We've had the chickens for about a month now and they are getting big! They've got a lot more feathers these days, have got the hang of roosting on wooden dowels we put in the crate and eating a lot more. 

As chicks they didn't go through feed too quickly, but now we have to fill their container a few times a day. We bought a 40 pound bag of chick feed for about $15 and are only halfway through that, so that's not too bad so far. We're definitely getting a bigger feeder when we build the coop and are probably getting a bigger one for their expanded space that M is constructing as we speak. 

The chicks have pretty much outgrown the crate we were keeping them in, a crate that used to be for Grover. Since it's still too cold out and we're not ready to build the big chicken coop in the backyard, we're basically giving the chickens run of the mudroom, which has yet to be renovated.

M is making a structure of boards, that he pulled from the demolition in the basement and we're going to run chicken wire around them as a bigger pen for the chicks until we're ready to move them outside. We'll lay plastic and/or cardboard to protect the floor, but we're ripping out that carpet soon anyway. At least, I think that's the plan.

Here's a look at their growth over the last month. I doubt these are the same chicken in each one, since I can't really tell them apart. 

A few things we've learned in the last month. 

+ Chickens are dusty. Oh so dusty. When we had them in the bathroom, we had to dust every other day or the place would just be covered in dust. 

+ These chicks are skittish, but they don't mind when you scratch their chest. If you pick them up to pull off a piece of paper that's stuck to their feet, or to move them while you clean the crate, they squawk like crazy. Though I have noticed that they're calmer now that they're bigger. 

+ Grover might want to eat the chickens. He goes between extreme interest and possible attempts to eat one and being terrified of them and just crying because he can't see them. Grover is absolutely obsessed with the chickens. Hopefully, they learn to peacefully co-exist. Moxie seems pretty indifferent now that she's realized the chicks are sticking around.

+ Chickens are messy. So flippin messy. We've been cleaning out their crate pretty regularly and giving them fresh water a few times a day. Nothing is sacred, they poop on everything. (I know you really wanted to know that, but it's true!)

+ They have huge feet. Huge!

+ It's pretty cute when they huddle together to sleep. And I still love the way their heads just flop when they fall asleep. 

+ Chicks look like aliens, I think, when you take a video of them under the heat lamp. It cracks me up every time. For more chick cam, head over here. I might be out of control with the chicken videos.

Meet Christina of Route Bliss. By day, she works in the judicial system and daydreams of being able to travel around the country and the world, working from the road. She's been blogging for more than a decade, but Route Bliss got started during the summer of 2013. It's where she shares her photography and pro tips like this Quick Starry Night Photography Tutorial. In between photos, follow her journey to healthier living, including recipes like baked chicken and rice, running and fitness tips, and eating healthy, and affordably, on the road. Every time I look at her photos, I want to pack my bags and go on a road trip.

Outdoor activities she most enjoys are running and exploring, especially with a camera in-hand. If she had a garden, it would probably include heirloom tomatoes, bell peppers and butternut squash. Sounds like a tasty veggie selection to me!

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There are plenty of moments that lead you to think about how your life has changed. 

But few cause the sudden Oh.My.Goodness. moment quite like cleaning out a crate full of baby chickens.

Scooping the shredded paper by hand, there was a moment when it hit me that this is a far cry from the life I left in D.C. just 15 months ago. A life I thought I wanted. 

There was a brief time as a kid  growing up in Texas that I thought I wanted to grow up, marry a cowboy and live on a ranch. 

After that 7-year-old fantasy fizzled out, I never gave much thought to the rural life again.

At least not until college.

I found myself reading an article in The Economist during my senior year that included the fact that 10 of the 20 poorest counties in the U.S. were in Montana. For some reason, that said to me that Montana would be full of journalistic opportunity and minimal competition for those reporting jobs. 

I applied and was offered an interview at a paper in a small town where the top story was Bear Chases Man Up Tree. I also called the paper near the military base just to say, Can I meet you and maybe one day you'll hire me? (Fun fact, that's the same paper where I work now.)

