We Have Eggs!!

Or should I say - egg.  None the less, it is an exciting moment, Speedy is old enough to start laying.  Now we have to wait for the other two to catch-up.  Maybe, just maybe, the chickens can start to work off their debt to Matt for having built them a nice home.  I wonder if they realize just how high their mortgage payment is?

Half Baked Baby in the Oven

I can hardly believe that I am half cooked, where does time go?  Today Matt and I went for our mid-way ultrasound, it was pretty cool to get to see images of our little (big) one.  The technician informed us everything looks good so far as she can tell, we'll know for sure after the radiologist (?) reads all the films.  The only thing she did mention is that the little person is currently measuring big, which is consistent with our 8 week ultrasound.  She thinks we may be somewhat ahead of what we previously thought. 

No, we did not find out the sex.

I'm feeling good and seem to have to remind folks from time to time that I am pregnant, not an invalid.  It is amazing how often I hear the advice of take it easy, don't do too much.  Apparently sitting on the couch eating bon-bons is the best thing for baby?  From all I have read I  have to disagree with that sentiment, exercise through pregnancy has been shown to be beneficial for both mom and baby.  Mom keeps unnecessary weight gain down, improves the function of the placenta (through 14 weeks - I think), and prepares baby for the rigors of childbirth.  Plus it helps with my (and Matt's) sanity.  If there a reason I should no longer exercise I will stop, but as long as I can go I'll keep at it.  I am still running and it is generally okay.  Sometimes things feel kinda weird and cause me to stop and walk, but for the most part it is business as usual, just A LOT slower. 

Triple Tranny

I spent last weekend in the Olympic National Forest with friends, in the interst of full disclosure Matt spent it at home doing chores.  He did make it out for a hike on Sunday, that counts for something, right?

Anyhow, you may recall last year I ran around Mt. Rainier with a couple of buddies.  This was the same concept except through Olympic National Park.  I had originally planned to participate in the run but decided that running 30+ miles a day for four days may not be the best idea right now.  Instead I served as part of the crew that hauled the runners gear to campsites and picked them up from various locations.  It actually made for a nice relaxing weekend.  While the runners were covering big miles I set-up camp and then went for leisurely day hikes, it was pretty nice!  Below are some pictures for the weekend.  Next year we are talking about running the PCT from the Oregon/Washington border to Canada. 

Are You Kidding Me?!?

Last night around 3am Europa was grumbling by the door wall in our room.  Both Matt and I shushed her and rolled-over back to sleep.  This morning I head out back to let the chickens out and guess what I encounter...

Our strawberries are gone.  What you are looking at is a half of a wiskey barrel that was overflowing with strawberry plants, not so anymore.  Deciding to take matters in our own hands we stopped at Cabela's and purchased a deer stopper. 

Hopefully a zap in the butt will be enough to send them scurrying.  If nothing else our new bb gun sure if fun to play with!  In case you are curious it is a Daisy, just no the red rider rifle.  We opted for the handgun version. 

Running Plans

You may have noticed the blog has been void of running adventures the past few months.  That isn't because I haven't been running - I am.  But I am not running nearly as much or should I say as interesting of runs, and I've not raced at all this year.  No, no, it is not because I have turned into a giant slacker, I actually have a good excuse - I'm pregnant (17 weeks if you are curious).  As I said, I am still running but my long adventures have had go on temporary hold. 

That brings me to my future plans.  I know, some of you may read this and think I have weird priorities if what I am thinking about right now is what kind of runs I am going to do, but, it is part of who I am, so obviously it is weighing on me.  I figure I should try and be realistic so I plan to start-up again next year with White River 50 mile.  I am due in February, the race is the end of July, that give me ~5 months to get myself back in shape and able to do this.  Not sure if it will be possible, I am sure there are a lot of variables that will come into play.  But for now, that is my plan. 

If like me you are a runner and curious what pregnancy will do to you, I can share my experience thus far.  As I mentioned earlier I am still running, just not as far.  I actually did a couple 20-30 milers before I knew and during those runs something felt off.  I was exhausted and couldn't move very fast.  But, I am stubborn so I just pushed on and assumed I was struggling to recover since I went from not running much to big miles is a short period.  To further the idea that my body hated me I had recently started using a heart rate monitor and was amazed to see how high my heart rate would be on an easy 20 mile run, it was disturbing.  I wasn't working hard but my heart rate would hover in the 180's.  Again, I just chalked it up to poor conditioning. 

