Cat litter nesting boxes

 Comfy privacy

These old cat litter boxes have been so wonderful as nesting boxes!

They're durable, movable, and lightweight.

In all honesty, when we first built our mobile chicken tractor, we could not figure out an easy way to factor in the nesting boxes.  Building permanent boxes made the cart heavier than we wanted (I was pregnant at the time and not up for lifting much), and removed the air flow inside the cart to keep the chickens comfortable on hot days.  Then, we found two old cat litter boxes.

The two boxes fit inside and could be simply lifted in and out of the cart for ease of collecting eggs.  Again, I was pregnant, so bending down and reaching into the boxes would have been uncomfortable.

We used pine shavings for the bedding, but hay/straw could work or any other type of bedding.  When we upped the number of layers, we added a third box, as you can see in the photo above.  

Just don't tell the cat!

Diabolical Baby Brigade

 The Mission Log of the Diabolical Baby Brigade has a new post:

Did Daddy blame the teddy bear?

As logged by Agent Rose

A burp exploded very loudly

 

That would have me beaming proudly.

 

Except I was fast asleep.

 

Never did I make a peep.

Teddy bear burp like that?

 

Never! I’d bet my hat.

 

Guilty Daddy needs to confess,

 

Before Teddy Bear toots a stinky mess.

 

 

How will Agent Rose get Daddy to confess?

Find out in:

Did Daddy blame the teddy bear?

Do you think somethin's in there?

 

"I swear that I saw the hay move!"

"You've laid one too many eggs."

"Wait a second!  Those are itty, bitty butts!"

"Holy cannoli on a freshly laid egg smoothie!  You're right."

"What do you think they are?"

Baby Piggies!

Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

Nothing goes better with chocolate than chocolate.

Unless, you want to add more chocolate.  Then, that's perfection.

These are my favorite cookies, because they combine the creaminess of both dark and milk chocolate chips along with the bitterness of cocoa powder.

If you don't have brown sugar on hand, you can also just do 1 cup sugar with 2 teaspoons molasses.

 

Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep time: 15 minutes     Cook time: 11-12 minutes

 

 Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

1 cup flour

2 Tablespoons cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

heaping 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

heaping 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a small bowl, melt butter over low heat.  Once melted, add the sugars.  Set the bowl to the side and let cool.

While the butter mixture is cooling, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.  Set aside.

Now that the butter mixture is cool, add the vanilla extract and the egg.  Beat well.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir to combine.  Add the chocolate chips and mix.

CONFESSION:  I always end up eating some off of the spoon at this point.  Yummy, delicious COOKIE DOUGH!

Make walnut sized balls with the cookie dough and place them on a cookie sheet about two inches apart.  Bake for 11-12 minutes.  

If you have the strength to wait for them to cool before diving in, congratulations.  You're stronger than me.

Enjoy!

Oh, no!  What's this!?

Batman has found the cookies!

 

Diabolical Baby Bridgade

 The Mission Log of the Diabolical Baby Brigade has a new post:

 

The Diabolical Legend of Tickling

As logged by Agent Chase

 

This story starts once upon a time,

A villain committed a dastardly crime.

He tickled everyone near and far

With tickling powers that were most bizarre.

Until the day everyone was saved

When he became a statue and sent to his grave.

But someone accidentally pushed the lever

For his powers to take over parents’ minds forever!

 

What is the legend of tickling?

Find out in:

 The Diabolical Legend of Tickling

When your five-year-old helps fill the sink

 

Somehow, that didn't fall!

EnterTRAINment Junction

The world's largest train display is right in Cincinnati, Ohio!

Only at Entertrainment Junction

Designed as a large loop, you enter to find yourself in the early days of trains.  Steam engines puff along in magnificent scenery.  Along the way are buttons interspersed that activate various sections of the display.

The second stage of the loop takes you to the 50s and 60s era.  While the main theme is trains, there are, also, some pretty amazing car model displays as well.  

The third stage is the modern era with...

An official train station.

Here's a link to show what all is inside:  Park Map

This place is great for the train enthusiast,with informative antique displays

 

A HUGE marble collection

And more.

But it also has a kids room with a huge jungle gym, a smaller jungle gym, and lots of other train themed games/rides.

There's an outdoor train ride.

And, when you're done with all of the train exhibits.  There's a separate section called

A-MAZE-N FUNHOUSE!

This section has so many different mazes:

A clown maze, a mirror maze, a curtain maze, a space maze.

I wish I had taken some pictures while in the maze section, it was a lot of fun.

The sad news:

Entertrainment will be closing in early January2025, so check it out before it shuts its doors.

Though, we're all secretly hoping someone buys it.

There will be a Halloween theme from the end of September to the end of October.

The Christmas display is amazing and they will be doing breakfast with Santa this year.

Check out their calendar of events here!

Diabolical Baby Brigade

 The Mission Log of the Diabolical Baby Brigade has a new post:

Diabolical pickle payback

As logged by Agent West

I so loved eating those nasty greens.

The ones that tasted worse than sardines.

