Delilah the Dulcimer

It finally happened...I bought a dulcimer on Saturday!  It was the only one listed on Craigslist so I am convinced it was meant to be.  The people were super nice and it was a screaming deal.  A McSpadden dulcimer with a case and a book for only $149 when they normally retail for about $350-$400! (I might add I even had the money for this because Scott sold his mountain bike on Craigslist!  Gotta love the Craigslist circle)

I was uber excited to get home and play except that it was out of tune and I didn't know how to tune it.  Thankfully, my music teacher Karen said I could drop by this afternoon and she made it sing.  She told me I had to name my dulcimer because all instruments had to have names.  I decided on Delilah.  I like the alliteration of the d's.

I hope Delilah can forgive me because even in tune I somehow find a way to make it sound not so pretty.  I have so much to learn and it feels so overwhelming, but there will be 30 seconds where I play something well and its awesome!  I had to break down and add the blue painter's tape under my frets so I could reinforce where each fret is located.  Makes me feel so silly, but you do what you have to do to learn.  I still do math on my fingers.  Oh well!

My first song I am tackling is Pretty Betty Martin.  I think its a sweet song and is pretty easy because it repeats a lot.  Its amazing how a little less than an hour of playing and my fingers feel funny.  I guess I will have to break them in but I have a feeling it will hit a painful period before everything becomes normal.

Welcome Delilah...its going to be a bumpy ride!

Chicken Coop 1.0

After a few days of hard work, Scott has finished with the necessary improvements to our dog house turned chicken coop.

This story begins about two months ago when Scott and I decided we weren't going to do chickens this year because our lives were (are) crazy and did we really want to add one more thing?  But then I got all inspired by my urban homesteading blogs and books and couldn't imagine not doing chickens.  I started patrolling Craigslist hoping to find a cheap coop so my dream could come true.

And then suddenly there was the perfect dog house to convert into the perfect coop!  It was only $80!!!  I was sold!  It turns out this dog house was custom built by an engineer who got bored one weekend.  Only engineers!  His boredom is my gain!

Of course, this was a dog house built for a dog not quite fortified against racoons or other dangerous creatures just waiting to eat chickens.  Modifications will have to be made.  Step in Scott, the reluctant handy-man but so willing to try for me-husband. (Scott will be the first to admit he isn't a handy man.  Although he is able to fix ALOT of things his skills have limits.  It's ok.  Mine do too.  Its a reason to learn something new or if necessary call in a professional)  We disscussed and decided that we would have to add a front door that latched and cut in a back door that would allow for easy access to eggs and help with cleaning.  We stumbled on a good tip and added vinly flooring to help with faster clean up.  Toss in a pre-fab nesting box, some wood bars for roosting and we have ourselves a chicken coop!

Front Door

Then we (as in my man) had to pull out the power tools...

We are planning on fitting in 5 hens to this little cozy place.  It's strictly for them to sleep in, as in the morning, they will be freed to run around the yard or be sequestered to the chicken tractor which I mention in an early post.  You can read about that here: Chicken Tractor.  Scott and I both recognized that we will probably want to upgrade the coop next year to allow the chickens some more room and to add on a chicken run that connects to the coop.  Big chicken dreams we got brewing here.  I am also sure we will discover improvements that could be made to make the coop work not only better for the chickens but better for us.  

Oh I should mention that I will be painting the chicken coop hopefully this weekend and will make sure to post a final pic.  We are also scooping out the best place in our yard for the coop.  So many choices, all with good and bad options.  Wish us luck...this puppy is heavy and will not be easy to get into the yard.

Now I am sure you are wondering how much this adventure has cost us so I broke down the costs for you.  We have had our chickens since May and neglected to keep all the receipts so these costs are all estimates.  Once the chickens start laying I will start factoring in monthly costs vs. costs of eggs and see how we come out.  Everything I have read about chickens basically says you break even.  I am not necessarily doing this as a cost savings, plus there are all the intangible savings like weed and bug control and fertilizer that the chickens provide.  I think we come out as winners!

