Thursday, April 28, 2011

Spring Chickens and Scenes From a Sunday

No, not Easter Sunday, you know me, I have yet to get around to those pics. This was actually the previous Sunday, far more mellow, way less action packed, and much more sunshiney. It was just a nice little day at home.

Chaos in the Kitchen

My morning started off with stacks of dishes to be done, laundry, floors desperately in need of vacuuming, and the general chaos that ensues when a gang of four rowdy kids, all under the age of five, are let loose in your home…

Lived-In Living Room

Have a closer look…

Morning Scatterings

Now extrapolate this to the entire house.

I will admit that on a less beautiful day, one not quite so filled with bird song, rose-scented breezes, and the warm promise of Spring, things may have been off to a discouraging start.

However, on this particular day, it was the words “a beautiful mess” that came to mind and even inspired me to get out my camera and try to capture the sort of chaos that makes a house feel like a home, lived in, loved.

Nevermind that there are CRAYONS strewn across the wood floors… don’t their tiny pops of color look pretty through the rose-colored glasses of a perfect Spring day?

The Gang

Ah, the culprits! They may look innocent, but do not be fooled. I actually did a double-take when I walked out the back door, after having whipped the house back into some sort of order, and stumbled upon this rare little scene.

Clover and the neighbor kids, all squished into the sandbox, playing together quietly, happily, no crying, no throwing sand, no arguing over sand toys… I’m telling you, it was weird. I had to run and get my camera!

Lil' Helper

Later that afternoon, we spent some family time in the garden. Lucas and Clover planted some small blueberry bushes. He started digging the hole and she ran right over to get her tiny shovel from the sandbox to help. She loves being papa’s little garden helper.

The Picker and the Planter

Clover moved on to the patch of wild onion under the plum tree for some flower picking, while I joined in on the planting. You can never have too many strawberry plants strewn about the yard.

I didn’t even have to ask Lucas to take my picture… that’s how magical of a day it was ;)

Wild Onion Bouquet

Clover taking pride in her onion-scented bouquet.

Chard

Someone told us recently that chard is great on pizza. It’s now on my to-try list. You can never have too many chard recipes at your disposal.

Double Yolker!

A double-yolker!

Yup, it turns out one of our chickens will every once in awhile lay an egg that is quite a bit larger than a normal sized egg and has two yolks instead of one. This is the third one we’ve found!

Hiccup

We’re still not sure which hen is laying them, but Lucas and I both have our money on Hiccup.

Being Broody

Little Kettle Corn went broody on us for a few days. Luckily, after gently picking her up and moving her off the nest a few times, she seems to have snapped out of it.

Dust Bath

When we let the girls out to free-range, usually toward the end of the day, the first thing they do is run straight to the back corner of the yard to their favorite dust bathing spot. As counter-intuitive as it may seem, it turns out the key to a clean, well-groomed, parasite-free chicken is a good honest roll in the dirt!

Foraging

Charming Chicken

See how pretty they look after.

Pretty Poultry

I sat under the willow with my camera poised as they pranced through the backlit flowers after their dust bath. I couldn’t help but edit in some soft-focus...

Handsome Hen

Glamour shots for chickens, anyone?

Flower Garden

Happy Spring planting!

24 comments:

Kristen said...

Beautiful. So jealous of your wonderful garden and chickens. I wish we lived where we had the space for that. :)

Anonymous said...

Those chickens deserve glamour shots. They're just so majestic!

leah - moxiethrift on etsy said...

love all the chicken shots!

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Alexa said...

Beautiful, beautiful Spring inspiration!! I especially love the shots of the beautiful mess. Spring cleaning turned on its pretty little head!

Sadhbh @ Where Wishes Come From said...

I love your sunny garden. Mine needs some serious greenery added - Chickens would be a dream. Yours are beauties.

bonfire of my vanity said...

you have such beautiful hands! and i love the chicken glamour shots. chicken need soft focus, too. chard is my most favorite vegetable and it is great on pizza!i wish we had a garden. i suck at gardening and need to be walked through everything by my boyfriend but he works so much he can't do that this year.

sally said...

first of all, random, but your drawer pulls in the kitchen are my dream drawer pulls! i absolutely love those. my grandma had 'em and i've adored them ever since.

second, chickens taking a dust bath reminded me: does clover have this book?

http://www.amazon.com/Animal-Friends-Maple-Hill-Farm/dp/0689844999/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1304035474&sr=8-1

it was my fave as a kid and my stepson was introduced to it before he could read and when we went to my parents' house last weekend he had it out even though he's 9 now...it is a fantastic, sweet book about the animals and their personalities on a big farm. totally rad illustrations!

beautiful yard and family! happy spring!

Thrifted Treasure said...

Looks like such a beautiful dreamy day, love your kitchen!

Teeny said...

This was a gorgeous post Missa. I loved reading all of your precious words, and love the mess. I'm getting the impression that you are extremely adept at selecting the best of the thrift stores for your warm welcoming abode. Hey, aren't fresh from the chicken eggs AMAZING, I can't wait to get some more from my hubs Aunty. Your chicks are beautiful btw.

