Happy Thanksgiving!

There's a lot to be thankful for all the time, but here are a few of my highlights. Sound off in the comments about what you are thankful for this year!

I'm thankful for my husband who supports me in all my craziness and even encourages me. He makes it all worth while!
I'm thankful for my job and the fact that it gives me the opportunity to help people. So far the people I work with have been awesome and I've looked forward to going in each night. Some of them think I'm weird to be so excited to be there, but this place has real potential to be the best and I have the opportunity to help make that happen with them.
I'm thankful that today I get to start evening shift on the locked ward. It's a big deal and I'm going to meet the most interesting people there. Added bonus, my patients will be awake and interactive and I get to sleep with my husband at night! Yay!

I'm thankful that the kittens I first saw in October have come inside and are slowly getting used to us. It's been less than a week and already they will lay out in the open and eat in front of us. They don't like being touched yet, but we can approach them with out them freaking out now. I think they are between 8 and 10 weeks old and we have no idea what their sexes are yet. It'll be a surprise.

Cerberus

Tanus

Kate our gray chicken hurt her leg, but she's healing up and we're all thankful she is back outside with the other chickens. I don't think she liked being inside and watching her hobble around out there makes me smile. Hopefully in a few weeks she'll be back to normal!

Healing nicely!

Yesterday we discovered our first egg! I think Alexis laid it. It's tiny, but perfectly formed. I hope they stay spotted!

The first egg!

I'm super thankful that my household has come through this year almost intact and has even managed to grow a bit We will never be the same, but we are in the homestretch now and 2015 is going out on a super high note. I'm really thankful for everything I have and the chances we will have. 

Life is great and I get to find the awesome in every day. That is something to be thankful for. 

I can't believe it's been so long!

Yesterday was our 11th wedding anniversary and I was lucky enough to spend it having fun with my husband. I can't believe it's been so long, it feels like only yesterday that we got married.

 He got us a chocolate mousse cake from Costco that I had been wanting for a few months. He even made sure to get the one with the least amount of white on it because I like chocolate better. It was the perfect cake, very rich, I hope it freezes well because it's huge. We had sandwiches and watched the movie Hocus Pocus. It was a great day!

Super tasty!

Over the weekend he helped me with a project I have been working on for almost 3 weeks now. He made it fit when I had trouble squishing it in the press and lining everything up at the same time. Thanks to him it will be better than if I had done it all myself. I'm glad he helps me when I need it!

It's going to be a big book!

He kept the chickens occupied while I tidied their yard (I think they like him better, he has bigger hands and can feed more of them at once). He's so patient with all our animals.

All in all it was a super great weekend and I'm really glad we got to spend it together. I plan to keep him for at least another 11 years!!!

They like him too!

Actively searching elsewhere now

It's been almost a week since I applied for more positions at the hospital and I haven't heard anything yet. Since that's where I really want to be I gave them all the time I could, but times up. I still have hope (it just won't die!), but maybe that's not going to happen for me at this time in my life. I'm still obsessively checking my job page there for any changes though.
I'm researching other places to work more thoroughly and have started applying. I'm pacing myself to about 4 a day so the number grows steadily until A: I run out of places in a 10 mile radius; or B: I get a job. There are a ton of places here if I'm not to picky.
In the meantime, my dear husband and I have decided to take up yoga and got some disks for clearance to try out. I'm not very good at it yet, but it's only been about 6 days and I'm already noticing an improvement in my flexibility. Even my knee seems happier now.
I feel great when I do it and it lasts almost the whole day. Plus, the scenery they have in the background helps to pull me out of the tiny world I live in. I'm trying to do it for 3 days then take a day off, that way I don't over do and it seems to be working for me.
The little grasshopper is still here and I've named it Jimmy. I've found out that it's not full grown and will probably stay until it is. Today it's been raining all day and the little thing really seems to be loving it.

Jimmy likes the rain.

The chooks don't like the rain very much and every time I go check on them they are hanging out in their house.

Is it dry yet?

However they all come out to eat from my hand, well almost all of them.

Snack time run.

They gather eagerly under the overhang while I scoop some out, then they peck my hand empty before going back inside.

It is snack time!

All of them except Kate, who's normally the friendliest. I wonder if she's put off by the big, blue laundry basket on my head (I can't find my umbrella).

She's having none of this nonsense!

They are so cute!

I can't believe it's been a week now. I'm still just as fascinated by my chooks as the day we brought them home. Actually, I think I'm more fascinated with them now. They have grown so much in just the past week, Bessie is almost as tall as my knee and they are starting to peep less and bock more.
They even talk to me when I'm with them, I just wish I knew what they were saying.

Bathing beauties. (Ms. Fisher in front, Alexis in back)

They are making themselves at home and that makes my heart glad. They like to rearrange their bedding after I clean and fluff it everyday. They seem to have a schedule worked out, I get chirped at if I'm late in the morning and they have enforced nap time at around 1100 every morning. Kate calls them to roost and Ms. Fisher rounds up any stragglers.

Get on the perch! (Clockwise from top left: Kate, Dot, Bessie, Fisher, Alexis)

All 5 of them will eat out of my hand and Kate (the gray one) will follow me around as I tidy up until I sit down with her snack. It's funny to see her avoid me and chase me at the same time. Earlier today she was pecking at something and I touched her to shoo her away and she didn't even flinch. Maybe she will let me pet her soon.