But then things happened and I took a job in Alabama, where I didn't know a soul.

That's where I got into running and military reporting and the Southern lifestyle and where I met M.

Those years were full of learning and growing. And I got there because I let go of the life I'd planned.

M and I went our separate ways for a time and I headed back to Virginia, where I didn't have a job when I decided to make the move. Somehow we found our way back to each other and here I am, gardening on acres and raising chickens in Montana. 

As a kid, I wanted to be a prima ballerina. Then a lawyer. Then a marine biologist. President for a hot second, then a teacher. It was eighth grade when I fell in love with journalism. In high school, I had a list of internships and jobs I wanted to go for. They included the Washington Post and New York Times, as well as possibly doing public relations for the Philadelphia Flyers or the New York Rangers. 

Clearly things have changed, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Honestly, I think the life I imagine and plan changes so often that I've stopped planning the big picture. Instead, I pick out the things I want to accomplish and think about the kind of person I want to be and life sort of fills in around that. 

All of that had me thinking of how to find the life waiting for you.

Figure out what you're passionate about. Follow those things. I got lucky and figured out my love for journalism by the time I was in high school and focused most of my energies on that. Along the way, I found lots of other things, but at my core, I've always loved bringing people together and creating positive things. That passion has inspired much of my work and built my network of friends.

Trust your gut. There have been plenty of scary life changes for me when I could have chickened out, but I've conditioned myself to trust that gut feeling of Go For It and also conditioned myself to follow through.

When opportunity knocks, answer the door. In trusting your gut, you'll be able to sort through all of the opportunities to come your way and focus on the ones that are right for you, but when that moment comes, seize it. 

Look back and smile about the good times, but keep moving forward. There's any number of shoulda, coulda, wouldas and moments we might have done a little differently if given a do-over, but that's all past now. Learn from it, accept it, trust that it got you where you're going. 

Bears are something to fear, packing a U-Haul and giving it a go, isn't. The unknown puts me on edge sometimes, but all that mental conditioning for trusting my gut and knowing things will work out helps me march forward boldly. 

Action is often the cure for overwhelm and feeling paralyzed by how big your goals are. Want to accomplish something great? Start now. Baby steps will get you everywhere. 

Five Things

1. Feeling my motivation and super productive mode kicking in. 

2. Finally deciding on and ordering a necklace from Dogeared Jewelry. And getting a $180 coat for $30.

3. Still loving my haircut a week later. And how much quicker morning routines are after you chop six inches or so.

4. Interviewing a general who said "thank you for being accurate and fair."

5. Dreaming big on my rink event, asking the radio station to get involved. They said yes.

What would be included in your five things? How do you get to the life meant for you?

All eight chicks are happy and healthy and feathering up. 

I'm feeling a little proud of myself that we've made it through the first week and kept them all alive.

We cleaned out the crate the other day and gave them fresh shredded paper bedding. Can't say that's my favorite part, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it might be.

We moved the crate from the bathroom counter to the bath tub so I can reach them more easily and it's closer to the window for some air ventilation, but no draft. 

While I cleaned the crate, M made a fresh ramp for them to walk up to their water dish. We put them in another box while we cleaned and they squawked away. But they paused for a close up.

It seems like they never stop eating but their  feed crumbles are so small that the giant bag we bought might last awhile. I also sprinkle in a little grit with their food or just in the shredded paper to keep them entertained during the day.

I try to pick them up every day so they get used to people, but sometimes they freak out and huddle in the corner under the heat lamp where it's hard to reach them. 

They'll be in the crate for another six week or so, till they have all their feathers, but they're growing fast. The littlest ones were only a few days old when we got them and were all fuzz, but now have feathers developed on their wings. The chick closest in the photo is about two weeks old now and has some tail feathers too. 

Chickens are strange and their feet weird me out, but they're just so adorable. 

