chicken details :: macro photography :: farm photography

i finally splurged and bought myself a macro lens. if you remember, i have been simply flipping my 50mm to get the macro effect. i am loving the detail that a real macro lens picks up vs. my previous hack.

the lens arrived on my porch on friday and i immediately went outside to play & practice. being the annoying friends that my chickens are, they greeted me at the back door, ready for their close-up.

aren't they pretty? i mean... they aren't cuddly or cute, but they are pretty. i'm proud of them for surviving the cold winter and you can even notice how it has deteriorated some of them a bit. just after a year, you can see their age. i think it makes them more interesting though... and to be honest, it's easier to tell them apart from each other when they each have a special characteristic.

anyway, be prepared for some more macro photos over the next few weeks. you know i'm going to be obsessing with every little detail (every little detail... get it? eh?). xoxo

chicken littles are big :: personal story

our chicken littles are big!  they are around 16 - 18 weeks old now and a couple have started laying eggs for us regularly.  they roam around the yard everyday eating bugs and looking at themselves in the front bumper of our truck (they looooove to look at themselves).  each night they tuck themselves into their coop and all we have to do is shut the door. we bought nesting boxes off craig's list for them and they snuggle in for the night.  each morning, the boys run to the coop to let them out and collect the eggs.  it's worked out really well!

we ended up with 13 hens and 5 roosters.  the roosters do a very good job of protecting the hens - especially from daisy dog.  at first, she was a little aggressive with them, but after being pecked a few times, everyone is living happily together.

i am allergic to eggs, so i unfortunately, haven't had the pleasure of trying them... but hubby seems to like them.  they are perfectly white and slightly small.  the white hens are the ones laying, so it will be interesting to see what the other breeds produce.  i've heard some chickens can even lay purple eggs!

have a good weekend friends - if you are in town and would like a dozen eggs, give us a holler!  xoxo

morning fog :: farm photography

because the southern half of the u.s. has had so much rain lately, we've woke each morning to a lovely fog.

and... i don't know what it is about photographing fog, but i love it.  it's creepy, surreal, and beautiful all at the same time.

farm life :: farm photography

isn't it funny how life turns out sometimes?

as a young adult working towards my masters degree in chicago i saw a future much different than what it is.  i imagined myself working in a big city, single... and maybe - just maybe - in my late 30's to early 40's, i would adopt a couple kiddos.

and now, here i am, doing pretty much the complete opposite.  my husband works in a big city 4 days out of the week and i hold things together on our farm.  i wake early to care for the chickens, water the gardens, then wake our two boys for a full day of summer fun while i'm off to work at the shop.

each day, as i go through these motions, i thank God that my life turned out this way.  how blessed i am to be close to my loving family for support, to have two energetic & hilariously funny kiddos, and to view this beautiful land each morning that we call home.

what surprising & amazing gifts i've been given.  xoxo.

lensbaby in the morning :: nature photography

now that summer is in full swing, the heat & humidity is rising more than i would like (unless i have plans to swim that day).  i have to get up and out early if i want to work on anything in our giant yard.  or... i could just let it over grow...

i'll probably do that.

update on chicken littles :: farm photography

our chicken littles are growing up to be awkward teenagers!  their feet are huge and their little bodies haven't quite caught up yet.  they are enjoying the coop/shed (and so am i because they were starting to stink up our basement).  we have put some old fencing in there for them to perch on... which they all love to do.  it's like a contest between friends... who can get up the highest...

we are still unsure of who is a hen and who is a rooster.  i think we'll know in a few weeks.  we have let them outside a few times when the weather is nice enough and so far they all come back to the coop without too much prodding.  daisy dog has gotten used to them and has stopped trying to bite them (although she likes to follow them around and sniff them constantly).  they tolerate her.

i kind of love them.  when they were downstairs in our basement, i was getting irritated with their constant loud pecking and chirping, the smell, etc...  but now that they have their own little space, i enjoy them much more.  it's fun to go feed them each morning and learn about each individual's personality.

