Urban Chicken Keeping

Raleigh's Urban Chicken Coop Tour, took place this past Saturday.  That's right...a CHICKEN TOUR.   It turns out that the Tour D'Coop is an annual event. My Mamacita loves chickens. Both she and my Dad had chickens when they were growing up in Rural Town. When I was at their house yesterday, both Madrecita and Dad had stories of holding their "pet" chickens in their laps when they were young.  Dad's chicken was a Rhode Island Red.  I can't remember what Madre's chicken was.  Since returning to NC, I've been more aware of the whole chicken keeping idea. As an aside, a dear friend of mine that lives only about 20 minutes outside of Seattle keeps chickens.  She has little goats too. Her chickens are allowed to roam the grounds until bedtime when they are put into their roost for safety. Before knowing my friend, I was only aware of chickens being part of livestock on a farm. It was neat to see that chickens are not just for people with large tracts of land and barns and the whole early to bed early to rise lifestyle.

Buff Orpington

In December of last year, Hubby and I were driving around some of the "Old" neighborhoods of our town. The houses are early 20th Century with an eclectic flair. The streets are narrow and many of the homes do not have garages or driveways, so street parking is prevalent. As we slowly navigated the cars and individuals puttering near the road in their yards, I saw an adorable house on a corner lot with three chickens in the front yard.  The FRONT Yard! The homeowner was in the yard working on yard landscaping type activities.  Of course, I had to stop and talk. The gentleman was initially guarded when I got out of the car to walk up to him. I suppose when he heard my squeal "Chickens!  You have chickens!", he realized I wasn't there to annoy with either Girl Scout cookies, Magazine Sales or Religious Pamphlets. I asked if I could take photos of the hens and if I could ask him some questions. He was quite gracious. City ordinance allows up to 3 hens to be kept inside city limits. These hens are Buff Orpingtons and his wife named them each something to honor their color. I was completely fascinated.

A neighbor down the street also has chickens. --He is someone I don't actually know, but I see the chicken coop in the front side yard. Mi Madre wants to keep chickens but my Dad is completely against the idea. I think for him, the thought of predators is something that would be too sad to bear. There are certainly predators around.  Last summer I saw several foxes running between the houses in my very suburban neighborhood.  And of course, there are hawks that are a concern. Dad says that the neighbor lost some chickens to foxes.  I have a friend that actually has a "real farm" and he has chickens.  He told me this Spring foxes devastated his hen house.

Hen located at Coop #16

Saturday, as I was reading the local Independent paper, I came across the one day only tour in the big city of Raleigh. The tour is billed as a garden tour as well as a "coop" tour that seeks to educate visitors about keeping hens and showcase garden ideas and inspiration. There is a wide variety of coop styles as well as surrounding gardens. This tour was one I couldn't resist. I picked up Mamacita so that we could both enjoy the event.

First of all, let me tell you, the tour was not overbilled. The homes are truly in established urban neighborhoods. As we drove through the neighborhoods with homes that are so beautiful they remind me of HGTV. Though the neighborhoods are defined as urban, they each had pretty substantial sized lots. Urban here doesn't mean highrises and bus stops. I think it really means very established older neighborhoods that are truly residential and not a hint of ruralness.

As we drove through the neighborhoods, there was absolutely no evidence of chicken keeping. But, as we were allowed to enter the back yard oasis, our eyes were treated to fun and artful chicken coop design. Evidently, there is not a clear maximum number of hens that can be kept inside Raleigh's city limits. Several of the chicken keepers had upwards of 20 hens. The hens were fun to watch scratching their grounds and hearing their quiet little clucks. It was clear that the owners enjoyed every aspect of chicken keeping. Not just the chickens and egg production, but designing and adapting their structures for aesthetics as well as utility. 

I'm Home...Part III

My Kitchen

Moving "back home" was not something I expected to do necessarily.  Though, I expected that we would "move back" to NC after our Seattle, WA adventure.  When we decided to go to Seattle, I thought:  "We'll go...we'll have fun and then we'll come back. And, bonus: we'll have the reverse of the housing market sticker shock when we return."

