Wow. There's been a lot going on since my last entry. The first batch of chicks is starting to look almost full-grown. The second batch is still adorable and fuzzy but they're starting to grow their wing-feathers. The two groups met for the first time the other day in the portable coop. We were grateful that they didn't attack each other but they weren't all over each other either. They stayed in their separate groups and every once in a while the small ones would run over and rush the big ones. Just like middle school.

This picture isn't great but you can kind of see them hanging out together. A huge heat wave is hitting the Bay Area right now and it is HOT. In this weather, there's no risk of the chicks freezing so we put them outside in the real coop this morning. They seemed happy to have some vertical clearance and the be able to stretch their wings. 

Meredith, our friend and fellow chicken farmer who lives in Santa Cruz, had her baby at our house last week! It was really exciting. Well, actually, I was scared out of my mind at first because when she was driving down to Oakland, she thought that she was really in labor and I was the only one at home. My mom called me and told me that I was going to have to deliver the baby by myself. I've seen births before, but I've never actually helped, so I was a little nervous. Luckily, by the time she arrived her contractions had stopped and my mom and her midwife had time to arrive. It was a very loud birth, but it was over quickly. Our next-door neighbor was too stoned to complain. Meredith's labor started at 8:30 p.m. and by 10:15 the baby was out and the cord was cut. Welcome to our hippie commune, Enzo! 

That's the type of thing that goes down at the Levy-Sheon house. We have long, anthropological discussions with chickens, our fridge is full of home-made kimchee, sauerkraut, and fermenting milk products, my father and the mail man call each other up on the phone to talk about the right way to make injera, our friends give birth at our house, and, to top it all off, we have Meredith's placenta in our freezer, right under the Trader Joe's samosa burgers. 

I don't know if you remember when I talked about Novella Carpenter and GhostTown Farms. Well, I finally read her book and I HIGHLY recommend it. It's perfect for anyone who has ever wanted to grow their own food in their backyard and doesn't know how, or doesn't think they have enough space, or just needs that extra push to get their butt up off the couch and down to the feed store to buy some chicks. Plus, it's absolutely hilarious and a quick read. I guarantee you will not be able to put it down. 

We went to her open house today to see how her farm was set up. The vacant lot that she's turned into a garden is dense and lush and wild and amazing. It gets full sun so her vegetables are ENORMOUS! We especially wanted to check out her goat enclosure. We learned that they like little, cave-like spaces and they also like to climb stairs and be high up. Their natural habitat is the mountains, after all. My dad has plans for a drawbridge from our tree house over the chicken coop and down into their pasture area - a "Goat Skyway." We'll see how that goes... If you want to read more about GhostTown Farms, visit Novella's blog.

Well, school is starting on Monday. I'll try to post as often as possible but I don't know how much time I'm going to have.