Introducing...

My California Wild Rose. Isn't she pretty? There are a bunch more on the way. I love this plant and I kind of wish I had put it on a more prominent place in the yard.
We've settled on flower names for the chickens and since I don't run a military dictatorship, we have middle names too, which were selected by Sofia.

First we have Poppy Honeybee, our Buff Orphington:

Next is Violet Viola, one of the Barred Rocks:

This is Rose (Rosie) Cocoa Bean, a Black Sex Link:

This is Daisy Dear, the other Barred Rock:

And finally, Tulip Petal, the other Black Sex Link:

They are just over 3 weeks now and they weigh between 5.5 ounces and 7.4 ounces. Tulip is the biggest and Rosie is the smallest. Coop is coming along but no photos to share yet...

One of My New Favorite Things

I've made these veggie patties a few times now and I love them! Maia, not so much, but so few things please her that I can't really count her opinion on whether a recipe is a keeper or not. This provides the start to a very healthy meal and would be easy to keep vegan if you were so inclined.

I have been using this basic recipe from epicurious.com. I've always made the patties for dinner, not breakfast as the recipe suggests. Instead of rice, I've been using the red quinoa that they have at Trader Joe's. The patties haven't held together well for me (though I have to admit I haven't followed the recipe exactly when it comes to the "refrigerate for 20 minutes" part) so this last time, I added an egg. To serve, I toasted some whole grain bread, rubbed it with a clove of raw garlic, and added some sliced goat milk cheddar. Yum!

Chickies are doing great. Growing like little weeds. They seem to get along just fine - no one has assumed the Queen Hen position yet. We spent a great deal of time in the yard this weekend working on the coop (mostly Chris) and the garden watering system (mostly me). I'm excited to show the coop in a couple weeks or so.