For those new to Looks of Love, or even if you're not, you may not
have known that I moved! After living in the DC area for the past 5
years (Alexandria to be precise), I knew that I needed to proceed on to
the next chapter in my life. Growing up, my family and I lived in the
country in Illinois. I grew up chasing fireflies, riding horses, raising
chickens, and walking down gravel roads. My heart has been longing for
the familiarity for a long time now. So, this year I put the wheels in
motion, and moved down to the Charlottesville, VA area. I have since
been working on putting the wheels in motion to continue creating a life
for myself that I love. One huge step has been acquiring chickens. I
went with a Barred Rock hen, as I read only good reviews, and they are
suppose to be good for both eggs and meat.
Side note: I am not planning on eating any of these little loves!
Originially,
I had only wanted about 10 chicks. However, when I placed my order, the
minimum was 15. Ok, no big deal. As I was checking out, I had the
option of being sent a "bonus mystery chicken." Um, yes please! That
sounded like even more fun!
While waiting for the
chicks to arrive, my landlord Dave and I set to work building a mobile
chicken tractor. We had both watched a few youtube videos, but in the
end, we decided we would just wing it. Dave has been building and
constructing structures for years, so I felt confident that my little
ladies would have a secure and safe home to live in. We set to work for
the next month every Tuesday, measuring, cutting, sawing, marking,
nailing, stapling, etc. In the end, my little gals have a beautiful home
with an open air bottom section to roam around in the grass, or they
can walk the ladder upstairs where the nesting boxes sit, anxiously
waiting for these loves to grow a little more.
My
little peeps arrived via the post office, and my wonderful neighbor
picked them up for me while I was at work. One had died in transit, but
the others were all beautiful little balls of fluff. Squeee! Their first
few weeks of life were spent in an empty horse stall that my other
neighbor graciously let me use. Once they started getting their
feathers, I moved them to the tractor. Lesson: Always check for dips in
the ground where tiny chicks might escape. I lost 2 more within the
first couple of days, but I still have 13 beautiful little loves that
are growing bigger every day! Call me a proud chicken momma, but these
little gals melt my heart. :-)
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| So Sleepy! |
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| Asleep again! |
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| A blurry sleeper |
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| Hanging out with my girls |
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| Their comfy home for the first few weeks of life |
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| The chicken tractor |
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| Micha, the resident Golden, is FASCINATED by these gals. Can't let him near them ;-) |
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| Big feet |
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| Velvet being a creeper |
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| Should I tell them that they will never get far flying? |
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| Roosting |
Back in 2006, I moved down to Southern Illinois to begin my studies for dental hygiene. The awful short term memory that I have, I don't recall which hygiene class it was, but Tracy and I met that fall semester. We clicked over our involvement in the equestrian world, and spent the next 3 years in various classes together. After graduation, we parted ways; me ending up in DC, while Tracy and her husband made a home for themselves in Oklahoma. We lost contact until just this past year. Tracy was getting into photography, and noticed that I was involved in that industry as well. We quickly began exchanging messages all things photography. When Tracy told me that she was heading to eastern Virginia to watch the annual pony swim on Chincoteague island, we decided that she should make a quick pit stop in my little corner of Virginia as well. Since her and I both needed new head shots, we thought what better time than that visit!
