Impressed

Henrietta, although we sincerely appreciate your efforts, for your sake, slow it down. We now fully understand why we had to wait 3 whole days between eggs, yikes. I apologize for being impatient, apparently you were just trying to impress us. It worked. You shall not ever become chicken noodle soup, I promise.







(Henrietta's very first egg compared to large grocery store egg)

(Henrietta's egg from yesterday compared to large grocery store egg)

note: this means the white egg in both pictures are the same size. Henrietta layed a whopper yesterday.

Henrietta

Well, it's happened Henrietta has provided the first of many eggs. Amazing. The photo shows Hen's "Easter Egg" egg compared to a standard grocery store large egg. Typically chickens start out laying eggs that are a bit smaller than their eventual sized-egg. I do not know how our chicken's eggs will size up compared to a grocery store egg, only time will tell.

Also, the eggs our particular chickens lay are blue-green in color. The eggs are referred to as Easter Eggs. The shade will range from a pale blue-green to a deeper shade. I would consider the egg in the photo on the pale side.

Now, an update on our flock. It's been a rough go of it. You may remember earlier this spring Matthew and Anna brought home six little hens. Custard, being one of them. Well, after the five remaining hens were large enough to be outside, it was still rather chilly out at this point, we had them in a rabbit hutch of sorts. Perfect for the amount of chickens we had and their size at the time. Unfortunately there were a couple feral cats that depleted our flock. How did we know they were feral? Because tame, outside cats would not have gone to the trouble of actually pulling the young birds out of the hutch. Too much work when you aren't all that hungry. So, after we were thoroughly upset at the Rolli household Matthew trapped and dispatched the two cats. This happened on an individual basis. The 2nd cat was caught about a week after the first. The only remaining chicken that survived was, Henrietta the Brave.

A few weeks later we just bit the bullet and purchased a whole flock of 0ne-day old "Easter Egg" chickens. Hens and roosters. We got those little peepers going and once they were large enough to hold their own with Henrietta we had 21 chickens in a wonderful run and coop put together by Matthew and the kids.

Being that Henrietta is the oldest by at least 4-6 weeks we knew she'd start laying first. Sure enough, doing chores last night, I looked again in all the little spots that are good for laying an egg and voila, an egg. Can I just say there was a lot of hootin' and hollerin' going on last night. We are very excited. Tonight we're going to hard-boil the egg and split it so we each can have a little bite of our first egg.

...Meanwhile Back at the Ranch

Dear Matthew,

I realize you have only been gone hunting since Tuesday. I'm fully aware you are not returning from New Mexico for at least another week, however, we've a slight security breech that requires your attention.

I'm fully aware you told me the chickens would be fine, until you returned, and would not require netting over their run. I know you thought they were young enough and happy enough to stay put. I'm sure this had nothing to do with your excitement over going hunting for two weeks nor did this have anything to do with your lack of time/interest/motivation for anything related to chickens.

I shall refrain from mentioning that when you offered to pick up chicken feed to last me the weeks you'd be gone and I said please get Starter/Grower, you "accidentally" only got Starter feed. I just won't sink to that level and mention that error on national public blogdom. I won't do it.

Anyhow, back to the breech in security. The "young" enough chickens have decided that when I open their run door in the morning and they fly hard enough they just make it over the fence. It is at this point they get stuck and cannot get back in the run. Thankfully they really want to get back in the run and I can corner them against the fence, grab them and boost them up and over the fence. Again, this is the same fence you said would not need any additional enclosing til you returned. (in case you forgot to which fence I referred)

Keep in mind that while wrangling these "too young too fly over the fence" chickens I'm also restraining a very willing Lab/Collie mix, named Matilda, who would just love to sink her teeth into this project and help.

After the commotion of boosting at least five chickens (I stopped counting after five) I decided I was so fed up with these foul that I said to heck with the fresh water you've enough to last the day. I'll do it tonight. I then finished feeding the chickens, I did grace them with food, although it's just Starter feed NOT Starter/Grower, but I said I wouldn't mention that. I then proceeded to shut up all the other doors and checked on the sheep one more time. Know what I saw? One lone hen helping the sheep grab up the oats they were missing themselves.