And with that, a little #inspiremefriday love to Alicia, Eileen, Stacey, Julie, Megan, Sarah, Emily, Erika and Rachel. 

We are now the proud parents of eight Buckeye chicks. 

Guys. I have red headed chickens.

It's crazy how entertaining chicks are. We just watch them and laugh and then realize we've been staring at them for 10 minutes.

We drove four hours across the state on Saturday to pick them up and back again. There are only a few places in Montana that we've found so far that have Buckeyes and I really like this farm.

Getting them home was a challenge since they need to be kept warm, at about 95-99 degrees, and it was cold and snowing on Saturday.

We had a small cardboard box with paper shavings for bedding and wrapped the box in blankets to keep the heat in. For a bit we were sweating in the car, cranking the heat to get the temperature up.

Now they're home, in the much larger box, toasty warm and pecking away at the box, the shredded paper, their feed and grit. 

They're not too loud most of the time, and we're keeping them in the bathroom to make sure the dogs can't get to them when we're not around until everyone gets used to each other.

My favorite is the way they fall asleep. They'll stop moving, their eyes will close and their heads just flop to the floor. Or it leans back. That's a little weird, but hilarious all the same.

Expect many more chicken photos and videos as the adventures continue around here.

You may have also noticed it's been light on the blog lately. I'm rethinking some of my plans for this blog and working on some changes that are coming soon! 

But, it was a good week, so I may be off a day, but can't skip a Five Things.

1. Mini herb garden and baby greens are growing in the window. 

2. Finally put the Christmas tree and decorations away. Finally!

3. Finished our taxes. And the refunds cover the price of our awesome new oven/stove.

4. Read not one, but two books. 

5. Stopped adding pages worth of tasks to my to-do list and started checking off outstanding tasks. 

How's your week going?

In less than two weeks, we'll be roadtripping to Heritage Organics Farm to pick up our very first batch of chickens. The plan is to get 8-9, in case a few turn out to be roosters, since we really only want hens for now.

We're creating a brooder box and have to figure out where to put it so the chicks stay warm and safe. We'll puppy proof them for awhile until the dogs get used to the chickens and no shenanigans ensue when we're not home. It's still ridiculously cold, so the baby chicks will be inside for the first 8 weeks or so.

This will be our first go round with chickens and the mostly city girl that I am is a bit nervous. I am by no means an expert and regularly pester my favorite chicken bloggers with questions (you'll find them mentioned below). But, here's a few things I've learned so far in the prep and planning stages. This will all be a work in progress. Get excited, you'll have a front row seat here on the blog.

1. Is it legal? Chickens are legal in many, many places, but not all. Like Great Falls, Montana. But, we live in the county, where chickens are legals. Before you get too excited about raising chickens, make sure it's legal!

2. Do you have space? If you live in a high-rise, fancy pants apartment complex, like I did for awhile in D.C., chickens probably won't work out. But, if you got even a small backyard, it's probably doable. Kate at Farmhouse38 can show you how it's done in the city. We have about 26 acres, so we have room to grow our flock if it goes well this year. Do some research on how much space you need for the number of chickens you want and how much space you need for other projects. For us, we'll have a large garden and possibly more animals later on. I really want an alpaca and/or a goat and M thinks we should get mini cows. Yeah, mini cows are a thing.

3. The environment. Is it cold, hot, windy, snowy? What kind of predators are in the area? For us, it's cold and windy into May and sometimes June. Then it can get cold again starting in October, so we're going with a cold weather breed chicken, the Buckeye. We also have bald eagles flying around. It's pretty cool to see, but they could eat our chickens so we have to build an outdoor area for the chickens with a covered top. There's also coyotes and snakes, so we're planning a large, secure coop with the protected outdoor area. Plus, the chickens will be a great help in tearing up the garden in the winter and helping to prep the soil for the next growing season.

