Spring is here, and as the seasons go, it doesn’t get much better than this. This particular season has been very exciting for my fiancé and me, as we have a couple of new spring projects that have commanded our attention on top of trying to plan a December wedding.

First and foremost – at least in prioritizing our obligation and energy – we’ll be getting chickens here in a week or two. It’ll be the first time we’ve kept chickens together, and after some painless and even fun convincing, my future wife is onboard with the project.

The key was getting our little coop and run set up; after she saw the nifty GardenEggs.com Little Egg Chicken Tractor, she was excited about the prospect of keeping chickens, and even wanted to raise them from day-old chicks so that we wouldn’t miss out on that part of the process. I think I picked a good one.

Once the basic construction was finished – a perfect 2-hour Saturday project, I might add, for me and a buddy with the grill going and a cold beverage – it was time to paint the coop for waterproofing reasons.

The Little Egg really is a thing of beauty. I had friends come over – they all thought I was crazy talking about raising chickens, one even asking, “Where does it stop, Caleb? Pigs are filthy creatures. I don’t want to live by pigs.” Just keep your dirty mitts off my eggs, Ryan. – who suddenly realized it wasn't so crazy, and this thing is perfect for an urban backyard. Enter for free and win one, as part of our May/June 2010 issue’s GRIT Gear Sweepstakes. Or you can buy the plans for $16 to make one yourself at GardenEggs.com.

I knew right away as we entered the hardware store after construction that she had elaborate plans well beyond my idea of a couple of coats of basic blue/grey paint. We’d talked a little about it. As I was picking out good paint for said coats, she wandered over to the isle where all the small brushes and bottles of red, blue, yellow, and green bottles of paint were.

Heading home, her knowing how to get my goat a little bit, she started talking of flowers and peace signs adorning our coop. Nothing against flowers and peace signs, they have their place and it’s all well and good, but that place is not on my chicken coop or any other piece of property for that matter; it’s just not my taste.

The feathers she drew around the bottom of the coop, and the mother hen and chicks walking along one side, amusingly brighten the coop (I'll provide a photo of the mother hen and chicks asap). I adore it.

Now, all that’s left is to come up with something clever to write on the door that shuts the coop off from the run. I suggested, “Girls Only,” “Beware of Dog,” and a couple others, but I don’t think my suggestions had that “that’s it” ring to them. We’ll see.

The other project was putting in our first garden. I’ve gardened for most of my life, but this was the first time I’ve started one from scratch, digging up the sod by hand and working the soil into what I thought was good enough shape to plant into; it’s the first time I could say any garden was truly mine. Hopefully, this will be the final year my lady and I rent, so next time I install a garden I hope it's permanent, and out where the pavement ends.

I did it all by hand, not for any reason other than I didn’t want to spend the $40 to rent a tiller for 2 hours just to till up such a small area (about 10 feet by 5 feet). As I worked the soil and the sweat accumulated in my hat, I couldn’t help but think of my great-grandfather doing this on a much larger scale by hand. A mule and plow may have been used for the big fields, but on some homesteads, a husband and wife surely worked a little garden into shape just to feed a few hungry mouths. Cool to think about and relate to, and I think I’ll probably take more pride out of what does come up – if anything – just knowing the work that went into it.

I went pretty small with the garden only because I’m not positively sure how much room I’ll need for our two laying hens to scratch around the yard. Giving a good quality of life to the animals, obviously, takes priority.

It took me a few hours, but after digging the sod out and hoeing up the soil to where it was fairly fine, I planted corn, tomatoes, onions, and one row of lettuce, with room for another in succession after a couple weeks. We'll also grow some basil and possibly a couple of other things in containers.

Both projects are a learning experience. I know I’ll have to make adjustments, and there’s still more work to be done – predators are my current big worry – but I’ll figure it out. If something happens, I’ll have to deal with it, make adjustments, and roll on. We’ll learn, and that’s always exciting. Also exciting is the thought of catching a mess of fish this summer, coming home and filleting them, and frying them with our own sweet corn and lettuce to go with it. Or making an omelet with ingredients entirely out of our garden; our first fully self-provided meal.

So my question to all of you – what is a clever line for the outside of the coop door? Any one-liner comedians out there much more clever than I?

There’s no doubt in my mind that GRIT readers are Carhartt tough. So when a press release announcing Carhartt and Cintas’ contest found its way across my desk a couple weeks back, I naturally thought of our readers.

Cintas Corporation, North America’s biggest uniform supplier, recently partnered with Carhartt to offer Carhartt gear in a uniform rental program.

In celebration of that partnership and in conjunction with the roll-out of a new product offered by the companies, the Are You Carhartt Tough? contest is now underway.

So, my first question was what is Carhartt Tough?

“We describe ‘Carhartt Tough’ as someone who's strong, dependable, resilient and rugged... All of which are characteristics of the Carhartt brand.  With that said, people may consider themselves to fit these characteristics for many different reasons, so we encourage any and all to enter the contest ... men and women, young and old, with different backgrounds, professions and interests.” That response, coming from Ashley Hallmark of Rubin Communications Group, immediately piqued my interest.

Strong, dependable, resilient and rugged – those words are part of what GRIT is all about. The name GRIT itself, to me, speaks to the resiliency of rural life and country work, and Carhartt apparel has long played a role in that work.

If you think you’re Carhartt Tough, here’s your chance to win. Beginning April 30, three finalists will be announced each quarter. After a year’s time, all 12 finalists will be featured on the contest website where the public will be encouraged to cast votes for the toughest of the tough. Two Grand Prize winners will receive either a weekend duck hunt trip designed by Ducks Unlimited, or a trip to the Stihl Timbersports Series in 2011. Visit www. CarharttRental.com, submit a short essay and photograph, and maybe a loyal GRIT reader will be recognized for being what we here in our editorial department call “GRITty.”