Chickens

Broccoli and Three Cheese Quiche, New Chicken Run and a Family update

/ Lee Reynolds

 

Welcome to my homestead! Gates are a big things around here lately. They keep things in and they allow others to move through them with ease. I hope your summer’s gate is opening gently.

Gates allow us to enter an new experience…sometimes that experience is AHHHH! the chickens got out!

I don’t know about you, but summer is flying by in my part of the world. Before August arrives though, I thought I would give you an update on what’s been going on around here and also share what may be around the corner. If you dropped in for a piece of my Broccoli and Three Cheese Quiche, scroll down to the bottom of the page, but I hope you come back for a longer visit next time.

If you can stay….

Come, let me pour you some sun ice tea and join me for a visit.

 

After this picture was taken, David secured our wobbly front yard chairs, finally ’cause we have been eating outside a lot this summer and these are my fav chairs to sit in, the arm rest holds a glass of ice tea perfectly!

Well, back to the visit,

I have to ask you,

do you like chickens?

We love our chickens!

Sadie, (always in the middle of all the pictures) and Clara and Annie check out some lavender which I put in their nest boxes

“Sadie, (aka, Sweet Girl), Cocoa, Clara and Annie,” are a huge part of our family, much to the dismay of our Siamese Cat, “Ryukki.” Ever since they moved into our back forty last year, he doesn’t meander as often into the back garden. No, now he seems to prefers sitting on the deck, perusing their activities from above, like a king on his cushion. When he does venture passed their coop,  he haughtily holds up his head, his tail flicking, as he ignores their existence.

But, just like us, I think he finds them intriguing.

And while we love our chickens, the challenge with chickens is that they don’t co-habit well with a garden. At least in an orderly fashion.

Oh no!

Their favourite activities are digging holes and having dirt baths, scratching up worms but in the process preventing seeds from germinating, and then there is the bathroom issue, ahem, they go WHEREVER they want.

Our girls digging along our cedar hedge. In the summer time they love sleeping under these bushes

No chickens are not ideal if you are wanting a well groomed garden and certainly not a good idea if for instance you enjoy walking barefoot in your yard.

The other thing about chickens are once you get them, it’s a bit like that book I read to my kids, “If you give a mouse a cookie, he will want milk to go with it,” etc.

Once we finally decided to get chickens, we had to have a brooder box, a little water font, a small feeder, then a coop, then a larger run, a bigger feeder, then a water font, and then it’s winter and they need a heated water font, and a heat lamp, well, you get the idea.

Who would have thought that they are high maintenance critters.

ALSO,

If you have chickens, and a garden, you may need a fence, or a larger run for them.

All through winter as I kept my chickens alive in our back forty, despite our very cold, often 20 and 30 below weather, I thought about the challenges they pose as I trudged through the snow with their fresh water and food. What to do about my love of chickens and my love for a garden?

So this spring before we planted the veggie garden, I knew we had to do something to keep everyone happy. Especially after reading the book below last winter I knew we had to set things up differently.

(The book above, “Free -Range Chicken Gardens,” by Jesse Bloom, is an informative book with beautiful photos. Reading it last winter made me think chickens and gardens go together harmoniously, but setting both up takes some planning.)

You see, I wanted to let them have some freedom and exercise but knew they would mostly need to be “cooped” up so I finally came up with a plan to add an extension to their current roomy coopy cottage.

The only other big problem was that I started working at my gardening gig the day after Earth day (April 23rd) and our family was extremely busy with various family commitments and activities. Then the kids got sick, which I wrote about a few posts back, “layering faith.” Add to that, I also wanted to build additional raised beds and get my little kids involved in gardening this year.

After David and the boys ripped up the plants above the pool this spring, since the retaining wall is falling apart and has to be rebuilt, he got working on building new raised garden beds. While he did this, I prepared the garden spaces I did have, I moved my strawberries to two of the new raised garden beds and then I planted my garden.

 

DAvid putting his new chainsaw to good use

 

Some of the stumps weighed several hundred pounds

 

And this project is NEXT now that the chickens have their new run

 

The little kids and their garden beds

 

Sadie likes to get into every photo…it’s uncanny how she creeps into pictures!

 

Early July, the raised beds are just starting to grow

The whole time we were out doing projects in the yard our girls/chicks were looking out through their hardware cloth walls and saying, “Bok, Bok, Bok.” I would let them out for short stints to run around the yard, nibble grass and dig where they were allowed. I always had the garden hose, with a dynamite spray head on hand if they got into my newly planted garden.

I let my green onions return for the 2nd year and as you can see  in the foreground they are turning to seed….I love collecting seeds. This is a picture of the garden next to the pool in early July…things are just coming up

Did you know chickens are smart! They knew exactly where they were allowed to roam and quickly caught on that mom’s garden beds were OFF LIMITS. And yet, they could be found glancing at me to see if the rules had changed as they tried to casually wander, “pluck, pluck, pluck,” into garden territory, only to be shocked and offended when a spray of water hit them. I would be standing there, garden hose in hand, yelling in my mom voice, “No chickens in the garden!” They are just like my kids, I don’t know how many times I’ve told them to close the gate after themselves so the chickens don’t get out! and they always act like they never heard this request before as we are madly chasing the chickens around our side and front yard.

Finally, most of the projects were completed and David bought some framing lumber, some hardware cloth and got down to framing. But it was slow going. (THE cool thing is that Harrison, our 18 year old has been working at Home Depot so we are there a lot dropping him off and picking him up)

 

The plan was to build another 6′ by 6′ run at the end of their current coop and you would think, no big deal.

I didn’t think it would take long but it took forever to find a few free days to get the framing done.

This spring….

We had birthday parties.

On May 20th the twins turned 6 years old

And we had concerts….

Victoria and Kathryn playing at their year end concert
The theme for the Country Fair was Fiesta so Will wore a Canadian flag and a Sombrero…since we are celebrating Canada’s 150 year old birthday this year…and well a Sombrero says…party like nothing else…the little girls had Mardi Gras beads and fancy glasses for their Fiesta costume…Grace went as a teenager…enough said

And then there was the Country Fair at our cool historic music school. Will played cello, the little girls played piano and Grace sang beautifully with her choir.

Then there were…..

Visits from family. Auntie B and Uncle J…and puppy, Dugan. Wish you were closer~

Soccer games, this is Harrison’s last year playing with the North Okanagan soccer group

And more soccer….

Victoria hamming it up for the camera

All the little kids played soccer this year.

Oh, then there was a graduation. Our son Harrison completed grade 12 and is off to University in September.

Alyssa and Mitchell (our older kids on the Island) sent their best wishes and our oldest son Clark was working on this day but the rest of the gang was here, David and I with Harrison,Grace, Will, Kate and Tori

Congratulations Harrison!

And as if this weren’t enough, we had more birthday parties….William turned eight!

