Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Getting Eggy





I love the colors we have in our kitchen. Olive, pastel blue, eggshell white (see what I did there?), caramel, chocolate, salmon...

One of our layers is a frizzle olive egger. She lays the green egg in the middle.

We call her Tina Turner.




The recent big snows have chased our hens inside, but the ducks stay out in the snow as if it were never happening.




That's a photo of our lovely Beignet out for a stroll.

We also have been getting our first duck eggs:




We have a lot of eggs at the house now. I collect more than a half dozen per day. Friends and family are the ones benefitting from this!




Saturday, January 4, 2014

Addition and Subtraction

2013 was a year for adding. I took on a near excessive amount of graduate classes to accompany my full time work. I loved it, even if at times I was stressed, tired, and disappointed. Academia, particularly the natural sciences, tickles me pink.

I also got married to my best friend and fabulous partner.











I acquired a beautiful creature who likes to glut himself on crickets and romaine lettuce.




We've named him Apollo. Here he is taking his first bath!







Chillin' like a reptilian:




My lively little girl Malai takes a nap in our new chair in the library.




She remains the apple of my eye, though some of the chickens are vying for that spot:















Let's not forget the ducks:










My life is full to the brim. As a result of the wedding registry and our super generous friends and family, my house is full to the brim.

Now, I try to cut back. 2014 will be about subtraction. I have a single project to do for my masters degree, I have two wonderful jobs centered around ecology and agriculture, and I continue my creative pursuits. However, there is necessary weekly household organization going on, along with trips to secondhand shops and shelters. (Not giving away the registry items, but a lot of stuff that's gone unused in our house - old clothes, old bread machine, old games, etc.) In addition, I will do less of the stuff that doesn't build toward my personal goals.

So, life is good, still busy, but not nearly as tense as it once was. In 2014 I hope to focus on what's really important - friendships, family, my partnership with my husband, and the activities which fulfill my sense of meaning.

So, less Facebook, guys. ;)

And I leave you with my most recent WIP:



Nothing special yet, but fun to work on!