Sustainable Reality & Feather Gallery - Chick, Chick, Chick, Chick Chickens!!!

My every morning at the @gardenofeden begins with a walk to the chicken coop

with a bucket or two full of table scraps and some fresh well water.
I greet my little "chick-chick-chickees" and wish them a fine day.
(Yes, I call them that and chat with them - I'm sure they love to start their day that way too!)

The chicken reality here at the @gardenofeden is really awesome.
They don't cost us a single cent to house or to feed.
They give us eggs daily--at times so many that we had to have a dedicated refrigerator
and a date coding system to manage them all.

Both chicken coops we have built were made from used wooden pallets and bamboo pegs.

Their nesting boxes and roosts were built out of bamboo poles (we grew ourselves) and salvaged wood.

They eat tons of bugs straight from the earth,
and consume much of our excess food scraps (the rest goes to our compost).
The chickens not only consume what is left from our community,
but they also consume lots of waste produce from farmer's markets and grocery stores.

They can turn a pile of leaves and produce into a great compost pile,
and their poo is dense nutrition for our garden.

Chickens are a super sustainable reality for us.
Everyday they do their service to the community and the earth
just by eating and going poo.

They also give us tons of eggs and some oh so many very beautiful feathers.

Today I picked up a large handful of a variety of feathers.
It's amazing how spectacular each individual feather is.
When looking at a chicken, one would never really know the intricacy of what they wear.

So today I want to share with you a small gallery of feathers
gifted to me by our beloved, prolific chickens!

Just imagine all the things one could do with these beautiful feathers!

I've made feather arrangements with them, as well as masks, hat bands, head dresses, belts, wands, covered picture frames, bras and shoes.

The creative options are always open, and with so many feathers (these are just some I picked up today), I'll be able to make a headdress soon!!

My day often includes securing the chickens back inside their handmade coop near sunset,
counting them on their roost, collecting their eggs, and wishing them a safe good night's rest.
And of course thanking them for their fine contribution.

We take care of each other.  
We feed them, provide them safe shelter and a great life,
they feed us, alchemize waste, provide fertilizer and nearly as many feathers as we could possible want.

I've had chickens for a good portion of my life.
It's a fine, sustainable reality indeed.
I am so grateful for the contribution they have made to my well being.

I think I'll now go fry myself an egg on the wood burning stove fueled by trash wood!
There's nothing like a fresh egg cooked sustainably over fire!

THANK YOU CHICKENS!