last weekend moonpie wanted fresh squeezed orange juice for breakfast. after we had squeezed all the juice we could manage out of 7 small oranges, we had 14 lovely inverted orange halves left.
we set them aside to compost, but i kept thinking that there must be something better to do with them. then it hit me- bird feeders. we headed outside to create completely edible bird feeders and gained a few more crafters!
we had so much fun building these feeders. they also gave us a great opportunity to continue to build friendships with our neighbors. over the summer i knew that god wanted me to be a better a neighbor. to reach out to our community and be a friend to all the mamas around me. i, of course, thought this meant that i needed to do a week long kid's club for a few hours a day. and it never happened. i was too tired and too overwhelmed by the hectic schedule john had (making my load heavier). but it dawned on me mid-bird feeder. this is all it means to be a neighbor. nothing fancy about it- just having friends over to do a craft or jump on the trampoline. what a relief! i felt myself thinking 'this is what you meant? oh, i can do THIS!' why do i always make it harder than it really has to be?
after we finished, we went out back to hang them up.
this gave moonpie the chance to introduce our chickens to our neighbors and to show them freshly laid eggs still in the nest. they were terrified of the chickens (see, i'm not the only one!). i'm talking tears, screams, all of it. i'm hoping we can continue to give them, and other kids from around the neighborhood, the chance to feel comfortable around animals. when we got the chickens i had hoped that we would be able to show others 'see, if WE can do this then you can too!'. that it would empower people to make proactive choices about their own nutrition and living sustainably. every time i get starry eyed, dreaming about acreage i think, not now. now is our chance to teach- in this way- that you start where you are.
we set them aside to compost, but i kept thinking that there must be something better to do with them. then it hit me- bird feeders. we headed outside to create completely edible bird feeders and gained a few more crafters!
we had so much fun building these feeders. they also gave us a great opportunity to continue to build friendships with our neighbors. over the summer i knew that god wanted me to be a better a neighbor. to reach out to our community and be a friend to all the mamas around me. i, of course, thought this meant that i needed to do a week long kid's club for a few hours a day. and it never happened. i was too tired and too overwhelmed by the hectic schedule john had (making my load heavier). but it dawned on me mid-bird feeder. this is all it means to be a neighbor. nothing fancy about it- just having friends over to do a craft or jump on the trampoline. what a relief! i felt myself thinking 'this is what you meant? oh, i can do THIS!' why do i always make it harder than it really has to be?
after we finished, we went out back to hang them up.
this gave moonpie the chance to introduce our chickens to our neighbors and to show them freshly laid eggs still in the nest. they were terrified of the chickens (see, i'm not the only one!). i'm talking tears, screams, all of it. i'm hoping we can continue to give them, and other kids from around the neighborhood, the chance to feel comfortable around animals. when we got the chickens i had hoped that we would be able to show others 'see, if WE can do this then you can too!'. that it would empower people to make proactive choices about their own nutrition and living sustainably. every time i get starry eyed, dreaming about acreage i think, not now. now is our chance to teach- in this way- that you start where you are.
4 comments:
i tend to think big, too - then get nothing done because i'm too overwhelmed by the enormous task i came up with.
great reminder!
did you get any nasty comments from the mamas about roosters crowing at 4am????
oh btw two of our "hens" started crowing this week. that explains the dismal egg production!
i had to literally slap one rooster in the face. i could have used moonpie. he won't come near me now, so i guess it worked.
Oh, what a great idea! Have to remember that when our oranges are ready. :)
Hi, Mandi!
I'm so glad you found my blog. I think yours is a hoot! I've got big homesteading plans for our cob cottage (if it ever gets finished, that is!). Love the Mr. Handsome Man story, by the way!
Hannah
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