Locavore In Training

I've mentioned before that I have a deep yearning to raise chickens. (And I have since I was a child! Right, Mom?) Friendly, egg-producing, pet chickens. There are many just a few reasons why this hasn't happened yet: In the spring, for days and weeks and practically months on end, our yard turns into a muddy mucky mess. Not a nice place for animals to live.Tricky rules... our community and county allows them, but we may or may not have the required amount of land.Vacations. I haven't quite figured out what happens if when we leave for several days at a time. Cat sitters? No problem. Chicken sitters? Um... more of a challenge.Reluctance on the side of the husband. He'll deal with it, if I realllllly want them... but he'd prefer I wait until we live in a place that makes a little more sense for raising various farm animals. So, why does he, the unwilling chicken owner, send me an email about Chicken Cribs? Maybe he secretly wants chickens too? How cute is this?

(Their photo) Ok, so at over $600, it should be. And I do still love the Eglu. And, look! They made a new model! The Eglu Go:

(Their photo) And, half as expensive at the Eglu Classic!! And... what's that? Hello Beehaus!

(From Engadget) Not only is it outrageously expensive, it seems like it's only available in the UK... but is it wrong that I still want it?

I woke up this morning really excited about all the progress I've made this week. I'm really, really excited about the backyard chicken plan... several fairly large things need to happen before I can have them clucking around the yard, but it's feeling very real. A couple of calls for fence estimates went out yesterday, we need to close in the fence for privacy and safety for the girls.

Random worry this morning... what in the heck do we do with them when we're on vacation??

I'm excited to get move involved with Clagett Farm this year... though I haven't quite managed to get that worked out yet. I'm also really looking forward to getting involved in a new community garden. That one is also eluding me so far as well, their welcome meeting is today and I can't make it. I'm particularly interested in the beekeeping that they're already doing at the garden... maybe I can use my new-found knowledge there?! Oh, that and the asparagus patch! Yes, please!

All of this excitement really put into perspective the one thing I am not excited for today...  My horse lessons. I'm probably the last one to this party, but I'm not really enjoying it. Anyone else figure that out already? I still really want to learn, to be involved with horses... I just don't think this place is a good fit. I'll be canceling today (before my lesson!) because there are too many projects that I could be working on instead of something I'm not totally enjoying. I get enough of that during the week, thanks.

Oh, and if I'm not paying for lessons anymore... maybe that means more heritage bulbs will find their way here... (I'll tell ya more about that project soon...)

So instead of my horse plan for today, I'll be doing some much needed catch up on housework and then researching chicken breeds and housing. (I thought I had already figured out the breed, but turns out different breeds do well on different types of soil... I need the clay-friendly ones!) Then, I'll be hanging out with one of my favorite people. Another beautiful day on tap as well...

Wowie! What an interesting week! Not only is today the most beautiful day we've had in months, I've gotten into some interesting things over the last couple of days...

First of all, the Aerogarden is up and running. I got it all set up about a week and a half ago, and we're starting to see signs of life!

A couple pods haven't quite emerged yet, but I'm excited to see growth in what has felt like the dead of winter lately!

On Thursday, I started my BUMBA (Bowie, Upper Marlboro Beekeeper's Association) Beekeeping class held at Watkins Park. I was amazed to see over 50 people show up - people of all ages. Our first class was focused on going over the basic materials needed and bee behavior. I'm looking forward to the rest of the classes, where we'll get into more specifics on what's required to maintain a hive. (Quick PSA - the bees are in trouble! Learn more about that here.)

The highlight of the night? No question - one of the instructors demonstrating the bee dance. I was too caught up in trying to catch it on video to get all the details, but I'm pretty sure she was showing us how bees communicate when they find good food (maple, in this case.) Pardon the quality, but I just had to share...

Today held some definite excitement! My Backyard Chicken Keeping class!! The class was run by Lee Kelly, a jack of all trades farmer who works for the Accokeek Foundation. He started the class by asking each of the 8 woman attending (one also brought her young son) what we hoped to get from the class. The rest of the class was informal - the first half an in-depth Q&A and the second half discussing his prepared handouts. An awesome bargain, I walked out with a bunch of materials including what seems like a really great instructional book. Half the class drove over to the staff area to get a special treat! Lee allowed us to hold and pet one of his chickens. At least half of the women in the class plan to get chickens, but had never even touched one. (Me included...) I was over the moon to be surrounded by other crazy like-minded people!