4. Do you have time? This is a hard one for me, I'm already busy, but I think the chickens will help give me a routine that's outside of my wants and needs. And much like Grover did, animals have a way of becoming a top priority in your home. But, if you work 60+ hours a week and don't have someone at home to share chicken raising responsibility, maybe it's not a good idea. M and I are both working full-time, but we are both around for morning and evening chores generally and can come home during the day when needed. 

5. What is their purpose? Will your chickens be just for eggs, for poultry, both? Or pets? For us, they're dual purpose. Buckeye chickens lay eggs for 5-6 years. After that, they'll likely become dinner. I imagine I'll get attached to a few and possibly have a tough time with that aspect of raising chickens, but knowing that at the outset is helpful. If we end up with roosters, they'll go back to the farm during the summer for processing. I feel a little heartless saying that, but it's just a fact of mini farm life. At some point, we might be able to keep a rooster, but for now, it's just too much.

6. What to feed them? Apparently there's organic chickens and there's chickens on medicated feed. We're planning to eat the eggs and eventually the chickens, so we think we'll use non-medicated feed, just in case. But, we haven't quite figured out what kind of feed we'll use. Turns out, there's lots of choices. The chicks will need starter feed, but also grit and diatomaceous earth and other such things. I need to do a bit more research on the feed, but we'll be using the starter feed for awhile, so I'll start with that.

7. What kind of chicken coop will you build? This will depend partly on how many chickens you plan to have and how much space you have. You could get a store bought coop, but to me, that's not much fun. You could build a walk-in coop with lots of room, or a squat coop with no room for a person that has exterior access to the nesting boxes. We are planning a coop + greenhouse combo structure. We've pretty much decided on this as a base design. 

8. How many chickens? Our chickens average 150-200 eggs per year, each. We use eggs, but that's a lot of eggs, so I'll be doing a lot more baking and we'll be sharing with friends. I crowd sourced to Kate at Farmhouse38, Lisa at Fresh Eggs Daily and Jennifer at 1840 Farm to figure out a good number to start with. They suggested 4-5 and that's what we're shooting for. Several people suggested to get double that number in chicks since about half could be roosters. So that's what we're doing. One chicken will be my co-worker's, but it will live at our house since she'd in the city limits. We'll see how we do this first year and we may get more next year, if we find something to do with all those eggs.

9. What kinds of supplies do you need? I've been glued to Tilly's Nest for research and developing a supply list. We still need a heat lamp, brooder box, pine shavings and food. We bought a feeder and waterer for chicks, we'll need more when they grow out of those. When you factor in a coop and run, the supply list goes up. We're still working on our supplies and construction plans, but we've mapped out most of the big stuff and need the snow to let up so we can get to work!

Do you have chickens? Any tips for those of us just getting started? City dwellers, would you have chickens if you could? Or a goat? Because I want a goat next. Or an alpaca.

Now that we're finished with January, it's time to map out some goals for February with Melyssa at The Nectar Collective. 

I joined in her Weekly Wishes around Christmas and the weekly exercise has honestly been a great way to focus all my energies into specific tasks each week that build up to bigger goals. For the new year, she changed it up a bit with the first week of wishes being monthly goals to help drive those weekly goals. Plus, telling all of you lovely readers a handful of my weekly goals each week helps me stick to them!

But first, a recap of last week's wishes: getting some veggies started indoors, make a chicken supply list and calm the heck down. 

Turns out, we didn't quite need to start the onions yet, but we did make a spreadsheet of our seeds and planting information + a planting calendar. My mini herb garden is finally in pots this week and we'll see how they turn out. I'm planning a more robust herb garden outdoors once it warms up. 

Chicken planning included picking out the inspiration for our coop/greenhouse but I still need to gather up supplies. Chick pick-up will be the end of this month or early March so it's time to buckle down and get ready.

As for calming the heck down, I'd say I did alright with room for improvement. This week feels more calm, though it's early yet. 

Now for February's wishes.

+ Get the skating event squared away. Time to be no nonsense and knock it out. I'm running short on time, but have no doubt I can pull it off. 

+ Finish my travel freelance project and look for more freelance work.