And wanted to go and climb some walls for his birthday experience

Oh and then there was the year end ballet recital….

Victoria and Kathryn danced to the song, “It’s a Small World.” (Year two of dance)

Then there were the final year end school activities….

At the beach…I relented and bought them a ice drink with vanilla ice cream in it

 

Bittersweet…the year end wrap up for the kindergarten class. Welcome Summer! When they return to school they will be big grade one kids

And around this time was also Grace’s grade 8, RCM piano exam, my gardening gig wrap up, somewhere in all there was Mother’s day and Father’s day and at the beginning of July, my grad reunion back in my hometown of Creston and FINALLY, a BIG 150 birthday celebration for Canada.

Happy 150th Birthday Canada….our flag on our deck

.

It was a activity rich spring and early summer, hence my lack of blogging. I find it hard to live life fully, and blog about it. I would REALLY like to meet real life bloggers who are actively writing. I would ask, “Where in the heck do you find time to write?”…and then live the life you are blogging about?”

Did I mention that during this entire time I was also writing with a group of lovely women at the historic old Caetani house…which is a mecca for the arts?

Yep! but hold your breath for my memoir or first novel.

FIRST…..

We need to build a chicken run.

Throughout all the activities and projects we had on the go, our beautiful chickens were patient.

Of course they ARE spoiled chickens, even if they are mostly cooped up. I bring them treats from the garden; kale, lettuce, swiss chard, spinach, lemon balm, and now that we are into berry season they are eating luscious strawberries and raspberries.  Then every night they get a bedtime snack which varies but their fav is sunflower, pumpkin seeds, and Cocoa LOVES raisins.

When David and I returned from Creston, and my grad reunion, he finally got down to business. Once he starts rolling with a project, he puts every waking hour into it and recently he was able to attach their addition, which he mostly built and painted in the garage.

It would have been easier had our property been level but everything is on a slope and he had to build up the area with landscape ties before securing the addition.

Okay, drum roll please…..

And here is how it turned out….

Here is their new addition…the roof is a lovely lattice work top which allows the sun to shine on our chickens….and offers a bit of shade too (the wood parts are white washed so they are protected and the top was a sage green stain)

Now they have extra space and  yes I wish I had pictures of their expression when they checked out the expanded real estate. Did you know chickens can smile? “Bok, Bok, Bok.” In the mornings I find them enjoying the first rays of the sun and digging their beloved holes in the dirt.

One of my raspberry bushes hedges is beside them and then I’m also growing some pumpkins next to their run.
Here’s a peek through the plum trees at the new run. In time the trees with give them more shade which will be lovely on a hot day

Well, now that the run is built, our next project is to take down the old landscape tie walls above the pool. Since we have chosen to build a river bed rock retaining walls, like many of the other walls throughout our yard, it’s going to be a big project. When it’s done, I can see herbs, perennials, and vegetables all growing lushly. I even have a day dream of watermelon and cantaloupe growing in this bed, since it gets full sun and there is good irrigation. Wouldn’t it be cool to be down at the pool and have guests over and ask them if they wanted some watermelon and then just going and picking one off the vine?

I will keep you in the loop on our progress. It’s going to take the rest of the season to accomplish this wall and probably well into fall too.

But getting back to summer and chickens. We have been really lucky to have such great layers and what to do with all those nutritious eggs? Well, vegetable quiche of course.

 

Every day we usually get 3 or 4 eggs which is not tons…but keeps us in eggs for baking and the occasional quiche

I have made several quiche over the last few months and they are delicious. The texture is beautiful and I find the combination of broccoli and cheese perfect. Who doesn’t like cheese with broccoli? Also, they are such an easy thing to make the night before and you can easily warm them up for dinner the next day. Perfect for summer. Just add a salad, some fruit and you have a wonderful meal. But here is my warning. Don’t expect……

ANY

leftovers!

Wahhhhhhh!

But it’s all good, since everyone is smiling before dinner and it’s a light meal when it’s boiling hot outside, like today and you want something but nothing too heavy.

The only thing a bit time consuming is making homemade pie crust but I have found a no fail, always flaky recipe for pie crust.

Come on….

Want to join me in the kitchen and we will make some pastry? I use the Tenderflake lard and the recipe is on the box.

It’s perfect every time!

Pastry for two pies (You can always freeze one of the quiche if you want to as well)

Ingredients

2 3/4 cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 pound of Tenderflake lard
1 egg, stirred slightly
1/2 tbsp of vinegar
A bit under 1/2 cup of cold water

Directions

1.  Mix the flour and salt
2.  Cut the lard in with a pastry blender until the shortening is pea size pieces
3. Crack an egg in a measuring cup, stir, add the vinegar
4. Add cold water to make 1/2 cup
5. Stir the liquid into the flour mixture, but mix until the dough is forming a ball, don’t over mix
6. Take ball and break into 2 portions. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour
7  Pull it out and let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes, being mindful not to use too much
flour, sprinkle it on a flat surface and roll the dough evenly. When rolled out transfer to your pie
pie plates

 

Broccoli and Three Cheese Quiche

Ingredients (double for 2 pies)

2 tbsp of olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
1 chopped onion
3 – 4 cups of broccoli
4 eggs
1 cup of half and half or whole milk
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 tbsp of dried dill
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Saute garlic and onions in oil in a frying pan. Add broccoli, salt and pepper and cook for a few minutes

While broccoli is cooking, stir eggs and half and half together in a bowl

Once broccoli is lightly tender, place it in the bottom of your prepared unbaked pie crust.

Add the egg and half and half mixture to the broccoli, then sprinkle with the cheese. I put the cheddar down first, then the mozzarella, and finally the Parmesan on the very top….add then sprinkle the dill and you are ready to bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes.

Ta Da!

That was easy hey? And it’s a good thing as it gets eaten in a blink of an eye around here.

Dig in!

Well that wraps up my update. Before you go, want to hear an old song that I remember being played on the radio when I was a child? Warning, it may linger with you…. It reminds me of long days, warm sun and lemonade. I hope you enjoy listening to “A Theme from a Summer’s Place by Percy Faith.” Click the hyper-link if you can click below.

Until we meet again, may you be well, peaceful and happy.

Happy Summer!

Blessings from Hope

 

 

 

Raspberry Crumble ~Winter Chicken Care

/ Lee Reynolds

“How many lessons of faith and beauty we should lose, if there were no winter in our year!”                                                                                      ~Thomas Wentworth Higginsons~

That quote was written by a man who was a minister, author, abolitionist and soldier. He lived from December 22, 1823 until May 9, 1911 and spent much of his life, devoted to fighting for the rights of freed slaves, women and other disfranchised people in America. (My kind of guy!!!)

