Roots and Branches

building them a home

We finally finished the hen and duck house...!!!  It was so much work and I spent the last week exhausted beyond belief, but it is done at last and the critters are so happy!  We still need to put on the tin roofing (and build nest boxes for the hens), but that will wait for another day.

I still can't believe these gorgeous gals were these little peepers just 4 weeks ago!

Check out those ducks.  Remember those cute little fluffy yellow things?  Yeah.  Those have transformed into huge white...things.  They are still very adorable, though. 

Cheers to happy critters in the backyard!!

knitting chickens

Okay, not literally.  Just some chickens and some knitting.  Not necessarily (and rather thankfully) together.

 

I'm almost done with the sweater!  Hurray!  I fell in love with it waaay back in September and just now getting around to it.  Being at this point feels good.  Especially because it was translated from Danish to English by someone who wasn't used to English knitting terms (so it was a fair amount of translating for me, too - though, granted not nearly as much work as for her!).  And I did it!  I got through the hard part and am on the smooth, happy part.  I love it already.

 
Check out these chickens.  I mean, really.  Little peepers when we got them, and now they look like little, goofy-looking hens.  Such funny creatures.

 

 

And speaking of chicks getting big...

 We've started getting materials and making plans for the chicken coop.  I've looked at so many plans online and loads of photos.  Chicken coop plans are formulating.  Suggestions very, very welcome!

Pretty sunny day outside... off to enjoy!

bantam vs. big guy

: 1 week old chicks - a Dutch Blue Bantam and a Black Sex-Link :

I picked up a few more chicks last week.  Some from our local feed store (ordered from a hatchery) and a few from a local guy who has some funky bantam chickens.  The bantams are about the same age as the regular-sized chicks, yet they are under half the size.  SO cute!  It was really cool to visit the place where these chicks were hatched and cared for, meet their parents, and meet the guy behind the whole thing. 

I've been contemplating how hard it is to find heritage breed animals from local sources, lately.  In the case of chickens, you have to have a hatchery ship them to you or buy them from a feed store that also ordered them from a hatchery.  You might be able to find some local chicks, but it's pretty hard.  Believe me, I've been looking.  I love to support local economy, so I always look to see if I can get something locally first.  The situation of chickens makes me very sad.  Maybe hatchery chicks could be healthier, I don't know.  But they sure aren't treated terribly kind and that is something that is very important to me as an animal lover. 

I'd love to see our country return to a small farm model, where you can run down the road and pick up some chicks from your farmer friend.  These are lofty ideals, I know.  But wouldn't it be so much more humane, local economy friendly, and just plain cool? 

sewing, ducks and other things

Just some captures from last week.

We have been letting the ducks and chicks out to play on occasion during the day.  It has been so warm, and they just love it.  It's so cute to watch them become little versions of their future adult selves.

 

: A sweet little friend lovin' on the chickies.  Adorable, to say the least. :

: These little Cayuga ducklings are the sweetest things ever - they just snuggle up and go to sleep.  Hopefully they'll continue to be a sweet into adulthood.  Such cuties! :

I got out the knitted sweater again.  I've pulled it apart twice, got frustrated and put it back away.  I finally figured out what it was I wasn't understanding (thanks to a very sweet pattern author), and I've got a good chunk of it made.

 
Also, starting to dream up knitting and sewing for the little people.  I'm pretty excited with the ideas I've come up with.  Now, to get my crafting room all cleared out and organized so I can feel like sitting down and sewing!

Hope you all have a wonderful Monday!

more snow...

Spring is definitely here, but King Winter keeps teasing us.  We had a crazy, howling wind for the last two days (which was super awesome at night!) and then finally it quieted and the snow showed up.  I'll be grateful for the moment spring sticks for good, but appreciating the beauty of the snow sure helps the cabin fever.  But, okay - we're so ready for warmth, sunshine, and spring.  It's coming, I know.  Just have to be patient.

 

And come up with loads of fun knitting projects!  We're nearly settled into our new home, so crafting is starting to appear at the top of the to do list.  I just ordered the rest of Elizabeth Zimmermann's books, and am seriously falling in love with her adorable personality.  I really want to make cardigans for both of my little people with cotton yarn - but I just haven't found a cotton that I like.  Anyone have some suggestions for a 100% (or nearly) cotton yarn that is super soft, somewhat chunky, and great for kids sweaters (as in, holds up to hard wear)?

 

Ah, well - off to enjoy another snowy day!

Ducks!!

Last week, my boy got a sweet present from a friend for his birthday:  Ducklings!!

They are so adorable.

