The Chicken Coop

The coop is coming along. We weren’t able to work on it on Saturday due to the rain, but Mr. Man was out there bright and early this morning. He’s really made a lot of progress. Hopefully, with good weather, we’ll be able to get it finished next weekend. Then we can pick up the chicks.


The garden is coming along pretty well too and is finally beginning to look like a garden. The carrots, while still tiny, have sprouted their first “frilly” tops. Seems like a silly thing to be excited about, but nonetheless I’m thrilled.

We planted basil, parsley, cilantro, sage, thyme, cabbage and turnips today, as well as more spinach, carrots and lettuce (butter leaf this time). We picked up the lettuce and cabbage at Farmer D’s yesterday and got caught in the greenhouse during a short hail storm. The sound of the hail on the plastic sheeting was deafening, but it gave us a few minutes to really appreciate all the seedlings he has growing. We also picked up some potatoes but will wait to plant them next weekend in pots next to the coop.


The seeds we sowed indoors are doing wonderfully. I will need to get the black beans into pots soon as they are getting tall, about 18” currently. I’m hoping to plant the sweet peas up the south side of the coop, which will serve as a trellis and the peas will give the chickens some shade during the heat of the summer.

I hand-knotted the trellises which brought back memories of hours spent doing macrame as a teenager—remember making belts, purses, and hanging plant holders in the 70’s? They may not be beautiful but they should serve to support cucumbers and tomatoes in early summer. While I was stringing them, Marley came into the garden, grabbed the ball of twine and started running. So there I am chasing him while the twine unwinds behind him. It was hilarious!

We are having the trees trimmed back tomorrow in the hope that we’ll receive enough sun on the garden once they leaf out.