Hi. What I'm about to show you isn't all pretty...you were warned.



It's been almost three years since we moved in and Justin built this cute little coop for our chickens. We've had a lot of home projects since then, such as remodeling our main bathroom, but we've set our sights on a new project for 2017. And that would be: making our backyard less...dumpy.



Seriously, friends, it needs some TLC, our backyard does. In every way. And we have plans and dreams. Or at least, my husband does. Back by our cherry tree, he wants to do a pond this spring. A POND. Which he's done before, actually. Just not for us.

And he wants KOI. For the POND. I'm a little...I don't know...whelmed at the thought of all this. But at least we agree on this: the coop, raised garden beds, and new sod are all a priority over a pond at the moment.



So Sander, my husband, placed a big order to be delivered with Home Depot this weekend. And it was really upsetting because they were supposed to deliver at 11 a.m. yesterday, and instead they showed up--after a lot of phone calls--at 4:30 p.m.! Also, they delivered round posts, when Sander ordered square posts. Then the post hole digger he purchased broke the moment he tried to use it so we had to return to Home Depot ourselves for a new one.

Are you drunk, Home Depot? Yeesh.



So we're building a larger run for the chickens. Who barely lay eggs anymore because they're OLD BITTIES! And we've sent for hatching eggs this year so we can hatch our own chickens!! Which means we've also sent away for an incubator. This should be interesting. We're going to have tons of chicks {if they hatch} as we ordered a dozen rare breed hatching eggs and a dozen lavender Orpingtons. We will not keep them all. We'll sell/give away extras or perhaps...send some to a butcher, because in case you don't remember, roosters are sort of hard to get rid of. Which I don't like the idea of, but then our butchered chickens would certainly live better short lives than the ones we buy at King Soopers have, if I'm being honest here. But hopefully by late summer we'll be getting more than an egg a day. Freeloaders...



It's not just a chicken coop anymore anyway. It's a chicken bunny coop. Maybe we should call it a Cadbury coop? Did you know, it turns out, rabbits can live happily with chickens? They also thrive on chicken feed. A Google showed me that lots of chicken keepers do it. Peter had to be neutered, however, because he considered himself a chicken Casanova. It was...BOCKward! Lel.



So this weekend was LOVELY weather here in Denver {I hear some folks around the country are getting snow dumps right now?} And so we worked on the ugly yard.



I even made the kids turn off their Minecraft games and come help. Cheap child labor.



So while Sander dug post holes and filled them with new posts and cement to create a new, nicer, larger chicken run, the kids and I {mostly just I} built some raised garden beds.



Because I also spent about $15 on seeds for veg and flora {my British audiobooks have been rubbing off on me} at lame Home Depot and by golly, I plan to get my money's worth this year. In the form of cucumbers, tomatoes, and lettuce.



So while it's ugly now, I hope--with some luck, child labor, and stupid Home Depot to supply us--that in a couple months I'll be able to show you a rejuvenated yard. With new green, plush grass because our 1950s yard is compacted, lumpy, and has been obliterated by scratching hens, kids, puppies, and whatnot. With a cleaned up, fixed up little chicken coop. With garden beds teeming with veg and flora, oh ho fancy that, a spiffing proper English garden, yeah? And maybe even...I can't believe I'm saying this but when Sander gets a project in his head he obsesses until it comes to fruition...a KOI POND.



By jove, but that brown spot could use some jolly good aquatic love now, couldn't it?

Pip pip,
Heather