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	<title>WIRL Project &#187; Animals</title>
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	<description>What It&#039;s Really Like.</description>
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		<title>BlogU: A Wealth of Technical Knowledge and New Friends</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/blogu-a-wealth-of-technical-knowledge-and-new-friends/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/blogu-a-wealth-of-technical-knowledge-and-new-friends/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 18 Jun 2015 03:00:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Guest WIRL]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Life/Leisure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Challenge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Work/Money]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Animals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BlogU]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Challenge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Friends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Friendships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Notre Dame]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Technical]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wealth of Knowledge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Challenge BlogU]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=6965</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[First, congratulations to the BlogU15 staff and organizers, nicely done. My husband and I are frequent conference attendees and have had the privilege of working behind the scenes at conferences, there are a thousand moving parts and never any down time for the organizers. Everyone was so kind and generous with questions and responsive to making the conference experience enjoyable. I hope everyone is able to rest this week, you poured so much energy out into creating very welcoming spaces, no small feat. I loved that BlogU15 is held on a campus rather than a hotel, the grounds at Notre Dame are beautiful and within a half hour of arriving I had discovered the beautiful chapel. The chapel became my quiet place when I needed to pull back and reflect on why I write. Beauty calms the spirit, and the discovery of Mayer of Munich stained glass windows was an unexpected joy of the weekend. Many of you know that I attended the BlogU15 conference as my personal challenge for 2015. I tried to be diligent about emptying myself of expectations of the conference so that I could have open hands to receive the unexpected. I struggled with that and was grateful for the generosity and conversation with Susan Maccarelli of Beyond Your Blog on Saturday morning. I was able to “re-boot” so to speak, refresh my browser, and start the day new. I had a beautiful day Saturday. I am so grateful for the time with Jen Kehl ofBeyond Blog Design in the Design Lab, I knew as I walked away from that time that I had been given a great gift. There were so many classes that I wanted to attend, like all of them, having to chose was very difficult. I came away from each class content that I had chosen the right one, still wishing I could have squeezed in others, and always wishing I had taken better notes. I would have to say my favorite part of the weekend was the new friendships that I brought home. I had the great privilege of meeting sisters from Canada who graciously indulged me in my love for dogs. It is hard to explain how exciting it is to find kindred spirits and to be able to talk for hours about dogs, horses, and rescue animals, about animals who have touched our souls and changed our lives. I met another amazing woman, a photographer, writer, a woman full of passion and spirit for her book and her garden, another kindred spirit. All around me I met gracious and generous women, women who listened to each others stories, women who were not afraid of tears and emotions. I came home with a wealth of technical knowledge, most of which I have not unpacked yet. What I have unpacked is the memories of conversation and cupcakes, memories of an impromptu Q&#38;A on Instagram, thank you Malan for your patience! And I came home with a sense of peace about my writing, my voice, my blog, why I write, why I will keep writing. I very grateful and heartfelt thank you to everyone at BlogU15, wishing everyone a very restorative and peaceful summer! &#160;  *This WIRL was originally published on Back of the North Wind. &#160; Join The Conversation! Easily contribute your story here. &#160; About the Author… Terri Jackson is a writer, wife, and mother of two sons. Her oldest son, Justin, was killed in a vehicle accident September 27, 2010. Terri and her husband, Doug, have been married for over thirty years, her blog tells the story of their struggles, tears, and the joy and humor of learning to live again after the unthinkable happens. She has been published in “We Need Not Walk Alone”, the national magazine for The Compassionate Friends organization. Terri has discovered a love for being a canine foster parent for rescued Shepherds, home brewing beer and mead, and hosting book studies in their home as she explores her new “normal.” Her blog can be found at www.backofthenorthwind.com.]]></description>
