We have officially started planning and purchasing things for our homestead.   This week, after months of deliberation and research I decided to buy a chicken coop rather than build one.  We had hoped to keep our initial costs lower by using reclaimed pallets to build our first coop.  I read articles about coop size, roost placement, nesting boxes and what to line them with and the pros and cons of having electricity in the coop.  I was feeling pretty confident about what I wanted, and what I didn’t.  I pinned cute coop after cute coop, contemplated the use of sand rather than hay or wood shavings (family members have allergies) and plotted fun activity stations for our “girls.”

Then, on a whim I checked my cart at the online hatchery I had been referred to and discovered one of the breeds that I wanted was in short supply.  In that moment I decided it was either now or wait until next year, so I took the plunge and bought the chicks.

With the chicks arrival scheduled in less than a month I needed a coop, and quick!  I found one online that would accommodate the flock we are so eager to meet.

Now comes the humorous part…. I’m new at this, I’m a divorced Mum of four children, 18, 15, 6.5 and 3.  I frequently make purchases with my credit card for clothes, school supplies, gas and groceries. Knowing I wasn’t carrying a balance on the card and had wiggle room, I eagerly clicked “submit order” for our chicks, then within five minutes did likewise for the new coop.  When a “denied” message popped up I was stunned!  I clicked to resubmit and again “denied” nearly blurred my vision on the screen.  Simultaneously my email chirped that I had a new message.  I opened the mail from my credit card issuer informing me that they believed my card was being used fraudulently and had therefore locked my account.  I called the issuer and the transaction went through without delay.  All I could think of was, “Come on folks, I didn’t just drop over a thousand dollars on Coach purses for Pete’s sake!”

I expect there will be many more bumps in the road on this journey, and I sincerely hope I can find the humor in all of those too!