Old Man Winter seems to have been on a hiatus, but today he is back with vengence. Was it Sunday or Monday it was 50-degrees, and now the temp is 13 with a wind chill of -5. Like I really want to go out there? Not really. But, I have birds that rely on me for food and water and I must go and take care of them. I have a feeling the ducks are inside today too. They are so silly, they stay out all the time, but the last time the temps dipped like this, they actually went inside for the first time, voluntarily.
This weekend the temp is supposed to be back to 40, so I think that is when I will be running the electric in the big chicken out. That way the birds should have water all day long without freezing, and I won't have to break ice every day. I need to water twice on days like today to make sure they are getting plenty.
I got two pens of bantams up and separated. They seem pretty happy, or at least my little Frizzles are. They have been in a large rabbit cage for some time now and though I had a pad in there that gave them solid floor in part of it, they are happy to have an all solid floor and shavings to scratch in. I still have 5 bantam pens to finish in there, then the construction in that building will be done. I did say IN because I still need to get out and get gates on the outdoor runs, and wire over the top for those breeds that love to fly out.
Well, I need to run to the mill for more feed. It is time to face the awful weather.
CC
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
2011
Another year is gone by. I can sum that one up in one word: BUSY!!!!!
There was so much to get done this last year, and we did most of it. Some of it got forgotten and some is still on our list of Things To Do, but we accomplished much.
Hubby spent a lot of time away from home and it looks like 2012 will be no different. The company downsizing and losing some employees has made his job more secure, but sometimes I wish he could find a new line of work. I miss him.
My two boys have both grown so much and have gone way passed me already.
Eldest has been a challenge, but we are still proud of all he is (except those moments when he makes us want to rip his head off). 15-year olds, Oi!
Middle is becoming and awesome guitar player! He hasn't had a lesson yet, but he has heart and soul that he is pouring into those strings and it is paying off. We actually ENJOY listening to him play now!
Daughter has her days, but she is the cutest little girl in the world to me and makes me so proud of who she is and what she is becoming. I wish she was still little enough for me to gobble her belly. Okay, I still do when she is being stubborn and I want to get her to talk to me, or at least smile.
Well, the chicken house is not done yet, but thanks to the long fall and warm winter so far, I have gotten much done that I might not have if we had normal temps.
I just finished pens 7 and 8 done tonight and birds moved into them. They are happier and less crowded. I will be able to start collecting eggs to hatch soon, that is if they will get laying and quit poking around about it. I have yet to put lights in to get them going again, but slowly I am getting eggs again. They needed a break, but now it is time to start cranking them out.
I got 2 portable coops up off the ground where I don't have to worry about mice and rats getting in them. Face it, if you have as many chickens and ducks and turkeys as I have, there are bound to be rodents coming around.
I counted the other day, and I have roughly 125 chickens right now. That breaks down to 13 Standard Breeds/Varieties, and 8 Bantams Breeds/Varieties. I have some crossbreeds too that are not part of that count, those are just the ones I am breeding pure.
I still have 6 Pekin ducks and 1 Welsh Harlequin. I was hoping to get rid of the WH drake with his two 'brothers', but someone just wanted 2. So, I may be stuck with this guy until I can find someone to take him or until I can get him butchered. The Pekins are well passed the point of when I wanted to get them butchered. I was so busy this fall that by the time I got around to calling to have them processed, my guy closed up for winter already. I called around, but with no luck. So, if I want them butchered, I am going to have to do it myself. I told Hubby and Middle that since they are the ones wanting to eat duck, they need to help me get them processed. Hubby said, "Oh." Middle said, "NO WAY!! I am not killing the ducks!" Well, I told him that it didn't mean HE had to do the killing, but he could help with the plucking and gutting. He didn't like that either but conceded to help. Now, to get it all ready and do it before the weather really turns cold here.
I also have to blood test all of my chickens and I don't want to do that when it is below freezing and have everything freeze on me.
We have been SO SO SO lucky with the weather though!!!
Middle is still bummed about not having snow to go snowboarding, but at least he isn't carrying on about it every day all day long like he was.
I have gotten orders started for chicks and eggs. I am excited about the prospects of what this year will be with my hatchery starting out. I need to get in and finish the inside of the brooder house before I start putting eggs in to incubate. I will need to raise about 130 birds for myself, maybe more so I can pick some better (hopefully) breeders for next year. Maybe I will do more than that, we will see how things go. I know spring time is going to mean more fencing and digging a pond and getting a proper shelter for ducks up so I can keep some over winter without a huge hassle.
