2 1/2 weeks.....

they arrived...

three....

hand delivered from the Santa Barbara area....

who does that?

an adorable girl named Megan who shares a five acre chicken farm with her husband...

Gina our oldest and largest dog is certain she should be in charge of their every move....

they've been named....... Matilda, Sally and Bonnie....

as we adjust to life with chicks living in the house the last couple of weeks, now we've come to see their little personalities .....

Sally is the yellow chick...an Easter Egger.....she's a bit older by two days, larger and the most outgoing....

we've named her after the astronaut Sally Ride since she loves to launch herself and flap her tiny wings all about the coop.... she's first to the door to be let out and the first in line to be picked up....

Bonnie is the brown one....also an Easter Egger.....she's the quietest one and a bit shy....

she's going to be a beauty and more than happy to be held and admired....

Matilda is the black one.... and nicknamed "the cry baby"....she's far smaller than the other two chicks and is a Black Australorp....since she's an Australian variety naming her Matilda - The Cry Baby and being as sweet as can be....Matilda became a favorite.....Sally is the leader with Bonnie and Matilda close behind every move......the three are a perfect combination and seem quite content being snuggled and carried inside or out......on a glove or wrapped in a towel......
the poop is non stop so bare hands is avoided...at least until they grow beyond chick size
(a direct poop in the palm every time)

the cardboard box has been increased in size....the pine shavings replaced daily.... a couple of interesting perches and a "chick treat" from the feed store and ...well...so far...so good.

all the dogs are interested in their every move....the cat....well, just for good measure she stood once at the door and watched them while they explored around the coop....but that was it....

now she just lays around without so much as a twitch of her tail in interest....

I've been forming my "farm" in my mind's imagination designing a gate, flower pots, lights, sunflowers, herbs, compost pots, replacing the screen door and paint colors for the coop....

since you're here with me from the beginning with this "keeping chickens" experience I want to share with you the "before" photo of the side area along the house where they'll be living....
the neglected side of the house....do you have one of those?.....well, I'm claiming it as "mine"

for most of the day they'll live in a fully contained protected coop.......I still need to make the entire base predator proof since there's an assortment of critters that would enjoy making a meal of my new feathered farmyard flock....

I plan to add a chair alongside a gardening work bench so I can sit and enjoy watching them free range when I can keep a watchful eye early mornings and weekends....

I'm going to take this whole experience slowly.....

enjoying the addition of simple birds with the promise of eggs, the pleasure of gardening with fewer bugs....and fulfilling the dream of my farm.....

I've had ducks, rabbits, goat, horses and now chickens.....

not all at the same time....but life is a journey and we don't have to experience everything all at once....

so with my side yard now underway.....the backyard turf soon replaced with new garden beds....

my farm is here.....

I didn't have to move away...just change my outlook.....

I'll see you soon with updated photos and the complete holiday mess I have going on inside while I try to get a handle on the upcoming festivities....

Zoe's here tonight.......baby chicks....Christmas trees....story reading before bed while spooning vanilla ice cream from a pottery crock all her own???

Life is good.....there's nothing I want outside in the world tonight.....