My niece spent the week with us last week also. Which explains why my computer was no longer my own! If we weren't out picking, jamming or farting around, she was online. Since my computer is in the front room where the spare bed is and her hours are way different than mine - well that pretty well explains the lack of posts!
We also had friends stay the weekend with us and had loads of fun! Any time you can cavort around and just "be" is time very well spent.
My girl, my MiniMe in the making, Tricia, and I have been conniving a Chicken Tractor for some time. Recently, I read an article about the FDA coming clean and confirming there is arsenic in our commercial chicken. You can read about it here. (Erin, this would be a 'glaze over moment' for some folks I believe?)
I suppose if you put some barbecue sauce on it, most people wouldn't notice. I suppose maybe folks feel sorry for the death of a bird as opposed to the good life it lead. But would you choose an arsenic cocktail from a bird that never walked and lived in a 1 square foot space instead? I digress, on with happier thoughts. Deglaze.
We are even more determined to raise all our own meat birds and Tricia is even more determined that we girls can build it ourselves. Surely we could, but surely it wouldn't pass Pig Pens inspection.
So Saturday afternoon, while Tricia was away a bit, I said to Pig Pen and Keith: "Hey, the four of us should build a Chicken Tractor tomorrow! It would be fun and Tricia would be excited!"
Of course, Keith was discriminative in a humorous way. You know, the yeah-can't-wait-to-see-this kind of way? Well, the guys sorta wrote me off and back to the shop they went.
Tricia was excited! So her sister Amber, Tricia and I started surfing and investigating. We were dead set on this and taking it very seriously!
Pig Pen came in and we got to talking. He asked Tricia, "So how many 2x4s will you need?"
Ponder, ponder, think, think..."Six!" she says.
It's OK, you can laugh, we did too. And no my dear girl...you will never live it down. Ever. :o)
Away to the shop the guys went again. So we got down on the ground and we measured, we modified, we thought of everything! Of course we did all this with my sewing tape measure and a steno pad! Ha!
The couple of hours we put into our design was well spent. We were SO proud of ourselves! We were High Fivin' and practically dancing! We just knew this was IT!!! After all, her fortune cookie said so:
Victoriously, we marched out to the garage Saturday night to cram our fabulous design straight up the nay-sayers noses! Pleased.As.Punch!
Open the door to the shop and this:
So the sneaky little liars PLAYED us! We got played! Keith said they were putting BEE BOXES together!
Yup!
12 hours, about $200 bucks and some scrap, 2 sneaky little players and 2 unnecessary chicken tractor engineers later...
Please note: there are only 2 - 2x4s and no axles :o)
They did real good!
Thank You to the dirtyrottenlittleliars! We love you!
Wow! Is that a cool chicken tractor or what?
ReplyDeleteI did something along the lines of what you gals were going to do (trust me, it takes WAY more than 6 2x4's....) one day when DH was at work. It's nothing near as fancy as the one your guys built, but it works ok.
Congrats on your styling chicken mover!
You really must write a manual on how your get your Husband to actually get a project done. There are some of us years behind on begging for something to get finished or even started. I am pre-ordering mine now.
ReplyDeleteThe tractor looks beautiful. As my Father would say "is that where you are going to keep the kids when they come over to visit?"
THAT APG-was a awesome blog along with very photo- jean-ic pictures [ spelling mistake on purpose-I know with me you can't be quit sure] and now you know what it is like to share a computer. mine is shared with a son and his 2 sons and when my daughter comes over she completely hogs it-but my 2 teenage grandson's have a computer in there room so my other son and another grandson use that one ---thank god. I WATCHED THE FILM"FOOD INC " ABOUT TIME TO WATCH IT AGAIN-THE CHICKENS RAISED IN A SMALL SPACE- THE ONE LADY WHO LOST HER CONTRACT WITH PURDUE BECAUSE SHE ALLOWED THE CAMERA MAN INSIDE FOR A VIEW-A DIRTY ROTTEN VIEW AT THAT. WISH i LIVED IN A AREA WHERE WE COULD RAISE OUR OWN CHICKENS OR i WISH WE COULD AFFORD LOCAL BOUGHT [ YOU KNOW NO PESTICIDES OR GROWTH HORMONES]AND SORRY I JUST WROTE A BOOK ON YOUR SITE.
ReplyDeleteLOL!! Guess we were on the same page this weekend! Although yours is much grander than ours :-)
ReplyDeleteCarolynRenee, well I am pretty sure that if we had done it ourselves it wouldn't have been all that great either! We would have laughed at ourselves like crazy and it would have looked like ghetto chickens lived in it :)
ReplyDeleteJane, I could write that book, but the answers probably aren't what you'd expect! :o) No poles, ya know. And we could order one of those up real easy like if you would just let me!!!
Judy, you can write a book on my siet anytime you like! No worries! Glad to know someone else gets squeezed out by the kids too ;o) Maybe we need more conditions such as -build Grama a coop, dig her up a garden, take the garbage out and THEN you can use the computer. I think we all need to come on over to your place for an intervention. Can you imagine all us gardners transcending upon you? Yeah, I'd be scared too!
BrokenRoad, I think you guys got way more done across the board! And really, does a chicken know one coop from another? Nah, they just love to eat and poop. So we both get an A for effort! We have happy hens! That's what counts!
What a great job they did. I couldn't believe what I saw when I came by sunday those guys are not just good, but FAST. Jan most likely wishes I could move that fast on her basement project. GREAT job guys!!
ReplyDeleteWell, so much for me blogging about my puny PVC tractor that is taking shape in the middle of my living room. I would be shamed, I tell you! Nice job!!!
ReplyDeletePops, what you need is a party and lots of food. That usually gets things done!
ReplyDeleteSusan, nonononoNO! Honestly if Tricia and I had built it, I am sure we'd be a-drool over yours too! This was the guys and they always go big! So you post yours and be proud my lady!!!
What a cool tractor! Yay for meat birds, this will be so awesome providing all that healthy meat for your family. I can't wait til my next garden party, we'll definitely be talking about the arsenic thing, with people who get excited about it instead of catatonic LOL!
ReplyDeleteYour guys "ROCK" APG. They are the best! How did you luck out getting such a great guy?
ReplyDeleteNow what you could do to yank their chains is to paint it a pretty pink with flowers and white puffy clouds and ladybugs...
That is way awesome! Sounds like a great weekend. You've got a great guy there! Men are so handy sometimes. ;)
ReplyDeleteThat was the coolest story you just told! How much better was this past weekend for you than if you lived in a condo with a crew who came and did the yard work for you. And your "recreation" was playing video games and maybe going out to sit in an upscale bar at night? What you're doing is LIVING and having a darn good time at it.
ReplyDeleteThose of us living on our little "homesteads" are truly blessed. ('Course, there is a little down-and-dirty, hard work involved, too, but . . . :o})
Those dirtyrottenlittleliars of yours are THE BEST!
Erin, imagine the conversation as a few beers go down! Thrilling folks that we are ;o)
ReplyDeleteTami, Tricia wants to paint it pink and purple! Just not sure I want to look at that every day myself! I am sure I will come up with some sort of personalization tho!
Patty, yes they do serve great purpose when it comes to those sort of things, huh?
MamaPea, there is not a subdivision or city that would take us! We are too far gone now! And we do love playing around in the dirt, so I can't imagine ever going back!