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My butler's pantry has been given a makeover!
Okay, so maybe I haven't given it a makeover but it has been transformed. As of yesterday, my pantry is also serving as a brooder for:
24 incubating chicken eggs 
and 9 of the cutest little chicks.
Aren't they adorable!? While my daughter was visiting, we took time to visit our local animal supply store. We came home with a box of peeps- 3 red sex links, 3 black sex links and 3 Polish chicks (2 of them are buff colored- not sure about the third). The polish chicks will have a cute little mop top. Below is a picture of what the polish chick will look like when it's grown. (Photo from McMurray Hatchery)
These chickens will all lay brown legs with the exception of the Polish chicks, they are white egg layers. I am looking forward to the day when we can gather fresh eggs for breakfast! But a little patience is needed. They won't be laying eggs for about 5 months.
I am planning to add to this brood. The store is running a special later this month. So we will be ordering 5 Araucana hens. They will be close to laying size by the time they arrive in early April. Just in time for Easter! Araucanas are unique birds. They aren't white layers or brown layers. They lay a rainbow assortment of eggs- hues of green, from turquoise to olive and even hues of pinkish brown. I'm looking forward to watching all these girls in the chicken yard!
The Chicken Coop
Until now, we didn't have any of these marvelous little creatures. We had about 30 of them, however, on our farm in Wisconsin. I have to say, I was never much for chickens until my husband brought home our first flock. I immediately fell in love with the roosters. I often just stood and studied them. I realized just what beautiful birds they are, especially when you get up close and personal with them. Their hackle feathers are beautifully colored and so intricate....evidence of a Creator.
My husband enjoyed having farm fresh eggs with those deep golden yolks. One might say he is an egg connoisseur. I told him to build me a hen house and I would tend the chickens. So he's been busy constructing their new home. They of course, won't be able to move in until they are much bigger. Until then, we will keep them housed in the pantry were we can enjoy watching them and listening to the cheep, cheep, cheep!
Crazy for Chickens
Tammy
after
Our Brooder House
Saturday, I was sweetly surprised by some unseasonably warm weather. So of course I had to get outside and soak up some of that warmth. As I walked out the door, I immediately heard honking.....not the sound of cars honking but that of a gaggle of Canadian geese flying overhead. Instantly, my mind led me back to a simpler time in our life when our family lived in Wisconsin near the Horicon Marsh. The marsh lured in hundreds of thousands of geese and a variety of other birds. The pace in our small town there was much slower and simpler than the life we have here in Pennsylvania. 
pringtime in Wisconsin was always a delight. Winters there lasted forever! So every little sign that spring was nearing, meant there was one less day of winter. I have to say though, the arrival of the sandhill crane was my favorite. I found everything from their unusual croaking call to their springtime courtship dances to be very intriguing.
flapping overhead....ducks were quacking, geese honking, herons squawking, cranes croaking and even swans trumpeting....each with their own melody. I could bird watch and do laundry at the same time. Talk about living the good life! Living a simple life on our Wisconsin farm was simple. (no pun intended) The slower pace enabled us to enjoy little distractions like those at my clothesline. 
Oh, one last thing to mention- I still don't have a clothesline here in Pa. It's on the "list."