Milla said...

Man, I love this little house so much. Looking at these pics makes me feel like I'm walking right through it with you, trying not to step on crayons and the like...
I love it even more knowing that it can get a little crazy with beautiful babes running through it like a hurricane.

Chard is great on everything! Last year we did zucchini fries and Charlie also deep fried a piece of chard stem which was super yummy. We put it on everything. I wish mine was looking this lustrous but it got totally frost bitten and died...

As for chickie glamour shots you know I'm all about that! In fact I might at 6 or 7 more pets to my current 30 000 and 1. Funny how they're all ladies too...

Thank you for sharing this beautiful sunny day, Sister. I feel like a little sunshine came my way just from reading it. Big hug.

Victoria / Justice Pirate said...

aww these are so very sweet!! I love all the shots!! I want chickens

moonshinejunkyard said...

beautiful mess indeed! oh missa such a lovely scene, complete with beautiful thumbelinas in the sandbox. perfect spring joy. lucas caught the perfect picture of momma and daughter in the garden too, truly a blessed day ;) (darin never gets a good one of me)

the hen ladies are looking fab. i LOVE the soft focus trick, oh me oh my you'll have to teach me that sometime. i don't know a smidge about photo editing.

much rose scented dreamy garden love to the missas!

flaming hag folkwear said...

your chicken-ladies are very beautiful, with or without soft focus -- true beauties don't need make up or camera tricks ;)

what a lovely day! i hope tomorrow will be half as idyllic for my little fam (and for yours, too!)...

xo

Kristen said...

Your pics are so pretty and I love your kitchen!

Thanks for helping me appreciate the mess that happy children make!

anne said...

what a wondeful sunday!
love the chicken glamour shots :D

i recently had a pizza with greens, mixed nuts, olives and yams (strange combination, but seriously delicious). so i think you'll enjoy your garden fresh chard on top of some. let us know.

Mrs. Habit said...

Oh, Missa, how is even your clutter cute!? I love this post. I love this day and all your telling pictures. I'm thinking we live very similar lives as far as the rotating kiddie crews storming in and out of the house is concerned. Makes keeping things tidy almost impossible, right? I struggle with it on a daily basis seeing that sweeps of kids ride in from hour to hour expecting snacks, attention, games, and sometimes even baths! But, I totally agree that, at times, I feel a kind of creative pride in seeing the mangled mess these filthy little beings leave behind. Like life is ripe and happening here in a home we created. OR, maybe we are just dreamy souls searching for ways to avoid looking at the fact that we live (by force) in messy homes? Either way, to embrace it is the only way...

I also wanted to say that I really enjoyed your comments to Milla's simple living post. I agreed with them all and found the entire thread a delightful dive to take on a Sunday night.

Looking forward to some Easter pics. and your outfit choice for the occasion. xx

Cel said...

That shot of them all in the sandbox really makes me miss being a kid. Just that feeling of sitting down in some cool sand on a hot day... yup, good times.

Your chickens look lovely too. I so do miss a good fresh egg. And your garden is gorgeous. So much green and growing goodness, can't wait for things to catch up here Ontario.

Salvation Army Thrift Stores of Canada said...

Hello! Just came across your blog, and already a fan. You are definitely 'living thrift' which is an inspiring thing to see! Like we always say - be green, be creative, be original! :)

Salvation Army Thrift Stores of Canada said...

PS - I am from Salvation Army Thrift Stores of Canada! www.thriftstore.ca :)

Sadie Rose said...

Missa! That's so funny, i DID read this post, and somehow managed to miss this one sentence "
However, on this particular day, it was the words “a beautiful mess” that came to mind and even inspired me to get out my camera and try to capture the sort of chaos that makes a house feel like a home, lived in, loved."

it must have crept in, nonetheless, and infiltrated my subconscious, blooming yesterday in my own appreciation of our collective privilege of mess. :)

happy spring to you & your sweet fam. xo

sally said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Woah, that is a CA-RAZAY tornado that blew through your house!

BUT! You have got some amazing stuff going on in your backyard. Don't you just love double yolks? We've gotten a few from our hens too- I have no idea who's laying them, though. And really, your hens are so gorgeous! There's so much to be said for healthy, happy chicks, and thankfully, healthy, happy chicks take lots of dust baths, which are hilarious to watch!

Your garden's beautiful, and so are you and Clover! Keep on keepin' on, Missa :)

Nicky said...

hahahahha glamour shots!!! I love your homegrown backyard! It looks full of life and like a little haven!!! I was cracking up about the Lucas taking a photo- comment- same here!
It's so nice when you can change your point of view and enjoy what's going on around you... even when it includes crayons strewn and messes for days! I looked to be worth it to find those sweet little ones out in the sandbox :D

Happy Thursday Missa!

Vashti said...

you have the prettiest chickens. I am so in love with my chickens and love to watch them while they take a dust bath.