Since he was almost 88 years old when he died, he experienced many winters struggling for the freedom and liberation of what were then, second class citizens of his era. He understood and recognized, without the hardships in our life, we are unable to experience the beauty of this world. What a profound metaphor winter is and don’t you agree that our seasons shine clarity on our life?

Living in our valley, in the interior of B.C., I have been blessed to experience the distinct variety of Mother Nature’s four seasons. On the hottest summer day, when I’m sweltering and limp with sweat, all I have to do is reflect that in a few short months, I will be curled up under a blanket, with a hot cup of tea, trying to keep warm as the temperature plummet and snow lays deep around me. I think this is the lesson of faith and is also what Thomas Wentworth Higginsons was talking about above.

When we draw on the changing seasons,

faith grows,

we grow.

We learn to be grateful for each chapter in our life.

This morning we woke up yet again to another frigid morning. As I snuggled deeper under the comforter, keeping my eyes shut tight, willing the night to extend, my husband David, always first to get up, went around like a quiet alarm clock, gently knocking on bedroom doors saying, “wake up kids and dress as warm as you can today. It’s 19 below F degrees this morning.”

Brrrrr!

I had the little ones skip their baths, wanting to keep heads as warm as possible and we were ready in record time, despite all the layers they loaded on before heading out the door.

I’m now home from doing my morning school drop offs and sitting with a cup of steaming chai tea in my hand, looking down at my snow covered chicken coop. I wonder how my hens are doing this morning. I’ve been promising to talk about winter chicken care for a while now, so I think today is the day.

Our chicken coop is in the far right corner of our yard

As you probably know this is my first winter caring for chickens (a long held dream come true) and before the first snow fell or the temperature dropped below 10 degrees Celsius, I had a plan; to keep my four beautiful girls dry and warm this winter and ensure they were comfortable, well fed and healthy.

To accomplish that goal, last fall  I asked my handyman husband to close in their 4 x 12 foot run with plywood, outside of the hardware cloth walls. This way they would be out of the wind and have a warmer place to hang out during the day. Their smaller coop was already all closed in but the only time they are in this cozy spot, is when they are laying their daily eggs. They also have another small run area,  3 x 4 feet that is under their coop but is open to the elements but on a sunny day they can get their Vitamin C.

To keep the bigger run warm, I took the stainless steel heat lamp we had used for their brooder box and I placed a 100 watt, red light bulb, the kind that you may see in a reptile cage. (chickens ancestors were dinosaurs after all)

In this picture you can see their heat lamp and also their electric water font….and a strong of lights outside their run/coop

I also found a large water font that had a heated bottom that would ensure their water didn’t freeze throughout the winter. (I purchased this at Buckerfields) Finally, at our local livestock feed store, I found a large feed container that I was able to hang so their food can stay clean and dry. I was set. Two of our four hens are Rhode Island Reds and two are Easter Eggers. Both varieties have a small comb on their head and are known to be able to handle cold winters. Now I just needed to see how they endured their first winter.

It’s been a breeze, (a cold one) caring for them all winter and they have done really well despite the really frosty weather we have had. While they have their chicken pellets (Hi pro form, natural harvest, 16% golden layer pellets) always on tap in their large feed container, which I only have to top up once a week, each day I visit them, make sure they have fresh water and I take down a tray of food.

I have two trays I use for their daily feed and each day I bring down a new, clean tray and bring up the other one to clean it…this way they always are eating from a sterilized tray…above is their white tupperware tray

They love pasta and salad and appreciate any of our left overs from the night before. Some days, I don’t have any leftovers in the fridge, hey which happens in a house  full of kids, so I whip up some special grub for them mid morning. My kids will often come in as I’m cutting up vegetables, making rice or pasta, and ask if I’m making soup for them, or is the food for the CHICKENS? They really don’t get it when I boil an egg for them….but hey…chickens needs protein too.  I know they are spoiled! If I top the tray with sunflowers and raisins they are ecstatic.

I visit them for about 10 minutes each day and give them their special tray of food. Every other day I take down a bucket of fresh water, a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in it (for their digestion) and check on their grit (needed to help grind their food since chickens don’t have teeth) and I also give them oyster shells (which provides the calcium they need to make nice hard egg shells) and then I collect their eggs.

About once a week, when I’m topping up their big food container with chicken layer pellets, I will also spread another layer of pine shavings. This is called the deep litter method of chicken coop care. In the spring, I will rake out all their winter bedding and drop it in the compost bin and in short order I will have rich compost for my garden. This was the reason I really wanted chickens.  Have you bought good compost lately? It costs a fortune, plus it comes in plastic bags that you can’t recycle so knowing my chickens will produce gorgeous compost for my garden was the big draw.

The eggs are an incredible bonus and I never really thought I would find chickens to be like pets, but you know, I was wrong. They like to be picked up and have the softest feathers. Each has her own unique personality and likes and dislikes. All of them are beyond thrilled to see me coming with their red tray full of goodies each day and having such gratitude is heart warming.

This is the last part of the path to my chickens, you can see them waiting for me under under their coop

Delightful is a good word to describe being a chicken mom. (Remember 2 of my hens came when they were just days old, so I feel very connected to them)

 

Although it;s cold, the sunshine is glorious…for chickens and kids….(you can see the coop run to the right)
I never thought chickens would be so soft and sweet…but they are great pets WITH benefits

There have only been a few days this winter when the weather was unbearably cold and it was hard to do what needed to be done On those days, unplugging their water heater, to fill up their heated water font was difficult as my fingers froze in the process, and just opening the metal bolt latch to their various runs was difficult.

Then I thought of those prairie homesteaders, who had a rope tied to their house and one tied to the livestock barn and they would follow it along during a blizzard so they wouldn’t get lost in a snow drift and freeze to death. That shift in perspective made me appreciate the short 40 foot path I had to take to get down to our chicken coop each day. Perspective is everything!

It teaches me yet again to enjoy each season, for there is always something good in it and it reminds me to have faith that tomorrow will be a new day. If you have been thinking of opening up your home to chickens, I’d say what’s stopping you? It’s February and the perfect time to line up your order for a few sweet chicks this spring. (Just make sure they are female…or get 6 month pullets)

While I was caring for the chickens this morning, our cat sat observed from the hot tub….I think he likes them too but doesn’t get too close to them…..their feathers are as soft as our cat Ryuuki’s furry coat
Before going in to the house, I snapped a picture of the lake from our lower level…beautiful but COLD!

That’s my winter experience caring for chickens….pretty easy.

And as I often do, I was thinking it would be great to share making a raspberry crumble dessert for dinner tonight with you. I’m making a lentil loaf, with mashed pototoes, cooked veggies and fresh salad for dinner. I know a few of my kids are not thrilled with lentil loaf. After all, it’s the vegetarian version of the old meatloaf and my kids never liked that either when we were big meat eaters, so I thought raspberry crumble will be a good incentive for my little ones to EAT UP…..and

Also raspberries are good for everyone’s gut bacteria and don’t we need that in the winter time. So I’m off to head into our freezing garage to dig out some raspberries from the freezer.