Got snacks? ( Kate facing you.)

Life is good here with the chickens. Now I'm off to study them some more! 

Our chicken coop

We have our pretty little chooks in the side yard. It's about 480 square feet (400' for the chooks to run around in, the other 80' or so has the turtle pond). It's surrounded on 2 sides by a 6' high corrugated steel fence. One of the other sides is the house and the final side is chain link facing the rest of the back yard. We enclosed the entire top of it in deer netting at 7'-8' feet high so nothing can get in from above. The bottom of the steel is buried several inches deep to keep out diggers.
The netting is the only new feature back there because it used to be our garden, then we had to move the turtle pond there and they ate most of the plants. So far the birds have stayed away from the pond, but it should be ok if they want to go in, there's lots of ledges for them to stand on and Freya, Odin, and the others won't hurt them.

Nice and cozy

The chooks house is 6' high, 6' wide, and 5' deep. It started out open on three sides, but we've added shade cloth to the sides for better protection from the sun and rain. The bottoms and tops of the sides are still open though to allow as much air flow as possible. We had a nesting box, but Ms. Fisher was sleeping in it so we now use it to hold the waterer. It works great and she now sleeps with the others.

The paint makes it easy to wipe down in the mornings. We left the perches bare for their comfort, paint would have made it slippery. 

Bed time is so cute, they all peep like baby chicks and try to cuddle under each others wings. That was what Bessie was doing when she was shoving everyone off the perches. They just want to snuggle even though it's hot out.

Clever food holder!

Nice water dispenser!

Alexis figured it out first.

My husband got the idea for these great food and water dispensers from Rob Bob's Backyard Farming. That site is great and I love the way he explains things. My chooks love the feeder, but we're still trying to teach them the waterer. I made the mistake of catching them and tapping their beaks on the nipples to try and show them. They hated that and ran from me for awhile afterward. I've since learned I shouldn't have chased them if I want them to be tamed. Now I make chucking noises as I make the nipples drip water, I hope they get it soon.

They have ice water in pans that they drink and splash in as well so they are doing well. We also have a mister system that they enjoy and I put ice packs in their bedding to help keep them cool.

Nice place to explore.

So far they seem happy. The heat doesn't seem to bother them much. They peck and scratch most of the day, Dot found several grubs today. Alexis stole the first one, The second one was to big so she threw it away and Kate ate it , then she finally got one. It was fun to watch them chase each other for the prize. 

They haven't gone past the small bush next to the tree yet, but they are still getting used to it here. They aren't tame yet, but they let me get closer each time I go out there. They have no problem touching me and hit me with their wings when they scratch around my feet. Alexis even rubbed against my leg yesterday and Kate sat on my shoe for a minute. I can't wait until they let me pet them and maybe hold them! I'm trying to be patient, but they are so cute.  

Peek-a-boo!

We got dinosaurs!

Ok, technically they're chickens, but they are related to the T-Rex so it counts in my world.
My husband and I had been talking and thinking about getting chooks for a few years now, but it never seemed to be the right time. There was always something going on.
Then we went to the store to get groceries and saw the price of eggs. There was no way I was paying that much for the pack. We got the rest of what we needed and went home where we once again had the chicken talk.
This time everything lined up. My husband had 6 days off in a row so he could build the coop, older chicks/pullets were available instead of the chicks, and the side garden had been fallow for a long time because the turtles ate everything except the pomegranate bush and the mesquite tree. It was perfect.
We did our research and found out we could have up to 24 hens, but we decided on 5. Then we went to various feed/livestock stores to compare prices and see how they kept their chickens. Some where only a couple of dollars and we found some chooks that were $50. The range of prices and living conditions was mind blowing. We decided on OK Feed and Supply for the chickens and their feed. They had the best looking and friendliest bird out of the places we visited. They also gave them lots of room to run around and I liked that. On Monday morning we went and picked out our birds!
Now on to the chooks!:

First photo!

Ms. Fisher

Ms. Fisher is an Easter Egger, heavy on the Ameraucana breed. She was hatched on June 17, 2015. She likes boxes. She's the most mellow of the flock and likes to do her own thing.

Bessie

Bessie is a Silver Wyandotte. She was hatched on May 28, 2015. She is the largest and likes to get on the roost on one end and push everyone else off the other. When she reaches that end she will go to sleep.

Alexis

Alexis is a Rhode Island Red. She was hatched on June 17, 2015. She was the first to figure out the feeder. She is also the best at bug catching so far.

Kate

Kate is a Blue Andalusian. She was hatched on June 17, 2015. She is the bossiest of the group and likes to snatch things away. When the sun goes down she starts peeping to tell them to go to bed and even leads the way.

Dot

Dot is Golden Campine. She was hatched on June 17, 2015. She is a bit temperamental and likes to peck and run. She is also the tamest so far and will eat the food that falls from my hand. Hopefully soon she'll eat from my hand.

It's a lot of fun watching them and learning about them. They each have distinct personalities and preferences. It'll be awhile before they start laying eggs, but that's fine. We are happy getting to know each other for now.