Under a Blue Moon

The less glamorous side of raising chickens.  Coop clean out day.  Every weekend I go down to the chickens, don a pair of rubber gloves and commence cleaning out the coop and run. 

This involves cleaning out the nesting boxes, which they like to sleep in even though we have tried to discourage it; cleaning out the main coop and replacing the wood shavings when needed.  Then I rake up all the poop, and may I just say they are prolific poopers, and finally, rinse out their water and feed containers (we actually clean out the water container several times a week). 

The girls are very curious about the clean up activities.  As soon as I open up the nesting box door or the clean out door they come running up the ramp to see what I am doing.  They also love a fresh clean bed.  Who doesn't?

So far this once a week cleaning is working.  The coop doesn't ever smell bad and everyone appears healthy and happy with the arrangement.  When the weather gets wetter I'm guessing it might be more of an ordeal and might need to be done more often to keep the smell down and to keep their environment healthy. 

After I clean their coop and run I give them a little treat of some scratch.  What cracks me up about this picture is that Rick walked up to the back side of the coop and they all pretty much ignored me and my offerings to see what Rick was doing.  They love him.  He is like some sort of Dr. Doolittle.  All animals love him. 

Look at that – they could care less about me.

We are going to try something new around here at Under a Blue Moon.  Let's see if I can sustain a post a day for the month of August. 

I tend to agonize over my scarcity of posting.  I feel like if someone is going to make the effort to come here I need to have something substantial and weighty for them.

But then I started thinking about what it is I like about visiting other blogs.  It's mostly just a glimpse into someone elses daily life that I like.  It doesn't have to be be much.  Maybe just a pretty picture or two.  A link to something they found interesting.  A funny little story.  Just a minute away from my own life and into someone elses.

The last Sunday of every month Rick and I go to his mother's house and have brunch with her and her husband.  They live about an hour and half from us and we found that with our busy lives we just weren't seeing them very often.  So we set a date to have brunch with them on a regular basis.  We take turns planning and preparing the meal.   

Last Sunday my mother in law gave me a peignoir set that she had given to her mother.  Her mother never ever wore it because she thought it was too nice. Too special.  After she passed away my mother in law started wearing it. 

My mother in law said that every single time she wore it she would have the most unsettling, anxious dreams about her mother and father.   She would wake up in a panic and when she tried to go back to sleep she would just slip right back into the dream. 

She didn't want to just give it Goodwill or sell it at a garage sale.  But at the same time she didn't want to keep it.  So I took it.  I'm helpful that way.  I have no intention of wearing it but it is the most luscious coral pink and beautifully made.  Reminds me of something someone in the early 60's would wear.

Sometimes you just have things because they are pretty to look at.