Whoa….it’s cold out there!

Did you know the health benefits of raspberries are abundant? They are loaded with antioxidants and their high polyphenol content reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease by preventing platelet buildup and reducing blood pressure via anti-inflammatory mechanisms.There are numerous studies on other benefits as well since the powerful antioxidants and high potassium levels work against free radicals that cause cancer, and reduce inflammation.

One really hot day last July, my sister J, called to ask if I wanted any raspberries. She and her husband B, were caring for their neighbour’s new German Shepherd puppies while they were away and their  neighbours encouraged them to pick from the raspberries patch which were ripening each day.

We have a tiny raspberry patch down by the compost bin and it’s only enough to put fresh berries on our cereal in the morning and really nothing much to freeze. Although it was hot that day and I didn’t really feel like picking, I did want to visit my sister and brother in law, so I called my two best workers still at home, my daughter Grace and son Harrison, grabbed some buckets and we went for a visit.

I’m so glad we did as we had a lovely visit and picked a TON of raspberries for our freezer. All winter we have been enjoying berries; in our smoothies, on top of ice cream and of course when I make a family favourite, this raspberry crumble recipe. If you don’t have any on hand, you can use any berries; blueberries, strawberries, blackberries….a combination would be really nice, but you know there is something so tart and deliciously simple about raspberries in this dessert.

(My chickens love raspberries in the summer time…. they know what is healthy!)

You can adjust this recipe to your size of family…but if you make less…you will wish for more!


Hope’s Raspberry Crumble

5 cups of raspberries
(1/2 cup water with 1 tbsp of lemon juice….if using frozen raspberries)
2-3 heaping tablespoons of cornstarch
1 cup of sugar (I like my raspberries tart…if you want them sweeter, add more sugar)
Dash of salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups of flour
1 cup of packed brown sugar
1 cup of quick oats
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup of butter
optional: walnuts or pecans 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F


1. If using frozen raspberries, as I was doing today, pour frozen raspberries into large saucepan. Add sugar, corn starch, salt, water and dash of lemon juice. Cook raspberries until hot, and mixture thickens. Bring off heat and mix in vanilla. Set aside

In a large separate bowl, combine flour, sugar, oatmeal, salt and nuts, if using. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter (or pulse everything in food processor) until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Add berry mixture to a 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Sprinkle the flour mixture on top and bake for 30 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Serve hot with a dollop of ice cream or whipping cream…..even REALLY good with greek vanilla yogurt! 

 

Oh, baby it’s cold outside! But it’s warm in our house…especially if we appreciate the beauty of each season of our life.

If you are trying this delicious dessert, maybe play this youtube video while you are cooking up your rapsberries….”Bing Crosby with Doris Day….Baby, it’s Cold Outside”

Thanks for coming to visit….stay warm.

Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.

Blessings from Hope

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble~Hello New Chickens

/ Lee Reynolds

https://wordwaltzer.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/images-7.jpeg                                        ~There is always enough, when love is present~

The long, lazy days of summer are still with us but our roosters are not. It was a sad day when we had to say goodbye to our three roos. Knowing they were going to a good home in the country made us feel marginally better.

Our two remaining hens, Sadie, (aka, Sweet Girl) and Cocoa seemed to breathe an audible sigh of relief as the three rambunctious boys left the coop. I thought they would be sad to see their brothers go. I felt so bad, so on the following day of saying goodbye to the boys, I finally let them out of their coop/run to free range our yard for the first time. If they felt any sadness, it was soon forgotten as they explored the yard, nibbling on fresh kale and jumping at butterflies.

 

We happily watched them become brave adventurers. Each day they ventured farther afield, to the playground, under the trampoline, up the stairs to our kitchen garden where sweet herbs and a few lettuces were trying valiantly to grow despite the mass families of quail visiting our yard this year. I had to laugh one day when our sweet Sadie chased some quail out of our yard. As she ran with her wings straight back, she seemed to say, get out of MY yard. (There really is enough growing for all)

Sadie and Cocoa check out the playhouse

And that got me thinking about adding a few more hen friends. One of the reasons for adding to our flock was that chickens are social creatures and they do well in groups of at least three. In fact, I don’t think you can say you have a flock of chickens unless you have three. Also, even though the nights are balmy now, I know in the not too distant future, it’s going to get very cold in our part of the world and we are going to need several chickens huddling together in the coop to stay warm through the winter.

It took a week for us to find new sisters for our girls. I put the word out on Facebook with a chicken loving friend who is also into sustainable living. Also, we tried to contact a local hatchery but after several phone calls and even an email, our request for two hens must not have been enough to warrant a call back. Finally, I found a Kijiji ad offering 6 month old Rhode Island Red hens for sale.

Perfect!

I contacted the owner and he was happy to sell two hens to us. I gathered together my laundry basket and D secured some hardware cloth to the top and we headed out to the country. A lovely flock of 10 Rhode Island Hens were happily scratching and clucking in a shady run. How does one go about finding two hens from a group of constantly moving chickens?

I told the owner, we would like hens who are in the middle of the pecking order so we don’t bring home two bossy boots. Also, I was hoping to get the darkest red hens I could find as I LOVE this breed of chicken and I thought they would fit in nicely with our girls. Our beautiful girls are both a rusty dark red and although I’m not a chicken expert, since they both came from greeny blue eggs, they are what is called Easter Eggers. This is a mixed breed with one parent carrying the coloured egg gene.

I’d like to say we chose our two new girls, but really I think destiny chose them. We took the first one I picked up and the owner’s daughter, Haley chose the other one. I would have loved to have brought all 10 hens home, as I knew the owner was moving and needed to find homes for them all but two was a good number for us and our urban setting. It’s a good idea, if you are introducing new hens to bring at least 2 from the same flock so they have a friend as they adjust to their new surroundings and new coop mates.

David carrying our new hens into our backyard and the kids are beyond excited

So here is what I have learned about introducing new chickens to an existing flock. 

You can’t just let them run loose with your existing birds, due to potential health issues and also of course the whole pecking order has to be rearranged in a controlled situation. Thankfully, we have a hardware cloth door that can be closed to create two runs and we let the new girls have the larger run. There is a nice roost in this run and I put a pet carrier inside for their nesting box since the new chickens are laying eggs. (Yipee)

After three days we had 1/2 dozen eggs from our new hens

Our girls, who were free ranging when we brought their new sisters home came running over to see what we had in the laundry basket. They were very interested and excited but I’m glad we had them separated as the new girls were larger and I was worried about our 15 week babies/adolescent birds. After all, these new girls were used to being in a larger flock and dealing with the pecking order, and our girls had put up with 3 big brothers but no big bossy hens. Another tip, in introducing new chickens to the flock is to make sure they are all about the same size as the smaller ones will get picked on for sure.

