Is it Thursday already?!? This week has gone by fast! This week I’m so, so thankful I’m slowly starting to feel better after a few rough months!
It’s been such a blessing to feel good. I think the yucky antibiotic “left overs” from my most previous treatment plan are clearing out, and I’ve been feeling about 80% most days during the past week. I’m hopeful things will stay stable for good.
Feeling good allowed me to attend a fun event that I heard about last year called the Silicon Valley Tour De Coop. This FREE, family friendly event is a bike ride throughout various Bay Area neighborhoods. Urban homesteaders open their back yards for the entire day, and share gardening, chicken keeping, beekeeping and other homesteading tips.
My husband and I enjoyed the last weekend of summer biking through the Rose Garden neighborhood near downtown San Jose. He went to high school in this neighborhood, so it was fun to tour his old “stomping grounds.”
I’m thankful for all the volunteers who organized this cool event, the wonderful homesteaders who warmly invited us into their yards, and all the friendly attendees we met on the tour. Take a look at a few pictures from the ride!
The organizers provided paper chickens to attach to your bike helmet. Yes, I wore this on my helmet the entire ride 🙂
I’m ready to ride!
The 1st coop stop was at The Middlebrook Center near downtown San Jose.
Another picture of the Middlebrook Center. Their website says they are “ELSEE (Environmental Laboratory for Sustainability and Ecological Education) is a childhood outdoor learning laboratory in a San Jose, California, inner city neighborhood. The ELSEE model values and perpetuates nature, grows abundant organic food, and protects our soils, drinking water, and the air we breathe.”
A mural at The Middlebrook Center.
A play structure at The Middlebrook Center. They had chickens too but I forgot to take their picture!
Garden beds, and bees at our 2nd stop. This stop also had yummy baked treats for the bikers!
Their coop, the chickens are hidden by the feeder.
A better shot of the hens at coop stop #2.
We rode by the historic San Jose Municipal Rose Garden
The front yard of our 3rd coop stop, I love their drought tolerant landscaping!
A cute “rabbit” in the back yard.
More garden beds at the 3rd coop stop. Their coop was hidden behind their garage. This host shared their predator proofing tips with us.
The 4th coop stop was crowded!
Coop stop #4 provided this handy diagram of their backyard homestead.
Pictures of the chickens at coop stop #4.
They also had ducks, and named their coop “Duckton Abbey.”
#4 had this cute rabbit!
Coop stop #5 had beautiful bee friendly, drought tolerant landscaping.
They had a very informative poster about their bee hive, and shared samples of their honey on homemade biscuits. Of course, I had to buy some honey!
The coop and hive at stop #5
The automatic watering system, we will definitely use this idea when we set up our coop.
The hens coop stop #5
Coop stop #5’s story
More great info at coop stop #5!
Attending this event gave us some good ideas on what to do when we set up our coop in the spring. It was inspiring to see these awesome homesteads in a densely populated, urban neighborhood. It proves you don’t need tons of space to homestead!
Do these urban homesteaders inspire you to give it a try?
Honeychick Homestead 
September 26, 2014 at 5:37 am
We love to ride or walk for charity events too! It’s a great healthy way of showing your support. Glad your feeling better Jen.