I have no idea when this particular hen escaped. I have no idea if she did this yesterday or this morning during the mass confusion. She may have been out there all night sleeping with the sheep in the lean-to for all I know. I stood there with my mouth wide open knowing full well I was not chasing a hen all around the pasture, especially a hen that appeared to want to be there. That hen will now and forever live in the pasture. I will let you handle her misconduct upon your return.

In closing, we are ready for you to return. The chickens have gotten completely out of control. It's mass chaos. I do not need to remind you what I did with the troublesome rooster in 2000. I have a .410 and I'm not afraid to use it.

I love you, have fun, shoot something big, be safe.

Love, me

ps I felt this incident worthy of a blog email rather then a personal email. I know you're able to read both. Just wanted to share the love a bit.

pps I know you appreciate the fact that I never mentioned how you bought Starter feed and not Starter/Grower feed. You can thank me when you get home.

Next Best Thing Since Sliced Bread

On a recent shopping trip with the bestest neighbor ever, Michelle I was encouraged to make a purchase that I will forever and ever be thankful about. Michelle encouraged me to get this salad spinner. I love it!

My only complaint I have would be that I did not think to get one of these earlier this summer. We grew loose leaf lettuce in our garden and, in case you were unaware, it does not come out of the garden clean. Each and every little leaf needs to be washed by hand. This, then, leads to the next problem, drying the lettuce leaves. I figured wringing the leaves out like a washcloth would not be a good idea. I, therefore, layed out towels and proceeded to dry each and every little leaf by hand. Needless to say, we did not eat much of the lettuce.

Next year this shall not be the case. With this handy-dandy washer/spinner contraption. You dunk and rinse and spin and voila, clean and dry lettuce. Also, clean and dry lettuce can then be stored in the same little deal in the fridge. Amazing concept.

I can not tell you how excited I am about this. I am fully aware that I may be the last person in America that did not have a salad spinner. You may all think I'm crazy for even mentioning this, that's okay. I figure the longer I wait to get something the more I appreciate it in the end, right?

ps Michelle, you can come and borrow this little deal anytime. Not that that was your original intention or anything....

Saturday Night Fun

Yesterday I went out with my wonderful neighbor, Michelle. We both have birthdays in August and wanted to have a fun day together. We gallivanted all over Hudson and then headed over to Stillwater. It was lots of fun.

Matthew had a blast with Isaiah and Anna while I was gone. They did all sorts of fun things. Matthew took the kids to Fawn-doe-rosa up in Saint Croix Falls. It's a huge petting zoo with deer that roam freely throughout the facility and are tame. Apparently Anna gave a buck a huge hug around his neck and Matthew said he got a little concerned over her no-fear attitude when it came to animals with ANTLERS! They also were able to pick out a treat at their all-time favorite store, Horse Creek. Think modern day mercantile. Anything you could ever need way out in the country...

When I got home from the birthday adventure we all sat outside and talked about our day. Then we did chores and that lead into something I have never, ever, in a million years ever thought I would be doing on a Saturday night....for fun.

I don't know who came up with the idea but, somehow, the four us started hunting for grasshoppers and giving them to the chickens. Really it was fun. (I know, not for the grasshoppers but PETA members were probably offended by this blog a long time ago) We had a ball watching the chickens do their chicken thing.

About 20 minutes into the deal I looked at Matthew and said, "Wow, is this what folks do in the country for fun, on a Saturday night?"

He said, "Yep, pretty much."

Fair Project

The Polk County Fair starts this week, Thursday. We are busy finishing up the projects we've chosen to take to the fair.

Isaiah stained his woodworking project last week and will be adding the paint details today. He chose a wood project kit at a craft store, a treasure chest.

All the wood pieces and hardware came in the kit. He just had to follow the directions and nail all the pieces in place. He sanded the project and stained the inside and outside. Isaiah said he felt pretty grown-up being able to work with all the tools and stain the wood himself.

Isaiah is also entering a terrarium and will be showing Lamby in the Little Britches Rodeo on Sunday. Should prove to be a fun and exciting time for all.

