3.11.2012

March 11 - neighborliness

I've said it before and I will say it again~ I love our neighborhood.

We had quite the gathering this afternoon (all afternoon) in our neighbors' yard two doors down.  In the back yard: kids running, playing, and practicing, with a little guidance, with tools on some scrap wood.  Mamas checking in from time to time and chatting amongst ourselves.  In the front yard: tools strewn about, a chicken coop in various stages of assembly, several papas, and a metal tub filled with ice and beer.  Sunshiny blue sky all day long.

There was pizza and age appropriate beverages for all, supplied by the soon-to-be-chicken-owners neighbors.  Muffins were shared by the next door neighbors, proudly brought over on a plate by three-year-old hands.  The newly erected fence between the two yards has a gate in the middle to allow easy access from one yard to the next, neighborly goodness indeed.

The coop is nearly finished.  I think all that remains is some hardware and a paint job.

We are a chicken-y neighborhood.  A kid-heavy neighborhood.  A wonderful neighborhood, indeed.

6 comments:

  1. That is the one thing I miss about where we used to live...all our best friends within a short walk. It's definitely a lot more of a challenge to create community out in the cuts!

    Our chicken coop got completed this weekend too. So exciting. The girls are still a few weeks from ready to inhabit it, but it's done! Picking up beehives today. Finished firewood shed and mobile coop for the meat chickens. We've been busy little bees.

    I'm so enjoying your more frequent posting!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Busy bees, indeed~ That's a lot of things crossed off the list pretty darn fast! We talk about having some meat chickens, but don't have the land to have them be out of sight enough for them not to become pets, I'm afraid. That's something that will have to wait until "someday". (like goats and maybe a cow....... someday)

      I think many people feel conflicted between the desire to have space and land and the desire to have a community of people nearby. We certainly do. Not that the two can't coexist, of course. But for some reason it always seem tricky to merge them. I wonder where the happy medium might lay?

      thanks~ I've enjoyed writing more, even if the topics have a tendency towards rather dull and mundane. It's still nice to check in and see what's stirring in my mind.

      Delete
  2. It's a chicken-y, child-friendly neighborhood...It is, isn't it? It was so much fun and we are so grateful. Everytime I think about getting more land, I think about moving away from this neighborhood and am more content. We've got a good thing going here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We had a blast, Grace! Thanks for the food and beer~ it was nice not having to even think about what I was going to do for dinner~

      We do have a good thing going, for sure. There's always that draw of more land, but it'd come at a price that I don't want to pay right now.

      See you around ;-)

      Delete
  3. sounds so incredible Amanda. you are in a good spot indeed to have that sort of community right out of your doorstep.

    when you talk of driving over a mountain to pick up your bees (i think), my heart quivers for a second thinking of those beautiful mountain roads in your parts.

    xo.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I truly do feel lucky, and very grateful, for the community that we have surrounded ourselves with. And I feel like so much of it has come from just being willing to start conversations with the people around us and lend a hand/ask for help when needed.

      At the same time, I so get the draw of communal living on a large tract of land. Sounds so wonderful, so promising, so full of potential (and kinks, of course).... But for now, I'm digging where we are.

      Ha! The particular mountain I was referring to will be driven over via Interstate 40, but yes, we do have a lot of beautiful mountain roads around here, for sure.

      Delete

thanks for taking the time to read and comment~