Trying to make a difference, however small...

     Back in December I made a commitment to reduce my waste as much as possible. I bought some recycling bins and I started buying my daily care products from Lush. I LOVE my shampoo bar, naked shower gel, and my face bar. The conditioner bar didn't do quite enough for my fine, thin, and damaged hair. I'm moving it to a shave bar and bought two new "traditional" conditioners to try.

     Recycling has been going well. We used to create (on average) a bag of trash a day. We now go 2-3 days before needing a new bag now. I take soda cans/tabs to my parents as our church recycles them and gives tabs to Ronald McDonald House. Their city does recycling pickup for free so we just throw the rest of ours in with theirs. Anything that doesn't go to a landfill is a win in my book.

     Chickens are getting big and I hope it is warm enough to have them outside in a couple of weeks. They really need the extra space, I just think it is still a bit too cold for them outside full time. 

     Between the trees, grasses, and crops we are planting there should be a lot for pollinators to have a grand old time with. I can't wait to have my own hive/s next year. The more food I can supply from my own back yard the better. 

     Well I guess that's all for now. Hopefully I'll have those plants in the ground and pictures taken soon so that I can post them. 

So many changes

     We bought our house almost 10 years ago. There was some work that needed done, but we put it off because it wasn't structural and we had other priorities. But now we are finally in a place where we can take care of it. We just had some of the work done this week and I love it. We are also using this same company, Remodeltech, to do our windows and deck. Those are the two other big projects we need done. Hopefully we can save up and do the windows this fall and the deck next summer.

     Once the windows and deck are done we are hoping to have the backyard terraced. Its rather hilly and makes mowing difficult. Tracing would alleviate that as well as give some flat area for a playset, and maybe a trampoline, for the kiddos. It would be great for them to have a place to play anytime the weather is nice.  

     In addition to the work house we also ordered some fruit and pecan trees as well as some ornamental grasses. Already have 3 of the trees and they are in the ground. As far as crops I ordered corn. Strawberries, polar berries, sunflowers, and grapes. Going to add that to the cucumbers, green beans, and soy beans from last year. Also may have a huckleberry bush and pickling cucumber plants headed my way as well. Between the chickens and all the trees and crops, I will hopefully be able to provide a lot of my food choices from my own backyard in a few years time. 

     Well I guess that's all for now! Once all of the trees and grasses are in, I'll post some more before and afters!

     

Chickens are getting HUGE!

     This is Heihei. She is easily the biggest of all 8 of the chicks. She might think she's a woodpecker though 😉! All of them are for the most part super mild mannered and sweet. When I have to reach my hand in to the brooder they don't attack me. They'll probably have to leave the brooder soon though, they'll be 4 weeks old next week.
     It turns out one of the chicks will have white feathers so she is Camila. One of the other Easter eggers have feathers that are white, grey, and brown so she is Ibizy, short for Isabella. She also happens to be the smallest right now. I've come up with one of my extra names, Luna, just not sure for which chick yet.

     So far I've had a lot of fun with these chickies and they are doing well. I can't wait until it's warmer so they can get outside on the grass. Of course I have to build their coop and enclosure first, so I should probably do that soon!

     Because I ended up with 2 extra chicks I upgraded their coop. I'm saving the original for separating any chickens that could potentially get sick or if the weather is forecasted to be severe. They will be ok to be a little cramped for just a teeny bit. Better than anything else that could happen!

     Well I guess that's all for now! I'll be busy getting ready to move the chicks outside and gettinf some home repairs done here in the next little bit!