A maze in'

Anna's new favorite word seems to be amazin'.

Mama look at this, it's amazin'.

Wow, EE-ah that's amazin'.

Papa, watch my trick it's amazin'.

Everything is amazin' these days.

For lunch today we had some BLTs. Our tomato plants are no where near producing fruit so Matthew purchased safe tomatoes at the store. Anna may have thought the sliced tomatoes on the counter were from our garden, however. I had some leftover bacon from making baked beans and I picked some lettuce from the garden.

Anna saw me washing the lettuce and knew I picked it from outside. She asked what I was doing and I told her I was washing lettuce and frying some bacon for our sandwiches. She looked at me, looked at the tomato slices, looked at the lettuce and looked at the bacon in the pan.

With wide eyes and unbelief in her voice she said, "You mean we planted bacon in the garden too?!?"

Custard

Well, I knew it was bound to happen. Nobody thought it would be Custard, however.

We've had our first loss here at the farm. Our favorite little chick, the yellowest one, Custard just didn't make it. She was always just a tiny bit smaller than the rest of the chicks and she really went downhill the last couple of days. The other chicks all have developed nice wing feathers and Custard sort of stopped growing. She just wasn't catching up.

Yesterday afternoon I spent the whole time trying to force some food into her and even made her special treats and was able to get some sugar water into her but, it just didn't help. Matthew let her go yesterday evening and Isaiah helped to bury her.

We are always really honest with the kids about death so they know the real deal. It hurts a little more in the beginning but they both bounce back pretty quick. Anna isn't really that affected by it at this point. Isaiah, on the other hand, was really, really sad and angry last night. I talked him through until bedtime and he seemed much better this morning. I'm sure he'll have little spurts of sadness here and there but, unfortunately, Custard won't be the last loss for the farm.

She was our favorite chick so I've lots of neat photos of her.

Our other favorite chick, Hawk, appears to be somewhat of a leader to the little flock we have so this gives me hope that she'll make it. The other four never really got named so we might do that to lift the spirits if need be as well.

We are surprised she made it as long as she did since, as I mentioned, Custard was always a little behind the others.

I told Isaiah chicks don't usually get to live in a people house so that was a treat for her. He was bummed she never got to live in the coop. Also, Isaiah would like me to put a photo of Custard in the coop for the other chicks to look at, just in case. I may just hold off on that one a bit until they actually are living in the coop.

In regards to a general update on the five remaining chicks they have been moved out of my entryway and into a heated box in the barn/shop/garage building we have outside. Imagine that, chickens living outside. Anyway, they still have a heat lamp on them but have made the next big step in their little chicken lives. So far, so good.

My Day

Warning: this post may be a little "gushy" but I write this blog for my family so I want to keep a little record of our day.

The day started off by drinking a cup of coffee made by Matthew, always nice to drink coffee not made by myself. Isaiah made me breakfast. He has a specialty that is all his own. He makes THE best buttered peanut butter toast. Just ask him. He has a whole routine that he does to get the PB toast just right. Along with a slice of Isaiah's famous toast he garnished the plate with three jelly belly jelly beans. Really. I was amazed.

I opened the gifts and cards my family chose for me and made for me. I received homemade cards and gifts and some not homemade cards and gifts. All very special and appreciated. Apparently my family feels I'd make a great president. The 2008 election dilemma is solved for our family. At the top of the card there is a removable pin that I think I'll be wearing from now on. The idea may catch on...who knows? At this point I'm willing to try anything.

We then headed up to church and enjoyed a sermon by Pastor Bob. Isaiah enjoyed Sunday School and Anna, the nursery. After which I received more cards and Mother's Day gifts. I feel loved.

Matthew planned a huge to-do for supper so I wanted something quick and easy for lunch and against Matt's better judgement he allowed a run through the McDonald's drive-thru. At first Matthew thought that a deplorable Mother's Day idea but, hey, I get to pick. The kids, however, agreed with me. After the drive-thru Matthew needed a few more items from the grocery store for the extravaganza that would be supper so the kids and I ate our lunch in the parking lot. Honestly this was my favorite part of the day. While we were waiting I asked the kids what they discussed at church. Isaiah's class has been studying the story of Moses. He told me about the part they talked about that morning. Earlier in the week Anna and I read the stories of Moses in her Bible so the story was fresh in her mind. Together, the three of us, we started at the beginning of Moses' life and we each piped in our memories of the story all the way through the parting of the Red Sea. There we were sitting in the car, eating McDonald's food, waiting for Matthew to return with groceries talking about God. That was the best present ever. I loved it.