Of course, spring is going to mean gardening too. This year, if we can get all the preparations done, we are hoping to replace our old ailing farmhouse too. So, 2012 is going to be another busy one. But if all we do is sit around, that isn't living.
May all of you have a wonderful New Year!
Til next time....
CC
There was so much to get done this last year, and we did most of it. Some of it got forgotten and some is still on our list of Things To Do, but we accomplished much.
Hubby spent a lot of time away from home and it looks like 2012 will be no different. The company downsizing and losing some employees has made his job more secure, but sometimes I wish he could find a new line of work. I miss him.
My two boys have both grown so much and have gone way passed me already.
Well, the chicken house is not done yet, but thanks to the long fall and warm winter so far, I have gotten much done that I might not have if we had normal temps.
I just finished pens 7 and 8 done tonight and birds moved into them. They are happier and less crowded. I will be able to start collecting eggs to hatch soon, that is if they will get laying and quit poking around about it. I have yet to put lights in to get them going again, but slowly I am getting eggs again. They needed a break, but now it is time to start cranking them out.
I got 2 portable coops up off the ground where I don't have to worry about mice and rats getting in them. Face it, if you have as many chickens and ducks and turkeys as I have, there are bound to be rodents coming around.
I counted the other day, and I have roughly 125 chickens right now. That breaks down to 13 Standard Breeds/Varieties, and 8 Bantams Breeds/Varieties. I have some crossbreeds too that are not part of that count, those are just the ones I am breeding pure.
I still have 6 Pekin ducks and 1 Welsh Harlequin. I was hoping to get rid of the WH drake with his two 'brothers', but someone just wanted 2. So, I may be stuck with this guy until I can find someone to take him or until I can get him butchered. The Pekins are well passed the point of when I wanted to get them butchered. I was so busy this fall that by the time I got around to calling to have them processed, my guy closed up for winter already. I called around, but with no luck. So, if I want them butchered, I am going to have to do it myself. I told Hubby and Middle that since they are the ones wanting to eat duck, they need to help me get them processed. Hubby said, "Oh." Middle said, "NO WAY!! I am not killing the ducks!" Well, I told him that it didn't mean HE had to do the killing, but he could help with the plucking and gutting. He didn't like that either but conceded to help. Now, to get it all ready and do it before the weather really turns cold here.
I also have to blood test all of my chickens and I don't want to do that when it is below freezing and have everything freeze on me.
We have been SO SO SO lucky with the weather though!!!
Middle is still bummed about not having snow to go snowboarding, but at least he isn't carrying on about it every day all day long like he was.
I have gotten orders started for chicks and eggs. I am excited about the prospects of what this year will be with my hatchery starting out. I need to get in and finish the inside of the brooder house before I start putting eggs in to incubate. I will need to raise about 130 birds for myself, maybe more so I can pick some better (hopefully) breeders for next year. Maybe I will do more than that, we will see how things go. I know spring time is going to mean more fencing and digging a pond and getting a proper shelter for ducks up so I can keep some over winter without a huge hassle.
Of course, spring is going to mean gardening too. This year, if we can get all the preparations done, we are hoping to replace our old ailing farmhouse too. So, 2012 is going to be another busy one. But if all we do is sit around, that isn't living.
May all of you have a wonderful New Year!
Til next time....
CC
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Holiday Silliness.
It is that time again where the silliness ensues. I have composed some new songs for the season from a slightly poultry point of view:
O Come All Ye Chickens
O Come All Ye Chickens
Oh, come all ye Chickens
Flying, Running , Flapping
Oh Come ye
Oh come ye to e-eat your scratch
Come and enjoy it
Eat until your crop is full
Oh Come peck up the kernels
Oh Come peck up the kernels
Oh Come peck up the kernels
And don't forget your grit
Oh come all ye Chickens
Squawking, crowing, clucking
Oh Come and lay eggs for me
So I may hatch them
We will have more birds
Little fluffy chickies
Oh come let us hold them
Oh come let us watch them
Oh come and make me just another
Chicken addict!
A challenge was put to me, so I answered the call:
Ava Maria, you say?
