Around here when we are talking about “tractors” chances are good we are talking about portable chicken pens.  It’s a way to keep chickens safe and give them access to fresh grass.

Since we are raising chickens for meat right now Paul has been busy building new tractors for them to live in.  We wanted to feed them a combined diet of standard chicken feed and pasture.  We also wanted them to have plenty of space to move around and stretch their wings and play.  In other words, we wanted happy chickens, since they are going to be feeding us.  We can at least return the favor by making sure they are happy and healthy leading up to freezer camp.

Originally Paul was going to build 3 of these triangle – shaped tractors.  They are very basic, very sturdy, and light-weight enough for either me or the kids to move around easily.

Problem was, I didn’t think that they’d be big enough for fifty birds to have room to roam around.

When they were still fairly small we put them all in this one tractor.  It was roomy enough for them, but it wouldn’t be for long.

So Paul stepped outside the box and built them a new tractor.

From an old trampoline.

They now have a ton of room to move around and not be on top of each other.

As they reach their peak size we won’t have to worry about overcrowding.  We move it every two days or so – and they do quite a job mowing down all the grass in there.  They have a waterer that Paul put a float valve in so that they are never without water.  They get fresh air and shade.

As for the original tractor, there is a new family living in there for now.

Fleur and her babies have taken up residence there.  They’ll stay until the babies are old enough to be introduced to the flock at large (in other words, big enough to defend themselves from the inevitable bullying of the newbies).

Today we have some cause to celebrate –  the loggers officially finished clearing out the remaining trees to be felled.  This means that all that is left is for us to clean up a bit and fence it all in!

Paul and I walked all the way back to the very back edge of our property – something we have never been able to do in the summer before – and marveled at just how much more land we have than we thought we did and how nice it will be for the animals.  There’s plenty of trees left in the back portion for shade, and plenty of wide open space in the middle.  The landscaper expressed concern with all the underbrush that is left out there but I told him to leave it – the goats will make very short work of it.

This is standing at the back edge, looking toward the house.  See the grey in the very center of the photo?  That’s our roof.

I love that there are still some big old trees to provide shade on these hot days we’ve been getting, but there’s still enough sun filtering through that grass shouldn’t have any trouble growing.

Gully had fun running around like a mad dog and flying off the tree stumps.

The next step will be fencing, and hopefully that will go smoother than the clearing did!

To celebrate I made some peach jam from Marisa McClellans’ Food in Jars.

It tastes like the filling of a peach pie.

In other words, divine!

We had a pretty epic storm Friday night.  Maybe you heard about it?

I was reading in bed and heard the sound of really, really hard rain, and I began to worry about the chicks in the chicken tractor out front – I didn’t want them getting flooded out.  So, I went downstairs to see about getting a tarp or something and happened to glance out the front window, only to see there was no rain.  That pounding, howling, roaring sound was WIND.

Paul had run out to fold up the patio umbrella to keep it from flying away (didn’t matter, it flew anyway), and I ran to help him close the door on the back coop that had come open.  The wind was like a freight train, and above the deafening roar if it we could hear the cracking of trees all around us.  It occurred to us how lucky we were that all of the questionable trees around the house had already been removed. As we were making our way back into the house the WHEELBARROW blew into me.  That was when I started to panic.

Happily, after an hour or so of all of us huddled together in the downstairs hallway the storm passed on, leaving us with power and house intact.

Unfortunately, Juniper Moon Farm lost power, and our our friend Lisa lost power and had her 200 year old oak split and fall on her car.   She’s still negotiating with the power company to come out and remove the power line that is still draped across that mess.

The thing is, we all have wells with electric pumps.  No power equals no water.   We couldn’t let Susan be without water because the temperatures were expected to be up near 100 again, and the livestock would not have made it through the day.

Off went Paul with the big generator to hook up her well.

I couldn’t let Lisa suffer with no water or A/C either, not least because she has a 3 year old and is pregnant.

I stocked up on snacks and Susan took all of the now – thawing meat out of her freezer, packed it over to our house and met Lisa here for a chance to get some relief from the heat.  Caroline, Charlotte and Zac came along (Zac cooked an amazing meal!) as did their farm stay guests who we did not want to leave sweltering when relief was so close.

It wasn’t the happiest weekend for everyone, but we made the best of it and got to enjoy each other’s company and some great food. These impromptu gatherings are actually my favorite kind because you don’t have any lead-up time to fret over a planned party, and there are no expectations that things will be perfect.  We all pitched in to make the best of it for each other, and it made an otherwise terrible weekend rather nice.  Fortunately Juniper Moon Farm’s power came back on later that night, and Lisa has a place to stay with family until hers is sorted out.

This is what community is about; if you don’t have a connection to people near you that you can rely on and who can rely on you, I strongly suggest you make it a priority.  It makes life so much better, even during the tough times.  Especially during the tough times.