So we meet again

For the first time, for the last time.

Bonus points if you know what that line is from.

After losing two barred rock girls to the hawk, we locked all seven of the remaining chickens in the covered run together.  We're pleased to announce that we still have all seven!  We've started giving them limited access to the pasture and that seems to be working.  The group combined with minimal trouble and no violence, so at least that part is done.  We now have just one chicken coop occupied, which cuts down on my work.

We also had some guys out to deal with the trees that were too close to the house.

There will be updated pictures of the back yard later, now that the big hemlock in the middle is gone.  I have a lot more room for my vegetable garden.

But this post is mostly about my midwinter project:  my bathroom, and specifically, ripping out yet more wallpaper. 

 My husband is a very smart man and got me my own tool set for Christmas.  Now we don't have to bicker over tools and where they should be stored.  Cowboy approves.

The bathroom in question is technically the guest bathroom, a two piece on the landing at the third level of the house.  I keep all of my stuff in there, making it my bathroom.  It's quite tiny but has a big built in nook that gives me a lot of space for storing stuff.  The original sink jutted out into the room and I was constantly clipping my hip on it.

So that had to come out, along with the matching mirror.  It's going on Craigslist, since it's in good shape.  We have a new sink and cabinet from Ikea that's made for tiny bathrooms and it will fit a lot better.  Joe's also going to replace the obnoxious light.  I hit my head on it a lot.

That leaves the nook that has not been updated since . . . ever and the horrible wallpaper.  Yes, I hate all wallpaper, but this is particularly obnoxious.

The nook had some rather off center shelving and blue shag carpeting.  Yes, that is blue shag carpeting in the bottom that smelled a bit off. 

Glad to see all of that mess gone.

And then I started pulling out all of the base board and trim in preparation for removing the wallpaper.  I got an extra little surprise.

Well, hello there, my single celled nemesis.  I'm allergic to mold and mildew, so that was an unpleasant discovery.  The good news is that we've found it, so it can all be torn out.  Throwing out the base boards, tearing off the wall paper, and soaking the dry wall with mold and mildew killer should take care of this.  The root cause (condensation from the toilet) was already handled.

I also don't know my own strength.  I punched a hole in the dry wall with the flat bar.  Oops.

I'll be taking some benadryl tonight and probably using filtration when I go back in there tomorrow to start tearing down the wallpaper.  Once the wallpaper is down, the nook is getting new dry wall to cover the popcorn stuff and cover the gaps.  I want a seamless inset that I'll paint white.  The walls are going to be purple (my bathroom, my favorite color).  Silver shelving in the nook and recessed lighting will make my little bathroom look like it's actually from this century.

Another room of wallpaper bites the dust!

Circle of life

If you live in the country and let your birds free range, you're going to lose some eventually.

This morning I went out to let the dogs out.  Out of the corner of my eye I saw a big bird take off.  I looked fast enough to see a gray hawk with a black mask fly away from the rhododendron that the laying hens usually duck underneath.  There was a mass of black and white feathers just at the edge of the bush.

Just when egg production had gotten back to 3 eggs a day, one of the Rock girls gets taken down by a hawk.  Joe had just been out and all of the other chickens were under cover, so we think I just barely missed it.  The hawk barely got anything out of the kill.  Hopefully that means it won't be in a hurry to come back.

The three remaining Rock girls came out of hiding and went back about their chicken business.  The four little layers still haven't come out of their coop, but I can't say I blame them.

We'll have to see if this is the start of a new problem.  Until now, we've been relying on the tree cover to keep the hawks out and the dogs to keep the foxes at bay.  Winter makes them hungry and this hawk got his Christmas dinner a little early.  I'm hoping this was just a fluke, especially when I have my spring birds ordered.

I'm picking up a trio of Nankin bantams in January from a breeder.  Those are just for me to breed and keep for fun.  I'm also picking up 30 Chantecler chicks this spring.  The dorkings were too difficult to find, so I now have 30 Canadian developed, very hardy chicks to start our own self sustaining flock.  No more buying chicks every year!

Both of these breeds are quite rare, so I'm going to be watching the predator situation like a . . . too soon?

The bantams will require some supplemental heat in the winter, so I'm now devising a plan to keep them in a greenhouse.  It's a win win scenario!  Year round greens and adorable little birds.  Joe has entered the 'nod and say yes dear' phase of this plan.  Building a greenhouse can't be that hard, can it?  I'm sure I can manage it.  I might even be able to retain all of my limbs while doing it.