My hen's version-
Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawk
Baaaaawk BawkBawk Baaaaaawwwk BawkBawk
Baaaawk Bawk Bawk Bawk Bawk Bawk
Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawk Bawk Bawk Bawk Bawk Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwk Bawk
Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawk Bawk Bawk Bawk Bawk Ba-gawk
Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawk Bawk Bawk Bawk Bawk Ba-gawk Ba-gawk
Baaaaaaaaaaa-gaaaaaaaaawk Ba-ba-ba gaaaaaaaaaaaaawk
Bawk bu-bu-bu-bu-ba-gawwwwwwk
I need her to work on the rest, it is such a long song for such a small chicken.
My hen's version-
Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawk
Baaaaawk BawkBawk Baaaaaawwwk BawkBawk
Baaaawk Bawk Bawk Bawk Bawk Bawk
Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawk Bawk Bawk Bawk Bawk Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwk Bawk
Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawk Bawk Bawk Bawk Bawk Ba-gawk
Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawk Bawk Bawk Bawk Bawk Ba-gawk Ba-gawk
Baaaaaaaaaaa-gaaaaaaaaawk Ba-ba-ba gaaaaaaaaaaaaawk
Bawk bu-bu-bu-bu-ba-gawwwwwwk
I need her to work on the rest, it is such a long song for such a small chicken.
Rudolph the Naked Neck Rooster
Rudolph the Naked Neck Rooster
Had a very cozy scarf
And if you ever saw him
You would even say he crows
All of the other roosters
Used to laugh and peck his head
They never let poor Rudolph
Try to breed any of their hens.
Then one windy Autumn eve
Farmer came to say
Roosters who like to peck and fight
Go to freezer camp tonight
The how the hens all loved him
As they clucked around with glee
Rudolph the Naked Neck Rooster
Should change his name to Mr. Lucky!
(Along the lines of Silent Night)
Silent Night Chicken Style
Leg-horn White
Gold-en Se-bright
All the hens
In their pens
Coo-ing sounds com-ing
from their roost
Eggs come pop-ping out
In their nests
In the morning Ome-lets we'll enjoy
My pet makes my break-fast
A-mer-au-cana
Black Ja-va
Eggs in Blue
Green ones too
Brown and White, and Speckled ones too
Large and small and Jum-bo too
All my hens are so haaaaa-ppy
Nest-led all in their coop
Leghorn Whiiiiiiiiite
Golden Se-briiiiiiight
Leg-horn White
Gold-en Se-bright
All the hens
In their pens
Coo-ing sounds com-ing
from their roost
Eggs come pop-ping out
In their nests
In the morning Ome-lets we'll enjoy
My pet makes my break-fast
A-mer-au-cana
Black Ja-va
Eggs in Blue
Green ones too
Brown and White, and Speckled ones too
Large and small and Jum-bo too
All my hens are so haaaaa-ppy
Nest-led all in their coop
Leghorn Whiiiiiiiiite
Golden Se-briiiiiiight
Check Your Nest (to the sound of Deck the Halls)
Check your nests or you'll be sorry
Cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck
Frozen eggs bring you no glory
Cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck
Heat your nests or collect them often
Cluck cluck cluck
Cluck cluck cluck
Cluck
Cluck
Cluck
Snatch them up put 'em in the bator
Cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck
Cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck
Frozen eggs bring you no glory
Cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck
Heat your nests or collect them often
Cluck cluck cluck
Cluck cluck cluck
Cluck
Cluck
Cluck
Snatch them up put 'em in the bator
Cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck
Chicken Wonderland
Roosters crow
Are ya listening
In the coop
Where their scratching
They're singing their song
As hens cluck along
Crowing in a winter wonderland
In the meadow we can throw some corn seed
and the Crows will come and chow it down
Bald Eagles with come and circle 'round here
Until the Crows all mob and chase them around
Later on, they'll puff their feathers
To fight off
The cold weather
Dreaming of lawns
As the night lingers on
Crowing in the winter wonderland
Crowing in the winter
Snowing in the winter
Crowing in the winter
Won-der-land
If you can escape them, you start to think like them.
Know they enemy!
Okay, my chickens are not my enemy, I love each and every one of them. Some I love with dumplings more than in the coop, but I do love them.
The new house is getting closer and closer to being done and I have it almost half full now. The birdies are appreciating not having to huddle and roost in the portable pens that set on the ground. They are in deep shavings and out of the wind, or at least the ones that are smart enough to sleep in the back of the pen away from the windows. Some are just not smart. Yes, it is true, chickens are not the brightest of the bunch. I felt terrible for my one Minorca boy, he is already showing signs of frostbite. It is the downside of having birds with such large combs in this cold climate. I have read that putting Vaseline or Bag Balm on them helps. I will have to find me a can and give it a try. Poor guys.
