Back to mmmmm.

Now that we are no longer expecting children or nursing we have been drinking wine again! Its really nice to cook a nice dinner and cork a bottle of wine and sit together as a family and enjoy the flavours of a good wine. I decided to rummage through our stash and notice that many are drink now or a year past their prime. I figured this meant we should start having a bottle or two per week. I really missed wine... and beer. We have been having a few brews per week as well, maybe 4-6 drinks per week... not to sound like some drunk. We did drink some wine from Sanson Estates which is a local winery. They have an Autumn Harvest Vidal which is fantastic. Then there is a Bacobama, after Barack Obama of course. It is a blend of Baco and a white wine which makes for a light red with easy drinkability and perfect for summer. I often find reds difficult to drink in the heat of the summer and prefer a nicely chilled white. this Bacobama gives the perfect balance.

Sanson Estates Winery

Autumn Harvest Vidal 2008 - $12.95

I really don't think I have ever visited Sanson Estate without someone coming in during my time there and buying

a couple of bottles of this wine. It seems to be a staple for Essex County locals. Vidal is actually a hybrid grape

that was designed to survive Canada's inclement winters but it found a niche as icewine – actually celebrating

those same cold months. Harvested a little late in the fall, after the fruit has had time to accumulate extra ripeness

this wine shows round, honeyed aromas of pineapple and peach that carry to a soft, round, full palate.

It's simply an easy-to-drink, slightly off-dry, unoaked wine that is great on its own or will compliment

a surprising range of foods – anything from pan-fried fish to roast fowl to spicy.

Bacobama - $13.95

Wine for Change! Bacobama is a unique blend of Baco, with just a hint of white wine to offer you a lighter red.

Softer notes and slightly on the off-dry side, this wine is perfect for the first time red wine drinkers or try chilling

it 10 minutes in the fridge for an easy drinking glass of wine. This product is produced from red and white grapes

grown and fermented at our Amherstburg Ontario Winery.

It's coming along.

The vegetable garden seems to be growing quickly aside from the cherry tomatoes. Everything else seems to have BOOMED! We will definitely get lots of vegetables... just later than usual. It's a shame we didn't get around to planting until so late in the season but some is better than none.

Beans (heirloom) Cucumber (heirloom) Butternut Squash (heirloom)

Zucchini (heirloom)

Watermelon (heirloom)

As for the San Marzano tomatoes we purchased form the market... they are going to yield plenty of fruit for our family.

A Day Outdoors

The Chicks got to spend Saturday outside. They seemed to be enjoying the grass. Although, they hid from the dog inside the enclosed area of the run. The dog just stared at them the entire time they were in the run. Once they are full grown I think our run will be small for them so will only be used when we are away. The chicks went back to the brooder in the evening but should be ready to stay outdoors in a week or so, once they are completely feathered.

I had mentioned in another post that one chick hadn't seemed to roost... well, here they all are up on the roost.

I hate weeds!

I spent 30 minutes pulling weeds from our small front flower garden the other night. I mean, really? I won't even speak of our lawn and the dandelions which have taken over! When I met Aaron he was a bit of a lawn guy; competing with the neighbour with who had the better manicured lawn and such. We have moved from that neighbour but if she were to see the state of Aaron's lawn today... she may just faint! We live across from a park with a large man made pond and a small field and those weed seeds just float on over to our lawn and gardens. Aside from the weeds, all of our plants which were planted last year have survived their first year. The second and third year are often the true test of whether they are truly stable and thriving. They all seem to have plenty of new growth and I have even trimmed up the yews, mainly to get them to grow up instead of just out, but it was trimming none the less.

So far so good.

It is day 4 having our chicks and they are all doing very well. They eatand drink wellandseemto be quite happy little chicks. I had been a bit concerned about them not roosting the first day and was informed that they may not roost for a while. Turns out I spoke too soon since the following day they were sitting up there. We have given them a pie plate of play sand to use as grit and for dust bathing. They have been eating it so we decided to give them grass clippings which they loved. I also gave them a dandelion today and some dandelion greens... they loved it! They went right for the flower and pecked away at it. From what I have been reading I do believe we may have gotten lucky and have 4 hens... no Roo's. There is one that I would say I am only 75% sure... but I am 95% sure about the other 3. I would hate to have to give any of them away since they are all so sweet. They come to our hands and want to be rubbed under the belly. They are so sweet and adorable! I wish we didn't get them sooner! People don't seem to understand how truly beautiful chickens are... especially as chicks! I just adore them.

Here are some more photos for your enjoyment!

"I'm the king of the castle!"

They're Here, They're Here!

Aaron brought home our 4, 2 week old Barred Rock Chickens last night. Honestly, they are simply adorable. What sweet little birds. They don't do a whole lot aside from eat, drink, peck and kick. They occasionally take dust baths which is pretty funny to watch. They like to huddle up together and nap. So far we have been able to keep their brooder at a decent temp for them, between 85-95. They are in our garage and so it is a bit tough to get the temp down during the hot days so we got a fan for at the back of the brooder to create a breeze for them. During the day we will be turning their heat lamp off or else it would be cooking in the garage. The heat during the day in the garage is my main concern for now, I will be keeping a very close eye on the temp of the brooder. If it gets to hot and can't be controlled they will be coming to the basement in our storage area. I am picking them up some grit today and aside from that I think we were well prepared. We haven't held them much yet since we want them to get accustomed to their new homes before bothering them too much. When we put them in the brooder they went straight for the food. They hadn't drank in the first 15 minutes so Aaron dipped their noses in the water to let them know it was there... we had read to do this. They have all been eating and drinking very well. They seem to be adjusting well to their new surroundings.

The kids were pretty excited to see the chicks. Owen was trying to get as close as humanly possible while Megan pointed and tried grabbing at them. We of course didn't let them touch them... not for a few days at least. I am heading out today to get pump hand sanitizer as well so that when anyone touches the chicks or their things we wash our hands immediately. Not only for our safety but for the chicks as well. Cleanliness is very important in preventing disease and other issues in chicks, so I have read.

C-DAY!

We get our chickens today. It felt like this day would never come. The coop is set up, although some venting modifications are still needed. We also set up the brooder last night. We used our old Dog crate. We are using the deep litter method and purchased medicated feed. We will be getting a red heat lamp tonight and clamping it to the door of the crate. On BYC I have seen a few different dog crate brooder methods and think this setup will work well. Since we are getting 2 week old chicks I don't think we will have a problem since at this age they are a bit more hardy that the day olds. For our first time I think this is a great way to go. Here is a great site with the basics on raising baby chicks.