This weekend we went to our local country feed store for a couple things and I couldn't help myself when I saw sweet little black ducklings.  They were so tiny.  I caved and got a couple.  If you've already gotten yourself into two of them, what's a couple more, right?

On the long drive home, while I was holding the box of them on my lap, one hopped out onto my lap and then tried to climb into my pocket.  I fell in love.  They are so snuggley (especially the one with the yellow breast).

What a great Easter/Spring Solstice present, eh?  I'm glad I appealed to my girlish, fluffy longing.  The cute critters stole my heart.

 So now we have ducks...  !!

emerging

 

I'm back!!  We just spent 4 wonderful weeks staying in a little cabin-like, one room place.  Two of those weeks the Papa had off work.  It was relaxing and so lovely.  We are now moved into a fabulous house that we are falling in love with more every day.  It has been a wonderful place for me in the past, since it was my friend's house before we moved in.  I witnessed and photograhed her gorgeous baby's journey Earthside here in this home, and have spent a lot of fun hours chatting and enjoying her company here (and lots of kissing of chubby baby cheeks!!).  Now it is our home, and we're getting settled in and enjoying a new space.  We have one more bedroom here than our last home, and this is proving to be very, very nice. 

We are 25 miles (or so) from our town, which is a bit of a drive everyday for Papa, but it is so worth it.  We're in a little country, dirt road community of log cabins, off the grid homes, and people who just like wide open spaces.  There is a small lake that has just melted, and yesterday the little ones and I wandered over there and found that the ducks have returned!  Which means Spring has sprung.  We are right up against the mountains with acres of land (and plenty of national forest) to wander and enjoy.  It's not my coveted New England, but it's as close as it gets in the desert.  And it is so, so pretty out here!

 

Moving out here has been a journey of wondering where we would live (and not wanting to swallow our values and live somewhere where we would not be happy as a family).  But the house-hunting journey has ended so, so sweetly.  I have never felt terribly domestic in my career as Mama, but this house and country inspires such magic in me that I've found myself dreaming up all sorts of domestic projects with a whole lot of excitement.  I knew we weren't finding The House (for such a long while) for a reason, and I was more than pleasantly surprised.

Since we are now country folk, and we finally get to live out our dream of having free-range kids (human ones), huge gardens, and animals - we just had to get started.  So we went out and got 12 baby chicks (Buff Orpingtons, for you chicken saavy folks)!  They are so, so sweet.  Stinky, but sweet.

 

So, for now, we are dreaming of knitting, rug-making, thrifting, garden-planting, chicken coop-building, and wandering this beautiful paradise in the desert.

 

We are very, very happy. 

moooooving

I have disappeared from the blogging world for a whole two weeks.  I'm thinking that is a record for me.  One that I hope not to break again.  Sorry folks!  We're in the process of moving.  Oh the fun.  Right now everything is going into storage while we go play for two weeks (our new home isn't quite ready yet), then we'll be moving again, this time into a house.  I'm excited, but I haven't been this tired in a while.  Even my camera has been gathering dust (which definitely makes me sad and won't go on much longer!).

It has been warming up here majorly.  The birds are out singing again and I even heard a fly buzzing somewhere in the house.  Spring is definitely on its way.  Though I wouldn't be too surprised if we have a nice snow storm in the next couple of weeks, and honestly, I have become so in love with all of the different seasons that I would be perfectly happy with that.  Each season change and its own unique complexities and processes makes me so happy and in love with nature ever more.  What a cool process it all is (and thank goodness for winter sporty fun to take away the indoor blahs!)!

I'm making some changes around this blog space.  I started this blog with the intention of including writings about food and health, but for one reason or another it just never happened.  The whole essence of this space is to explore past wisdoms with the insight of modern discoveries, on one level or another.  I think there is a lot of be gained from learning from our ancestors, but also a lot more growing, or "branching out", to be done.  I'm excited about this new change, but be patient with me as it will take time to create.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

rearranging

The kids' room was looking a bit unorganized (all that cleaning up themselves, which I do not complain about!), so I decided to spend a couple hours tidying up.  I just love a room when it looks so perfect like this.  I have to stand in the door and stare for a little while.  Of course the room looks lived in again (which is the way it should be), but I've got pictures to remember that blissful mama moment (wink).

 

 

:: I finally finished her! She is now an offical member of the dolly family and played with often. ::

 

 

 

 

 

snowy portraits

My friend obliged me again, by allowing me to play photographer with her.  I saw all that pretty snow and decided we just had to go out and goof off!  I just love how the snow makes everything look...  I think they turned out pretty okay, don't you? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a lot of fun!