Even with the extended fall, I wasn't able to get all the preparations done that I needed to for winter, but I got my snow pants and heavy work jacket, several pairs of gloves and hats to help me continue my quest. I finally got all the wire on the outdoor runs the first day we really started accumulating snow. It was tough trying to tack up the wire at the 6-foot level and having to look up into the clumping snowflakes to do it and having them going in my eyes. I was glad I forgot to wear my glasses that day, it would have been no help if I had.
It has been a cold last couple of days and tomorrow is supposed to be the worst yet for this time around, a high of 14 and the low nearing zero. Ouch! I can't say as I like the sounds of that. In this old house, we feel the cold a bit when it gets like that. I can't wait until next year when we are supposed to be tearing this old house down and putting up a new, very efficient and comfortable in-ground dome structure. (Look them up on wwwformworksbuilding.com). It makes more sense than trying to fix all the problems this 100+-year old house has. This week it was a drain/septic issue. We are just praying that it doesn't all give out on us before spring. I told Husband that I don't think we should hedge on things working through the winter, but we still have not come to a decision on whether or not we should do something different right now. It all cost $$ and sometimes you just feel like you are throwing it away in these cases to band-aid fix something that is going to be all taken out in the not so distant future. Decisions. Decisions. Decisions.
Someone is happy the snow has come though. Middle.
He has been just chomping at the bit to have snow. He wants to go snowboarding tomorrow after school. I hate to break it to him, but in addition to it being colder that a witches nose, he has a bedroom that needs cleaning AND he has been having problems with his back for a few weeks from an injury during soccer season. I had him in the chiropractor yesterday and have had him in there several time before that to help get over this problem. We did find out a couple of weeks ago, the boy's feet are as flat as a ducks! We wondered why it sounded like duck feet slapping down the hall when he would go to the bathroom. Now we know.
I had suspected this a long time ago and had him show me his feet, but I went about it wrong. I had him lift his foot to show me the bottoms, to examine the arches. Well, when you lift your feet it pulls the arch up, therefore appearing normal. So, this guy we see had him stand with his feet on the floor with no shoes and he has NO arch. Add that to the almost half inch difference in his leg length, and no wonder he has some issues with standing up straight. It is hard to get it through a 13-year old, stubborn boy's head that jumping on his snowboard and going up and down hills is probably not the best thing for him to be doing right now. Any bet on how big of a hissy fit he throws when I tell him he can't go?
Well, the sun is out and there is much to be done.
Let the silliness continue, if for no other reason but to help deal with Old Man Winter's extended visit which has only just begun.
In case I don't get back to say it,
HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND MAY YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR!!!
CC
Monday, November 7, 2011
Once Upon a Time
There was a very tired and stressed out mother/wife who just wanted there to be not so much work all of the time. She wanted to go with her family on a vacation somewhere where they could all relax and have fun together, instead of always working to get this project done or that project done. She was saddened by the thought of her children growing up and going off into the world and that they would never be able to take that time to get away and just be a family for a while without all the rest of life's baloney.
Okay, I am awake now. Must have been dreaming again.
I do look forward to hubby and I taking the kids and going to do something fun away from all that we have going on here, while the kids are still kids. It has seemed like we would still have so much time, but it has flown passed so quickly, and before we know it, Eldest is going to be done with high school and off to college.
Today was spent first running Middle to the chiropractor to get his back adjusted and get my spine in line too. I wish he lived next door so I didn't have to spend 2-hours running to get that done every time, which is 2-3 times a week now since Middle hurt himself during soccer season. Then I got back to work on the chicken house (outdoor runs) some more. I was sure we would get them all up and ready to put wire on before it got too dark, but Daughter had dance and Eldest had work and Hubby had to take them while I kept plugging away. Then Middle needed help carrying rabbit cages that he was cleaning and I just ran out of daylight for getting the frame done. Now tomorrow is supposed to be rainy turning to snow and then we are supposed to get 4-6 inches of the white stuff tomorrow night.
How pleasant.
Middle is just chomping at the bit to go snowboarding, so he is yelling "Bring on the snow!" While I am saying, "Can we just skip winter this year? Please?" We have been quite lucky so far though, this fall has been warm and dry and good for getting projects worked on out there when I do have the time away from the family/parental obligations.
