barely the size they were when I bought them, and all yellow with dried up bits. My beloved zucchini blossoms! They came up, lots of them, but are only growing to about 2 inches long before opening and drying up to dust. I might have to go back to Lowe's and ask them to make it right somehow. Oh - one thing is doing just fine in the garden - the freakin mushrooms that are coming up now! How hard can this be?

I'll leave you with a recipe for one of my favorite summer dishes, that couldn't be easier to prepare. It's one of the things I'm looking forward to having in abundance, if I can ever get that dang garden going. It's a dish called Spaghetti Alla Checca and I used to eat it all the time when I lived in Italy. Here ya go!

SPAGHETTI ALLA CHECCA

Ingredients
ripe tomatoes
basil
good olive oil
salt
spaghetti

Chop up tomatoes (as many as you think you'll need for 3-4 servings) into bite-size pieces and put in a bowl. Tear fresh basil leaves (I use probably 5 or 6 or 7) and stir into the tomatoes. Drizzle heavily with olive oil - this is your sauce, you'll need about a half cup or more. Sprinkle with salt to taste - don't be shy with the salt! This part can be made several hours in advance (it actually gets better) and left at room temp, covered; it also makes a delicious salad.

Cook pasta in lots of boiling, salted water. Again, don't be shy with the salt here - I use a couple of tablespoons (I fill my palm with kosher salt) and dump it in. Don't worry, you're not *eating* all that salt. It's important for the flavor of the pasta! Cook according to package instructions, drain, and toss it in your tomato mixture. Then DIG IN! Perfect summer dish.

bye bye!

p.s... Chicken Chicks Unite!

DIY: Building a raised garden from an old picnic table!

Well helleeeeeewwwwww!!!!!!!

Have you ever wanted to build something but were too intimidated to do it yourself? I've been wanting a raised garden to plant tomatoes and other food, but I don't like starting new projects. They often end in disaster - first problem, if I don't finish the day I start, I lose interest and have unfinished crap in my yard for weeks afterward, a visual reminder that I'm a looo-surrr. Second problem, I don't have very many tools, so it ends up being way harder than I thought, which frustrates me and I end up swearing like a sailor. That said, I built myself a VICTORY GARDEN! Okay, no war rationing, but building anything to completion is a victory for me.

I didn't want to spend money, if possible. And, I had an old, piece-a-crap picnic table in my yard that I was planning on tossing. It's splintery and wobbly and icky, and if you rub up against it, it leaves a spray of tiny, soft slivers in your skin that are impossible to get out. Who wants to sit on THAT this summer? It occurred to me that the height of the picnic table was exactly what I wanted - I need to keep the chickens out! And the benches are the same length of the table, which means I already have two sides built. Me likey.

First things first: this thing is gonna be HEAVY. I need to make sure that it won't collapse as soon as I fill it up. So I flipped it over and tightened every bolt I could, using a ratchet (thank GOD for ratchets) and, where the screw would just spin with the bolt, I used pliers to hold the screw while I tightened the bolt. Did I say that right? So the table ended up being surprisingly solid... better than I thought. Victory number 1.

Next, I had to cut the legs off the benches. All I had was a jigsaw, so I JIGSAWED AWAY. Ugh. That was a drag. I know, wrong tool for the wrong job. I didn't break my blade, that was good, but I wore out the day. And was pretty frustrated. I should have started earlier. And I should have borrowed a circular saw from someone. Day 1: Looo-suuurrrr.

OK, so I looked at my latest junk heap for a couple of days, and thought of someone I could borrow a circular saw from... my pal Lisa and her husband David, they do stuff and have stuff do to stuff with! Good ol' Lisa came through for me. I had the right tool for the right job! THANKS LIS!

When I finished chopping off the legs of the picnic benches, it was time to build the sides. Actual building time. Luckily I have a stash of old wood behind the garage that I knew would come in handy some day.