We did have other activities planned though so the day did continue. Matthew came back to the car with groceries and a pretty bouquet of flowers. We drove home and while the kids and Matthew fed the birds outside I cleaned up the house some more for our company. My parents and sister came up for supper to enjoy a Mother's Day feast prepared by Matthew. This is the menu he served to us all. The theme loosely follows a tea service. We had homemade french onion soup, apple chicken crostini sandwiches, mini-flank steak sandwiches with blue-cheese sauce, Thai chicken skewer wraps, garden sandwich with feta spread and fresh Morel mushrooms. (Matthew's parents sent them up fresh from their home) Yum, yum, yum! He had a dessert planned but, understandably, we were stuffed.

As a special treat afterwards Matthew let Lamby run in the big pasture with the other three ewes that are there. This is really funny as Lamby just doesn't "get" that the ewes don't want to play with him like the kids and I do. Also, Lamby doesn't really run like other sheep. For some reason he only springs, like gazelles. It's rather hilarious. He's still too young to be out there as even though he's grown A LOT he could still slip under some of the gates that are there. That would not be good. After we all laughed heartily at the ewes' expense Matthew put Lamby back in his area. I'm positive Lamby slept like a log last night.

That was my day. Lots of fun, family and food. It was a nice day and I enjoyed it immensely.

Chicken Update

First of all we do not have Ameraucanas as I originally thought. Matthew was told we have Araucanas. I thought the store was fooling him because all the information I saw made the chicks look like Ameraucanas.

I called the store back, they are not the friendliest folks in the world, and the lady I spoke with said they were Araucanas. She, however, could not answer any of the other questions I was asking in regards to variety. Also, many places try to sell unsuspecting people Ameraucanas or Araucanas when, in fact, they are neither. The birds are simply a "mutt" and are classified as Easter Egg chickens, due to the blue-green shells of the eggs they lay. I was trying to express this known fact to the lady at the store, did I mention she was rude, and she kept repeating herself saying. We have Araucanas and they ARE Easter Egg chickens. Fine. Thank you ma'am. Have a nice day. I suppose I will assume these are Araucana chickens. There is no real way to tell until all of their adult plumage is grown.

Both breeds, Ameraucana and Araucana, have different characteristics and the Easter Egg chickens, the mutts, have a mix of everything.

I don't really care either way. I just wanted an answer that the lady at the store was unable to supply. I think that irritated her. I'm sure we will love our little chicks a whole bunch. I'm very excited that all six look a little different. Their wing feathers are starting to grow. I'll take more photos next week to see a real progress in their growth and development.

We have named two for sure. Custard and Hawk (short for Mohawk). The other four names we are working on. They are all still living in a box under a heat lamp in the entryway. They act exactly like infants at this point. They sleep hard all day. (I have to make sure they are breathing) and peep ALL night.

The photo is an Araucana hen. No idea if our chicks will look like this or not. Supposedly Araucanas are tuftless, no real tail feathers. They are even supposed to be missing the coccyx bone. We shall see. I've learned Araucanas are also intelligent and rather docile which will be fun to have.

Ameraucana

After all the spring concert hoopla (see next post) Matthew and Anna went on a little road trip to pick up our newest farm additions. Six little Ameraucana chicks spent the night in our entryway under a toasty-roasty heat lamp.

When Matthew and I were first married we had a large flock of chickens. I know how to take care of chickens and what their care involves. Matthew wanted chickens now that we're in the country again. We went back and forth over the issue. I said a very small flock would be okay. Not 25 like the first time around.


