It started with a simple question to my wife one afternoon over instant messenger.

"How far down the rabbit hole do you want to go?"

We had, for the first time, started gardening in our back yard on the west side of Ann Arbor. Our friends Thom and Julie had pulled in a successful harvest last year, and we figured why not. Our kids might learn something about where their food comes from, and we may get some tasty vegetables as a result.

So, we decided to try gardening. Now, you have got to understand that when I was a kid we had gardens and chickens and on my parents 3 acres in northwestern Pennsylvania we slaved over the plants and the birds all year for some eggs and vegetables. My childhood was consumed with tending those damned chickens and picking stones out of the garden soil. So, I really loath gardening.

I also really appreciate being able to go to a grocer and picking up fresh vegetables and eggs whenever I want. There are lots of fantastic sources of local produce and farm products in town. With only a little effort I can get a hold of wonderful garden products, fresh eggs and dairy, and other stuff.

I am the modren man.

But the world I grew up in is a wee bit different than the world my children are growing up in, so my wife and I decided it would be fun and educational to engage in a basic gardening project. We could use it to help the kids understand where their food comes from, what the process is, and have some family time in the back yard as part of the process.

We opted to build a few raised beds in our back yard. We stopped at Downtown Home & Garden and talked to Mark. We left with vermiculite, worm castings (let's call it what it is - it's worm poop!), and some peat moss. A quick stop for some cedar boards and a few hours later, we had garden beds. Some pre-started veggies later, and we had gardens.

The kids helped a lot. It was really fascinating to watch them learn what really is in good growing soil. Worm poop, daddy? Really?

Lots of giggles over the worm poop. And not just from the kids.

On a Saturday a week or so after we plant our gardens, I am at our family business and my wife is at home working on her computer while the kids are playing in the yard. We were using instant messenger to chat with one another.

(Some of you out there might find it humorous that we also use instant messenger in the house when we don't want the kids to hear a conversation. I recommend it highly!)

I had been poking around the web and learned that Ann Arbor had passed an ordinance that allowed the keeping of up to four hens in your back yard.

"How far down the rabbit hole do you want to go this year?" I asked her.

She asked the first question any reasonable person would ask.

"Do they stink?"

Me: "Not if the coop is kept clean"

Her: "Scoop it right in to the compost?"

Me: "Sure"

Her: "Hmmm. How many eggs do they lay?"

Me: "Well, probably 4-5 a week, depending on the breed."

Her: "man - with you riding your bike to work and us gardening and (possibly) keeping chickens, what's next?"

...a pause...

Her: "Birkenstocks?"

So, we sat down later over a beer at our dining room table and sketched out some chicken coop plans on a few pieces of paper.

Let's get this on the record. I have the absolute coolest neighbors in the entire world. The ordinance for keeping your flock in Ann Arbor requires that all neighbors who's property touches your property have to sign off on your yardbirds. Not only were all our neighbors OK with us doing yet another crazy backyard project, they were enthusiastic about it.

We were sure to let them know the rules:

• No Roosters. Ever.
• These are pets, not meat animals, and we will not be slaughtering them.
• No free-range birds. They will be in a suitable run.
• They are completely fenced in to protect them as much as possible from raccoons, skunks, possums and hawks.
• Hens don't crow. Also, no Roosters. Ever.
• We'll share extra eggs as soon as they start laying.

All of them signed the application for the chicken permit. They all were excited to meet our new pets.

Yup. Awesome neighbors. Perhaps now that I've put that in the public record, they'll excuse my next crazy idea as well.

So, with a borrowed table saw, some more lumber, and a few pieces of conduit, fencing and a whole passel of zip ties we build a chicken coop in our driveway.

In case you don't know, I am a geek. No, really.

This coop is deeeeeeeeeeluxe.

It's insulated, rigged for an electric heater and light, and has a keen little pet door for getting eggs out of the nesting box. We used a pet door also for the entrance the birds would use to get in and out. After some red paint, some old shingles on the roof, and a little bit of creativity, our chicken palace was ready. Our birds were going to live in style. Not like them thar backwards country chickens, no way, these were gonna be city chickens.

Did you know you can order day old chicks over the Internet?

And that they are mailed to you? In a heated box?

Hot chicks on the Internet. Who knew?

We searched long and hard to find local birds, but we were too late in the season to get new chicks from local breeders, so we ended up going online. Not many breeders will ship just four pullets (the most allowed by city ordinance), but some do.

So, a few days later our girls arrive. You know that reaction when you see a child with a kitten? Multiply that by four.

Our girls arrived on a Thursday. When the kids got home from school, the names were attached to them almost instantly.

There's "Florida", named by my son, since he thinks that Orlando is heaven.

My 6-year old daughter named one "Cupcake", and both kids named one "Chirp-Chirp".

That left one more.

"Cocoa" seemed to stick.

So, our adventures as city chicken ranchers begins. I introduce to you: Florida, Chirp-Chirp, Cupcake and Cocoa. The latest additions to our family.

Over the past 10 weeks, our girls have turned from baby chicks to 1/2 sized chickens, well on their way to being full grown laying hens.

So far, it has been an incredible experience for our kids, and the lessons and parenting opportunities are wonderful. I can't get my 9-year-old son to clean his room, but every morning and every night he makes sure that the chickens are let out of their coop, or safely tucked in for the night. He makes sure that they have plenty of fresh water and food, and saves table scraps suitable for chickens and hand feeds them.

He is learning responsibility for caring for an animal, and has read two different books on chickens and caring for chickens. He has looked on the Internet about chicken diseases and symptoms and has learned to check them for proper health, understands how the chicken poop helps the garden, and more lessons than I can possibly imagine.

Me? I can't wait until we make our first veggie omelets with fresh tomatoes, basil, dill, green peppers and asparagus from our gardens.

The view from inside the rabbit hole is wonderful so far.

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After 22 years of working in Information Technology, teaching and consulting, Hans Masing turned his focus to specialty and educational toys. He runs Tree Town Toys, Brain Station and Dragonfly Depot with his wife Patricia and their children Keller and Simone. Brain Station started in 2002 as a "crazy idea" in the family home, and has grown to be a successful Internet specialty toy retail operation and fulfillment center. He opened Tree Town Toys as a brick-and-mortar specialty store in 2006, and launched Dragonfly Depot (online fulfillment and distribution of specialty toys) in 2007. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association. For fun he plays drums with North and The Witch Doctors from time to time and raises chickens in his back yard with his kids. Being a dad is a constant adventure for him, and he lives by the motto "It's never too late to have a happy childhood!" He can occasionally be seen at his Day Job™ at JStor in downtown Ann Arbor.