=pause=

I have to interject something. As I write this, I'm reminded over and over what a patient husband I have. He is so good to me and knows my modus operandi (and it drives him batshit crazy), but he lets me be me, and I can't help feeling SO grateful!

=play=

I put the benches on top of the table, right on the edges, and measured the space in between for the end pieces. I grabbed a bunch of short 2x4s and marked them (very roughly, as you can see), and commenced to cuttin'. Then I used my first end as a template for the other end.

 After the cuts were made for each side, I attached them with scrap wood. I didn't have any screws long enough, so I had to use some long nails I found in the garage. Lis - thanks anyway for the electric screwdriver.

The next part was a tiny bit tricky, but I can't waste time thinking about that. I just gotta dive in. Kids, don't try this at home! The ends need to be attached to the sides, so I don't over-think it, just get right after it. Wham, bam, thank you ma'am!

When all four sides were together, I set them on top of the table. One little problem was a gap between the base and the sides where the table had warped. No problem! Grab a few more scraps and nail 'em in wherever there's a hole. It's going to be buried, after all. Fait accompli!

Peek-a-boo

Lovely. OK! We're all set for the next step. Oh, someone remind me to reinforce this with long screws, at some point. It'll suck if it falls apart. And stop looking at the stuff in my garage.

Next, we line the box with landscape cloth. It's this stuff that's black and sheer, traps the dirt but lets water through, and it comes in a roll. It's pretty cheap. Had to buy it. [Let me just say one thing - it was CREEPY at this point, because the table is 2 feet by 6 feet. It's a total coffin! I didn't know whether to get in or run! Especially when you're lining it with the cloth. Super creepy!] Anyhoo, throw some fabric down and tack it into place with thumbtacks. I forgot to take a picture at this stage, so just hang with me. I left the sides of the landscape cloth hanging over because, like I said, that wood is nasty. I'm going to be leaning up against it for months to come, and I didn't want to feel it, so what the heck? Next, I filled it with 24 cubic feet of organic planting soil. Not potting soil, so the internet says. It cost me about 7 bucks a bag for four bags, so that part was an expense. It weighs a ton! I hear some cities have composting programs and will give you free soil... Not Burbank. Look! It's taking shape!

And voila, the hard part is done! Now just fill it with plants and water it. I decided on tomatoes, zucchini, parsley, cilantro, and thyme. I also bought some oregano and basil for a pot. OH, and carrot seeds. And lettuce seeds, also in a pot. Hope it's not too much.

OK, so the landscape cloth looks kinda shitty.The scissors are too far away, all the way in the kitchen. I know! Decorations!

And here it is! VICTORY! And chickenproof, too! 

I hope you liked this story. I hope you found a little inspiration too, because if I can do it, you can. Paleeze. So excited about home-grown toms and zucchini flowers this summer, woo hooo!!!!! BYE!

Duds.

I'm a frustrated chicken keeper. I've had three chickens since the beginning of summer, and they haven't laid *ONE* egg. Well, I take that back. I first got my little Della from the pound, and she laid three eggs when I first got her. She's a bantam, which is chicken talk for a midget, and her eggs were so little! So cute! But then I got two more chickens in mid-June, two pullets, which is chicken talk for an adolescent. I wasn't expecting them to lay at first, because they hadn't hit chicken puberty yet. I don't know if there's a chicken word for puberty. So I wait. And wait and wait. In the meantime, Della is on strike from egg laying and has become the queen of the pecking order, quite the little beyotch! She pesters those sweet girls all day long!

So I've been waiting for almost four months now, and they still haven't laid any eggs. No eggs. None. I've given them several nesting boxes around the run (that's chicken talk for their yard). I've planted decoy eggs in the boxes to trick them into egg mode. I've put in fresh, new straw, and I've hidden one of the boxes in the brush for privacy. NADA! NOTHING! I think I have three duds.