When I was a kid, we always had a trip that Mom and Dad took us on in the summer and we ALWAYS went to Florida for 2-weeks. My grandparents had a house down there and my dad hated being up north all winter. So, when I was 2, we started going to Florida every year in February for 2-weeks. The last time I made that trip with my parents, I think I was 13 or 14. After that, I got to stay home and do chores with my older siblings. I was glad then that I didn't have to go. I liked going to Florida, but who wants to go with their parents to a small town that wasn't close to anything to spend 2-weeks? I did enjoy my grandmother's company though. We sat almost every night playing cards and laughing about some stupid things, listening to stories of mischief and mayhem. My Gram was quite the hell-raiser when she was young. Then she had 11 children and 44 grandchildren to tell stories about. She was definitely NOT a dull person to be with. I sure loved that lady.
One summer when I was 7, whole family, minus 2 brothers, went on a trip "Out West". We loaded up a motor home, towing a pullout camper on the back, and we went from Buffalo, NY to Billings, Montana. My father had a cousin of some kind out there, so we went on a loooooong trip out there. There were 13 of us because my grandparents went along too. Being that I was only 7, I don't remember a whole lot. We almost always stopped at a KOA Campground that had a swimming pool. One night, it was near the Badlands in South Dakota, there was a huge thunderstorm and we couldn't stop where there was a pool, and I just couldn't understand why not. Well, being the hopeful child I was that Mother Nature would surely see I need to take a dip, I believed that once we found the one with the pool, the rain would stop and we could all go swim. Of course, I was a knucklehead for not realizing that that was no way going to be the case, and we went to a place without a pool. Funny thing is, I don't remember anything else about that night.
I do remember, most of our trip was a lot of flat plains with nothing to look at. We listened to George Jones and Dolly Parton a lot on the old 8 Tracks. There was other country music too, but those are the ones that stick out in my mind that always make me think of our trip "Out West". There were things that were easy to remember, like this huge game reserve park with bears all over that we drove through. Those are the places that have the signs that tell stupid people who don't have enough brains in their heads to NOT FEED THE BEARS. Yes, some other knuckleheads would always come in thinking that these were the real Yogi Bears and they would just steal your pickanick baskets and run. Let's see....does your pickanick basket include your arm? Maybe just a hand? How anyone could be so stupid as to ignore warnings, I just don't know. But there were plenty of stories that told of how someone would be that stupid.
Probably the most beautiful memory of that trip was the morning we reached the top of a mountain somewhere in the Rockies, and you could smell the flowers and hear the water running off the snow cap that was still there on the mountain tops regardless of the fact that we were WELL into summer. There was a beautiful lake and it was just so serene. In fact, when I hear or read the word serene, that is the picture that comes to mind for me.
It was a bit scary though. We had this big motor home and looking out the windows, everything was straight down. As we wound our way up and around mountain roads, there was a shear drop on the one side all the way up and all the way down. I recall being scared half to death that we were going to slide off the side of the mountain. My grandfather HAD to sit in the front seat next to the window all the way there and back, and when we were going on those snaking mountain roads, you could see the terror on his face. It is a wonder he didn't have a heart attack on that trip. He was going through nitro like they were Tic Tacs.
The lucky ones to get to sleep in the pull out camper were my grandparents and 3 of my siblings. One night, all the rest of us were in bed in the camper (or on the floor in sleeping bags as it were for some), and we heard all kinds of noise coming from the camper. We had all assumed it was Grandpa telling stories again went to sleep. The next morning, we found out it wasn't the laughter of Grandpa's storytelling. Every night the camper had to be hooked back onto the motor home for stability. We had probably unhooked it to service the motor home or go to a restaurant or something, but it didn't get hooked up again. My grandparents outweighed my siblings by enough that it had tipped up and my siblings rolled over onto our grandparents and they were screaming and laughing and couldn't get themselves righted. Grandpa was really in need of his pills then! The next morning they found Grandma's teeth in someone's shoe and Grandpa finally did find his pills somewhere in the mess. I am certain that no one forgot to hook up the camper after that.