 

Here are the new girls moving into the run for the first time.

 

In the first week, I made sure they had a lot of greens and lovely things to eat to make them feel welcome

After a week of keeping the new girls, who we finally named, Clara and Annie, in their run/coop, one beautiful afternoon, I let them out to join Sadie and Cocoa. Since there was lots of space to explore, there was no confrontation, although both sets were wary of each other. That night I separated them in the coop/run again but the next day I let them out and they have been free ranging and sleeping in the run/coop without any barrier. The new girls did stay on the run roost each night up to now but tonight when they were all starting to settle into their respective places, I picked the new girls up and moved them into the coop with our younger girls. There was some unrest but then they settled down obviously too tired to worry about who was sleeping where. I will get up nice and early and let them out to avoid any issues.

I have heard that there can be vicious attacks but so far, there has only been a move towards a peck, which has been avoided since there has been the space for all to roam. I think that is the key with adjusting new chickens into an existing flock; to give them space so they don’t feel stressed. If there is no stress for food, or roost space, or places to scratch and move, then there really is no issue. They can easily transition into a comfortable pecking order without any violence.

Reminds me a bit of bringing home a new baby  to join an older brother, sister, or more. If the existing child, or children feel that they are not losing anything, just gaining a sweet brother or sister, then the adjustment is easier. In fact, our children all felt we had given them something very special instead of  anything being taking away. That shocked me as I had never thought of it that way. I was worried they would feel as though they were losing a bit of their relationship with their mom and dad and then I realized, they were being given a new relationship that WE were not a part of in any way. I’ll never forget our oldest daughter oohing and ahhhing over her baby brother the first time she met him.”My baby brudder,” she said as she held him in her tiny arms.

Here’s  our daughter Grace feeding one of her twin baby sisters. She was so excited to finally have not just one baby sister but TWO
Here’s Clara, one of our new hens exploring her new yard..so far she is the BIG SISTER and realizes there is enough to go around for all the hens, food, room to explore, attention, and companionship
Victoria getting to know the new girls, Clara in front and Annie in the back
There is a lot of room for the hens to roam on our 1/3 acre urban lot, here you can see the two separate runs/coops we have set up. The one on the right is the one our older girls lived in as we adjusted our new hens to their surroundings. The new girls lived in the run on the left. There is a nice roost and a nest box in that run. Hopefully, after tonight they will all sleep together in the little coop space in the upper run

All of this has been going on at our homestead while we were also saying goodbye to our oldest son, who left for London mid July to spend the summer with his sister traveling around the U.K. The same sister who taught me there is always enough love to go, when we introduced HER baby brother to her. Now they are all grown up and are traveling partners in life.

Before Clark left though we harvested our strawberries and our rhubarb and made a delicious crumble. I’ve been  waiting to write a blog and share this recipe with you but it’s been a really busy summer. Are you finding it’s flying by too? Our second big crop of rhubarb is about ready to harvest again.

Btw, the crumble is the British term for the American crisp, which I thought was appropriate as our son headed off for Britain. Here’s my recipe for a Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble (adjust the sugar depending on how sweet you would want it)

Hope’s Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

Ingredients

3/4 cup of whole wheat flour
2/3 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of white sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup quick oats
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or toasted almonds
3 cups of cut up strawberries
2 cups of chopped rhubarb
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of salt

Directions

Combine the flour, brown sugar, oats, cinnamon and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Add the butter and mix in with a pastry cutter. Add nuts and mix with a fork. Set aside this topping for the crumble.

Mix the strawberries, rhubarb, white sugar, and vanilla and place in the bottom of an 8×11 inch pan. 

Sprinkle the topping on top of fruit mixture. Bake in preheated oven at 375 degrees for 40 minutes 

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream on top…delicious

Although this crumble went fast in our house…it’s easy to make so there is always enough!

 

Saying goodbye to our oldest as he heads off for his summer adventure to the U.K.

 

 
 
                           ~There is no lack. There is always enough~

I hope to see you again soon,

Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.

Blessings from Hope


P.S. The girls slept together well last night and seemed to be even closer this morning as they roamed around the yard together rather in two separate groups. Also, BIG News, there was the usual two eggs, one in the coop area they slept in last night and one in the old nesting box which is still in the run. The BIG news though is that I found two shelless eggs which means our younger girls, Sadie and Cocoa are revving to lay REAL eggs soon. Exciting day and a big step towards having a harmonious flock.

Lemon Squares~Raising Chicks

/ Lee Reynolds

       

Before you were born I carried you under my heart. From the moment you arrived in this world until the moment I leave it, I will always carry you in my heart. ~Mandy Harrison

What devoted blog readers you are to come and visit today.

Thank you!

I’m sorry I haven’t been posting much this spring and early summer. As you may know, if you are a follower, I was blessed again to be rehired back at my gardening gig for 8 weeks this spring. Between work and my mom/homestead duties, my days have been blissfully, abundantly full.

As much as I enjoyed every single moment of my time at the gardens, (I have amazing work buds, waving “Hi”if any of you are reading today) it’s nice to take a moment to contemplate life, my dreams and the summer ahead. Before another season flies by though, I wanted to take a moment and tell you about our baby chicks.

News Flash! Chickens grow up REALLY fast.

They are not sweet, fluffy ‘lil chicks any longer. Nope! But they are sweet big pullets and cockerels. Yes, that’s right, it looks like we have cockerels, as in roosters. I was pretty sure a few were turning boyish, as they were growing alarmingly fast and getting red combs and wattles. Also, having raised 8 kids myself, I know the chance of having boys is usually a 50/50 chance. In my case, for many years an 75/25 chance, until Grace and our twin daughters evened things out. Anyway, we took the risk that we may have a few roosters, as we did the “hatch a chick program” at my son’s grade 1 class. As far as I know there isn’t a way to determine the gender before the egg has hatched.

The inevitable happened this past Monday morning. I was half asleep, pouring breakfast cereal for my three little ones when, “Cock a doodle Doo” floated in loudly from our open kitchen window. Now, this wasn’t an adolescent learning to crow. Oh no, this was a full blown doodle. For a moment I smiled as this is what I would love to hear IF, I were living in the country but no, the reality is that I don’t live in the country. I live in an urban type yard and I needed to muzzle that sound or we would quickly be discovered as having chickens. Even hens are not a welcome backyard pet in our area….yet.