+ Run as much as the weather allows. So far, that hasn't been much, so indoor workouts are getting folded into the mix. 

+ Work on the mudroom renovation. That project has been sidelined with everything else that's been going on, but I really do want to get a move on. I don't see a lot of sleep in my near future.

+ Chat with some other Montana bloggers to pull together some ideas and plans. I've got ideas kicking around, now to make them real. 

+ Map out the garden for warmer weather. We've got the seed plan, now we need a soil test and to figure out where to put everything. The garden is expanding over last year's attempt so that likely means we'll have to work more soil, come up with a watering/drainage system and a pest control method. Deer and rabbits are just waiting to feast on my veggies!

+ Road trip to pick up the baby chicks and manage to keep them alive. We've decided to up our chick count in case some of them are roosters. We've also got to get serious about designing and building the chicken coop and greenhouse. It's hard to do when it's so cold, but we can do the prep work now to be ready. Especially now that I've finally picked out the design concept I want. Things are getting real! 

What's in store for your February?

Last week's wishes were ambitious. Honestly, I didn't make much progress on anything other than just getting through the week. 

I didn't get far with Montana Bloggers, though I did get things going on SPJ, the journalism society. Our kick-off happy hour is tonight in Great Falls and there will be similar events in Missoula, Kalispell and Bozeman throughout the next week. It feels like things are really starting to come together on this front and that warms my heart and gets me motivating to keep building. 

Mudroom work didn't really happen either, though we did pick up more supplies for the project. Hopefully, we'll get started on that some time this week. Rink progress did happen, but not as much as I wanted to. It remains on the to-do list this week.

Running happened a few times, in between snow, high winds and plain ole cold. Having Alicia and Eileen as a cheering squad really is amazing. Running the 8K Shamrock Shuffle with these two lovely ladies is going to be a great day.

So this week, with Melyssa at The Nectar Collective, my wishes are continuations of last week plus a few more: 

+ Get onions and a few other veggies started indoors. They'll take the longest, so we need to get a move on. We bought $47 worth of seeds at the farm and ranch store last night. We still need to order the right varieties for cucumbers and a few other things. I'm determined to attempt some berries, so that requires a trip to the nursery. 

+ Make the supplies list for the baby chickens and get everything we need to prepare for their arrival. 

+ Calm the heck down and just accomplish what I can each day, then go home to cuddle with the puppies and M. Do I want to move mountains? Yes. But I can't do it in a day and being kind to myself while attempting to move those mountains is the only way they're actually going to move. 

I'm excited about all these things, I just need to remember to sleep and keep up with the day to day, like making lunch, doing dishes, taking care of the dogs and hanging up clothes. 

What are your wishes for the week? Do you find setting weekly goals works to move you closer to the big goals? How do you balance taking on everything while also maintaining a healthy level of self care?

Good morning and Happy Monday lovely readers! 

After a productive weekend and lots of love from family and friends, I'm feeling a bit more ready to take on this week. 

As sad as the last week was, it came with many valuable reminders. Cherish the time with loved ones and the memories created. Make time for friends and family. Always say "I love you." Make time for life, it goes so much faster than we think.

We spent the weekend laying the ground work for some projects. We measured parts of the backyard since he's planning to build a raised wooden walkway from the back porch to the shop so we won't have to trudge through snow and muddy messes like we did on Saturday. 

We made our first chicken related purchases too, though we have more to do on that front.

I spent most of Sunday morning with a cup of coffee and our Rocky Mountain veggie gardening book. We've got a long list now of seeds to pick up to get some of the veggies started indoors, like the onions, tomatoes and peppers. We're going to make a planting calendar so that this year we do better with planting things at the right time and hopefully have healthy plants and more veggies to eat. 

We spent Sunday afternoon for drinks and snacks at a friends house. There was plenty of work we could have been doing at the house, but after last week, it was pretty nice to enjoy a snowy day with friends and laughter. 

