Sweat, seeds, and chicks

This morning as I exercised, I noticed I was sweating more and earlier than in the past. I suddenly remembered one of my physiology teachers talking about how our body adapts over time to the conditions it is given. For example, when you perform exercise regularly, your body gets more aggressive and efficient at cooling itself off. Thus, I am taking my drippyness as a good sign that things are moving in the right direction :) Also, I did 2 burpees today (minus the push ups) and 1 jump kick. Feeling pretty awesome.

I ordered some seeds for this year's garden. Tons of flowers. I know what you're thinking, "First you join a gym and then you start planting FLOWERS?! Who ARE you?!"

Still figuring that one out.

I like flowers because they're pretty. Yes! They're pretty. I said it. Living ones are pretty, anyway. And the ones I've planted so far give lots of color for very little effort. Planting food crops takes a little more attention and energy and time (pest control, canning, freezing) then I'm willing to commit right now. I will still plant my favorite veggies for the kids to attack (cherry tomatoes, snap peas, baby sweet corn, green beans, cocktail cukes, parsley, mini watermelon) and for me to enjoy all by myself (other herbs, collards, swiss chard).

We'll see how the strawberries do this year...I haven't been the most attentive host. And the brambles took a serious licking last fall when I (finally) put together a trellis that could hold their weight. And the ENTIRE orchard of 7 fruit varieties produced a whopping 2 peaches last year. We did produce a pint of blueberries and 2 litters of bunnies, though ;)

Biggest change this year will be a regular watering schedule. Gonna set up some soaker hoses on a timer. It worked wonders for my front yard. Let's see if I can't coax a little more out of these plants with some regular watering.

In related news, our new flock of hens has arrived. My friend is holding on to them at her farm until I can pick them up (hopefully this weekend). I purchased only Australorps this time around. They look like this today (3 days old):

But will eventually look like this (4 months+ old):

Beautiful, easy-going, excellent brown-egg layers. Even kindergarten-aged Alice who was scared of everything could handle this breed with ease. Nothing like the spunky, nippy, curious, and flighty Rhode Island Reds I've got now. The Australorps won't be laying eggs until July, so the Reds are welcome to hang out until then.