And then...I finally took a test, got the positive, and it all made sense.  At this point I gave up my long runs (20+ miles) and stuck with my twice a week work-out with the group - Tuesday Rock Candy (hill workout ~10 miles) and Thursday easy trail run (really it is more a reason to get together for drinking ~ 4 miles).  On the weekends I go out by myself.  I find it easier to run by myself, I don't judge how slow I am going, instead I enjoy the fact that I am out on the trails. 

During the first trimester I was exhausted all the time so while I ran I wasn't exactly excited about it.  I would rather be napping.  It didn't help that running downhill made me nauseous, but, as I said, I am stubborn and kept at it.  Now that I am in the second trimester I feel like a new person.  The nagging nausea and exhaustion are mostly gone and I feel like myself again.  Since I am not running the same big miles I would like to be more consistent and get out on a daily basis.  Since this isn't my standard M.O. I haven't quite been able to get it instated yet.  But, when I do run these days it is much more enjoyable. My plan is to keep going as long as I can unless the dr. tells me otherwise. 

Capitol Forest 50 Mile

Yesterday was Matt's first foray into ultra distance events, he toed the line for the Capitol Forest 50 mile mountain bike race.  You may remember from earlier posts that he had intentions to complete the 100 mile distance, however, come race day he decided that 50 was a better plan. 

I wasn't there so the recap is going to be pretty brief.  He finished, had fun, and plans to do the 100 mile next year.  He did have one bump, about 6 miles from the finish his chain broke and ripped his derailleur hanger off.  This cost him 30 minutes spent on the side of the trail tinkering with his bike so it would work again, bummer...

Chicken Ranching 101

We are newbies at this whole chick ranching business, but I think we are coming to a close of  Chicken 101 - The Basics.   For those of you that are interested in my opinions and what we have learned, read on.  The rest of you - wait for a more interesting post.

• The Coop - No matter how much reading we did prior to creating our coop, it seems you always learn more once it is up and running. Maybe that is why a number of sites say create something cheap for your first one, because you will inevitably want to do something different.  Our original plan was to create a chicken tractor, something with wheels that we could easily cart around the yard.  Our tractor turned into more of a fortress, it is big, heavy, and not on wheels.  Actually it isn't that big or that heavy, but it is awkward enough that one person cannot move it by themselves.  What this means - it doesn't get moved on a daily basis, instead we go out and shift it once a week.  This is not ideal.  Chickens are good a two things, pooping and scratching.  Irregular movement of the coop leads to trashed lawn in a jiffy.  Not that we have nice lawn, but it is rather discerning to see the bare patches add up.  After some further research we are going to move our coop one last time to a "permanent" location and use the deep litter method on the coop floor to bring in bugs and expedite composting.  From all I have read chicken stink is not an issue.  We will see.
• The Chickens - We got three straight run chickens (they were not sexed) that came with a rooster exchange policy.  We figured we would have one rooster.  As it turns out we have two.  It only took four months to figure it out.  It isn't like you can turn them over and look under the hood, you have to wait for rooster like traits.  Ours meet me with crowing earlier this week when they were displeased.  Oh yes, chickens will voice their displeasure.  I am sure had I not ticked the chicken off it would have been weeks until we found out his true colors.  My point, plan your chicken allotment accordingly.  They are social animals and Speedy would not be happy if we ate two of her compatriots without offering other friends.  Not to mention a sharp decline in egg production (which we do not expect until sometime this fall).

Henry and Rooster and on the left, Speedy (our only hen) is on the right.

• The Chickens (Part 2) - They say you should handle your chickens often so they are tame and friendly.  Take this advice to heart.  While we handled our chickens it seems it was not often enough, they are not exactly the friendliest birds on the block.  
• Food - We bought a smallish chicken feeder to put in the coop, it wasn't terribly expensive so I don't feel like we lost much but...it wasn't big enough so we were feeding multiple times a day and Henry (the big one in the middle) didn't like the restricted access so would kick it over and fling food everywhere.  After getting sick of the multiple feedings I decided to make a change, we needed a bigger feeder.  My ultimate plan is to use a cake pan and attach a large peanut butter jar as a sort of auto feeder to it.  I am currently waiting for us to finish the peanut butter so they are just using the pan.  As it turns out, a cake pan is a cheap effective feeder.
• Food (Part 2) - They love our kitchen and garden scraps.  They do not like getting mashed-up banana stuck to their beaks, they run around wiping it on the grass.  Kinda funny to watch. 

Well, that is all I have for Chicken Ranching 101.  We are switching out our roosters for hens later this week.  I have to admit, I will be sad to see Rooster go, he is our nicest chicken. Henry, well hopefully he finds a better home...