Well, now I have a new purpose, which is fitting for "The Brigman Farm."
For a long time, the husband and I have dreamed of having a tiny farm. We wanted something where we could grow most of our own food, have chickens for eggs, goats because they're adorable, and mostly wanted a place where our kids could learn about working hard and enjoy doing it. It is also super important for us to have our kids' friends want to come hang out at our house, and since we don't do tv or video games, we have to have something interesting to draw them in.
Recently, the husband built a fence. And more recently, we got our tax return, and he said something about using some money to buy some fancy shoes. My response? "You can get your fancy shoes, and I'm going to get some chickens." I was half joking (though we have talked about it before, as Lawrence allows five chickens within city limits per household).
And what do you know? We now have four chickens living in our garage.
The original plan was to get three chickens. It just seemed like a good number to us. But when we got to Orscheln, we discovered that they had many Barred Rock pullets, and only two Orpingtons. We wanted to get two Barred Rocks because they have good personalities and are high egg layers, and I wanted to get an Orpington because they are supposed to be the sweetest with kids. With only two left, the husband said, "I think we need to get two Orpingtons and one Barred Rock, because I can't just leave one alone in that cage." Since they're three dollars, I suggested we just get four.
And so our family expanded.
In addition to adding some chickens (named Cleo, Berta, Lulu, and Edna), we also converted a third of our front yard into a garden. We've planted a few things already, and the strawberries loved all the rain last week. The broccoli has sprouted, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed about the green beans after discovering a delicious Parmesan green bean recipe that The Sir cannot stop gobbling. Anxious about getting started with all the warm weather, though, I resorted to starting some indoors. Basil and cherry tomatoes have done extremely well inside.
Fingers crossed on a fruitful season. I'm hoping to have to get really serious about learning to can-- and REALLY excited about the chest freezer my mom is bringing us this week. Let's see if we can really master this self sufficiency thing.
