Unpleasant initiation

You've all read about our foray into backyard chicken keeping, and all the fun we've had in getting the chicks, building the coop and watching them grow. In fact, last week we were rewarded with the first eggs. What a thrill to see those perfect, round brown eggs! And of course, they taste amazing. Anjalee and I enjoyed our first home-grown scrambled eggs the other morning.

But when I got going on this project, I understood that it wouldn't all be easy, and that chickens die for all kinds of reasons. I thought it might be hard to not get attached to them, but it turns out they aren't as cuddly as I expected. And I also knew we might get a rooster or have a hen get old and unproductive at some point, requiring us to butcher. Well, we did get a rooster. Two of them, in fact, and the first one was lucky enough to get a new home. However, the second was not. I had a hard time accepting this because he was a Golden Laced Wyandotte, a beautiful breed that I searched high and low for, and the ONE bird I most wanted to be female.

A couple weeks ago he let out his first crow, and we knew we had to do something. Roosters aren't allowed in town, and we want to keep a good relationship with our neighbors. So yesterday Michael decided it was time to butcher the rooster. I was a little worried about feeling bad for killing him, and I chose to hold him rather than cut his throat. Some friends of our came over to watch, which I found to be very reassuring, though I don't know why. Fortunately, once we got underway, you focus on the task at hand, and I didn't feel guilty at all. It was quick and humane, and felt like times in the past when I've helped process other people's chickens.

It wasn't until I saw the bird in the slow cooker that I felt a little too close to my food for comfort. But it would have been disrespectful to be anything but grateful for the life and nourishment that rooster gave, and I am more ashamed to feel so disconnected from the truth about where our food comes from.

Part of living with livestock is having an intimate relationship with them, one that is interdependent and complex. We need each other, and it is difficult to spend so much time caring for something only to cause it's demise. The blessing in raising and butchering animals is that you take responsibility for an animal's death and therefore have a greater respect for the sacrifices made to feed us. Even though I've seen this play out many times before growing up, it's a lesson that never ceases to be powerful and humbling.

Killing Saturday

Well it's just us today, Anjalee and me.  Michael spent the night in San Fran with other Driscoll's employees on a team-building workshop, and I envy him getting an uninterrupted night's sleep in a comfy hotel bed :)  Last night was big for the little bubba, as I had a cake decorating class and left her in the capable hands of Cameo, our babysitter.  I came home to a happy baby ready for bed, which was pure bliss!

After she went to sleep I finished decorating the cake I spent most of the day baking, filling, and icing.  I was exhausted, but happy to have my first cake under my belt.  It's very cute, but I have a long way to go before I have a decent-looking cake I would feel comfortable selling. I think the cake itself, the classic yellow recipe from the King Arthur cookbook, and the homemade blueberry filling turned out very well. The final judgement will come tomorrow, as I'm giving the cake to Michael for Father's Day.

Who wants cake?

Life has been pretty good since Anjalee was born.  I get to enjoy every moment with her and see every little new skill she masters.  We go on fun outings and visit our baby and mommy friends a couple of times a week. I am even able to nap or relax in the sun when she naps.  It's pretty great not having to report to work and being the boss of my day, at least as much as Anjalee will allow.

But as ideal as that sounds, sometimes I wonder what I have to show for my efforts at the end of those days.  No doubt, caring for a baby and keeping the house clean and preparing meals is worth a lot.  It would cost a small fortune to pay someone else to do those things.  But lately I've felt the need to do something that offers a more tangible product, so I've decided to pursue a long-time interest of mine.  Last week I went to the first session of a cake decorating class, and my goal is to learn the basics, see how I like it, and take it from there.  At the very least, I can use what I learn to make cakes for family and friends, and if I really love it, maybe I can build a home business around it.

While I don't think a beautiful cake is going to make agriculture more sustainable or reduce fossil fuel consumption, it does offer me a creative outlet and the challenge of learning something new.  And maybe someday it will inspire something I can do about those big problems.

