I was ably assisited by our cousin Rick and together we turned a picture off the web, a few handwritten specifications on a scrap of paper into a chicken coop; of sorts. We did not have all new materials but we bought a few basics and then raided their back yard where there was quite a bit of detritus from previous generations to use.
We made a frame of hardwood, and really struggled with cutting it with a saw that would have struggled with hard butter and we kept complaining that if we had known we would have brought 'The Cousin's' electric saw and it would have made it so much easier, however it gave us something to complain about and we finished up blaming as many people as we could for not having it, however next time we will remember and have it completed by lunchtime instead of late afternoon.
So! we had our frame and wire but we needed a hinged roof and so we found a piece of alluminum channeling and some roofing iron that we cut, not very straight I might add, for the roof and the sides of the shelter end of the coop. We then found some old pailings that had been discarde and so they made up one side of the coop. Of course we struggled with putting the staples into the hardwood, but eventually with a few bruised fingers and a bit of embarrassment as we struggled, we had it completed.
It is not perfect, and as we looked at it in its almost finished form it seems that our tape measure was different on each side, and it looked a a little out of allignment to most people, but to some it was the pinacle of creativity and ingenuity. As we put all the tools back we could see the obvious imperfections as we compared it with the picture from the web. However we had such a good time doing it that we both agreed that the chickens will never notice, that one side of the coop is longer than the other. The chickens possibly would not have a great concern that most of the materials, were old and second hand, possibly with a few previous lives in some other construction, and they are unlikely to be very critical of what we have created for them so that they will simply do what chickens do in the first 'Fletcher's Family Farmyard Chicken Coop'.
Isn't it easy to want everything to be perfect when there are times we just have to do as well as we can from what we have. There are so many people that I admire and am envious of the skills that they have, but all I have is what I have and my responsibility is to make the best use of the skills that I have. It is true that 'there is nothing new under the sun' and our chicken coop is a prime example but so is my life, and all that I can do is pass on to others what I have recieved. I am but a small link in a chain that spans many generations.
However I know that I can do better and be more effective in all the things that I am involved in.
Our next Chicken Coop is going to be so much better when 'The Cousin' and I do it again, because we now have experience, we will be able to improve out of sight on the one that we built. I do not have the luxury of saying in 'my next life I will do whatever..." but I can improve what I have now and how I relate to others and support them in their journey.
The Chicken Coop Warriors will strike again
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