When we moved to Seattle, we settled on the "Eastside". Which is to say the east side of Lake Washington and not actually Seattle at all.  But Seattle was just a quick ride across the bridge.  There was tremendous sticker shock, but somehow we bought a house that was a wonderful place to call home. I loved so many things about our time in WA, but that is a topic for another day. 

I've always thought that home is where the terrain is.  That the terrain you grow up with is what feels like home. I grew up with green rolling hills and dogwood trees.  When we lived in Va. Beach, the terrain was very flat (like at a beach...).  There were limited trees and absolutely no hills.  I never got used to that.  After our baby was born a homing time bomb went off. "Must return to the homeland" is what my heart told me. I attribute it to wanting to see and live in the familiar while I navigated the world of the unfamiliar (motherhood). We did not move to my "home town" but moved to the same state and my eyes could rest on hills and flowering trees and my restless heart was immediately calmed.

As I've said, I'm from the South.  Our accents are sweet like our tea.  Heaven is a rocking chair on the front porch or on a screened-in back porch.  Hubby and I had recently built the most spectacular screened in back porch when we got the chance to move to WA.  The porch was almost a reason for me to say "No Thanks", plan on sittin' on this porch forever.  But, then we thought:  Why not?  We loved our house. But it was still just a house.  Why not go see this place they call Seattle?  You know, the place where Bobby Sherman and his brothers claimed the bluest skies you ever saw are.  We went and I was in love.  Not once did my homing pigeon heartache for my childhood terrain.

I made amazingly fun friends there and loved the beauty of God's Country every single day. But...my friends and family from "back home" were so far away.  That is what my heart began to ache for. A three hour time difference makes a big difference when you want to make a quick call to Sissy and tell her about the great shoes you just saw but didn't buy.  And when you need her to tell you to go back and get those shoes because you deserve them! When it's 7 p.m. my time and 10 p.m. her time, we just weren't in the same frame of mind.  Plus, there are all the moments of just being able to drop by Dad's house for a sec after work. Or meeting Sis at the Mongolian Grill restaurant after work. These were the moments I was missing.  These were moments my daughter never had. We had always lived about a 3-hour drive to Grandma and Grandpa's when we were on the East Coast so, we never got to just drop by. 

When Hubby and I began to plan our return to my home town it felt so right that it felt unreal. It felt very much like when we moved to Seattle.  That feeling of "Are we really doing this?  Can we really do this?" butterflies of excitement feeling.  Moving home felt the same:  "Are we really doing this? Can we do this?"  Answer:  Yes!

I'm Home

The Terrace of our Bellevue Highrise

Let me begin by saying, "I'm home". And let me add, I never knew it would feel this much like home. This house, this town, this everything has turned into a fun adventure and I want to drink it up and continue exploring.

My "home" story: I grew up in the same town that my parents grew up in. In the same town that their parents either grew up in or lived in for virtually forever. I went to the same elementary school that both my Mom and Dad went to.  When they were there, it was 1-12 and they both graduated from this same school. I walked the same school halls from 5th to 7th grade.

My parents had an adventurous side to them, and they did not stay in their home town long after graduation. Dad joined the Air Force and went off to see the world...or at least the country...the Air Force bases, anyway.

Mom moved to the big city (the capital) and went to business school.  At some point, she drove to Ohio to finally marry this young man who enchanted her for so long. They lived in Massachusetts (where I was born, along with my sister). We lived in Colorado for a time (when we were toddlers) and then we moved to Florida.  --As I was young, I don't actually know if I have the order of these moves correct.  (But, for today, we will say that I am completely correct). Anyway, you may have guessed, we are from the South. I do not know how my parents felt about their time in Massachusetts or Colorado.  I have vague memories of my own of Florida.  Before the move to Florida, Mom (and my sister and me) stayed in their home town while Dad went to Florida to find a house and get settled.  The family made that move in two parts (Dad, then Mom, and kids) because Mom was too pregnant to make the move immediately.  She stayed near her mother to await the birth of our baby sister before bringing us all to join Dad. 