and... i have to admit... their pretty cute.  xoxo

car collection :: farm photography

i was visiting a relative's farm the other day and spotted these two.  i love photographing junk and this combo made me laugh.  who knows how long each has been sitting there...

the top one looks like it should be the bad guy in a children's movie.  i believe the bottom car actually belonged to a high school friend of my husbands.  both sit at the back of the farm by the 'junk barns' as we call them...  old barns that are barely standing with a collection of forgotten items.  it's fun to go exploring there.  the boys certainly love it.

so... here's to spring and all the new that is growing around the old.  happy day friends!

shed to coop :: personal story

we have begun the first phases of building our chicken coop!  last weekend, we cleaned out the old shed that will be their nesting area.  we still need to build their cubbies & secure some of the open slits for their safety and warmth, however, after that all is needed is a little fencing.

the chicken littles are starting to look a bit like awkward teenage chickens.  their legs are long but their bodies are still small.  colored feathers are starting to appear and they are quite frankly, getting frustrated with their home in the basement.  they take turns standing on the water & feed bottles and peering out onto our laundry piles.  i imagine they dream of flying...

a big thanks to my brother who helped clean out the shed.  it was a dirty job, but i enjoyed finding all sorts of treasures!  xoxo

change :: composite photography

someone once said that 'change is the only constant in life'.  it certainly seems that way... so much so that i occasionally don't even notice our world changing around me until it stares me right in the eye.  until the old and new are side by side and i take a moment and repeat what my ancestors said... 'o my, how the world is changing fast'.

then something funny happens... i get nervous and anxious.  i ask questions that my husband can't answer and he gets frustrated with me.  and then he becomes anxious.

and then... we turn to our faith and relax slightly when we remind ourselves that there is someone very special who has a plan for all of us.  change... is apparently a constant within that plan... and we are just here to enjoy each phase of it.

xoxo

little things :: farm photography

little things around the farm that make me happy...

weighing options :: decay photography

this is the house my husband's grandfather grew up in.  it is next door to our home - although acres away.  a family friend of my in-laws lived in the house for 25 years and just recently passed from cancer.  i never met him... he was bed-ridden and we gave him his peace to die comfortably.

since then, the house has been [mostly] cleared of this friend's belongings and now my father-in-law is weighing the decision of demolition.  it was his father's childhood home... yet, as you can see from the photographs, it is not in good shape.

it's a beautiful home really.  but i love old farmhouses with charm... even if the charm is falling off the walls.  i have always been an advocate for restoration, especially when it comes to preserving a bit of history.  and most especially when it is family history.

the question is... what would we do with this house if we restored it to glory?  with the lack of this answer, ambition is lost.  i suppose i'll keep you updated... until then, i'll enjoy the ruins.  xoxo

fabric window covering :: diy

who says you're stuck with what ya got?  not me!

the farm house had a few windows that were ever so beautifully decorated with vinyl drop shades.  {boring}.  i jazzed mine up without sewing a single stitch!  aren't they much better now?

here's the diy:

1. remove shade and lie flat on clean surface.  i used the garage floor, which actually, was not so clean.
2. place fabric on top of flat shade and cut a little wider and a little longer than needed.
3. roll your material up so that you can easily adhere in small sections at a time.
4. using a spray adhesive, cover the vinyl in small sections and then smooth fabric out on top
5. once the entire length is covered, flip shade over and fold over overlying fabric with adhesive
6. repeat on opposite side

simple as that.  one thing to note is that i did have to remove and reinstall the hardware for the blind to get the  perfect fit.  the fabric made the shade considerably thicker, so in order for it to roll up and down smoothly, i had to move the hardware down and out a bit.  that was pretty easy though really.  and if you use a thin enough fabric, you might not even have to do anything.

i like how the new shades bring out the red in the ceiling.  i am currently in love with chevron too... wonder how long that will last?  good thing i can just peel off the fabric and do the whole process again when i'm over that trend!  xoxo