And with that, I present Five Things. This is how I start the week, thinking of five things from the last week that made me smile, or what I'm looking forward to in the coming week.

1. Grover thought it would be cool to run off and run across the 70 mph road in front of the house. Thankfully, no cars were out around that time while we found him and got him back in the house. Crazy dog. 

2. Came across an old study abroad friend through Twitter. Small world, eh?

3. Made it out for another run while M grocery shopped. Then carried five 40-pound bags of wood pellets downstairs to the basement. My arms still hurt.

4. Getting the garden plan going. I'm stoked to get things started indoors this week and hopefully pick up some fruit plants soon. 

5. My new coffee grinder. The grinder at the grocery store was broken again and my favorite Montana Coffee Traders blend only comes in whole beans so it was a predicament. M, being the problem solver that he is, went home and researched grinders and had one ordered by days end. Now I have even fresher coffee every morning.

What are you looking forward to this week? How do you keep enjoying life as time feels like it's speeding up?

I feel like I always say this, but the last week was hard. Work was nuts and made me snappy. Then my uncle passed away. And yet, when I look at my wishes from last week, I'm actually doing okay. Last week, my wishes were to get out for a run, work on chicken plans, nail down a date for the SPJ kickoff and get ahead on January.

As of this morning, I ran twice. The SPJ kickoff event is set for next week and M and I made progress on our chicken plans. Mostly, I sent him pictures of chicken coops I like and he started working on building plans. I didn't get that far ahead on the month, but I'm catching up.

This week got off to a more mellow start and this morning I picked up the floor tile for the mudroom. 

So for this week, my wishes are: 

+ Keep running. I'm joining Alicia and Eileen for the Shamrock Shuffle 8K in about two months and I love having them to motivate and encourage me, even from a distance. 

+ Get started on the mudroom renovation. We picked up the mortar in Billings earlier this month and now we have the tile so we can finally get started on actual work. 

+ Get organized with Montana Bloggers. I've got it going, now I need to mold it into something great. A few ideas are kicking around in my head and I just need to write them out and get a move on.

+ Keep the momentum on skating projects. So much progress has been made in the last week and I just want to keep it up and make it happen! 

That's probably enough to keep me busy for the next week and I better get to work. 

What are you working on this week?

Last week was the first full week back after the holidays and it got busy at work. Not the most hectic work week I've ever had, but after all those days off and the slow holiday weeks, it was a struggle. 

For the last few days we've had hurricane force winds in Montana, causing destruction all over. Mid-day Monday, it was in the 50s with and wind gust were reported in the surrounding counties at 100 mph. The photo is from our drive back from Billings on Sunday with a solid wood door hanging out the back of our car. It had been on the roof. 

Wind was suspected as the cause of a train derailment near the capital city. By the time I left work, the temperature had dropped 20 degrees and it was snowing. No one said anything about snow, but guys, it was still snowing when we went to bed last night.

Wacky weather and busy work week aside, the monthly goals I set last week are all moving forward. 

Pretty sure I only missed breakfast one day last week and that was partly due to a cold coming on and just not feeling like eating. The closet purge continues. An entire post will be dedicated to that soon. Montana bloggers and the state journalism chapter are coming along and we're down a few walls here at the homestead.

So now, Weekly Wishes, inspired by Melyssa at The Nectar Collective.

+ Get out for a run. The last time I ran was Thanksgiving. The weather, work, life has slowed my running routine and I want it back. Insanity is great, but rough on my joints and it's just not the same, flailing around in the basement. And now, thanks to Eileen and Alicia, I have a running goal to work toward. In the form of an 8K on March 30. Here's to hoping the weather gives me a chance to make this one happen. 

+ More chicken planning. We're hoping to pick up our new baby chickens next month or so, meaning I have got to get a move on planning and prepping for the fluff babies.

+ Nail down a date for the kickoff/launch event for SPJ. Excited to get the ball rolling on this and it's a top notch group that's assembled to make this happen for journalism in Montana.