We lived in Florida until the summer before I was to start kindergarten.  This is when my parents brought their family "home". And here we stayed. We moved to our "first house" in town and five years later moved to the "new house". That was the house that Mom and Dad built.  Dad was the general contractor and together they made the house happen.  The first house had a path through the woods from my Mother's parents.  The "new house" had a path through the field to my Dad's parents. The growing up years involved lots of time with cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. It was a rich time with fun memories.

The new house was so modern and very '70s. My parents carpeted every room in the house. The kitchen carpet was a low/no pile carpet that was able to deflect stains from spilled food. (That was something!) Each of us kids had our very own bedroom and we were able to choose our own color scheme including carpet. This house was the stuff!

The House my Parents Built

That house was "home" until I got married (right after college). --I went "away" to college (1 hour away...but that was away). I went home on holidays and breaks as well as some weekends (when I was so homesick I couldn't stay away).

Anyway...after going away to college, I met my husband and never went home again. Actually, going home meant visiting Dad and my sisters. It was never to be where I unpacked my suitcase again.

This story is continued in I'm Home Part II.

Running Has Been Placed on Hold

RUNNING! Why is it that when I want to do something "good for me" it turns against me? Last Saturday I ran eight two minute runs, with single minute walks in between.  --My right knee began to hurt a week ago along with my left ankle.  I believe that these aches and pains are related. I think one is compensating for the other, but not quite sure which came first...the ankle or the knee.  My knee is something I need to pay attention to.  I've had knee issues in the past, but thought that I could just work through this.

I purchased serious running shoes and was fitted by a serious local running shoe company.  They actually watch you run in shoes before selling them to you. --They seem to know their stuff. I'd been sort of fitted for shoes in the past but they've never watched me run.  Once I was fitted (can't remember if the first fitting was New Balance or Brooks), I just purchased similar shoes from then on. This new store I went to also want you to bring in your existing shoes so they can get clues about your walking/running patterns by the soles of your shoes. --I took in two pairs (two different brands, but similar in how they fit).  They could tell absolutely nothing from the soles of these shoes. I've worn them of course!  Just not run in them. And really the walking in them was minimal so that there was no wearing pattern. 

The second thing this store does after looking at your existing shoes they have you take off your shoes and socks! Then they have you sit down with your feet on the floor and look at how your feet plant themselves.  Then they have you stand up to see how your feet change with the weight of standing. My shoe person told me I have "fairly" flat feet.  And he took out a felt tip pen and made marks on the instep (arch).  He said he was measuring how the instep changes between sitting, standing and walking. He found it interesting that although I have fairly flat feet that the arch does not collapse when I stand or walk. He also said that the shoes I currently used are "stability" shoes, usually recommended for people with over-pronation.  He said that it is interesting that even though I have a flat foot it does not appear that I actually over-pronate and he felt that I should not wear stability shoes.

Stability shoes have extra support along the instep of the shoe to help stabilize your ankle and keep it from rolling too far inward.  He advised that I get a shoe for "normal" pronation with no additional stability built in.  The reason it is not good for someone with a "normal" gait/pronation to wear a shoe with stability added is that it can force your foot to move away from "normal" and roll your foot to the outside, which would cause different problems.  Confusing? Yes? 

Image by Bob Gavin
From the August 2004 issue of Runner's World

I just did additional research to confirm that I understood pronation correctly in the explanation above. So what have I learned?  I've learned, that my feet are flat.  Typically flat feet leads to over-pronation in running. This would mean needing a stabilizing running shoe. I was previously fitted with stabilizing running shoes. I learned that it is odd that although I have flat feet I don't overpronate. The shoe person recommended that I run in non-stabilizing shoes.  --Which I bought...and they are beautiful.

On the third day that I wore my new shoes, my ankle and knee began to hurt noticeably.  However, that was also the day that we increased our running from 1 minute per run to 1.5 minutes per run.  In addition, I am not in the best physical shape and I am not at my "optimal" weight.  So, it is hard to say what caused the pain.  The shoes? The additional running time? The fact that my muscles are weak? The fact that we are running on a trail in the woods with hills and uneven terrain. What could it be?