Item	Cost
Starter Feeder	$3.00
Starter Waterer	$3.00
Oyster Shells	$8.00
Cracked Corn 40 lbs	$10.00
Heat Lamp & Bulb	$10.00
Adult Feeder	$12.00
Chickens	$12.00
Bedding	$14.00
Chick Starter Feed 60 lbs	$30.00
Adult Waterer (2)	$50.00
Supplies & Tools for Modifications	$63.00
Chicken Tractor	$80.00
Chicken Coop	$80.00
Total	$375.00

Last, but certainly not least, thank you to my amazing husband, Scott!  Although I do believe I could have done all of this myself, it was nice that I didn't have to and it was fun to plan this out with someone.  I appreciate you jumping a little out of your comfort zone. Flying a plane would certainly be out of my comfort zone and yet you do it without blinking an eye.

Mountain Dulcimer Lesson No. 1

My first dulcimer lesson was last night!  I was so very excited and even though I was so dead tired (damn morning workouts at 5 am) the minute I walked into Karen Smith's studio I was awake and ready to begin my music journey.  Of course, it didn't hurt that her studio is painted a bright orange and has such a fun eclectic feel that makes you want to be awake, ready to take on life!

I stumbled upon Karen's information off the web site: Everything Dulcimer.  She is the only music teacher listed in the state of Idaho.  I was praying she was good.  Karen is quirky in all the was music teachers are and her passion and raw love of music was oozing from her and infusing me with such glee and excitement that I had a hard time sitting still.  To say Karen is good is probably an understatement.  She was awesome!

She, too, was excited to have a new dulcimer student since its not a common instrument for most people to learn.  She had a wide array of dulcimers for me to mess around with but I truly loved her dulcimer.  It sounded so beautiful and just felt right in my lap.  Karen jumped right in teaching me about the different frets and the strings and how to place my fingers in all the right places.  I even had a chance to strum out of few tunes and although it felt awkward I know with just a little practice it would feel comfortable and smooth.

Although I was only signed up for a half hour, Karen ended up spending a little over an hour with me (she is a generous person!).  She recommended I hunt down the Three Rivers Dulcimer Society in Washington.  Its a bit of a drive for me to get over there, but it would be great to meet other dulcimer lovers.  Karen says there is a group that is itching to form here, but it hasn't quite come together yet.  Maybe I can help change that?

My first order of business is to hunt down a dulcimer of my own.  No easy task.  Karen suggested I checkout a place in Nampa called Unicorn Woodworks, where they build dulcimers.  I checked out their web site and I am way excited, except these dulcimers might be out of my price range for a bit.  And so the search continues.

I am dying to be playing right now so hopefully the search won't last too long.

Chicken Tractor Time!

Yes it's chicken tractor time! Since the weather has been warming up nicely I decided it was time for the chickens to get there butts outside. They will still be sleeping in their box in the garage until the coop is completed but for now they can have some time out in nature.

Scott and I picked up this chicken tractor off craigslist for $80. It was built by the guy I bought it from. It looks weathered but is otherwise of strong construction. I love finding deals on craigslist!!!

We settled the tractor into a sunny spot in our yard and moved the chickens out. I was all excited thinking they would be thrilled to explore their new found territory but disappointingly they huddled in the covered end. Completely anti-climatic! I get it, they are still young and its a whole big bad world and wouldn't you huddle in the corner?

We are going with an unusual setup of having a chicken coop that completely closes up for the chickens to sleep in and then for their daytime use they will be in the chicken tractor. This means every morning I have to get them out of the coop and shoo them to the tractor. And come every evening we will go the other way. I have a feeling this might get old, but it was the faster (not necessarily cheaper) route than building on a chicken run. But I believe that will be on the agenda next summer.

Before you worry, the chickens (when they are older) will get some free range time too in the mornings and evenings and during the weekends while I am working in the yard.

Chicken Condo 2.0

The chickens are growing like weeds! I swear every morning I go to say hello they have grown exponentially. There are more feathers, the waddles look bigger or they seem taller. Its quite the experience to watch an animal grow so quickly. Not quite the same experience I have had with puppies.

