turning a trampoline into a chicken run

Confession: my once-given status of "crazy chicken lady" has been significantly reduced to "woman that once bought chickens and eventually left it to her husband to be the one who remembers to feed and water them" (clearly that's a conceptual reduction and not one of title, yeesh).

But let's not talk about that.

I built a run for the chickens over a year ago out of some pretty crude materials. I've been amazed it's lasted as long as it has and how sufficient is has been, but two nights ago we had insanely strong winds whipping about our spot on the map. When Ava and I went out yesterday to play in the back yard I discovered that the run had completely collapsed on one side, likely from those strong winds and just being past its prime. Moreover, there was a gaping open space at the top of it so that if the unclaimed treasures pooled their collective brain power they could possibly figure out that one good hop straight up would be their path to freedom and danger. I realized all of this at about 1:45 yesterday afternoon. I'm headed out of town for the weekend today, but I knew the chickens couldn't stay exposed and vulnerable until Monday - and I couldn't leave my husband and kids with the potential of having to chase errant chickens around the back yard - so a quick plan had to be devised.

Here's what we did. The kids had a trampoline that the previous homeowners generously left. We got a lot of mileage out of it, but it has really seen its last day, at least by way of safety measures. I got the idea that if I took the mat off, I could move the frame over to the chicken coop, cover the entire area in chicken wire, and the girls would have a new, sturdier, very weather-proof, bigger run.

Here's how Anthony decided to finish off the destruction of the trampoline mat . . .

This is what had happened to the existing run. It looks like a pile of trash.

"Hey, what the flock is going on here?" - chickens

The only materials I needed to purchase for this project was two new rolls of metal chicken wire. On this previous run I used a combination of metal and plastic wire. What I learned from the experience was that within a year the plastic wire becomes completely brittle and just tears apart if you look at it cross-wise. So again, I purchased only the metal fencing and one spool of cuttable wire so that I could affix all of it together and knit up any gaps. All total it cost me $50.00 and three to four hours of time spread out over yesterday afternoon, evening, and this morning.

Here's the finished product.

I may have been demoted from crazy chicken lady, having lost a little fervor. But this work was so cathartic and a reminder of how much I love being outside, working with my hands...and those silly birds.

Saturday's New Tradition

Saturday arrived once again, and once again we took our stroll to the Statham Farmer's Market.  This is our fourth week shopping at the market, and for the last two weeks Ma Luffin' Mayun's brother and his wife, Phillip and Becca (and the resident bun-in-the-oven we get to meet in late August) have come along for the venture.

Little Big Man decided to wrestle up
some cowboy boots and a ten-gallon hat
and mosey on down to the market.

Last week, everyone was encouraged to bring their pooches for the "Dog Days of Summer".  Though we opted to leave our two wiley coyotes at home, there were some cutie dogs.  If I remember correctly this one is named "Maggie".

This week there was a wonderful local saxophone quartet playing patriotic music.  Ma Luffin' Mayun is a UGA Redcoat alumnus, so he was all too thrilled to sit and listen.

Becca the patriot in front of the band stand.

Listening to the music

We've tried all kinds of new things throughout the weeks, including honey with the honeycomb.  Truly delicious.  It melts in your mouth like butter and after you've chewed it for a while, you just spit out the wax.

Trying the honeycomb

And here is our haul from last week and this week...

From top center going clockwise: bunch of sage,
two bags of lambsquarters (absolutely one of our new favorites), zucchini,
kale, pesto, crookneck squash, turnips, roma tomatoes, bowl of honeycomb,
bag of lettuce, and our cups of sweet tea
(from the market on 6/25/11)

Fourteen ears of corn
(from the market on 7/2/11)

From the top center going clockwise: kale, heirloom varieties of squash
including Peter Pan squash (shaped like flying saucers), sweet banana peppers,
all-natural lotion bar, handmade castille soap, all-natural skin cream,
honey, tomatoes
(from the market on 7/2/11)

Along with all the veggies we are picking up each week, sticking to our goal of only eating local produce from June through September, I love coming across products like these: handmade soaps, lotions, and creams made with ingredients that are natural and that I can use for myself and the kids (especially Little Big Man with his eczema).  This particular soap made by the Bartons of Sweet Tea is purely olive oil without any added perfumes which is perfect for his skin.  They also made the lotion bar that is absolute divinity.  The skin cream in the jar is made from olive oil, bees wax, water, tea tree oil, and vitamin E by the folks at Blue Sky Honey.  I have used it as facial moisturizer the last two days and love it.

I can't say enough about the market and our growing affection for our community as a result.  It is a blessing each week to see familiar faces, to learn the names that go along with them, and to happen upon old friends.

Here are some more shots from our last two weeks at the market...

My first batch of fresh pickles made from our
farmers market harvest

Ma Luffin' Mayun's BLT made with farmers market goodies

Here is a list, certainly not complete, of some of our favorite vendors.  We are proud to be their regular customers...
Lazy B Farm
Blue Sky Honey
Back In Time Farm
Sweet Tea
Bear Creek Farm
JessAnne Heirloom
Double Bridges Farm