One of their heritage breeds, Dominique:

Yes, she's giving me the stink eye...

Turns out the foundation runs an large and varied farm; in addition to the chickens, they have the Oxen, Rocky and Bullwinkle:

Some cattle, including a baby calf!

They also had a large flock of sheep, turkeys, pigs and a variety of wild geese and ducks easily spotted. They run an organic farm and I believe host a CSA. They've got quite a fantastic view too, right on the Potomac.

Really, I can't believe after living in Maryland for somewhere around 20 years, I've never been to either Watkins Park or the Accokeek Foundation! Never even heard of them. What gems!

And then there's Watkins Park... I haven't seen it in the daytime yet, but I'm already impressed. 850 acres a stone's throw from the beltway in PG county, with a Nature Center hosting live animal exhibits. I felt so fortunate to have arrived early for my class so I could take a stroll around the center. Apparently they put on a Christmas light show during the winter, and have an antique carousel, picnic areas and mini golf for the warmer months. It's only 30 minutes from our house, so I have a feeling I'll be visiting again even after my class has finished!

Finally, I'm not the only one enjoying the return of the sun! Max is also soaking in some rays!

A few days after Sunday's horseback riding experience, I'm starting to recover. I've discovered some pretty fantastic bruises. I don't have specific memories of getting each individual bruise, but I'm sure they are a direct result of being dragged throughout the barn on Irish's quest for snacks. My muscle soreness was the most acute yet, but that is also fading. Despite all of this, I'm actually much more optimistic about the next horse lesson. Surely, I must have encountered most of the challenges already. I'm visualizing myself in a month or two feeling much more confident and capable of accomplishing each of the tasks. My bruises remind me of the satisfaction I felt years ago, looking at my remarkable bruises obtained during archery lessons at summer camp. They felt like a badge of pride and a mark of completion then, and though the feeling now is a shadow of that long ago feeling, it is similar.

Tomorrow I'll make the call to the CSA farm to see what help they'll need this weekend. A week or so ago, they thought they would need help working in the greenhouse on Saturday. I'm anxious to get more involved, to really get in the dirt and learn to grow what will ultimately become our food.

Meanwhile, my Worm Factory arrived yesterday! I've started collecting food scraps, and I'll spend the next week or so gathering all the materials needed to get it all set up for the worms. I also need to get a space made for the composter in our shed. The instructions that came with it are comprehensive, and recommend a location that stays between 60 - 80 degrees. This will be an ongoing challenge - the shed will provide some shelter from the elements, but there's no way it's anywhere near 60 degrees in winter or 80 degrees in summer. The booklet recommends buying your worms locally, but specifically from a grower who produces red wigglers. Regular worms sold at bait stores won't do, and neither will the ones in your yard. Assuming you insanely wanted to try to collect the 1,000 worms recommended!

The instructions prefer local worms because they get stressed out during the shipping process. Yeah, you read that right. No one wants a stressed out worm. Believe it or not, there's a site to help you locate a worm source near you. Findworms.com Seriously. The more I dig into this sustainable life (sorry, pun intended!), the more I am amazed at the resources and structures already available to the seeker. Turns out there are no Maryland options, but there were two relatively local options, in Delaware and Pennsylvania. The Delaware option looked good, but I was charmed(!) by the PA option. Here's what Uncle Jim's Worm Farm has to say:

Now let's face it! You probably aren't the average Guy or Gal if you're interested in buying wholesale worms. You're obviously environmentally aware, economically savvy and eccentrically right on target. After all, it's not like purchasing toothpaste, toilet paper or groceries...

Eccentrically right on target? Love it! Oh yes, Uncle Jim, you can have my business. I'll be purchasing 1,000 red wigglers as soon as I'm confident their new home will be ready for them once they arrive. I may also purchase some of his vermipods, which are earthworm eggs encased in clay for storage and handling. They would make an excellent addition to our yard, garden and flower beds! Sometimes I'm confused about how I ended up in a place that these things are interesting and exciting to me... content, but confused!

Finally, my friend Deborah and I are embarking on another fun journey... beekeeping lessons! The 5-week course starts next week, and I'm both nervous and excited to learn more. Not that I was planning on it, but we will not be getting bees at our current house. Jay is reluctantly playing along with most of my projects, but here he's put his foot down. He and bees... they don't get along so much.

Onward...