Lena’s Orchid

My niece, Lena, has such a passion for life. I love her descriptive writing and want to share her story about success.
Follow Lena’s blog and enjoy.
I’ve been waiting for this day. I purchased five baby chicks from the feed store in March; “Hens” the sign read. Hmmm. . . that sounds easy. 5 little hens, fresh eggs again, and the ability to keep things small and simple. I needed to get back to my gardening and being outdoors where the…
I love to work outside, and today I was cleaning up the chicken coop; scrubbing out their waterer, when my little Chickie-Dee decided to hang out in the garden with me. The other chickens don’t like her, so she is not welcome in the flock. That means she and I spend a lot of time…
Can you hear it? That deep rolling thunder that sneaks up on a summer afternoon? I’m in the garden; stirring the compost and planting lettuce and the trees around me start to sway. The drum-roll in the distance is mesmerizing. I look up and see the sheets of rain falling in the distance. They’re somewhere…
Today I listened to The Rise of Urban Homesteading on KUER radio, and it caused me to revisit my own reasons for gardening and keeping chickens. My grandparents gardened for survival, but I’m sure that I garden for sanity. I know the grocery store like the back of my hand; five of them in the…
Our little hens have outgrown their dog kennel pen, so this weekend Mike and Matthew set up our old dog run in the corner of the house garden. The first thing we needed was a chicken wire roof. We have a beautiful red tailed hawk that lives nearby, and he comes for breakfast often. He perches…
Forcing blooms from fruit tree prunings is a simple and magical way to anticipate Spring. Forcing Blooms It’s still winter cold out- best time to prune the fruit trees, and that means time for forcing blooms indoors. Those delicate pink blossoms will chase away any winter blues in a hurry. In our desert, the budding fruit…