Moving Day!!

No, not for us (even though that wouldn't surprise me since that seems to be our all time favorite thing to do).  No, its moving day for our baby chicks.  The coop is finished and we were thrilled to get them into their new digs yesterday when the girls got home from school.  Here are a few pics!!

In case you were wondering, the big white thing on the side of the coop is our very fancy, "egg collection center."  All we have to do is lift the lid and get the eggs in the mornings instead of having to actually go in and get everybody in a tizzy.  Very good thinking of my big daddy boy!!

Here are our happy residents...yes that is two ducks and 4 chicks.  Our ducks don't understand that they are ducks and are much happier with their friends the chicks who have no problem including 2 more into their group because they think that the ducks are their mommas.  How bout that???

Even Mr. Mockingbird loves the coop!!

In and out and in and out...oh boy this is so fun!! 

Hope you enjoyed the tour!!  We will have 6 more new residents next week (big time egg layers) and I will introduce you as soon as they arrive!!  I cannot wait!!  We are even getting a rooster...oh boy!!

Springtime Strawberry Pickin'

There is just something wonderful about a crisp spring morning and strawberry pickin'...

And strawberry eatin'...

With a precious 7 year old little girl...

who has lots of freckles...and no teeth...

It is a real treasure!

**Im linking this post to Chatting at the Sky's Tuesday's Unwrapped...join us there!!!**

From the Hen House

Because it is the end of the school year and we have absolutely nothing else to do, we bought chickens!!

I must say though that I have completely 100% fallen in love with them and cannot wait to collect some eggs.  My big daddy boy is also building the taj-mahal of chicken coops at the back of our property that will look very similar to the girls' playhouse.  My chickens will be living it up in their coop de ville!!!

And these are our ducks named "Duck Duck" and "Goose".  

And boy do they grow fast.  

Mary Mary Quite Contrary

.....how does your garden grow???  Apparently Mary is not a south Louisiana girl because while she is busy with silver bells and cockle shells, I've got this going on...

Real garden growing!!  We took one section of our 3 acre property and began, what will hopefully become, a garden retreat for many years to come.  While we have always had a "garden" we really never had the space to create the size or style garden we really wanted.  Now that we have the space and have laid the ground work, maybe after a few years we will have the sanctuary we dream of.  In la-la-fairytale-land it would look something like this...

photo via Southern Living

Photo via Southern Living

For now, here is what we have done...and it has been soooo much fun.
There is just something about being outside with your hands in the dirt that
just makes the whole world float away.

First we painted our "raised bed boxes" that big daddy boy built for us.

And while we painted he tilled up the ground.

Then big daddy boy filled the boxes with good dirt and horse manure (yummy) 

and made 'em all level and stuff (nothing important or fun)!

And after many weekends spent outside, a farmers tan, and a serious need for a mani pedi, 

here is what we have.  Im so sorry Mary, Mary, but we have no silver bells or cockle shells, 

but I do have tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, snap beans, lima beans, purple hull peas, 

bell peppers, 4 rows of corn, muscadines, and satsumas.

And check out my "orchard" in the background.  Big daddy boy says one day it really will look like an orchard...Im hopeful!  We have peach, pear, and plum trees!!!  We still have to build our picket fence around the entire garden and plant a rose garden around the girls play house (that is what that white thing is in the middle there...please forgive me, I just assumed that of course you would know what that was...ha).   I will keep you updated on how my garden is growing!!