These little guys are just a day old or so and I think six sounds like a good total for now. Supposedly they are all hens. Which means in about 9 months we will be able to gather fresh eggs. If you've ever had fresh eggs you'll know that the yolks stand up straighter and are much more yellow in color than the grocery store eggs. Makes for a very pretty custard pie.

Matthew did all the finding of these little critters so I don't know much about them yet. I believe he said they were Ameraucana chickens but I don't know the exact type. From looking at photos online I believe they are Silver Ameraucanas. I think that means the hens will resemble the hen in the bottom photo. Eventually I wouldn't mind getting a rooster. I'd like to see if I can get a hen or two to go broody and maybe sit on her own nest. I think it would be fun to see baby chicks following their mama around. We always just got chicks from the hatchery so we were their mamas.

The eggs, when we start to get them, will have a blue-green colored shell. Easter eggs all year long. I'm sure we'll have updated photos every once in awhile but, for now, they live in a box in our entryway.

Note on Pidge: Sunday was the last day we saw Pidge flying around and perching on our roof. We think he maybe needed to rest while traveling to who knows where. I sort of miss him...her? We are hoping he stops by again sometime. He was a good guest to have.

I Kid You Not

This morning as Matthew was getting ready for work he mentioned something he thought I should keep in mind. He said there's a supper club on a nearby lake that, he's heard, has a good Fish Fry. He may like to try that out tonight.




As he was then getting ready to leave for work he said he may bring back four young chickens and a small coop instead. I looked a bit perplexed so he elaborated on his thoughts. He clarified and said, "We are either going out for a fish fry or we're setting up for chickens." Okay, I'm with ya now. I totally understand what you're saying. Very good. Have a great day.

Dr.Dolittle

Well it's one adventure after another here at the "farm". While quietly folding laundry and minding my own business I noticed a white pigeon sitting in a very odd way out by our bird feeder and cracked corn.

We have pigeons in the barn but they're the regular ol' run o' the mill blue and gray versions. We do not have white ones, anywhere.

Also, the bird was sitting in an odd way. Appeared extremely worn out, sick or hurt - something. I thought I'd go out and investigate. I walked all the way up to the bird. Right next to the bird. All he did was pigeon walk away. Didn't fly. I managed to rustle him up enough to fly only as far as the garage roof eventually.

I felt better knowing he could fly and that his wing wasn't broken or anything of that nature. Still odd that he just moved out of my reach and not actually away. I thought he'd mosey along but an hour later I found him back in the same spot I saw him originally. I tapped the window and moved around but the pigeon was quite "content" to just stay put.

I did some investigating online and called a bird release company that is relatively near by. I was thinking that maybe this was a lost pigeon that somebody may be looking for. Maybe there was a fancy-schmancy wedding this weekend in which they released a lot of white pigeons and this guy is lost? Ya never know.

The kind man I spoke to said they stopped doing that a couple years ago. I asked him some questions anyhow and he said it was most likely a pigeon (I'd originally thought a dove due to it's color) because pigeons are much larger in size. We also will think, for now, that this is a racing pigeon that has gotten off course and is resting and regaining his bearings, or directions.

Basically, I'll keep my eyes on the guy for a couple days and then do some more calling around. He certainly stopped at the bird Hilton of bird feeders though. He maybe is a racing pigeon...frequent travelers always know where to spend the night. Matthew's got every kind of birdseed known to man, and bird, out there so the pigeon can rest and eat his fill of whatever he wants. I do NOT leave out chocolate mints on the pillow though so if he's expecting that he can just keep flapping.

God has not gifted me with the ability to actually speak to animals so I shall just keep guessing and making sure he's warm and full. Sure would be neat to ask him what he's up to...

Seedling Progress

As promised I have posted the progress of our seedlings. Can you stand it? I know, huh? We've been pretty fortunate with nice daytime temperatures so I am able to put the cart of seedling flats on the deck for natural light. This makes the seedlings a bit stronger than if they're left indoors the whole time. In the evening I bring them all back indoors.

This photo shows our radishes, acorn squash and two different types of tomatoes. All the flats are doing quite well. A few things haven't popped up but if memory serves correct the seeds were very tiny and with the help of the shorter members of this household the seeds may have been planted too deep. We'll see. We can always plant more once the ground is warm enough.