Ahhhh! I quickly, pulled together an enticing tray of yummy food for our chickens; rolled oats, raisins, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, some left over brown rice from our dinner the night before and then as I flew down to the coop wearing nothing but my nightie. I gathered a few strawberries along the way and some herbs; parsley, lemon balm, oregano, thyme and finally sweeping by my lower garden gathered up some of their fav grub; kale leaves. I was figuring a chicken eatin’, ain’t a chicken talking. When I arrived at the coop all in a flap, my 5 chickens were all gathered at the door, looking innocent. No one particular was fessing up over calling the alarm for breakfast. Every day since, our roos voices are growing stronger, thankfully never at the same time. Sadly, it looks like we are going to have to say goodbye to our three beautiful boys. I will not be able to keep them in our urban backyard much longer. (Thankfully, I may have a country gal willing to take them)

Bittersweet really.

I have wanted chickens for so long. I’ve read everything I could get my hands on regarding their care, that I thought I would enjoy the experience but I had no idea, I would LOVE just being close to them. They are meditative of sorts and funny to watch as they have big personalities in their little feathered bodies. It’s interesting as they go about their day eating, socializing, scratching, being curious about the world and what is going on around them.

The little dark one we called Coco Chanel and it looks like she is going to be one of our hens

 

Aren’t they the cutest! Here they are all 5 of them, spending some morning time with the kids in the family room…they are getting their little feathers

 

Will just loves holding them and it has been interesting to see how the various fluff balls matured over the last 3 months. They really do grow up FAST! Those aren’t droppings on the paper towels, just little pieces of parsley.

Our little fluffy feathered babies remind me why I love being a mom to little kids so much ’cause little ones are the same in so many ways. They love to experience eating new foods, socializing, making new friends, and are curious and interested in everything happening around them. Watching babies grow is like discovering the world for the first time through their eyes. Magical!

Here they are at last out of the house and into their new home. It’s been such a ride. They lived in our laundry room in the brooder box for about a month as it was cold outside when they came to us at the end of April. Then we moved their brooder box into the garage for another couple of weeks and finally at 6 weeks old we moved them out to the coop. They were fully feathered and getting really big at this point.

Here’s a picture of the two roosters enjoying their new coop with the cool birch branch roost my husband D made for them…the white one we called, “Pearl” but it looks like she is Captain Pearl now.
Here’s the new coop and run. Since our yard is sloped we had to build it in two sections. The first section holds their coop which is really cool and has some easy to clean features. This was put in place first and then D built the run to the left. For those of you who are interested, I am going to do a post soon ALL about the construction of the coop, as when I was in my quest for chickens, where to put them was a biggie You can see how big they are now

 

As our chicks turned a month old, our twin daughters, Kathryn Mira and Victoria Hope turned 5 years old on May 20th (The Victoria Day long weekend here in Canada). As I write this they are 5 years and 2 months old yesterday. I’ve been meaning to write this blog for 2 months! I can’t believe my babies are growing up and will be off to kindergarten in the fall. It just seems like the other day I was carrying them around in each arm.

Sadly, I’ve lost a lot of baby pictures of the girls (on a flash stick somewhere) but here is one sweet picture. Victoria is on the left and Kathryn is on the right…back then they were almost identical

 

Here’s Victoria still snuggling into her twin. Kate is on the left here and Tori on the right 5 years old

 

Kathryn and Victoria on their birthday….a kitty for Kate and a puppy for Tori are in their new bike baskets

So this blog is really about how fast our chicks grow up, enjoying the journey and celebrating the moments.

When my family celebrates an occasion we usually do so with a dessert and I thought this was the PERFECT time to share my lemon square recipe. I started making this years ago when our older kids were in our local Carriage house string Orchestra. The moms would take turns bringing snacks for their “break bread” and socialize aspect of their practice.  When it was my turn to feed the 20 something group of kids, I always brought healthy veggies, hummus, fruit, taco chips and various dips but the big hit was always when I brought my delish brownies (stay tuned as I don’t think I have posted this recipe) AND these lemon squares.

I’ve had so many people over the years ask for this recipe so I thought I would finally include it in this blog, even though it’s not the healthiest of desserts. Sometimes dessert is just SWEET. Summer time is also THE perfect time for lemon desserts don’t you think? Light and tart….goes great with Greek type food. If you are looking for an easy dessert square for a special occasion, check this recipe out.

Lemon Squares

(This recipe is from the Company’s Coming Cookbook by Jean Pare)



Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated Sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine

2 eggs
3 tbsp of lemon juice
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup coconut
1/4 tsp salt

First layer: Crumble first 3 ingredients until mealy. Press into un-greased 9×9 pan Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes

Second Layer: Beat eggs slightly. Stir in remaining 6 ingredients. Spread over first layer. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes until set in the center and light brown in colour. Cool and frost.

Frosting:
1 1/2 cups of confectioner’s sugar
2 tbsp butter
4 tsp lemon juice and if you like you can add some real lemon zest



Directions:
Combine all together in small bowl Beat well, adding more lemon juice a bit at a time as needed for easy spreading. Spread over cooled bars. Allow to set. Cut 36 small squares.







Thanks so much for coming by for a visit. Before I close though, I wanted to share a song/vid that I have loved for years now. 

WAY back before our daughter Grace was born, I wanted another baby. Hopefully another daughter. We had our oldest, a daughter and then were blessed with 3 beautiful boys. Our oldest daughter asked for a baby sister for every birthday and holiday. It was a LONG journey though, as I was over 40 at that point and my fertility had taken a nose dive. We lost a baby along that journey and after that loss, I realized ANY baby would be welcome, not just a daughter. So many people have preferences over gender and having a loss made me realize that boy or girl, it doesn’t matter. Our babies are precious gifts and teach us so much about life. (And I guess that is why I love my Roosters so much too) I just wanted to be pregnant again and hold another baby in my arms. When I heard this song by Leanne Womack before we finally got pregnant with Grace,  I cried and cried.  I was surrendering my dream of having anymore children and yet the Universe had other plans.

Now I am the blessed mom to 8 children. Four beautiful boys and four lovely girls and all I want for them is to live fully and experience all this world has to offer them. I want them to dance.

Our girls dancing together through life

 

 

The girls had their very first ballet performance in June. The theme was circus and they were dancing ponies

 

 I hope the experience I went through losing a baby, trying to conceive for years, also influences all of our children. They know they were wanted long before they ever came to earth. Hopefully, that energy flows from me and feel deeply loved and wanted.

So before you close my post, check out Leanne Womack’s video, “I hope you Dance.” If your dream is to have chickens, get chickens….best experience EVER. And if your dream is to have a child but you are facing infertility, hold your vision and move in the direction of your dream, staying positive and trusting the Universe to show you the way. WHATEVER your dream, “allow miracles to happen,” move in that direction and most of all, I hope you dance. That is what I wish for you today. (if you can’t see the video below, check out the hyper link above)

Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.

Blessings from Hope

Brooding Chicks~Happy Earth Day!

/ Lee Reynolds

Yes, I know, April 22th, the official earth day was several weeks ago but don’t you think everyday should be Earth Day?

