All Around Town

It has been a long time since I've written anything (for those without the scroll function, April 5th was my last post). I've hardly ridden this year at all. Only 134 miles year to date. I used to do double that in a month. I'm not making excuses it's been kind of busy around here. Let me 'splain. 

 Since our move to Flagstaff in October of 2011, we've been working hard to get onto our property. In late March, our home was delivered and since I'm a "do-it-myself" kind of guy, it was time to go to work. I did all the prep stuff (except dig the septic) myself and now that the home is here, it's time to do the drywall repair at the seam of the home, get water running, paint, build front and back stairs, and move in. Lots to do. We moved into our new home the 3rd week of April. 

On April 13th, (a Friday), I lost my job. It was a blow to say the least. I'm not one to give up, so we had to keep going. I believe whole heartedly that this is where we're supposed to be so there was no giving up (not that I do). 

Our first project was beekeeping! Our good friends and neighbors had a hive living under the floor of their barn and since the "bee guy" said they were "the most docile hive I've seen", we decided to embark on this venture. We went in halves on a hive and now have about 35,000 head. The honey we get is absolutely the best tasting honey in the world!

Our next project was chickens. I found some chickens on Craigslist and picked them up. This has been a learning process to say the least. I built the coop out of pallets to save costs. While I was building it, chickens were escaping and I was chasing them all over. I'm sure it looked pretty funny from the edge of the yard. The chickens are totally cool. We have, 7 birds in total. 6 hens and a rooster named Elvis (below). 

In our master plan, we always planned on having goats. Given our dairy allergies, goat milk works to fill that void. The protein structure is different than cow milk and tastes good. We tried goat milk last year and even made ice cream with it. Instant hit! So this fall we will get at least 2 of our 3 girls pregnant and enjoy fresh goat milk next summer.  This has been the biggest learning curve. We had no idea goats were so social & mischievous. I think that anyone that wants kids should raise goats first. It makes kids so easy in comparison, They are into everything. It's fun though. 

So lot's going on leaving not much time to ride. This month, however, I've been trying to ride twice a week (not counting around the yard with the kids) around town. There are lots of hills and my rides start at 6800 feet in elevation. I hope to write more as my rides inspire me to. 

Keep it rubber side down.