On Saturday and Sunday past, Doug, Virginia, Cedric and a helper, Mark Peel, built a chicken coop. Mark on the left, Doug in middle and Cedric up top.
Meet the chickens, a white leghorn, red mirren mix and a barred rock red mirren mix. Two out of three, Blanche, Della and Cora another leg/mirren is out of sight.
Virginia helped me build feeders that do not spill grain on the ground. No waste.
Two of these will keep three chickens fed for about 3 weeks. The watering tank on the left, showing one nipple will last almost as long. The lay 1 and 1/2 doz. eggs a week on average.
The roof and door are not on yet, but we teased Doug about his taj mahal design. It is a pretty fancy coop that I will paint with enamel later. So far, having chickens is fun. Organic eggs in a store are about $4.50 a dozen. Calculated costs on-line for purchased organic mash, or GMO free mix your own organic feed, run $3.36 cents a doz. A couple cents more for the mash, a bit less for mix your own.
Since that is more eggs than I can eat, I hope to find one customer who will buy one dozen a week for $4.00 to help lower the cost of eggs. Of course, I’ll never sell enough eggs to pay for the taj mahal. But, then, it is fun to have your own live chickens. I’ve owned chickens at every house I’ve lived in since 1962, except this one. But, for the many chickens I’ve raised, dozens, I’ve never kept them in a coop before. They always ran free in my city yards and my first house in Murphys. It will be interesting.
My friend Dao Sang came to visit and we spent an afternoon together. I hadn’t seen him since 2005. He has lost 40 pounds he can ill afford to lose and has been ill. But, the first thing he did was peek in my garage to see if I was still driving my Prius. Yup!! We laughed. He needs special cars because he is 6 foot 9 and can’t fit into just any car.
Lunch at Grounds in Murphys is always a good choice. The day was balmy and beautiful. When we stand together, my head fits under his arm. I asked him why he wasn’t wearing his robes and he said, “I’m enough of a tourist attraction with my height. I only wear them when I’m teaching or at temple.” People do stare at him as he walks down the street.
We stopped and looked at the changes happening around town. And, wouldn’t you know we found a statue of Buddha in a store, for only $7,400. Yikes! Buddha would be horrified. Anyway, sure enough, a guy in the store looked at him and said, 6′ 5? 6’7? Dao mumbled, “6′ 9.”
I see what you mean, I told him. I lost my husband in 2000 and my dog six days later. Dao’s dog Daisey died and 6 days later he lost his mother. He remembered that about George. He and some other friends spent my first Thanksgiving with me, after George died, at the local free dinner in downtown Murphys. So, our reminiscing had some sadness to it. In two weeks he, his two sisters and his three daughters will deliver her ashes to Sea Ranch near the Big Sur . I love the Buddhist religion. It is all about kindness, helpfulness and love, a true reflection of Dao’s personality. As Gus Dalsis, he became a Buddhist after his discharge from the Marines as a young man. He was ordained as Buddhist Monk, Dao Sang in 2004.
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