The last five days were like a landscaping boot camp for me. My parents came into town to help me get the yard and garden headed in the right direction, and thank goodness! Having all the extra help was so relieving. 

I'll be stacking the logs on their cut sides to create raised garden beds in my vegetable garden. I read about this method in Edible Landscaping With a Permaculture Twist. This book has been one of the most incredible resources as I plan out what to do with my five acres of property. This is my favorite beginner permaculture book I have read because gives you concrete step-by-step ideas on how to work with your land to deliver specific results. Most of the other permie books I have read are a little too "read your tea leaves" for me. I like actionable steps!
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The chicks are here! The chicks are here! As I was leaving Farm and Fleet this morning with a peeping cardboard box, a woman went to enter the store as I was exiting. She saw my wistful smile and then motioned to the box saying, "Ahhh, the sound of happiness."

She could not have been more right!

This has been quite the adventure getting ready for these little birds. You can do as much research as you want, but nothing beats learning like actually doing the thing. They are beyond adorable and I am so happy to finally be a proud flock owner.

To prepare for the chicks I spent less than $50, chicks included. Here is the price break down:

We are on our way to a finished chicken coop thanks to some serious planning and one huge Menards trip. Paul and I like to joke that Friday night is date night at Menards, the place of serious romance. 

All joking aside, going in to Menards with a plan is what saved our heads on renovating and building this coop ourselves. I started by mapping out how I wanted the coop to look on the inside by using SketchUp Make. The plan went through a lot of changes as I did more research. But below you can see how everything shook out.

PSST! If you've got some intense building codes where you live, we also build our own mobile chicken tractors! That way we can protect our pastured hens and move them to a new patch of pasture every day. You can read all about here.

Scroll down to grab the plans on how to construct a nesting box from one piece of plywood!