I don't know how many of you know "Creekside Cottage" is the name we gave to our house. We are history lovers and historically houses were known by their names or later were named using the owner of the house's name.
We were charmed by the idea of naming our house. It is not an estate, but a simple, well loved home, but even small homes were named. We have an eclectic style that we call cottage, and since we have a creek behind the house, the name was born.
The cottage is situated on 4 1/4 acres. It all used to be farmland at one time but the house was built on one acre and the previous owners bought 3 1/4 acres of land from the neighboring farm. When we bought this land it was completely overgrown. We didn't even know that there was a creek the first time we looked at the house!
Now we have about two acres of fenced pasture for our horses and Tim has built a barn that is flush with the fence line. We have two 12x12 stalls and a bigger space for storing hay, grain and equipment, including our mower.
A few years ago we experimented with a few hens and now we have a Tim built coop and eight laying hens. They were just beginning to lay as fall and winter came on but we did get eggs, though not one from every hen every day. Now that Spring has arrived and they have longer daylight hours, we are starting to get eight eggs a day! We love having fresh eggs!
We might try to do some meat chickens this year, too, and while we do know how to butcher our chickens, we've decided to use a local butcher (if we do raise meat chickens) who charges a very small fee to butcher, dress, and vacuum seal the chicken so they are ready for the freezer.
We also add four fruit trees last year - 2 apple and 2 peach. We are excited that in a few years we will be getting a lot of fruit!
Who would have thought that a girl from Southern California would live with horses in the backyard and chickens wandering around. Not me! But you know what? I love it!
The chicken and Sandy photos are by Lindsay Musser.
Eggs in a blue bowl and Cheyenne by Deanna Rabe.
6 comments:
Terrific! I so happy to hear that all of your hens are laying!! Ours are now, as well, after this long, bitter-cold winter. Hope your fruit trees produce for you this year. We have a spot planned for some apple trees, but must do some more clearing first.
Your chickens and horses are beautiful. So nice you are getting eggs everyday. Love it. Hope you get lots of fruits from your new trees in the future, Mrs. Rabe.
Love those first three photos most especially! That Lindsay Musser is a talented photographer. The hens would look so pretty printed up and framed for the kitchen.
I knew some of these things, but did not realize you had 4.5 acres! That's a nice little farm.
It WOULD be nice to have fresh eggs......(I know there are chores and expenses that go with it, too.....)
Lovely views of around your home … now I know why you are Creekside!
It's always fun to learn a little more about bloggers and their situations. Love those hens and I'm glad to hear you are getting some eggs. Such a treat. (and lots of work)
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