We have our chicken eggs. I am relinquished to the fact that we will not keep any. At this point in time I am good with that. Life is a bit on the stressful side right now for me and the idea of one more thing to care for. Okay…not a good idea. Maybe when the kids are grown I can have my little bit of farm life. Nah! I’ll be too old and tired by then. LOL

The eggs are due to hatch April 6th. That’s just in time for Easter. I’ll get some photos up between now and then. I have a farmer who will take the chickies when they come along too. So all is well. Just hope we get a chick or two from the eggs.

I had lunch with a friend from high school this past weekend. It was really fun seeing her. She basically dropped off the face of the earth after getting married 20 something years ago. A couple years ago I got a message from her (found it after it had been sent almost a year later) and I responded. I didn’t hear back so I figured her email had changed in the year I’d found the message and she’d sent hers. Well about a month ago I got a response back from her and we connected via phone and set up a place to meet in person.

It was a nice visit and we did a fast catch up on our lives over the last 20 something years. She’s a grandma! That’s incredible. She seems very happy now and I’m happy for her. Hope we have more visits in the near future.

Current Mood: Questioning

My newest thing I’m contemplating is chickens. I know, I have lost it! It started with the idea of hatching chickens with my girls. I started looking into incubators and was astonished at the cost. Too much for a small project. Then I remembered my teaching days and called the county extention office. Yes, they do loan incubators to home schools and would be happy to help us with our project. I am so impressed with the 4H department. Right now they do not have a supplier though and do not have anyone taking chickens after hatching. Next I began researching chickens and the hatching process and this is where I got into trouble. DD has been begging for her own pet. She wants a cat. I can not handle ANOTHER cat. (WE have two already) And saying one of them was hers would not go over well with her brother. In the articles I was reading on hatching eggs it went on to say how they made good pets, easy to care for (DD could handle it), love being cuddled and cheep to care for and as a bonus they produced eggs. Hm? I researched more and found more of the same plus articles on the eggs being healthier for you because of the raising and control you have of the egg laying process.

The issue is…They are not legal in the city limits. And I’d need a chicken coop to boot. Oh and one other issue…”DH says ABSOLUTELY not”! They’re illegal. Okay…so guess not. I went to my friend who has them in her yard and she says, “My husband would be happy to help you build a coop!” Next, I went to the extention office today to get the incubator and spoke with the person in the know on livestock. Here’s his story.

THE RULES:
• -Livestock (chickens included) are illegal in the city limits unless you have an “agricultural variance”.
• -Forget getting an agricultural variance
• -Probably no one would ever know if you have chickens in your backyard
• -If Code Enforcement did come they would simply say, “Get rid of the chickens!”
• -You would have to get rid of your pets, tears, heartbreak….
• -Loophole! If your animal lives IN your home, it is a pet and pets are legal (including chickens).
• -Suggestion! Put a cage on your screened in porch or in your garage and have set up as a pet home just in case and claim they’re pets (which they would be anyway.

Okay…so the big concern then is my neighbors. What would they think? They will surely hear squaking at some point. I only have one right now that would be affected. The other house is vacant. Her reaction? Chickens? I want a chicken too! Can I come and play with them? Nothing to worry with there.

The other thing he mentioned though is the need to keep clean or it will attract rats. UGH! That is not something I would be happy about. I think I need to do some more talking with neighbors who already have chickens and DH.