We held off waiting one week longer to plant the beans this year and I've realized it was still one week too soon. The bean plants need the garden to be ready. This will not happen until next week the earliest, however. Matthew is traveling this weekend to bring home all of the tractor implements he purchased for a great bargain down near his folks' place. He'll bring the rototiller implement back on Sunday. If he's excited enough I may be able to beg a tilled garden by Tuesday morning so Anna and I can get those beans in the ground. Then I'll pray for no more frost. Or I'll be out there covering up the plants with an old sheet or towel. It'll be a little early to put things in the ground but apparently we are very good bean growers.

Lamby Goes to School

As an update to the Woolite washing fiasco of 2008 I shall inform you all on how that went. I actually got brave enough to start the process before Isaiah returned home from school. I thought since Lamby feels as though he may not actually be a lamb and may be more closely related to a person. (He's the only sheep we have for another couple weeks) I figured the temperament of the guy may allow me to attempt the shampooing process. I thought about how to go about this by myself through all of Anna's nap and felt confident I could do this.

At 3pm Anna and I went outside to start the process. I first cleaned out the stall inside so he'd stay all fresh and clean at night. I then filled up a little bucket of water and put a small amount of Woolite in the bucket. The water was a tad cold but the air temperature was relatively warm so I thought if I proceeded slowly all would be well. I didn't want to shock the poor guy.

I heard a story once how a farm wife wanted to give relief to some pigs on a very hot day and poured some cold water on the pigs and she shocked them to death. I thought that would not be a good scened for Isaiah to come home to.

I crawled in the outdoor pen with Lamby and brought Anna in with me. Washing a sheep usually involves a nice stand with a halter that goes around the back of the sheep's head behind their ears. This holds them in place so that you have two hands free. If we had this piece of equipment I could wash a ton of sheep all day long. We don't. I was watching a 2 1/2 year old girl, holding a very large 10 week old sheep with one hand and pretending to wash the sheep with my other hand. Sheep don't just stand still unless you're holding a bottle for them to drink. It was a struggle.

This could turn into a long story so I'll sum it up and let you imagine how this circus looked and suffice to say Lamby had THE cleanest shoulder area any lamb could ever have. That's about all I could do without the stand. I tried. I didn't get anyone or anything killed. We'll just call that good 'nuff and take the lamb to school as is.

This whole fiasco took two whole hours. I never did put fresh bedding in the stall for him. Left that for Matthew. I figured that's the least I could do, after all I wanted him to feel a part of the whole experience.

Anyhow, we took Lamby to school yesterday and Isaiah was thoroughly excited to have such a show and tell experience. How'd we get Lamby to school? Ha! That was easy... I had Matthew figure all that out. Anna and I went in the car since we had to go in the opposite direction afterwards to head up to my Bible study group. Matthew took Lamby in Matilda's dog kennel that was shoved in the front seat of his old '66 GMC. What a hoot to keep looking in my rear view mirror and watching him hang on to the kennel with Lamby a bleatin' away.

When we got to school Matthew held the lamb and Isaiah stood next to him while Isaiah's class stood in a circle around the lamb and asked Isaiah questions. It was fun. Anna even stood next to the boys to get in on the school action.

It was fun. We all made it.

Guidance?

Tomorrow is Isaiah's sharing day at school. This week's theme? Bring your favorite animal.... ah man. I read that and thought neither choice is going to be good.

He's going to initially choose Matilda, the dog. Matilda happens to be the sweetest dog I know. She's kind, patient, gentle, craves attention and loves to get hugs. She also happens to be quite protective of her pack, meaning her family, us to be exact. She's usually just fine as long as the new people or animals don't impede her turf while the kids or I are present. She just gets protective. I'm quite certain she would enjoy all the little first graders in Isaiah's class but I do not feel I should take the chance in trusting an animal while other parent's children are involved. We've only had Matilda since December, she's approximately 7 and we have no idea what her past entails. I just don't feel "Sharing Day" is a good enough reason to experiment with Matilda's threshold for 23 first-graders.

