Well, as promised, we celebrated Land Day on Sunday with a frenzy of activity. We planted lots of seeds (tomatoes and peppers already! plus broccoli, collards, cilantro, parsley, and tons of greens). What an outrageously perfect day for it.

More time-consumingly, we worked on our henhouse! We'd started it a couple of months ago and then it sat outside through all the snow, looking forlorn and half-finished. But progress has been made, people.

Here's what we started with yesterday morning. Our coop (largely based on the plans at this site) should comfortably house up to six hens, and the bottom of the A-frame will be a screened-in area where the hens can be safely enclosed while enjoying fresh air. We'll also give them a larger fenced area to roam.

And here's what we have now, complete with these special features:

A hatch/ladder to the ground, and two nest boxes!

We're psyched. Hoping to get some young hens from a farmer friend in about a month, so we've got our work cut out for us, finishing this thing and gathering enough info so that we won't kill our chickens out of sheer ignorance.

Anyone else getting chickens this spring? Or have advice for novices like us?