Some pain is expected with a new exercise.  So I ran again 3 times after noticing the pain.  I ran on Monday with my new shoes and still hurt.  On Wednesday I ran with my "old" shoes.  Still hurt...but maybe not so much? Hard to tell. But Wednesday was my best run to date. And I will tell you, I missed the arch support I got with my "old" shoes.  Saturday run was increasing the run to 2 full minutes. I ran in my old shoes.  It was absolutely my best run yet. I almost liked it. I didn't believe the Pacers when they yelled out "Walk" to indicate that the first run was complete. I felt two minutes could not have possibly passed.  I ran each two-minute interval without stopping. It was the first run I was able to complete without resorting to some walking during the running portion. I was elated.  But, after it was over, my knee and ankle hurt.

Sunday I went back to the shoe store to have my shoes re-evaluated. The manager took over from the initial shoe person.  My symptoms were something that needed more expertise.  So I had to run and walk and have him watch.  As I returned to the manager (after an embarrassing limpy walk/run), he said, "Well, I can tell you that these are the right shoes. But you also should not be running".  He suggested I see a physical therapist as soon as possible.  Tears actually came to my eyes. "No! You can't say that!" I wanted to shout. Not now that I decided I was going to enjoy it! I want to be fit. I want to lose weight.

I went home to research running gaits.  Perhaps it's not the shoe.  Perhaps it is the way I run.  I told the first shoe person that my natural tendency is to run sort of on my toes.  He watched me run my natural way (sort of on my toes) and the way I thought my Personal Trainer taught me to run: "Heel Toe, Heel Toe".  He said either way was fine, but that when I ran on my toes it was actually similar to the new movement barefoot running.

My running gait research told me that Heel Toe is not correct.  Landing on your heel (according to two of the articles and videos by running experts) means your foot is in front of you. This leads to your forward momentum being stopped like a brake, and all of your weight with that forward momentum lands on your heel which shoots pain straight up your leg and joints.  This sounds right to me.  I felt my leg pain in my knee.  The articles said you aren't supposed to land on your toes, per se, but on the balls of your feet and you are supposed to land softly.

I know for sure that the day I hurt myself I was not landing softly.  Even though I was somewhat enjoying my run, I was aware that I could hear and feel a heavy landing with each stride. Perhaps the landing was heavier on my right leg.

Armed with this new information regarding gait, I ran one more time in my new shoes. Saying to myself with each step "BALLs of your foot, not heel".  But with each step, my left ankle and right knee were yelling at me to stop.  Undaunted, I would not stop, though I ran so slowly I might as well been standing still.  I finished the run/walk. I had to, there's no other way out of the woods.  I went home, took Advil and put ice packs on my ankle and knee.  The knee is swollen.  It hurts now to walk even around the house. I feel stupid for trying again.

Have Dr. Appt scheduled..  Will most likely get physical therapy to strengthen the legs. I should have stopped sooner...I know that now. I can't sacrifice my knees. I need them. My husband says I should try biking.  Or swimming or walking... You know, there is probably a point to be made.  Perhaps I should have gotten my legs stronger before just jumping in.  Will have to re-evaluate.



Learning to Run

Last Saturday I completed my first group run. I joined the local running club: Carolina Godiva Running Club. Each Spring the club hosts a training program to help "couch potatoes" become runners.  Fittingly, the program is called "Running Start". 

I have never been an athlete.  I don't mean that I never considered myself to be athletic.  I mean I've never done anything athletic.  Actually, I may be a little wrong about that last statement.  When I was young (5 years or so) I L.O.V.E.D. to swing on swingsets.  I could swing for hours.  --This is a passive exercise, I think.  In elementary school, during recess, I was not one to play German Dodge Ball or jump rope.  Instead, I was playing jacks or a card game called "Spit". --Both games involved fairly good hand-eye coordination as well as a competitive element.  I was quite good at both. But physical exercise type play? Not really my thing.