As far as the coop goes, they've been very happy in the coop that Daniel and I built in June. But they've been in the exterior part the whole time - it's more like a screened in porch than a coop. A beach house, a summer home, a camper... the shed that is their coop-to-be still needs to be furnished inside with a roost - that's chicken talk for a perch - and some nesting boxes, and eventually I want to put in a window, paint the interior, etc. But for immediate purposes, I need to build the roost! If it doesn't rain on Sunday, that's my plan.

Here Chickie Chickie Chickie!

I GOT MY FIRST CHICKEN!!!!!  Meet Della, the "Delaware Mix"! Isn't she darling? I found her at the Burbank Animal Shelter, of all places! We have a local no-kill shelter that takes in mostly dogs, cats, and rabbits, and on occasion they'll have a range of less common animals. I happened to swerve into their parking lot on impulse the other day, and there she was. My new little girl.


There were two chickens, actually. And I debated taking them both. I really wanted to! But the other chicken, a rare breed called Black Sumatra, is a bit aggressive by nature, and I didn't want little Della to spend the rest of her life running for cover. 


(Sidebar: If anyone wants a beautiful Black Sumatra for 5 bucks, go get her! She's really pretty and is laying a LOT). 


At first I thought that Della was a "bantam". A bantam is a midget chicken. I'm learning all sorts of new chicken words... it's its own world, I'm tellin' ya. Anyhoo, turns out she's just a youngster, probably 8 or 9 weeks old (I also learned that chickens start laying after about 9 weeks). That's my estimate anyway, know why?


BECAUSE SHE LAID HER VERY FIRST EGG!!!!!!

Meet our first grandegg!!!!!!!! I'm so proud!!!!! So proud, that I don't mind posting this really unflattering picture of myself. Well, I kind of mind. Whose arm is that?

Anyhoo (I said anyhoo twice), look how petite this her first egg is! It's the most beautiful egg I've ever seen. It's light tan in color and reminds me of a Victorian lass with porcelain skin and a rosy blush. It looks bigger than it is by the tape - in actuality it's just longer than an inch. And it's just the littlest, lovable egg in the world! I might just have to blow out the insides (hello breakfast) and keep the shell forever. Maybe make it a Christmas tree ornament or hang it in my kitchen.

Poor Della is lonely though. So come Thursday, I'll have my full flock fathomed! I'm going to place my order from Dare 2 Dream Farms in Lompoc, CA today for 3 or 4 more chickens. An Americauna, a Salmon Faverolle if they have one, and maybe a Buff Orpington. There are SO many choices for awesome chickens.... I really want a white Silkie, but I'm not sure that they have them. Or a white Frizzle. What's better than a truly ridiculous chicken....


So there ya have it! The latest of my chicken adventures! I'll post more pictures of chickens and the coop in my next blog, after the girls arrive. Sneak peek: my mom had to cut down a dead walnut tree and I got a great branch that I put in the coop for a roost. Little Della loves to sleep up high and really likes her new branch. 


Life rocks. And chickens make it better. 


B'GOK!

The Construction of Orpington Abbey

We did it! We built the coop!

My friend Daniel came over and we did it together. I call him my friend now, but he was just a worker before we built the coop together. I met him through my brother's tree guy, Salvador, who came over several weeks ago with Daniel and one other guy and planted some trees for us. Daniel does construction too, so I asked him to help me build a coop. We got along great and we had so much fun, that now he and I are buds. 

See how we framed in a lean-to? That was the first step, of course. All it took was 2x4's, a tape measure, a pencil, and a saw. With the two of us working, it went up in a jiffy. 

Sawing 2-by's under the olive tree

That's me, framing doors inside the run

Daniel did most of the work, because *SOMEONE* had to take the pictures. 

Daniel was really great at knowing how to do things like making the slope of the roof the same on both sides. We initially thought we'd make a wire ceiling, then decided it was better to make it covered. We considered a real roof (too much trouble), or that plastic, corrugated stuff which I actually really like, but Daniel didn't (hey, I'm really good with allowing artistic license), so we opted for particle board, which we already had (free is king), and I also had a roll of tar roofing paper (God knows why) to make it somewhat water proof for the one-and-a-half-days-a-year that it rains here. 