A day to celebrate our home. It continues to give us clean water in many parts of the world and enough food to eat. The earth continues to amaze us with its’ beauty and reminds us to flow with ease, through the seasons of our life.

Spring came early in my part of the world; the North Okanagan valley. It’s just early May and people have had their tomato plants in the ground for several weeks now. Normally, the Victoria day long weekend, (3rd week in May) has been the time when we safely plant our gardens.

But this year, we are hitting record high temperatures. Global warming? My oldest son, who will be graduating from University this June, with a Science degree majoring in Environmental science, would say climate change is real. Some people don’t agree with that. I started working at the Garden center on earth day and while at the check out, several of us were chatting with our customers about the unusual warm weather and an older gentleman came by, over heard our conversation and scoffed at the idea of global warming; saying it’s not unusual to have an early, hot spring, quoting another similar season 100 years ago.

A co-worker of mine, is big on reusing items and reinventing them in the garden…see unique planters above
A view of the garden center from the veggie section

I know scientists, like David Suzuki, has been trying to educate the world for over 40 years on the damage we are creating using fossils fuels etc and although we are still driving around using gas powered vehicles, I hope that in growing more food in our backyard it is one step towards our independence from outside sources. ( Check out the David Suzuki Foundation’s 30×30 Nature Challenge for the month of May.) The more we become connected to the earth, the more we realize we can make a difference. We just need to get down and connect.

Victoria and Kathryn spend time observing a snail on our front walk….they wanted to feed it to the chicks!
Then decided, it too had a special place on the earth

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Guess what is happening, FINALLY at our homestead?

My dream to have chickens has finally come true and as I write this blog post, two sweet little balls of fluff are dozing in their brooder box in our laundry room. They are wrapping their little newly feathered wings around each of us and their peeps are endearing.

It all started when I heard about the Hatch a Chick program put on by our local “Teach and Learn,” store. They provide 7 eggs in an incubator and all the necessary equipment you need once chicks hatch. Our family decided to sponsor this program for our son Will’s grade 1 class. Once the chicks hatched the class kept them for a week. The whole school was excited over the hatching chicks. Even the BIG grade 7’s came in and lost their cool over the baby chicks. We were able to bring home the chicks that hatched. It was an exciting April around here and at Will’s school.

 

 

Will checking out the eggs….21 more days!

All good right?

Well not quite.

The downside is that in our rural sub-division the current by-law does NOT allow chickens. We have decided not to wait for the slow moving political system to grind it’s gears. We are moving ahead and if anyone protests, I’m going to write our local paper’s editor and start ruffling feathers. (Holding the vision that it won’t come to that) We do have a 1/3 of an acre and we will position our chicken coop on our property in such a way that it will not affect our neighbours. Our baby chicks have been in our house for 24 hours and even our cat hasn’t clued in. Hopefully, our neighbours will not hear a cluck once they are in the yard.

Our province’s capital city of Victoria (which is a beautiful city if you haven’t visited) allows chickens, our largest city in our province, Vancouver (which is becoming a role model for one of the greenest cities in the world) allows chickens, and even our nearby city, Vernon, of which we are closely connected allows chickens.

The motto as you drive into our area is “Rural Living at it’s Best.” I don’t know what this is suppose to mean but if our chickens become an issue, I’m ready to educate people on the benefits of having chickens.

As far as I’m concerned they are pets with benefits. They of course will provide my family with delicious, organic eggs but I get rather excited thinking about having some help in the garden. Turning over the soil and readying it for the garden season. Nature’s rototiller, ridding our yard of pests, weeds, etc without doing any harmful spraying. (which affect our bees…we are all connected) Also, I know this may sound funny, unless you are grooving in the garden too, but chicken droppings are excellent for amending  soil….and I LOVE improving my garden fertility. ALSO, did I mention we are thinking of dropping our cable T.V?  I’ve heard chicken T.V. is way more interesting.

This was Victoria today….she spent a long time sitting and watching the peeps

Then there is the whole locavore and being sustainable movement. (Which I’d like to think I support by my actions) Keeping chickens is the next natural step, after growing our own food. Several winters ago, the highway to the coast was shut down due to winter weather conditions and our grocery stores were pretty bare after 3 days. I know in my neighbourhood, which is affluent, there may not be the heightened concern over food security, but no matter how much money you have, if there is some sort of energy crisis, or weather emergency, we are on our own as far as feeding ourselves. I’d like to think that taking steps to grow some of our own food, along with keeping chickens may assist us to weather that kind of crisis and become a stronger community.

If you are thinking of keeping chickens too, here are a few great books I would recommend.

and

and finally,

In the last several years, I think I have read every book written about chicken keeping, and there are a lot of books out there. It’s been a bit of an addiction to keep growing my knowledge. So when we decided that we were going to move ahead with the hatch a chick program at my son’s grade one class, I started gathering stuff for brooding our babies.

Of course the number one item was a brooder box. Which can be a simple as a rubbermaid container but baby chicks grow really fast and they would quickly outgrow this so I thought we would start off with the right size brooder box. I gave my husband a sketch of what I wanted and here is what he came up with. (This box can also be used if you ever need to separate chickens short term, due to illness or if one is being picked on)

My husband D, making the brooder box
The kids got in the box and started peeping. The top lifts off and the front door opens too

Then, like gathering things for the arrival of the newborn, I visited Buckerfield’s, a farm store, and picked up a chick feeding dish, a water dish, a heat lamp and red bulb, some chick starter, some grit, (’cause chickens don’t have teeth and grit is needed in their crop to grind their food) and of course, some paper towels and some pine shavings for the bedding,

Out of the 7 eggs in the incubator at my son’s grade 1 class, only 2 hatched at 21 days. One came from a green egg, and one from a brown egg. One is yellow, and one is a beige. I’m hoping one is a Rhode Island hen.  We were sad that the success rate was so low but happy with our two little ones who are currently without names. They are still being called, “the peeps.”

The Teach and Learn Store says there may be some other chicks hatching at other schools and we may be able to add a few more to our flock. (Is two a flock?)

Here are our peeps,  the day they had hatched.April 27th, 2016

 

Since our garage is still quite cold, we put the brooder box in our laundry room
I thought this was a cute quote above our chicks….especially since they have wings
Here are the peeps, safe and sound in their new brooder box. 1 week old, they are getting their little feathers on their wings
Kathryn and Victoria LOVE their peeps

Well, that is the latest around here. It’s going to be a busy spring with me working full time and we have a lot going on, soccer, golf, music, swimming, ballet, and I’m trying to build a bigger garden area.

Expanding my veggie garden, digging up more grass and edging with stones

 

I hope you follow along on our chicken journey. It’s such a small thing but something as little as keeping chickens can help to heal our earth. We all play a symbiotic part on this planet.