Isaiah did in fact bring up his sharing day options on Monday night after a fellow classmate brought in their family dog. I took a deep breath and anticipated the next question. Yep, sure enough Isaiah wanted to bring Matilda to school on Thursday. I explained our thoughts on the safety of all involved. He understood and took the news like a real champ. Did you expect anything less? He does, after all, have a back-up plan..... THE LAMB!

Matthew happened to be home during this conversation and knew exactly the next direction the conversation was going. After some minor cajoling on Isaiah's part it was agreed that Lamby could go to school. We got the excursion approved by all the school officials that need to approve of such ventures. Lamby is going to school.

Anna has been singing "Mary had a little lamb...." all week. She replaces the Mary and sings Isaiah.

Well, since Lamby has a busy day on Thursday he's required to have a bath. This is not anything unusual per se. Sheep shown at fairs, as well as other livestock, get scrubbed before their events. I have never done anything like this, however. I've watched it being done when Matthew and I would observe and root on his younger brother and sister while they were still showing at their local fair. I can wash our dog in the tub but as I stated before she's the mellowest thing I've ever given a bath to, including my own two children. I have a feeling Lamby is not going to cooperate with a scrub in the tub, just guessing.

I did pick up a bottle of Woolite at the store yesterday. No joke. Sheep are washed with Woolite. Seriously, makes sense doesn't it? I'm considering surprising Matthew with a squeaky clean sheep compliments solely of yours truly. I looked on the back of the Woolite bottle and the only thing it said was 2 Caps for a medium load and 3/4 Cap for hand washing. I'm assuming I'll be washing Lamby by hand so I'll use the 3/4 Cap and see what happens. I'm going to wait until Isaiah gets home. I don't know if I can get the job done while Anna's napping so I'll just be patient until the reinforcements arrive.

I've made supper so all I will have to do after Lamby's bath is warm it up. I'm not going to tell Lamby what's on the menu. We're having ground lamb meatballs with a mushroom gravy. I think he'll cooperate better if he doesn't know.

I'd take pictures of the event but somehow feel it's not going to be possible. Just so nobody gets their hopes up. I'll let you know how it goes, if I make it.

Proof of Planting

So I thought I'd show some proof of our planting labors from this past weekend. Here we have Papa and Isaiah preparing to plant some zucchini seeds. Note the careful hand-off of the seeds below.

Seed planting requires much concentration and thought.

Anna is receiving expert advice from her big brother while Papa offers her some more vegetable seeds. No creativity allowed Tootsie-doodle you have to plant in the designated areas. After receiving her pointers Anna also focused on her duty at hand. Make no mistakes this is serious business.

We had a great time and the weather was perfect for spending the afternoon outside. We even have some cucumbers emerging from their seeds. Too cool. The beans will be next to notice. I'll get some photos of the emerging "crops" soon. Again, stay tuned...

Garden Ready

Sometime in early April we do the annual Rolli Family seed starting activity. The past owners of this home left a sizeable garden plot that Matthew will till up and ready for the May 15 planting. We needed to start our first crop of vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers to get a jumpstart on the growing season.

We even planted some annual flowers to get those going as well. Usually I spend the moo-la on the flats of annuals. This year we'll see how the flowers do when started from seeds.

We all chose our favorite types of vegetables to eat and yesterday after church we planted their seeds. The kids really enjoy planting and getting the flats prepared for the seeds. It's fun to see their excitement. They each develop their own "style" of planting. Anna sort of flicks the seeds off of our hands and into the designated section. She was so impressed with her new technique and requested that everyone watch how she was doing the task. Isaiah feigned interest and then was a bit more careful than his sister when it was his turn.

Once we plant the seedlings in the ground (around May 15 - after all danger of frost) we plan on starting a second round of veggies from seeds planted directly in the garden at that time. We've never had the space to do this type of gardening so I'm excited to see how it progresses. The lettuce varieties we planted have a 45 day time span until harvest. We are hoping to get at least three crops of lettuces. We also have three different types of tomatoes that'll be ready for picking at different times so yet another experiment will be done with the 'maters.

If we're successful enough with our plan I'll keep you all posted. I know you are all on the edge of your seats waiting to see how the garden turns out. If the garden survives the rabbits, deer and children "weeding" we may have a cuke, tomato and squash or two that'll make it...