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		<title>Raising Chickens For The Beginner</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/raising-chickens-for-the-beginner/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/raising-chickens-for-the-beginner/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 03 Apr 2015 09:00:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Kassidy Everard]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Home/Garden]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Animals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chicken coop]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chickens]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Horticulture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Outdoor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pets]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=4866</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Raising chickens is a crazy and weird experience. Or Maybe it was just the way I did it? On the second week of school, it was announced that each student in my Horticulture class would have to do an SAE (supervised agricultural experience) project. It took me a few days to think about what I would do&#8230;whatever it was needed to be cool, take up 15 hours of my time, not cost very much, and also (eventually) pay me in return. At first I wanted a pig. I was ecstatic at the idea and I couldn&#8217;t wait to finally have an excuse to get a piglet of my own! But, unfortunately, that plan failed. One day, while sitting in class, the girl who sat in front of me (who would later become my best friend), turned around and asked if I wanted to be partners. Now, usually I&#8217;d reject partners, as I&#8217;d rather work alone, but something drew me to her. She seemed to be just like me. I liked that. After a week of classes with her, I knew that we should probably start to plan and prep for the project.  So, I asked Jillian if she would raise chickens with me; I asked if she would like to be the mother of my hens. I think that the question got her attention&#8230;  I mean what would you say if someone asked you that? &#8230; I knew it got her attention. After that we were inseparable and ready to plunge into this whole &#8220;parenthood &#8221; thing. After 7 trips to Lowe&#8217;s, four emails to different chicken sellers, hours of Google searching for types of chicken housing, and blood sweat and tears, we finally had the chicken coop done and were ready to bring home the babes! On October 4, 2014, Jill and I took a trip to Concord, NC, in the middle of nowhere, to buy 6 Australorp hens. This should have been easy&#8230; all we needed to go was get out and grab them, right? WRONG! These chickens were hell on two legs, with wings! Our first mistake was bringing a storage bin with a hole in it to put the chickens in. It barely fit in the car and they easily stuck their head through the top. All six chickens were put into the bin, we paid our $24, and drove off. On the way back we knew we needed food and hay. So we stopped by Renfrow&#8217;s Hardware. Is it just me, or should there be an announcement that Renfrows, and almost every other place that sells chicken food or hay, is closed on Saturday? I was not a happy camper. Eventually we found somewhere else to get food, but by then the car stunk to the high heavens and the smell was over bearing! Who knew such a small chicken could poop so much? Finally Were home,  two grueling hours later, with six chickens piled in the back&#8230; all still fully alive. We then put them in the coop, and the rest was simple. Everyday someone checks on them, gives them food and water, and that&#8217;s all there is to it. The hardest part, by far, was getting everything set up and actually getting the chickens. Now, it seems like I stressed over absolutely nothing. So, if you&#8217;ve ever considered, or wanted, your own chickens, take it from someone who knew absolutely nothing in the beginning&#8230;.  It&#8217;s simple, It&#8217;s easy, and it&#8217;s doable. You don&#8217;t have to know anything about chickens, or any animal for that matter, to own your own chickens. They are kind of like a fish. As long as you feed them, they will live.]]></description>
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		<title>Cats: What They&#8217;re Really Thinking</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/cats-what-theyre-really-thinking/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/cats-what-theyre-really-thinking/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 25 Mar 2015 22:00:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[WIRL Project]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Life/Leisure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Animals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cats]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dogs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Emotions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[John Bradshaw]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stress]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[What Cats Are Really Thinking]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=4577</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sometimes do you look at you pet and wonder what they&#8217;re thinking? If you have a cat, you may be intrigued to learn what&#8217;s going on in their head. Apparently cats don&#8217;t &#8220;get&#8221; humans in the same way that dogs do, in that, dogs categorize humans as something different than themselves, and cat&#8217;s kind of consider humans as a bigger version of one of their own. After some research, John Bradshaw, a cat behavior expert, had some very interesting findings about cats and how they perceive the world around them. Bradshaw also mentions that cats can be more stressed than they appear to be, especially if they are forced to live with other cats. This mental stress can lead to skin conditions and bladder swelling! Whoa! So, if you&#8217;re a cat lover, take a look at this very interesting article, written by Christine Dell&#8217;Amore from National Geographic explaining what your cat is really thinking or feeling&#8230;it might explain a lot!]]></description>
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