Newness

Today was a banner day at the Rogers' house: 

-Owen and Lucy were outfitted with new golf equipment.

-I brought home 3 new chickens to re-establish life in the Chicken Condo (after the Great Chicken Massacre of 2015). 

Pied Piper

Owen freeing the chickens!

Bawk!

Replacement Chicks are here!!!! They were brought home in a GFS Fresh Eggs box--very appropriate, no?

Riley was quite interested the the fuzzy, chirping creatures.  

Condo Updgrades

With the recent security breach at the Chicken Condo, the residents lodged an official complaint with the Condo Association.  Some upgrades were made to the perimeter, and especially the roof (It is now covered with chicken wire, not just poultry netting).

Crisis at the Chicken Condo

This morning there was evidence of a tragically eventful night at the Chicken Condo.  White feathers were abundant on the ground outside of the fence, and the hens now number in 5.  While there were no human witnesses, we think that sneaky fox had a mid-night snack.  Lucy, who helped pick out the birds almost a year ago, is devastated....

We've done some research, and there are some potential urological ways to ward off the fox family.  The boys have taken on their manly duty to protect the remaining birds.  Ken will be busy reinforcing the perimeter of the Condo tomorrow. 

Chicken Whisperer

The chickens were out a few weeks ago when it was warm but the snow was still in the process of melting... and they were "helped" into the upper level of the playhouse....  Our resident Chicken Whisperer took on the task of ushering a reluctant red hen back down to the coop, and assist another who got momentarily overwhelmed by the snow.  He's got a knack for working with our birds.

Egg-citing News!

We've been patiently waiting....

And finally, what do we see?!?!?!?!

AN EGG!

The first one arrived on August 24th.  Since then we have received a steady amount of eggs.  The 3 New Hampshire Reds have been consistently laying everyday, so we are usually  are getting 3 brown eggs a day  (The other chickens don't seem to be quite ready yet... but hopefully soon we'll have a little blue or green egg waiting from them).

We've been collecting and we had enough to have our first meal using the eggs from The Condo.  Last night we had Breakfast for Dinner, and what a treat!

Bikes, Kites, and Birds!

Today was a spectacular day here in Northern Michigan.  65 and sunny had us outdoors most of the day.  The bikes got a lot of miles around the driveway.

With an excellent "breeze" , it made for a great kite day too.  The bigger kite was a gift from the Andersons, and it originated in China.  I have to say it wasn't as tricky to get started as I might have thought, nor was it too hard to keep aloft... but when it came down it came down with a crash!  All of the kids brought out their own kites and had various levels of success. Lucy stuck with it the longest today.

 While we were playing, Ken was finishing construction of the chicken condo.  This afternoon he borrowed Ray's tractor and we moved the condo down to its permanent home downhill (by our garden).  Once the chicken security system (fencing) is in place, the chickens will move from their current garage residence.

Farm Fresh News!

  Meet the 6 chicks that are currently residing in the Rogers' garage!  Lucy and Daddy picked out 3 New Hampshire Reds and 3 Americana chicks for our family.  Even more interesting is the fact that they were purchased on the way home from Charlie's vet appointment today... so there was one very upset doggie in the van when they came out of Tractor Supply! I can just picture the van with all of that excitement.  :)
Needless to say, Lucy was bursting at the seems to tell me the news when she came to my classroom at the end of the day.  "Mom!  We have chickens in the garage!"  Daddy rolled his eyes and sighed, as if somehow disappointed that the 3-year-old couldn't keep the secret.
I am very sure that there will be many more pictures of these cute little things as they grow.