Unfortunately, the chickens grew right out of their condo (aka brooder). So we found some bigger boxes (if you are wondering they are uhaul wardrobe boxes) and went into constructing chicken condo 2.0. I am sorry to say I didn't take detailed pictures again of this assembly but I think this is the web site I found the idea from: Community Chickens

Condo 2.0:

Basically it all looks the same but is just bigger. I think the chickens can appreciate the additional room, although they have been a bit flighty with the change of scenery. I am a bit baffled by this because the cardboard is the same color, we are using the same kind of bedding and the temperature has stayed the same. My chickens are just super sensitive.

I have also purchased new feeders and waterers that can hang since the chickens are making a mess of their current set up. They have gotten bored and decided to play "Queen of the Watering Can" in which they are try to jump on top of it. This of course makes it dirty and I have to change it more often. I don't like this game, although my favorite chicken, Glinda, keeps winning. I am secretly proud of her. :)

Here's a picture of Glinda (Plymouth Barred Rock):

This week Scott and I will be working on modifying the dog house we bought off craigslist to become the Chicken Coop 1.0. I will make sure to take pictures of the whole process in case you feel inspired to keep chickens of your own.

The Rest of the Ladies:

In front is Millie (Buff Orpington), right behind her the black chicken is Vivian (Black Sex-Link), next in line is Red Sonja (New Hampshire Red) and finally huddled in the back is our VERY flighty Rhonda (Ameraucana).

Of parrots and dogs

I am lucky enough to share my life with some pretty incredible animals, dogs and parrots (well and chickens too, but this post isn't about them). There is never a boring moment in my house and although dogs and parrots seem like an unlikely pair, you are wrong.

From the very beginning our dogs were taught (trained) to understand that our birds were not play things but other members of the family. They have all complied and part of me wants to believe not just from the training. I wouldn't leave my dogs and birds alone loose in a room together because I know instinct is greater than self control but as long as I am around I don't fear my dogs lunging at the birds. There have been many times when our birds have gotten spooked and flown off their cages. The dogs come running only to see the commotion, but stay a respectful distance away. Granted, I have herding dogs and a lion hunting dog; birds really don't register on their radar.

But for one of my birds, Weiser (the Congo African Grey), the dogs are always on his radar. He loves dogs. He likes watching them and talking to them and doesn't seem to have any fear of them. Now I don't think he would cuddle up and fall asleep in their lap, but he doesn't run or scream in fear when they get close. He is so curious! Weiser actually knows how to bark like a dog and does this regularly when our dogs start barking about something. He also loves to tell them "get off" when they jump up on us.

Today while I was making pancakes for breakfast I decided to share a little pancake with the parrots. Weiser is always thrilled to eat people food and settled into munching on his pancake piece. Sydney, my Australian Cattle dog, knows that when the birds have food sometimes they drop it and so she was at the ready near Weiser's cage. And then he started talking to her. It was the sweetest thing although I have no idea what he was saying. Something along the lines of "jawa, bla, bla, bla," but I could tell that was meant for Sydney and not me. My heart swelled at this wonderful intimate moment.

Here's Sydney patiently waiting for her partner in crime to share the rewards:

I decided to let Weiser out of his cage so he could better see Sydney and this is him bending over to get a better look at her. Grey's (well most parrots) get puffy around the face when they are happy and Weiser was all puffs for Sydney.

Nothing quite warms my heart as watching inter-species communication...I am not a scientist so some would argue if my dog and parrot were actually communicating but I would like to think so. For a very long time, I had wanted to study inter-species communication and interactions because I found creatures that have no evolutionary reason to interact do, but I decided I would rather spend my time with animals than in a lab crunching numbers. Its beautiful and wonderful and maybe something humans should pay a little closer attention to...we could learn a thing or two from our wild and domesticated brethren.

As I am writing this Weiser is talking in the background saying "Paco" (the name of one of our other parrots), "step up" all interspersed with whistles and kissing noises. Never a dull moment!

Dulcimers and Fiddles and Guitars OH MY!

Before I even jump into this one I have to admit I am not the most musically inclined person. I am not sure its so much lack of interest, definitely lack of talent but most likely was a lack of time. I have always been fascinated with people who could make music. My own father plays the guitar and banjo and I always found it so fun to watch him do it. (and I am a little sad he doesn't play much at all anymore)

As a child I took piano lessons for a while, but I didn't have a proper piano to practice on but instead used my grandmother's organ. Not quite the same thing. It was hard and I didn't have the most charismatic teacher and so I stopped. I think I took an intro to music class in college and that ended my extended exposure to music that I would directly be involved in.