There was one place that had a fishing pond. It was a fun for us kids, it was almost guaranteed that you would catch something it was so stocked. When we ran out of bait and Mom and Dad said no to getting more, we started throwing Cheetos to the fish. BOY, did they love those!! We should have used that for bait, but we already turned in our rods for the day. So, it was just about as much fun watching them go after the Cheetos as it was catching them, and not nearly as messy. Then the owner/manager/whoever was in charge came out and yelled at us and talked to our parents so we couldn't do that any more. They were mad because our feeding the fish the Cheetos was making them too full and they wouldn't bite for anyone else. I think we all spent the rest of the day plotting our revenge for them having spoiled our fun.
There was stop we made along a river where there was a public beach and 'watering hole'. We got to go in swimming and it was a nice way to cool off in the hot summer sun. There were a lot of local kids there. There was a group of teenagers off in a spot down the river a little, and they had some inner tubes to float on. One girl went floating out into a spot that had a hard current and was a bit deeper than the rest. A smart aleck boy went and pulled the tube out from under her and she started flailing because she couldn't swim. A bunch of her friends came to her rescue while that boy dragged the tube up the beach. My grandmother was just livid. She got up and went over to that boy and was determined she was going to take that tube away from him after that stupid stunt, and she did. He even tried taking it back and dragged her down the beach a little, but she did not give in. I think he learned a lesson about how stubborn and strong some grandmothers are. It was a funny sight to see though as a little kid, your grandmother with her arms wrapped around an inner tube and a teenage boy pulling like they were in a game of tug-of-war.
So, as I spend my days building chicken houses and pens, and cleaning up the yard and cleaning out our closets and picking up clutter inside and out, along with running kids to and from their things they have going on, I think about how it would be so nice to get away. I think about how nice it will be if we can go on a trip that will give my children stories to tell about the trip they took with their family and the things they remember. In all the things that I have always thought my parents didn't do right, that was one that they did do that I will always be glad for, the trips we took. Not all the trips were the best time ever, I can't say as any of them were that great, but I have memories of things that will be with me my whole life. Some make me laugh still, 38-years later. That is what I hope we don't put off until it is too late.
CC
Okay, I am awake now. Must have been dreaming again.
I do look forward to hubby and I taking the kids and going to do something fun away from all that we have going on here, while the kids are still kids. It has seemed like we would still have so much time, but it has flown passed so quickly, and before we know it, Eldest is going to be done with high school and off to college.
Today was spent first running Middle to the chiropractor to get his back adjusted and get my spine in line too. I wish he lived next door so I didn't have to spend 2-hours running to get that done every time, which is 2-3 times a week now since Middle hurt himself during soccer season. Then I got back to work on the chicken house (outdoor runs) some more. I was sure we would get them all up and ready to put wire on before it got too dark, but Daughter had dance and Eldest had work and Hubby had to take them while I kept plugging away. Then Middle needed help carrying rabbit cages that he was cleaning and I just ran out of daylight for getting the frame done. Now tomorrow is supposed to be rainy turning to snow and then we are supposed to get 4-6 inches of the white stuff tomorrow night.
How pleasant.
Middle is just chomping at the bit to go snowboarding, so he is yelling "Bring on the snow!" While I am saying, "Can we just skip winter this year? Please?" We have been quite lucky so far though, this fall has been warm and dry and good for getting projects worked on out there when I do have the time away from the family/parental obligations.
When I was a kid, we always had a trip that Mom and Dad took us on in the summer and we ALWAYS went to Florida for 2-weeks. My grandparents had a house down there and my dad hated being up north all winter. So, when I was 2, we started going to Florida every year in February for 2-weeks. The last time I made that trip with my parents, I think I was 13 or 14. After that, I got to stay home and do chores with my older siblings. I was glad then that I didn't have to go. I liked going to Florida, but who wants to go with their parents to a small town that wasn't close to anything to spend 2-weeks? I did enjoy my grandmother's company though. We sat almost every night playing cards and laughing about some stupid things, listening to stories of mischief and mayhem. My Gram was quite the hell-raiser when she was young. Then she had 11 children and 44 grandchildren to tell stories about. She was definitely NOT a dull person to be with. I sure loved that lady.