I know that's asking a lot of a cake, but I'm optimistic :)

Cluck, cluck little biddies!

One of the great things about California is it's long held interest in local and sustainable agriculture.  Being my number one social issue, this is something I can celebrate. There's always someone to talk to about how evil the industrial food system is and where to find the most innovative (wacky) and committed (idealistic to the point of impractical) farming operations.  I kid!  I kid!  In all seriousness, I really respect anyone who knowingly invests in one of the most challenging careers out there.  I hope to be that crazy myself someday.

But while I'm waiting for that garden gate of opportunity to swing wide, I want to have my fingers in the dirt any way I can.  When we lived in South Dakota, we rented a plot at a community garden and packed as many plants into is as possible.  It was totally fun, even if we had some strange results due to overcrowding and the wind blowing our tomatoes to tatters.

As much as I love to garden, I'm really crazy about animal husbandry, and have long wanted to try my hand with chickens.  Growing up, they were not allowed on the farm, being too dirty.  Dalan would say, "I don't want those nasty things crapping all over my tractors."  We are fortunate enough to have these wonderful Portuguese landlords who have given us free rein of our spacious, grassy lot, and were supportive of my backyard chicken ambitions. We chose a plan to build a coop from, and used Christmas money to get started.  Due to Michael's busy work schedule and frequent travel plans, it was going slower than I hoped, so I went out and got some chicks to keep us motivated.

So here we are, with a completed coop (all except for the paint job) and three chicks, Bertie aka Burt (a barred rock), Stella, and Starla (black sex-links).  This week I'll be getting my last three chicks, a buff orpington and my bling bling chickens, two golden laced wyandottes.


My reasons for wanting backyard chickens are two-fold. Mainly, I was interested in having them as pets.  Not very urban-homestead-y, but it's the truth.  The eggs were just a big, "I'm growing my own food" bonus. Of which we will be up to our eyeballs in with 5 hens that lay each will lay over 300 eggs in a year.  Quiche, anyone?

Introductions

Welcome to my new blog. I began this with very little forethought, so I hope it becomes something worth reading, at least to those I call friends and family.

I named it 'Becoming Californian' because my husband and I moved to the Golden State nine months ago with the intention of putting down roots for the first time in our adult lives.  California holds a lot of mystique and has a life of its own in the mind of every American, and I've wondered how I would fit in with the images I held of perpetual summer, health-consciousness, and laid-back hipness.

See, I am a winter-loving, meat-and-potatoes Minnesota farm girl who is pragmatic and a little self-conscious.  I do everything for myself, and try to conform to whatever social situation I am in.  Not always a bad thing, but I think it's made me a little unimaginative, and a bit unsure of who I am.

So here I am in the state where the motto could be, "the find yourself state".  Oh wait...the state motto is "Eureka!"  And that's just what I intend to do.  Oh, snap!  What is more Californian that searching for meaning in one's life??  Dude....  And I did all that without mind-altering drugs. Well, I'm sure there's more to this journey, so I'll keep blogging for now.

Here are the main characters in my life:

• Husband Michael.  Scientist, intellect, music-lover and native Kentuckian. Shares desire to keep life interesting and fulfilling. Loves growing vegetables, hiking, and Mountain Dew. Able to articulate the things I believe, explain things I don't understand, and inspire me to take on new challenges.
• Daughter Anjalee.  Six months old, born at home, and a happy, sweet baby.  Very strong and observant.  Already a Californian!
• Dogs Elvis and Junebug.  Pembroke Welsh Corgis.  Affectionate, mischievous, and underfoot 24/7.  

I suppose the most interesting blogs are true to a topic and cover it in-depth. This will not be one of those, at least for now.  Instead, I'm going to give space to the things that I've learned and what defines our family.  I doubt much of what happens will be unlike what millions of other families experience, but I know there is value in reflection, and that's something that will move me toward my goal of living fully.