Home to Roost

So as the bar draws closer, the chicks are becoming chickens.

Willie surprised me with an anniversary trip to Jackson Hole, Wy last weekend. We drove north through Idaho along a beautiful two lane highway that winds through farmland and green grassy hills that were blanketed in yellow and pink wildflowers. Due to serendipitous timing, we were able to drive up in a loaner 2008 X3. While I was driving, I pretended to be in the new one-series.

We hung out at the Cowboy Bar where the bar stools are each covered in a saddle, hiked around Jenny Lake (which is this lovely lake of clear blue water reflecting the Tetons and rows of Pine trees), then we went shopping for my unborn niece, and headed back Sunday.

Jazlyn, Willie's secretary, dog and chicken-sat. I think she enjoyed the dogs. However, the chickens were another story. Before we left, I tacked together a make-shift chicken-run to substitute until our coop is finished. But the chicks need to be taken in each evening. She spent a half hour trying to catch Flower. The little things are fast, these days, and Jazlyn had to enlist the help of neighbors to catch her.

The Coop, meanwhile is nearly done. The roof is finished, but not yet lifted into place. And, we still need to reinforce the side-walls. This has literally been a family-neighborhood project. My parents helped (planned it and constructed the frame). William helped and constructed the foundation. Becky helped frame the roof (she did a beautiful job, even after a few glasses of wine). David basically helped with everything. And our neighbors Jason and Gabriella have been on call after their kids are in bed. Bruce and Ann and Johnny get credit too, for sharing tools, chicken-watching, and general next-door-neighborly support.

This project has been a well-timed diversion for me, from studying for the bar and going to work.

OOOO After attending a classic car show in Jackson Hole, W and I have decided to build a kit car together. So, I hope everyone is ready :)