One summer when I was 7, whole family, minus 2 brothers, went on a trip "Out West". We loaded up a motor home, towing a pullout camper on the back, and we went from Buffalo, NY to Billings, Montana. My father had a cousin of some kind out there, so we went on a loooooong trip out there. There were 13 of us because my grandparents went along too. Being that I was only 7, I don't remember a whole lot. We almost always stopped at a KOA Campground that had a swimming pool. One night, it was near the Badlands in South Dakota, there was a huge thunderstorm and we couldn't stop where there was a pool, and I just couldn't understand why not. Well, being the hopeful child I was that Mother Nature would surely see I need to take a dip, I believed that once we found the one with the pool, the rain would stop and we could all go swim. Of course, I was a knucklehead for not realizing that that was no way going to be the case, and we went to a place without a pool. Funny thing is, I don't remember anything else about that night.
I do remember, most of our trip was a lot of flat plains with nothing to look at. We listened to George Jones and Dolly Parton a lot on the old 8 Tracks. There was other country music too, but those are the ones that stick out in my mind that always make me think of our trip "Out West". There were things that were easy to remember, like this huge game reserve park with bears all over that we drove through. Those are the places that have the signs that tell stupid people who don't have enough brains in their heads to NOT FEED THE BEARS. Yes, some other knuckleheads would always come in thinking that these were the real Yogi Bears and they would just steal your pickanick baskets and run. Let's see....does your pickanick basket include your arm? Maybe just a hand? How anyone could be so stupid as to ignore warnings, I just don't know. But there were plenty of stories that told of how someone would be that stupid.
Probably the most beautiful memory of that trip was the morning we reached the top of a mountain somewhere in the Rockies, and you could smell the flowers and hear the water running off the snow cap that was still there on the mountain tops regardless of the fact that we were WELL into summer. There was a beautiful lake and it was just so serene. In fact, when I hear or read the word serene, that is the picture that comes to mind for me.
It was a bit scary though. We had this big motor home and looking out the windows, everything was straight down. As we wound our way up and around mountain roads, there was a shear drop on the one side all the way up and all the way down. I recall being scared half to death that we were going to slide off the side of the mountain. My grandfather HAD to sit in the front seat next to the window all the way there and back, and when we were going on those snaking mountain roads, you could see the terror on his face. It is a wonder he didn't have a heart attack on that trip. He was going through nitro like they were Tic Tacs.
The lucky ones to get to sleep in the pull out camper were my grandparents and 3 of my siblings. One night, all the rest of us were in bed in the camper (or on the floor in sleeping bags as it were for some), and we heard all kinds of noise coming from the camper. We had all assumed it was Grandpa telling stories again went to sleep. The next morning, we found out it wasn't the laughter of Grandpa's storytelling. Every night the camper had to be hooked back onto the motor home for stability. We had probably unhooked it to service the motor home or go to a restaurant or something, but it didn't get hooked up again. My grandparents outweighed my siblings by enough that it had tipped up and my siblings rolled over onto our grandparents and they were screaming and laughing and couldn't get themselves righted. Grandpa was really in need of his pills then! The next morning they found Grandma's teeth in someone's shoe and Grandpa finally did find his pills somewhere in the mess. I am certain that no one forgot to hook up the camper after that.
There was one place that had a fishing pond. It was a fun for us kids, it was almost guaranteed that you would catch something it was so stocked. When we ran out of bait and Mom and Dad said no to getting more, we started throwing Cheetos to the fish. BOY, did they love those!! We should have used that for bait, but we already turned in our rods for the day. So, it was just about as much fun watching them go after the Cheetos as it was catching them, and not nearly as messy. Then the owner/manager/whoever was in charge came out and yelled at us and talked to our parents so we couldn't do that any more. They were mad because our feeding the fish the Cheetos was making them too full and they wouldn't bite for anyone else. I think we all spent the rest of the day plotting our revenge for them having spoiled our fun.
There was stop we made along a river where there was a public beach and 'watering hole'. We got to go in swimming and it was a nice way to cool off in the hot summer sun. There were a lot of local kids there. There was a group of teenagers off in a spot down the river a little, and they had some inner tubes to float on. One girl went floating out into a spot that had a hard current and was a bit deeper than the rest. A smart aleck boy went and pulled the tube out from under her and she started flailing because she couldn't swim. A bunch of her friends came to her rescue while that boy dragged the tube up the beach. My grandmother was just livid. She got up and went over to that boy and was determined she was going to take that tube away from him after that stupid stunt, and she did. He even tried taking it back and dragged her down the beach a little, but she did not give in. I think he learned a lesson about how stubborn and strong some grandmothers are. It was a funny sight to see though as a little kid, your grandmother with her arms wrapped around an inner tube and a teenage boy pulling like they were in a game of tug-of-war.