I am the Earth
And the Earth is me,
Each blade of grass,
Each honey tree,
Each bit of mud,
And stick and stone,
Is blood and muscle,
Skin and bone.
And just as I
Need every bit
Of me to make
My body fit,
So Earth needs,
Grass and stone and tree
And things that grow here
Naturally.
That’s why we
Celebrate this day.
That’s why across
The world we say;
As long as life,
Is dear, is free,
I am the Earth
And the Earth is me.
~Jane Yolen~

Image result for earth day quotes

Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.

Blessings from Hope

Sacred Circle Book Club

/ Lee Reynolds

Another year of reading has begun. Last night was my first book club meeting for the year. Our book club year starts in September and concludes in June. We take the summer off to read our own material. Most of my summer reading was on the subject of homesteading. I LOVED the book called, “Chickens in the Road,” by Suzanne McMinn.

This author was living my dream of building a homestead with chickens and many other animals, all while raising children. Apparently Suzanne had a successful blog while she was building her homestead which further endeared her to me as I know how much time writing consumes. She has moved to a new farm and I’ve been meaning to look her up to see if she still blogs. If so, she has a future follower. She writes from the heart and her journey touched me deeply.

e.

Another book I REALLY enjoyed this summer was, re-reading Barbara Kingsolver’s book called, “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle…a year of food life.”

If you haven’t read this book and are madly interested in living sustainably by growing your own food and living healthier, this is THE BOOK to read. I liked listening to the audio version too as Barbara, her husband and her daughter narrate the story and bring the stories to life. They feel like family now.

And finally, I cried when I finished reading, “The Dirty Life,” by Kristin Kimball. Have you ever been so absorbed in a book, you felt you were one of the characters? I especially loved how they used horses to till the soil and prepare their fields. (I’ll mention here that I was  madly in love with horses when I was a teen and I spent many blissful days on the back of my horse, Blondie) I grieved as I read the last page of Kristin’s book and I hope someday to have a farm so full of life as they enjoyed on Essex Farm.

Well those are my summer reads and we haven’t even talked about my Sacred Circle book club yet. Are my blog posts mini novellas or WHAT!

In the fall of 2012, as I waited for the world to end on Dec 21, 2012, (Mayan Calendar prediction) I realized I wanted to start 2013 on the path of connecting deeply with my soul.

During the last 10 years from 2001 and 2011, when I was trying to conceive our last four children, I experienced profound moments of insight and felt touched by many miracles. Now that our Grace, Will, Kathryn and Victoria were safely on the earth, I knew that I wanted to delve into my authentic self and continue to grow as a soul. Not just for me, but for our children. All our children.

The older I get, it seems like the life lessons are on fast forward and I wanted to keep learning at a rapid rate, so I thought joining together with other like-minded women would create that environment of experience and enlightenment. At the end of 2012, I mentioned my desire to a few friends, who wouldn’t look at me like I was CRAZY and before I knew it, we were having our first Sacred Circle meeting.

My sisters and I take turns choosing selections, then once a month we meet in our hostess’s home and discuss the book choice for the month. These are a few of the books we have read in the past.

Proof of Heaven by Dr. Eben Alexander

The Field by Lynn Mctaggert

Living in the Light by Shakti Gawain

The Four Agreement by Don Miguel Ruiz

The Fifth Agreement by Don Miguel Ruiz and son

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

The Untethered Soul by Michael A Singer

Well that gives you a glimpse into what we have read in the past. Do you think this genre interests you? Are you intrigued? Are you a student waiting for the teacher to appear? If so, I invite you to join us and read our future selections.

I’m sorry, I didn’t get my act together enough to get this out before now as I was busy blogging about making Borscht (hey, nourishing bodies is important too) etc. but if you want to join us here is a look into this year’s selections so far. This month, (Sept) we read the book called, “The Hidden Lamp, Stories from 25 centuries of awakened women” by Zenshin Florence Caplow

The consensus from those who read this book was, this is the type of book that one needs to read over the course of a year, instead of as a monthly book club selection. The stories evoked some strong reactions in some of our sisters, as women over the centuries have been suppressed and abused as  many of the stories were on this theme.

When we were discussing some of the stories, the thought that being born on this earth as a specific gender is part of our growth as a soul, …..but wouldn’t it be great if we could move beyond our gender? I like the following quote from a spiritual teacher:

“When a human being becomes so still that they begin to lose awareness of their gender, and they are simply looking into that abyss where there is no notion of self whatsoever, the world disappears. And that’s really the only place to go. It’s the only place to remain.”

 

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/andrewcohe271068.html#gXRsR9C2CDhwxmPe.99

Ideally, that is the direction we humans on earth are moving.
Anyway the conclusion with regards to this read was,  if you are interested in delving into these stories at a deeper level and are interested in Buddhism, this would be the book for you.

And now for our NEXT selection……………………………..drum roll please,

 

Next month, October 2014, we are reading the book called, “The Places that Scare You: A guide to fearlessness in difficult times” by Pema Chodron
Here’s a quote I relate to by Pema,
“…feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we’re holding back. They teach us to perk up and lean in when we feel we’d rather collapse and back away. They’re like messengers that show us, with terrifying clarity, exactly where we’re stuck. This very moment is the perfect teacher, and, lucky for us, it’s with us wherever we are.”
― Pema Chödrön
                                                  

I’m looking forward to reading this book by Pema Chodron. I’ve listened to a few of her audio books and her voice emanates peace and wisdom. Perhaps you too, will resonate with her words.

Will you join me and my other sisters in reading? I’m going to do a blog post after our next meeting and would love to hear your comments on the book….or maybe you have read a wonderful book that has touched your heart and impacted your life. Please share what you are learning. This was one of the reasons I wanted to start this blog, to connect with other like-minded people. All over the world.

The Mayans were right, the world as we know it has ended.  We are now flowing in the direction of living consciously and tapping into our sixth sense, living mindfully with love and compassion in our hearts. We  realize we are connected to all people, all things, to Mother earth and our vibrations are moving in the direction of creating harmony. I personally, believe that one of the reasons we are seeing such evil all over the world now are because there are pockets of fear in the world. Anger and hatred are always the result of great fear. It’s my belief that love will prevail. I trust we are rising to live from our highest self.

 I hope reading books, like Pema Chodron”s book above will guide  us in the direction we need to
travel.

   
 

                                        

If all this interests you but you want to hear more about it…check out Dr. Wayne Dyer’s Youtube video called, “The Shift.”  Dr. Dyer was one of the first teachers I sought and even D enjoys his thoughts and wisdom….. he knows how to reach people from a human level.

Here’s a link to Ambition to Meaning, “The Shift”

(If you are using an Apple product, you may not be able to view this video, if so check out the following link to watch, Dr. Wayne Dyer’s, “Ambition to Meaning, The Shift.”)

Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.

Blessings from Hope  
.