 During these times of social isolation it is easy to retreat into your own world and stay out of touch with family and friends. I personally find myself talking to less and less people every day. But don’t get caught in a downward spiral of being even more isolated than we have to be.
There are ways we can be social, other than virtual Zoom meetings, and still abide by the social distancing rules. Are there people in your life you haven't checked in on? Check on your parents, grandparents and elderly friends. Bring them meals or go shopping for them. Meet in a backyard and kick the soccer ball around, throw the baseball back and forth or a frisbee. Walk, bike or run 6 feet apart. I was jogging the other day and saw neighbors with their lawn chairs set up in one driveway about 15 feet apart with delicious drinks in everyone’s hands. Another friend of mine had a lovely family dinner outside and set up folding tables and chairs all over the yard 6 feet apart. Each immediate family sat at their own table but they could still be with their extended family and friends who were at other tables sharing a nice meal in the same yard. Play bocce ball or lawn bowling, horse shoes, or bean bag toss. Offer to help your loved ones with gardening or other yard work. Paint a fence, dig a trench, cut up branches in your yard for an outdoor fire. Instead of cooking inside, roast hotdogs or sausages on the fire pit outside. Then roast marshmallows for dessert! :) The weather is starting to turn so let's take advantage of the warmth, be social and stay safe and healthy all at the same time.
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 If you are a non-essential service your business is most likely closed and in order to qualify for the small business stimulus economic relief package (specifically the Paycheck Protection Program) you have to keep your employees working, even though you cannot be open selling your products or services. Here are some things to keep them busy and productive during this unusual time of social distancing due to Covid-19.
Here is a fantastic webinar with updates on the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and other opportunities for small businesses to qualify for the stimulus package money. https://readytalk.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1300032&tp_key=55b0a7338f This Easter Sunday we woke up to a gorgeous morning with the sun rising in clear skies and the kids' voices bright and early wondering if the Easter Bunny laid any of its eggs in our yard. After peering through the windows they could see from a distance that indeed, the mysterious creature had shown up in the middle of the night leaving behind treasure for the kids. Before the hunt and while the kids ate breakfast, I had made my way out to the chicken coop to collect the eggs but saw that some of the Easter Bunny’s gifts had been tampered with. I walked over to observe the aftermath of a disaster.
As you can see in the video, egg after egg had been opened by a thief and the candy inside had been unwrapped and consumed. Even packages had been torn open and the insides devoured. One after the other a trail of opened eggs led me to a very happy animal’s journey through the night of finding my children’s Easter chocolates. Whatever animal this was had the dexterity of a human and unwrapped the candy exactly where the eggs were laid, devoured the candy and moved on to the next. Thankfully only about 30-40% of the eggs were consumed and after carefully cleaning up the evidence of an animal’s Easter night adventure the kids did not even notice almost half their treasure had been looted. This is a lesson to be learned for the Easter Bunny. Don’t lay your eggs in the middle of the night. Hahah! Wake up super early instead? Has anyone else ever had this experience? It gave me a good laugh during this crazy time in the world and certainly makes for a good story to tell! Happy Easter everyone! These are the Clairant chickens, excited for the human food scraps in which they are about to indulge. Hens are the absolute best choice for pets that give back emotionally, affectionately and with food every morning! They are excellent with kids and super cheap to keep! These are a great pet to buy during the Covid-19 crisis because they feed you, stay outside to live, and provide some extra joy in your life!
We had 5 hens until last week (will tell that story next time) and we usually get 3-5 eggs per day from 5 hens. We now have 4 hens and so that number has been reduced to 2-4 eggs per day. That more than feeds a family of four plus we have happy neighbors, friends and clients who frequently get free, fresh eggs from the Clairant hens. You need a small coop where they will sleep and lay eggs safely. The coop should contain a roosting bar for them to sleep and a couple laying boxes. They usually share the same one even if more are provided as you can see in the video where all three eggs were laid in the same box. They must be fully protected with a fence top bottom and sides to ensure protection from foxes, hawks and other predators. When you are around they can free range and will follow you around your yard like little puppies. I usually spend about $15 every 6 weeks or so for high protein quality food for the egg laying hens. They also love almost all table scraps. as. you can see in the video we gave them leftovers from dinner last night including sweet potato, green tops of strawberries, anise, cucumbers and some raddicio (how do you spell that?) They also love to forage for, ticks, bugs, worms and greenery or any other edible source of protein they can find. That includes your garden plants and flowers so look out if they free range. The "girls" will put themselves to bed at sundown and find their way back to their living quarters no matter how large your yard is. But make sure to lock them up so predators can't get in. These are just a few fun reasons to have hens at home by keeping you occupied, kids happy, and your tummy full. More about the Clairant hens to come! Questions or comments? Let us know in the comments below. |
AuthorDesirae Haluk is passionate about marketing for startups and small businesses. For the last 15 years she has held marketing executive positions for organizations both large and small. She realizes that her true passion is helping establish, grow and evolve startups and small businesses to make them successful and help achieve their goals. Archives
January 2021
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