Lucy celebrates 1st birthday

Lucy turned one year old on March 26 and enjoyed digging into her cake on the back porch of her home with Mom and Dad.

Shanna and Rick had planned a family celebration the following weekend - but unfortunately, that was one of the gatherings that had to be canceled due to social-distancing restrictions.

Earlier in March, Lucy celebrated St. Patrick's Day in proper style, even as the traditional parades (and Uncle Brien's annual parade-watch party in Yonkers) were canceled.

Shannon and Andy start raising chickens

The house Andy and Shannon bought in January in Middleburgh, N.Y., came with a mostly-empty chicken coop and a handful of adult hens. As part of their long-range plan to increase their self-sufficiency, they outfitted the coop with more roosting bars and nesting boxes and bought a brood of some 60 baby chicks -- enough to be a self-perpetuating flock while providing food.

The chicks are spending the first several weeks in the basement of the house, where Shannon set up an incubator to keep them warm. These photos were taken on March 20, and the chickens have already grown considerably. They'll soon be ready to move to the coop and be able to roam the yard during the day.

Watch brief video clips of the chicks hopping around in the incubator:
Clip One | Clip Two