domestic life

Check out my new piece at Ethicurean.com. Pets vs. Livestock: Cracking Open the Myths about Backyard Chickens. “Last spring I decided that this was the year I was going to finally get some chickens. On a snowy Saturday in March I brought home six tiny cheepers that I bought at my local ranch store...
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Well that was lovely — Monday was my official “last day” at Cisco (the severance was odd — 2 months as an employee but not working, then a big parting gift payment that is coming in the mail). Anyhow, so there it was, my official last day and I got pinged on Facebook in...
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The chickens spent the first night in their coop last night — we still need to build the fence, but the Carpenter came by and put the door on, and built a ramp for them — I think we’re putting the fence in tonight — they are very funny — they like exploring around,...
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Things have been a little crazy — work is work, life is good and I’m sort of just enjoying living it without the self-consciousness of blogging. But there are a few things I’ve been meaning to link to – First off — my friend Craig Arnold, who I went to grad school with at...
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They’re not really hairy, but I couldn’t resist the title. Sorry about the dearth of blogging — I’ve been off falling in love this spring, and well, as much as I adore you all my blog readers, the other guy is kind of distracting, in the best way possible. However, in the meantime, my...
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This is Raymond, staring at the shed door, because on the far side of that door are four baby chicks in a cardboard box tucked into a dog crate all kept warm by an infrared light. There were six chicks, but I erred and thought they were too hot under the light, and so...
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This weekend I started seeds — tomatoes and leeks right now. I’ve blogged before about my seed starting setup, and nothing’s changed since last spring, so I’ll simply send you to this older post if you want to know the mechanics of how I get things rolling every year. This year I’m going to...
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In related topics, there’s a terrific article at Culinate today that touches on many of the same topics we’ve all been discussing over here. Take a look: What is householding? — Making the choice to stay home :: by Harriet Fasenfest :: Culinate.
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I’m finding the recession sort of interesting, and frankly, kind of inspiring. It’s easy when times are fat to get lazy — to buy stuff instead of fixing something or making it yourself, but really, just going out and buying things isn’t the way I was raised. I had one of those moms who...
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Sunday was a lovely snowy day. Big fat snowflakes like something out of a movie. About ten, Raymond and I walked to the dog park, and everyone was there which was fun — we walked a couple of  laps, all the dogs doing their thing and the “grownups” had a chance to catch up....
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