Articles From When I Was The Chicken Lady

http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/34320

http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/2008/1110/p17s01-lign.html

http://www.seattleschild.com/article/the-update-on-city-chickens

http://seattletimes.com/html/living/2004419952_citychickens170.html

http://seattletimes.com/html/living/2008040097_coopspreview09.html

http://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/health/article/Urban-bird-owners-get-anti-flu-advice-1216334.php

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jun/15/nation/na-chicken-economy15

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/22215439/ns/health-pet_health/t/pet-chickens-may-be-plucked-owners/

http://business.highbeam.com/4341/article-1G1-167627639/chicks-city-pet-hens-present-unique-problems-support

Santuary

Bush bean!

 It has been lovely in Seattle these last couple of weeks. Eighty degree days and blue skies. This is actually quite unusual for a Seattle spring, not that I am complaining. I am that rare Seattle-ite that does not complain when the weather gets over 75°.  I will sit outside with my iced sweet tea and dig in my dirt until it sticks to my sweaty face!

And since it has been so lovely, my weekends have been taken up with working in the garden and household projects that I have been procrastinating on. Just like everyone else in Seattle, I hide in the house in the winter daydreaming about all the wonderful yard projects I am planning on doing and drooling over garden magazines and seed catalogs. But like most Seattle-ites, once the lovely weather starts all those plans get dumped out the window and replaced with hikes and bike rides and general outdoor goofing off.


So I finally got myself motivated and laid the beauty bark down for the mulch in the paths between the garden beds and built the path between the front and back yard.  I have a giant pile of top soil left over from when we cut down an old, rickety Douglas Fir in the back yard. It seems that one of the previous owners also used the location to dump the leftovers of their clam bakes. So, I have been slowly sifting all the big rocks, weird sea shells and the occasional marble out of and moving it to the places in my yard that need filling in and into new garden beds. It is good soil and composted with the ground stump of the Fir tree, so it is pretty rich in organic matter. Once that is completed and the location is relatively level,  I will work on expanding my patio.

Lately, right after I wake up, I am out in the garden breathing in the morning air and drinking my coffee. My pajamas match my coffee cup, I realized this morning. Anyways, it is so much more soothing now that it is more symmetric and easier to navigate.

Some might say that the beds are too close together, but I can get the mower in between them and sit on the edge of one bed to work in the other. It works perfectly for me and that is all that matters. I have my soaker hoses in the beds and turn them on first thing in the morning so that they do not lose too much to evaporation, then I just putz and drink my coffee and connect myself to the world again.

My garden in my sanctuary when things suck to much for me to deal with. It de-stresses me even when I am sore at night because I have been bending over a soil screen for four hours straight. It makes me realize that the world is only as lovely as you make it.