Welcoming the Hens

Today marks the beginning of the Kromenacker backyard chicken revolution. We brought home 5 pullets (young hens). We think they are about 2 months old. They have their own chicken yard in the back, and a coop we built from salvaged materials. We got 2 Americaunas (b/c they lay blue-green eggs!), 2 Rhode Island Reds, and 1 Barred Rock. Our eggs will be organic, b/c we feed them organic food and don't use any chemicals in the coop. The girls won't start laying however for another 3 months. We wanted to get them young so that they will be used to us handling them and know us. This is a major achievement and an exciting goal being met that is one of the benefits of having settled in one place for a while. Hooray!!!

Late Spring in Tucson

Hello to all. Well, since we moved into our new house we have been stressed and busy trying to find places to stash all the stuff we have somehow gathered in our short lives...it's amazing how much accumulates! We are planning on slowly weeding through it and giving things away, or selling them on ebay. Too much stuff!

On another note, Tucson has been very hot and yet very enjoyable as of late, the heat isn't bad at all as long as you don't overdo it in the sun. And we have had a strange, unseasonal rainy spell the past week, which has brightened up all the plants in our yard and neighborhood. We planted a new summer container veggie garden about 3 weeks ago, and everything is looking good. We ride our nearly-vintage bikes around the downtown area, and absolutely love it. The pace in Tucson has slowed noticeably since the students left and the snowbirds are going back north, it's more quiet, and seems to fit with the heat. There's not much right now that beats sitting in the shade on a hot day, looking at the blooming plants and drinking iced tea.

Enjoy the selection of photos from the past couple of months!

Scott brushes up on his inner security guard on a recent camping trip to Mount Lemmon.

Greyby has found a new favorite spot to chillax.

Homeade dill bread, made using my new stand mixer, thanks, Cindy!

Beautiful sunrise on a hike into Bear Canyon...can you see why we love it here?

Blooming Prickly Pear at Seven Falls.

At the Gaslight Theater for a ridiculous musical comedy.

We have planted some vines in our back patio, and hope to train them to grow overhead creating an arbor for some precious shade.

Our friend, Julie, joins us on the Tucson City Coops Tour, where we visited urban homes that have backyard chicken coops. The plastic bags are to keep possible disease from spreading from coop to coop. We hope to get our own coop going in the next 2 weeks.

Our summer garden. hot peppers, bell peppers, tomatoes, cantaloupe, cucumbers, basil.

Updates

Hello to all. Scott has moved to Tucson and is living with us. We just moved to a different house last week (see pictures below), and now I (Liz) am sick with a flu-like illness. Yuck. Bryan and Scott have been playing lots of roller hockey, which they totally love and can't get enough of. We did some serious rock climbing with our friends Geoff and Jennifer and there 16 mo. old son, Phifer. Scariest babysitting gig ever! It was a really fun day, if exhausting. Also, back in January, when Melissa visited, we took a trip to the very cold, wet, and foggy Grand Canyon ...file under disappointing trips. We made the most of it and it did clear up enough to take a few decent pictures. We hope to be posting on here regularly again starting in April, so check back then!

This pantry is one of the great things about our new place.

This is Bryan and Liz's bathroom. Kind of cool 70's floor tiles that don't go at all with the pink counters/walls/vanity. This is a decorating dilemma.

A nice built-in buffet in the dining room with a view into the kitchen. Unfortunately this is some of the best storage in the house. We do have an extra building in the backyard which is really coming in handy.

Cliff-side with a very well-behaved child.

The rest are looking into the Grand Canyon from the South Rim.

Thanksgiving/ Christmas-time

Signs around town

This morning we went for a walk downtown and through nearby neighborhoods, and luckily Liz remembered her camera. These are mostly signs, but to start off, here we are in a mural in the Presidio.

Our neighborhood

This is where we'll put you up if you come to visit...just kidding.

A vintage music/film venue downtown.

Liz's favorite old sign.

This place is just around the corner from our house. Overpriced, but yummy and fun.