(to be continued...)

Carduelis Tristis

At our old home we had a wonderful bird sanctuary set up. It was a family pastime to sit in the living room window and identify the different types of birds that visited our yard.

Some of our favorites included a Baltimore Oriole and his family that visited us for two summers, the Bluebird families that came every year. The Red-Winged Blackbirds, Hummingbirds, Chickadees, House Finches, Goldfinches and last (as well as least) the Grackles that made their homes in the dying tree in the front yard. It was so much fun to sit and watch. They all stopped by the feeder at their appointed times. I'm not sure who organized the slots each group received but I tend to think it was the male Red-Winged Blackbirds. No offense, they just seemed a bit bossy.

While I was pregnant with Anna in the summer of 2005 I would get acquainted with the Hummingbirds that came to the window feeder. They actually dive-bombed each other if they lingered too long. I was close to them I could even tell the difference between the three that repeatedly came to sip the food. I appropriately named them Goose, Ice Man and Maverick. Clever, hunh?

My point being we really enjoyed getting to know the birds at our feeder. When we moved to our new home we were so very excited to "meet" the new birds. Well, we waited...and waited...and waited. Nothing. We occasionally saw some beautiful Cardinals, Blue Jays, Pileated Woodpeckers, Chickadees and even a rooster Pheasant a couple times. I was still lonely for our old friends.

Today I saw what I'd been waiting for (besides the Bluebirds I'm really excited to see return in a couple weeks) our first Goldfinch. I know these guys stick around all winter but we hadn't seen any. This led me to believe we wouldn't have any in our new setting. Today I was proved wrong. The Goldfinch was eating off a bell-shaped feeder of thistle seeds, their favorite. I was so excited and I think they just needed to be "shown" where the feeder happens to be. For the last few weeks we have been bombarded with Dark-eyed Juncos. They are everywhere! It's a bit creepy actually and I try not to think of Mr. Hitchcock's Birds while I see the 30+ birds feeding under the feeders in the woods. I'm thinking the mass activity had lured the Goldfinches in. Yeah!

Note: For all you FCCers know that my husband calls the Dark-eyed Junco's ... "Bill". Get it? I laugh every time. I wonder if they've heard that joke before?

Is it Bedtime Yet?

4:02am- wake up to sound of coughing dog, fear she may throw up so Jump out of bed run to patio door and let dog outside.
4:02 1/2am- lay back down in nice snuggly bed only to realize 2 year old girly is now awake....
4:10am- realize that once this child is up.....she's up....no use pretending everyone will go back to sleep
4:11am- encourage my Anna to take a potty break, remove diaper and choose her big girl undies for the day
4:16am- get out promised watercolor paints for Anna to keep her quiet and busy while rest of house is happily asleep
4:18am- remember the dog is still outside....oops....let her back in
4:19am- feed dog
4:21am- make much needed pot of coffee
4:30am- read Bible and drink coffee all while asking Anna, every 2 minutes, if she has to go potty
4:45am- put supper in crock pot
5:00am- forget to remind Anna to take a potty break and clean up after my forgetfulness and Anna's bathroom break taken in dining room
5:02am- change Anna into second outfit of the day (did you notice the time? We're on the 2nd outfit already)
5:15am- change dirty paint water from Anna's painting dish
5:30am- find some sort of children's show for Anna as I'm still not really functioning in the mom department as of yet
6:00am- wake husband to do chores....I just can't do it today (sorry Matthew)
6:01am- make lamb's bottle for Matthew to take out to barn
6:10am- make breakfast for children
6:20am- get out painting supplies for Anna, yet again
6:30am- change sheets on the beds
6:50am- have Isaiah get his school stuff together
7:10am- have Isaiah get dressed for the bus
7:15am- send Isaiah off to the bus with lots of hugs and kisses
7:20am- write blog
7:24am- get out paint supplies for yet another round of painting


I can only imagine what the rest of the day shall hold. I would have to say it's going to be a pretty exciting one. Just look at all we've accomplished since 4 o'clock this morning.