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We made great headway on the coop yesterday and today. The floor is up and we’ve added the back and side walls, all painted. All that’s left is the egg laying box, the front with its respective doors and, finally, the roof.

We’ll have to push it tomorrow as Durham’s going to get a lot rain in the next 5 days. Fingers crossed that we don’t run into any show-stoppers. We definitely found some design “gotchas” today that were frustrating, but nothing we couldn’t adapt or move past with some creativity.

I’ve been really proud of Mel and I for navigating these waters together without melting down as we have in the past. Our brains work very differently and that difference has naturally caused friction when we work on projects that involve building or construction. But not this project for some reason.

In fact, I think we’ve both learned a little more about each other. Which is really saying something considering how long we’ve been together.

Things have been progressing nicely here with our newly feathered children. The chicks are heading into a delightfully awkward phase, with new feathers popping out all over the place replacing the downy fuzz they had as babies. It’s been super fascinating to watch them change from day to day.

That said, with those changes come new skills. They’ve all started flying! Albeit very short distances. 😄 Still, it’s become painfully obvious that they are outgrowing the bins we were placing them in, so building a proper coop became a top priority. In two days, we built out the floor and the frames of the walls. 98% of all of this was done with 2 x 4’s and 4 x 8 plywood. It’s rugged as hell and, not being carpenters, we are pretty damn proud of it’s design. Now that it’s pretty close to being complete we are looking forward to finishing the run, predator-proofing it all, and giving them all the space they need to grow, be happy, and lay eggs!

Added two new chicks to the flock today! We were apprehensive at first, but the newbies fell nicely into the fold in a matter of minutes, as if they were always part of the group. I wish humans were that accepting and adaptable (sigh).

Currently it’s in the 90’s here in Durham, NC so we took them outside for a change of scenery and they are just freaking out with all the new sights and sounds! Definitely going to add this to the routine whenever possible. Next week we get the last four and then we have a coop to build!

We got the first allotment of 4 chicks today! We’ll get another 4 next weekend and another 4 the next. So 12 total with the hope to end up with 10 to 8 hens for egg laying and, eventually, food when it’s time. For any roosters we get, we have connections to find them good homes that don’t have city ordinances restricting them.

We are not even 12 hours in and, so far, we are really smitten with these little guys. Even though I’d read as much, I genuinely didn’t expect these fuzzies to have such personalities! We were nervous at first - they haven’t been alive for more than 48 hours yet - but we got them all to drink and eat! So we are feeling much better about the new stress of keeping them alive.

Here’s to eggs, more joy, and challenges from unexpected places!

Despite the cold snap a few days ago, our tomatoes persisted and started flowering this week! To prepare for the oncoming growth, and to satisfy my incessant need to find some use out of the bamboo I’ve been clearing in the back of our property, we built some bamboo tomato cages.

We also finally put a rubberband ball that I’ve been adding to for over a decade to good use. It does look a little janky but they’ll do until Melinda finds some twine keep everything in place.

All told, I think they came out pretty great! 🎋🍅🎋

Quarantine has suited us as well as a dire circumstance could - for the most part anyways - providing some much needed inspiration (and, let’s face it, time) to accomplish a lot of stuff around our property that would constantly be back-burnered if the situation were back in the “normal days”.

We’ve gardened in the past and absolutely loved growing our own food. It’s funny how certain life situations can make you lose sight of those precious things that bring you joy. We’ve been grateful for the opportunity to bring gardening back into our life. Wish it didn’t take a pandemic to give us that push but, here we are! 😌

📸 Every neighborhood has that creepy old house… 🏚👻

They are so damn giving and talented. I’m grateful and proud to call them neighbors (not next door, but Durham’s where they call home)! They sold out two nights in the biggest venue we have and they’ve definitely sold out much, much bigger spaces.

We saw them forever ago open up for one our favorite hip hop artists, Dessa, in Carrboro to a crowd of 40 people tops. To see them rise year after year, higher and higher has been a treat to say the least.

It was our third time seeing him over the years and, man, what an amazing show! I really love how Vernon has evolved his sound over the years. There’s an underlying tenderness to his performances that has always resonated with me as genuine. It’s performance, yes, but there’s always this intimacy that he creates - no matter how large the venue/crowd is.

Oh and the light show was super unique and fun to try and figure out in real time. Hadn’t ever seen a band do that before! Elevated double-sided mirrors framed with dynamically colored LED strips. Moving up and down, tilting and undulating during the show’s entirety. Super cool!

After over a decade of being asked by my brother in law to come out to San Francisco to HSB, we finally made it out. It was definitely a memorable experience! The crowds on Saturday were definitely too much but Friday and Sunday were lovely.

It was a short visit for sure, but we love San Francisco so it was definitely worth it!

…with my god-given Gollum feet… watching the bats feast in this (finally) cooler weather. Hope y’all are doing your own lovely version of the same!

Took a peek inside and definitely got some #StrangerThings Upside Down vibes in there.