It’s time for me to pay Mommy back

In a way that just might make her crack!

This has to be something truly diabolical

And, how about, a little bit comical.

A half eaten pickle I see.

And a window as dirty as can be.

 

How will Agent West get his revenge?

Find out in:

Diabolical pickle payback

When you just want one picture

 All I needed was one, single picture of the new goat kids

Such a camera hog

Juicy taco meat

 

Tacos are my go to for the busy night where I don't have a lot of time to sweat over the stove...

Strike that, sweating while standing over top of the stove, where you're cooking your family's meal, sounds super gross.

The busy night where I don't have a lot of time or have completely forgotten to plan anything.

There, that sounds better.

This recipe for taco meat is wonderful because I can whip it together and focus on all of the other prep work while the meat rests in a gentle simmer.

Juicy Taco Meat

Prep time: 1-2 minutes    Cook time:  15-35 minutes

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

2 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

1 1/2 teaspoons corn starch

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

1/4 teaspoon coriander (optional)

1/2 - 1 cup broth or water - the amount depends on how long you want the beef to simmer

Directions:

Mix all of the spices together.  Cook beef in a skillet over medium heat.  Once it is almost completely browned, add the spice mixture and stir to fully incorporate.  Add the broth/water:  1/2 cup if you're in a rush and only have a few minutes.  If you have time, though, I highly recommend the full 1 cup to let it simmer down into full, juicy tenderness.  Turn the heat down to allow the meat to gently simmer:  it'll be 3-5 minutes for the 1/2 cup and about 20 minutes for the full 1 cup.  Once the liquid appears to be well absorbed, turn the heat off.

Serve immediately or cover with a lid to let it restfully wait while you finish the rest of your taco prep work.

Side note:  I'm pretty proud of that picture up top.

Look at how neat the fillings are all arranged in that shell!

 

Here's what my tacos usually look like:

 

Yeah...  I have a problem with overfilling my taco shells.

Can you spot the chicken?

 Where, oh where, can she be?

Can you see her?  How about a closer look?

Meet Bully, so named because of how she likes to pick on any chicken who comes in her way of a delicious snack.  

Two years ago we bought a variety of chickens:  Australorps, Isa Browns, and Americanas.  I've never had a breed of chicken that likes to escape and make hidden nests like the Americanas do.  Bully isn't the only one and I've found at least eight different nests over the last two years.  All, but one, from the Americanas.

Now, can you guess how many eggs were in Bully's nest?

NINE!

Diabolical Baby Brigade

 The Mission Log of the Diabolical Baby Brigade has a new post:

Night of the diabolical snores

As logged by Agent Rose

 

A rumble growls from down the hall

Making me shake and feel quite small

Where’s my stink bear to protect me?

More rumbling and grumbling. What can it be?

Quiet! Someone’s opening my door!

Why did I leave my stink bear on the floor?

Now, there’s a shadow lurking into the room.

Another rumble! As loud as a thunder’s boom!

 

Who's the scary monster?

Find out in:

Night of the diabolical snores

How to feel foolish 101

Step 1

Run around the house demanding to know who has seen your phone.

 

Step 2

Look down and see phone in your hand.  

Happy Friday!

Pawpaws - Let them fall

The delicious Pawpaw

 A yummy fruit native to eastern North America

The first time my husband saw a pawpaw lying on the ground in our woods, he cupped it in his hands like it was a magical diamond and brought it to me.  "What is this?"  He spoke oh, so quietly.

"It's a pawpaw."

He scrunched his face with some hard thinking and remembered hearing that it was a fruit.  Which meant he could eat it.  Which meant he dove right in, forgetting to let me have a taste, and fell madly in love.  For those who have tasted the banana pudding like flesh with a hint of vanilla and citrus, you know what I'm talking about.

Now, he's the crazy guy walking around in our woods with a large stick and poking the trees every middle of September to see how many pawpaws he can get to "naturally" fall because he's grown tired of waiting for them to reach peak ripeness and fall on their own.

To increase our yield, we purchased some pawpaw trees to plant in our yard.  This year they are finally old enough and are producing their first yield of yummy, delicious pawpaws.

While some of the pawpaw fruits do ripen and stay on the tree until some crazy guy comes along and pokes it with a stick, most fall upon reaching peak ripeness.  To ensure that their landing is cushy enough to soften the impact and, thus, keep the fruits from splitting open, adding a layer of mulch can always help.

Here's one of the pawpaw trees without the added mulch layer:

And here it is after putting down a simple layer of hay flakes:

A nice, soft landing for when my husband decides to shake the limbs to get the pawpaw fruits to "naturally" fall.

Diabolical Baby Brigade

 The Mission Log of the Diabolical Baby Brigade has a new post:

A toot in the face

As logged by Agent Chase

Nothing could ever compare

To something so simple, but not rare.

A toot in the face will leave Mommy crying

Especially when Daddy laughs like he’s dying.

He’s laughing so hard

He’s let down his guard.

Now, here comes baby Chase,

Ready with a toot in his face!

 

 

How does this mission unfold?

A toot in the face