Of course, I listen to music all the time like the next person but believed I could never be responsible for making it myself. And then came along Jenna Woginrich. She is a writer and I stumbled along her book, Made from Scratch. I love this book for so many reasons but especially for a chapter dedicated to mountain music. Jenna taught herself (mind you she had some music in her background) how to play the fiddle while living in Idaho. Well if she could do it so can I, right?

Well I don't rightly know, but I am damn sure going to give it a try. I have always had visions of sitting around a fire with someone strumming a guitar or any musical instrument and finding it to be the most peaceful moment one can find. I suppose it would work out just fine for me to be that person.

So here I am about to start an interesting journey into the world of music. Jenna mentions in her book about how easy the dulcimer is to learn and although I definitely have my sights set on the fiddle I think learning something easy might boost my confidence. We will see. I am starting to do a lot of research and hunt down samples of music but ultimately I have a feeling I will end up with at least one or both of them.

And then of course there is the guitar. I have always wanted to learn to play but it definitely is a challenging instrument but such a beautiful sound. One of my favorite singers is Brandi Carlile and I would just love to play some of her songs. Of course, I wish I could sing like her too, but I think I would be happy to at the very least strum out her tunes.

Wish me luck...I still have to purchase an instrument, some instructional aids and inevitably find myself a teacher but I am excited to think of where I could be a year from now.

Here is a taste of the mountain dulcimer:

Stephen Siefert playing Whiskey before Breakfast (gotta love that title):

Dreams of Horses

I have been dreaming of horses again. And not just what they look like, but what it feels like to gallop across a field. Its a feeling like nothing else I have experienced and often my dreams of horses bring back that sweet memory.

Ever since I can remember I wanted a horse. I know some will write it off as the typical girl fantasy and maybe it is, but it always felt special to me. When I started keeping a journal (way back when I was 11 years old) I wrote every day of how I wanted a horse and the things I would do once I got one. A horse and a dog was all that I ever wanted. I finally got the dog, but never the horse. I don't think my parents realized how much it would have meant to me, even changed me, had my dream come true. Every Christmas, I would pray (yes that's right, pray) that I would wake up and my parents would have surprised me with a horse. It never happened and although I was thankful for my gifts, I would have given every single one back just to have a horse.

I did get riding lessons. My best friend's mom had a sweet little pony named Simone who taught me about all things horses. I remember the days I had riding lessons were the happiest of all the days of the week. My mom even paid for riding lessons at a stable when we grew out of Simone. I remember this horse named Wally. He was a very big broad backed horse and riding him was like sitting on a comfy couch. I wanted nothing more to be a bona-fide horse person, but my mom stopped paying for lessons after my sister took a fall (a very mild fall). And that ended all things horses.

For a long time, I gave up on that dream. I didn't think it would ever happen and I had no friends that shared my passion so for a while it died. I took down all my horse posters and sold my model horses and put that part of my life behind me. Except, every time I saw a horse my stomach would do a little flip and thoughts of riding would bubble up so fresh and real my heart would ache.

Lately the heart ache over horses has come back and I am not sure why. I suppose with all this work on homesteading its only natural that I would think of horses at some point, but it feels deeper than that. I feel that some part of me will feel complete once I get the chance to share my life with a horse. I imagine myself riding through the countryside feeling a peace that nothing else in my life can give me. I clearly was born 150 years too late!

My life is so crazy busy right now that I can't think of a way to squeeze horses in too. It is Idaho so I am sure there is a thriving horse community just ready to be tapped into but I am a little scared too. I haven't ridden a horse since I was in my early teens. I am sure its like riding a bike, but I am an adult now. I can clearly see the dangers of horseback riding that I didn't see when I was young. Although, is it really any more dangerous than mountain biking?

I am a big believer that animals come into your life for a reason. I have a feeling there is a horse out there waiting to come into my life at just the right moment. I think I am back to praying that moment is sooner rather than later.