A few years ago my aunt returned to Adelaide after years interstate. So this garden she built from scratch really. I said to her she needs chooks, as you do, but she wasn't sure about this. Nan always kept chooks even into her old age they were just the norm. I'm sure that is why I have always kept chooks myself even here in the city these days.
When I first moved to the city I felt my chicken days were over but I soon found many city people keep them and it's no big deal. So yay! I could get chooks again. I had a small home and small yard... It was hard rubbish collection near by so I went for a drive. This is the best fun. To my delight and excitement I found a huge wooden dog house. It was huge, it must have housed a great dane or something... Anyway there it was and I have a four wheel drive so it looked like a possibility to me. But no, it was not going to fit and anyhow I could not even lift it. :( I stood there considering my options. I wasn't married to Andy then...
Eventually a man said to me (same scenario as the garden urns!) "doesnt fit hey?" This man was removing hardware from old doors and windows... no doubt for sale. This man had a ute I noted...
I agreed no it would not fit and I wasn't leaving without this dog house! "what do you want it for?" ... I told him I was going to paint it pink and turn it into a chicken house. Well, at that moment he asked where do I live? That was the moment he cracked... he said ok he will put it on his ute and drive it to my place! lol I always talk to strangers and my family laugh how people always end up doing stuff for me.
So a couple of hours later he arrives at my place after I gave him my address on a scrap of paper. Further to his trouble the dog house would not fit through my front gate and he had to remove its roof. Lucky he had tools... The roof removal was handy as I needed that anyway to lift to collect the eggs...
What a guy!
Anyway I repeated this entire performance and found a smaller dog house (which did fit in my car) and painted it white and covered it in tinsel and took it to my aunts... over the door way I wrote "bless this nest" for her Christmas present. And that is how she came to keep chooks. Recently she said to me how people pay hundreds of dollars to set up chooks and we did it for virtually nothing. Well yes, that is the point many people seem to miss, to have fresh beautiful eggs, to save money and to have happy healthy chooks. It does't have to cost much at all. And hens are funny and have personalities and you waste nothing! Then you have your garden fertiliser production unit installed as well!
The highlight of the garden yesterday was a whole fence covered in Brugmansia. I mean huge thick, cascading, amazing, prettiest colour bell shaped flowers and each flower bigger than your whole hand... as big as your head really.
Honestly just incredible and she grew them all from cuttings....
I love flowers and they are one of the most amazing things I have ever seen!
Annabel! THE FLOWERS!!!!!!! We call these trumpet {toxic}, and the shade of your aunt's is spectacular! These took my breath away. Love that you shared them.
ReplyDeleteHappy weekend,
Kelley~