The Ranch...Someday

Planning, Planning...

Weekends with Family...

So Saturday morning we checked in with the Peterson's...they were having a burn day (we got rain this week so EVERYONE was having a burn day:-)) We wanted to discuss site and landscape planning with Josh (he owns Verde Creations), SO we headed over there so they could man their fire and we could talk design!

MJ had built her own fire, and she was happy when her mom brought out s'more makings:-) MJ is quite the creative little girl, always creating, writing, sewing, and apparently building!

After our planning session the boys put a window in the clubhouse:-)  The kids already disappear here for hours "working" on it:-)  Just wait until it's finished!

Here they are working, oh wait I mean the men are working not the kids:-)

A happy dirty boy, until you tell him it's time to go home!

Someday...Planning is Happening!

Today we headed out to our property, you know the one right next door from where we currently live!  So blessed!  We headed over there to stake out the newest floorplan, as laid out on the site!  It's so exciting!  As it stands this will be the view from our deck and out our living room, it should also be what I see while working at the island in the kitchen:-)

Tom is getting good at reading plans:-)  I can't wait to get the design all dialed in and pass the plans on to consultants!  And of course BUILD....Stay Tuned:-)

Forgot to add these:-)  This is our driveway cut.  I took these so I could sketch out our driveway entrance to show Tom what I have in my head:-)

Looking down our road toward the other houses.

Looking toward the main road.  See that house on the right, well mostly you can see the shed.  The house beyond the shed that's where we are living now!  SO close:-)  

Rogue Chickens!

So Beth's chickens are always ALWAYS laying outside the coop...OK maybe not always but she finds random LARGE nests a lot.  Well...we found our first ROGUE nest!  25 eggs in one spot by the driveway, NOT in the coop! SO unfortunately for the chickens that means NO MORE free range until they learn to lay in the coop!  

Robertson Ranch Excitement!

5 Egg days are really exciting around here!  Someday soon we might have a 7 egg day!  Every time I open the nest door, and see eggs in there I count it as a gift:-)

The Girls...

This Lady...Mabel, let her secret out...And now all the girls are all free ranging when I leave the gate open, and apparently when Daniel doesn't close the gate tight enough:-) AND now at least 4 hens are LAYING...We have been getting between 2-4 eggs a day for a few days!

This is Goldie, she gave us a little scare the other night when we got home late and she hadn't made it into the coop.  I found her on the roof of the coop, she was very groggy and pretty much asleep.  I had to rescue her and get her into the coop...it involved a ladder and the boys helping but we got it!

This is Sparkle, she's a beauty! She is also the most skittish...

Mabel the queen...

I don't know why, but this picture is idyllic to me...Chickens in the foreground boys in the background:-)  life is good!

This is Martha, Mabel's best bud...

OK time to make dinner, which means its getting close to fox hunting times, or so I think so I want them back in the run...Holden trying to lead them back...

Sparkle says, "What?  Can't you see we are walking!"

Finally following Holden...

Daniel is bringing up the rear...

I didn't get a picture of Blackie, she's well black...looks a little like Mabel but she has a beautiful green sheen to her feathers.  They were all in their run.  I planted these grasses hoping they would grow big, I dont think the girls are going to let that happen.  Oh well!

Meet Mabel the Free Ranger...

Well we've had our chickens for a little over two weeks.  We have a fox or maybe foxes that roam our property, so I thought my dream of free ranging was dead.  But, I wanted to try, and figure if I start losing chickens then, I will know, I cannot free range.  So I leave the gate open some days when I am home all day...so far Mabel is the only one who has decided to leave the run.  So...she is our free ranger...not to be confused with free loader, as she is the only hen laying right now:-)

She seems pretty happy out here!