RAISE
How We’ve Redeemed Our Ground … and Will!
Winter is a unique time of year for those of us who enjoy spending a lot of time outside in our yards. This is a common time for organizing our tools and cleaning things up, but it’s also a great opportunity to reflect over the past year’s projects,…
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From “Land of the Lost” to “Scott Family Farm” … for Our Backyard Chickens
When thinking of how to describe what our side yard used to be like, I couldn’t help but think of one of my favorite childhood after-school TV shows – “The Land of the Lost”. While there were no Sleestaks nor close calls of being eaten by a dinosaur,…
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Last Minute Gift Ideas for Your Ground Redeemer
I once did a post on last minute gift ideas for your ground redeeming friends and family t … and was recently been asked if I was going to do it again. Well … the answer is, “I am.” Today. Right now. So keep reading. (By the way,…
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“Well hello there!”…What’s Your Home Saying?
The entrance and approach to your home is your house’s way of greeting your guests. Some houses do a great job at that, essentially saying “Hello…welcome, I’m so glad you’re here…we’ve been looking forward to seeing you.” Others on the other hand say “Stay away…don’t bother me…I’m not…
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We Love Our Backyard Chickens … But They’re Not for Everyone
Britt and I were just talking the other day about how crazy it is that we’ve become chicken people…not crazy, walking around with feathers in our hair and chicken poop on our clothes chicken people (well most of the time), but chicken-owning, chicken-loving chicken people. When we got…
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The Real Truth about Raising Backyard Chickens
When I first started raising backyard chickens I really knew next to nothing. I knew what I wanted to get out of raising chickens, but beyond my vast experience at raising parakeets as a kid (which didn’t help much at all…surprise), I didn’t have a clue. Now, after…
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Raising Backyard Chickens…Answering Your Questions
We really had a great response from last week’s post on the truth about raising backyard chickens…at least my truths. In addition to a good deal of traffic, we also got some good questions. I’ll answer some of them here. Please keep your questions coming…I’d love to provide…
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[VIDEO] Introducing…Our Backyard Chickens!
If you’ve been on RYGblog more than once you’ve probably gathered that we are the proud owners of a small flock of backyard chickens …7 of them. And although we do love them because of the eggs they give us every day, we also love them because we consider…
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Raising Backyard Chickens 101: Why & How Many?
My chicken posts from the last couple of weeks seemed to have piqued the interest of quite a few…particularly on the design of our chicken coop. Today’s post will be the first of several where I’ll provide greater context and a bit more detail on not only the…
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Upcycled Nesting Box … Transformed into Boot Storage
Ever since we’ve been raising chickens, we’ve been accumulating chicken-themed stuff … ties, books, towels, objects, etc. Some of the chicken-stuff we’ve bought ourselves, but some we’ve received as gifts. And not that we’re turning all cat-lady on you …i n a chicken-kinda-way, but I guess you…
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Topping off the Perfect Easter Basket with “Let’s Hatch Chicks!” by Lisa Steele
If you’ve read any of my chicken-related posts, odds are you’ve gotten to know fellow blogger Lisa Steele … of Fresh-Eggs-Daily fame. She is the expert when it comes to all-things-chicken. Besides being a 5th generation chicken keeper, she’s also an author, Master Gardener, an aspiring herbalist, sought-after…
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4 Things We’ve Learned in 4 Weeks of Beekeeping
I met Micah a little over 2 years ago now…when we were just starting out on our RYG journey. Micah was part of the awesome team at Proof Branding that helped us come up with the RYG brand and develop our website and blog. And since then Micah, has…
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Our Chicken Coop Design (Part 1 of 2…err 3)
Given the frequency of posts about our feathered ladies, I know some of you may think my life revolves around our chickens. Well I assure you that’s not the case…but they do add quite a bit of texture to my family’s life. But with that…I do have yet…
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My Top 5 Chicken Coop Designs
Now that spring is here and the weather finally seems to be cooperating, I’m chomping at the bit to get some of my projects outside underway. One area of our yard I’m going to focus on first is in and around our chicken coop…my ladies are needing just a…
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Our Chicken Coop Design – Front Elevation (Part 2 of 3)
Okay, I lied. I had hoped to finish up writing on our chicken coop design with this post, but I ran out of time and markers…seriously – my gray marker ran out. So today I’m going to focus on the front elevation and next week I’ll wrap it…
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Liquid Bliss – Water Features to Complement Your Outdoor Spaces
There are few things that bring a sense of calm to a space like the tranquil sounds of bubbling water. But if that’s the only reason you’re considering adding a water feature to your landscape, think again. Water features bring so much more in the way of…
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Our Chicken Coop Design (Part 3 of 3)
Finally! My last post on the design of our chicken coop. Below you’ll find a description and rendering of the final 3 elevations – right, left, and rear. Part 1 provided a schematic of the area where our coop/hutch sits, as well as a floor plan. Part 2…
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Why, Yes…Our Backyard Chickens Do Have Names
I shouldn’t find it funny, really…that one of the most common questions people ask about our chickens is “Do they have names?”. Although having chickens as pets is trendy in some circles, it’s still not the norm…so given that most peoples’ context for chickens is what they’re having…
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The new phonebook is here! The new phonebook is here! Well, not really…but our new Chicken eBook is!!!
Well, you may not be as excited as Navin R. Johnson* was to receive the new phonebook…or even excited at all to hear that our new Chicken eBook is here. But since we’ve been sharing our chicken stories here on RYGblog we’ve had a number of folks ask…
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Introducing … Lisa Steele and “Fresh Eggs Daily”
As I’ve said on previous posts, one of the biggest perks of this RYG journey has been getting to meet some truly amazing people. (I air-quoted “meet” because I haven’t actually met them…or even talked to them, but I have gotten to know them on their blogs and through emails back and forth.) Anyway…the…
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Let There Be Light…String Lights!
If you’ve been reading RYGblog for anytime at all, you’ve probably heard me talk about “Scott Family Farm”…which is really just our side yard that we’ve redeemed from the waste of a space it used to be. (If you’re just tuning in and are interested in seeing more…
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Crazy Stuff for Chickens – Diapers, Harnesses, and Costumes!
I’ve become the “chicken guy” to a number of my friends. How do I know? Well because it seems that I’m the go-to for those who are considering raising backyard chickens…reaching out to ask me what it’s really like to have them. While others, who already have chickens, call to…
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The Trifecta of Posts on Winter Chicken Care … from Lisa Steele | Fresh Eggs Daily
Last week I did a post on some crazy stuff we crazy chicken people do with our chickens – put diapers on them, use harnesses to take them on walks, and dress them up in costumes. But honestly, these are all things really more for our benefit or…
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A Bee’s Life – by “Littlest One” Scott … A Great Primer for the Beekeeper Wannabee
Thanks to Britt and her highly intentional way of living, every year we try to add something to enrich how we do life at home. Whether it’s growing a family veggie garden, raising chickens, or reading books as a family…although I may be the primary doer (well, not…
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Top Chicken Names | Ultimate Backyard Chicken Survey
On today’s Top Chicken Names post I’m sharing what I think is some of the most enjoyable info folks shared when they completed the Ultimate Backyard Chicken Survey that I published back in the spring of 2017 … what they named their feathered friends! It may not be…
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