Ever wonder how to cut a hole in a wall and make a drop-down chicken ladder? Well have I got some valuable information for you! 

First, locate the center between the studs with a tape measure. Put a nail or a screw through it from the inside. Do the same where you want the bottom corners to be.

Next, mark the bottom with a pencil from the outside, then mark the sides and top using your tape measure and a level. 

We cut ours with a circular saw called a Skil Saw. Since it's circular, it doesn't cut all the way to the corners. That has to be done with a straight blade. 

Daniel laughed at me when I handed him my rusty saw. 

But it worked! Who's laughing now!!!!!!!!!!!!  

 TAA-DAAAA!

I like to shop at the American Cancer Society thrift store in Burbank (we call it The Cancer Store). Sometimes I find some really cool stuff.








But one day I found really practical stuff. There was a whole table of Stanley hardware, and everything was a dollar. I bought these hinges, as well as a bunch of other pieces that I'll probably never use.

See the ramp??! It latches at the top. We nailed a few strips of 1x1 (that's the measurement of the wood) to the ramp for little chicken feet to grab onto as they waltz into their house. 

See the roof? We ended up putting one more 2x4 across the ceiling so it won't start to sag. 

This view is actually from the front door. There's a back door, as you can see, which opens to a little enclosure where I'm going to plant "chicken salad" - a seed mix of greens that chickies really like. A Chick Pic! 

We realized that we needed to proof the open eaves from predators, so we nailed up some chicken wire.  We nailed it to the top edge of the roof, then to the wall. We used a long piece of 1x3 to cover the edge and scoot it up to the edge of the beams. I know that rats and mice are small enough to get through chicken wire, but at least it'll keep out the possums and raccoons.

YAY DANIEL! YOU'RE MY HERO!!

When we landscape the backyard, this is where the fountain will go. But that's another story.

I LOVE MY CHICKEN COOP!

And there ya have it. Next step: the interior of Orpington Abbey. Thanks for reading! B-GOK!

Clucky Me

It's Saturday morning, finally a day off! It's only 5:45 and I should be still asleep. But when I drifted slightly out of my slumber a few minutes ago, I was feeling so peacefully happy and in love with my life that I wanted to get up and start my day, sitting up in bed with a cup of hot coffee and my phone for a few rounds of Words With Friends. But I chose my laptop instead, because I want to tell someone.

My husband was offered a few hours of overtime at work, so he got up early, and that's why I woke up. He came to kiss me goodbye, like he does every morning. And like every morning, after he left, I could smell his cologne on me, and that always makes me feel happy. I love that. Sitting here in bed, smelling my darling's cologne on me. 

I opened up the curtains and felt a gush of happiness looking at my backyard and the gray, overcast morning. The view from my bedroom probably wouldn't do much for most people, but I love it. It takes me back to a time when life was really simple, whether it was in my childhood or someone else's. It's basically a big dirt lot with some immature trees, the old tool shed that's about to be the new chicken coop, and some basic paddock fencing. I can't explain it... it just fills me with happiness. 

In a couple of hours, my daughter Toluca is picking me up to go hiking. We're also swinging by my mom's house and grabbing her. If this gray weather lasts, it'll be perfect for hiking. We live in a valley surrounded by small mountains and have our choice of hiking trails. I normally go to Wildwood Canyon, which is near my house, but my daughter likes Griffith Park, so today we're going there. I'm really looking forward to yak-yak-yaking it up the mountain, just us hens! 

I'm really lucky. I know I am. I'm happy and fulfilled and excited for what lies ahead. And I wanted to acknowledge that luck by proclaiming it to you.

Coffee's ready, and I'm done writing for today. Thanks for being my friend!