I guess I have never really showed off the (mostly) final coop setup on this blog. So, here it is:



The coop and run have been completely connected by the patented Witzenburg Chicken Tunnel(TM), and Jackie and Lisa seem very happy with their little home. They love the tunnel, and enjoy hanging out in there, probably because it's both safe and shady. Here's another angle on their set up.



Since these shots were taken, Dakota has added some locks and other little items for safety and ease of cleaning. The whole compound is both stylish and secure, in my opinion. So far, there haven't been any incidents with predators, although there were some small holes dug at the edge of the run a couple of weeks ago, and we've seen some suspicious footprints. Dakota is confident that the chickens are quite safe when they're locked in the coop at night, though, and I agree with him. They seem happy in there, too.

The only things still needed are a nesting box addition on the coop, which can wait until Jackie and Lisa are old enough to lay eggs, and the green roof. We might also add a little shade-creating overhang or ledge in the run, for when things get really hot this summer.

Happily, Jackie and Lisa are quite comfortable with their daily routine. Every morning, I open the door to their coop and then close it behind them once they come out into the run. At night, one of us goes down and opens the door to the coop, then comes back a bit later to lock them in for the night. They are usually very eager to get inside at night as it gets dark. If we get home too late, we'll find them already asleep inside the tunnel, pressed up against the closed coop door. They sleep so soundly that it takes some effort to wake them so we can open the coop door to let them in. It took them about two weeks, plus some bribes and a little shoving, to get used to the schedule, but they seem pretty attached to it now.

I've been getting a lot of excellent harvests from my winter garden in the last couple of months, which is good, because summer is almost here. I had great success with the turnips, carrots and chard in particular. I've always been intimidated to grow leafy crops like chard and arugula, but they have turned out to be easier than I expected.

Dakota's favorite garden-fresh meal ever came from the vegetables pictured below. I peeled and braised the carrots and turnips together, using a simple recipe from How to Cook Everything. Then I cooked the chard with a bit of garlic and olive oil until it wilted, and steamed it briefly in the pan. Served with a bit of wild rice, it was a pretty delicious and extremely healthy meal.



Just a couple of weeks ago, I pulled these lovely beets. They're kind of striped on the inside, although not as stripey as the picture on the seed packet. I roasted them, which is my favorite way to eat beets.



The biggest crop this winter has been carrots. I've pulled several big bunches so far, and I still have quite a few left in the garden still waiting to be harvested. This winter I grew pretty traditional carrot varieties, but, this summer, I'm going to try a more exotic type called Dragon Carrots.



And of course this summer I'm growing tomatoes and peppers, plus eggplant, radishes and, for the first time, corn. The corn was planted last month and is coming along nicely. I hope it works out--and so do the chickens. They love corn.