I want a flock of meat birds...

I recently read a piece of philosophical musing on vegetarianism. It wasn't a great piece, so I am not linking it. However... It got me thinking about where the meat I am eating is coming from.

I really want a flock of meat birds. It would make me feel really good to have a giant freezer full of yummy chicken all winter, and to know they had a good life.

-a

Apples and chickens...

I am currently drooling, almost literally, over a chicken coop and flock set-up that is listed on Craigslist. If I had a chunk of land I would buy it in an instant, no question asked.

In other news, the house smells amazing. I have four racks of apples dehydrating, filling the whole house with that warm harvest season smell. Pumpkin pies last week, apples dehydrating this week. Must be autumn.

Chickens...

Last spring I bought six chickens. I gave two away to a friend and kept the other four. Her chickens began laying eggs today. This is very exciting because it means my chickens should begin laying soon as well. I came home today and made sure they had nice clean nesting boxes.

Fresh Eggs..... SO EXCITED.

As soon as let the chickens in their new home Pterry hopped up in her clean nesting box and started brooding. Usually they sleep perched, so the brooding seems like a good sign.

Rhythms of Life

It is remarkable to me how different the rhythm of my life is now than it was two or three years ago.

A few years ago I lived alone (or with a roommate) with a big solitary dog named Murphy. I had literally nothing that needed done in my life at a specific time.

Murphy required very little attention. He grazed on his food, he would let me know when he needed out, he basically required ten minutes a day of upkeep. (Pets aside. He was a whore for the pets.)

I ate healthy, but like a bachelor. Lots of easy-to-grab fruits, veggies, granola bars, and microwave pasta meals.

On the days I didn't have school you would likely see me slowly meander out of bed, find a granola bar, read some web comics. Maybe, MAYBE, do something productive like let Murphy out. If he asked.

I woke up this morning and immediately let Prophet and Odin out. I then took two seconds to let myself pee before:
      Putting on boots and a sweater. (Rain.)
            Going outside with the dogs.
                  Opening up the chicken coop so the chickens have run of the yard.
                       Turning on the light to the coop.
                            Refilling the chicken's food and water.
                                  Throwing some of the chicken poop on plants that need it.
                                       Pulling off the wet chickeny boots and sweater.
                                            Bringing the dogs inside and feeding them.
                                                 Making Jacob and my bed.
                                                      Taking the dogs back outside to poop.
                                                           Making myself a plate of food.
                                                                 Taking the dogs back outside to poop, again.
                                                           
What a different pace. The astonishing thing is that I am not doing dramatically less, overall. Instead I am fitting more in the same amount of time. Instead of wasting the first thirty minutes of each day waking up, I am spending it doing the things in my life that really need attention.

Being an adult... Still weird.