So, as I spend my days building chicken houses and pens, and cleaning up the yard and cleaning out our closets and picking up clutter inside and out, along with running kids to and from their things they have going on, I think about how it would be so nice to get away. I think about how nice it will be if we can go on a trip that will give my children stories to tell about the trip they took with their family and the things they remember. In all the things that I have always thought my parents didn't do right, that was one that they did do that I will always be glad for, the trips we took. Not all the trips were the best time ever, I can't say as any of them were that great, but I have memories of things that will be with me my whole life. Some make me laugh still, 38-years later. That is what I hope we don't put off until it is too late.
CC
Friday, November 4, 2011
Heartbeat
Tonight I was watching Grey's Anatomy with my kids. We don't get regular/cable/dish television, but we do stream from Netflix, so it wasn't the most current episode. That doesn't matter though. The story included one of the cast being pregnant and being freaked out that she was going to lose the pregnancy. So, the 'doctor' on the case rolls in this 'special' ultrasound unit to find the heartbeat of the baby/fetus/whatever you want to call it at 8 weeks. They hear the heartbeat and everyone is teary eyed. When I say everyone, I mean me too. Yeah, sappy, I know. But it wasn't that the characters on the show had brought this on. No, it became a wonderful memory awakener for me. When I was pregnant with Eldest, we were getting ready to move and I was all nervous - typical first time mommy jitters. I went in for my first ob/gyn visit, and just for fun they put on an ultrasound. I was 10-weeks. At this point in the pregnancy, the baby-to-be looks similar to a kidney bean, but Eldest was a kidney bean with a heartbeat. It was a little thing and barely visible, but it was a heartbeat that fluttered very quickly compared to the heart of an adult. At that point, if it hadn't been real to me yet, it became very real right then. It is an amazing feeling that I think only a first time parent can really understand - that first moment when the realization of a little baby inside of you becomes very, very real.
Now, 16 years later, I think back to that day, that moment like it was just last week. So much has happened since then. He has grown into a young man, not quite an adult, but right on the edge of being one. He is a royal pain in the rear sometimes, but overall, I couldn't be more proud of the young man I have raised with my husband. A friend told me today that her son who has Downs' Syndrome comes home from school every day and talks about my son and just thinks the world of him. They have choir together every day, so there is daily contact. It made me feel very good to hear her say that. He is an Honors student and in the top 10 in his class. He has had a job since he turned 14, starting as a volunteer and working into a paid position. He is well-liked by most every teacher/staff person in the school, adults in our County 4-H too. What is there to not be proud of? And to think, it all started as a little fluttering heartbeat. I look forward to watching him grow more and become a wonderful man, because that is what I know he will be. Just don't tell him I told all of you so ; )
CC
Now, 16 years later, I think back to that day, that moment like it was just last week. So much has happened since then. He has grown into a young man, not quite an adult, but right on the edge of being one. He is a royal pain in the rear sometimes, but overall, I couldn't be more proud of the young man I have raised with my husband. A friend told me today that her son who has Downs' Syndrome comes home from school every day and talks about my son and just thinks the world of him. They have choir together every day, so there is daily contact. It made me feel very good to hear her say that. He is an Honors student and in the top 10 in his class. He has had a job since he turned 14, starting as a volunteer and working into a paid position. He is well-liked by most every teacher/staff person in the school, adults in our County 4-H too. What is there to not be proud of? And to think, it all started as a little fluttering heartbeat. I look forward to watching him grow more and become a wonderful man, because that is what I know he will be. Just don't tell him I told all of you so ; )
CC
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
The Quiet
I love nighttime the best. I always have for various reasons in my life. When I was a kid, it was the time the house was quiet and everyone in their bedrooms. In a family with 11 kids, that is saying something. Then again, I never had my own room until I was about 12 or 13. I do remember the only sounds after about 9:00 were the creaking of the boards in the hall when someone was going to the bathroom. You would have thought there would have been a line, like they used to show on TV shows like the Brady Bunch, but no, it was more like someone in need of using the bathroom would bang on the door and yell, "Hurry up!" That was about the extent of that.
Then when I was a teenager, I like the night when I could be in my room, listen to my own brand of music and read or do homework. It was MY place.
When I became a young adult, it was about going out and having fun, followed by going to bed late with ringing in my ears from the night of loud musice, then by getting up much too early and wishing I hadn't stayed out so late the night before.
When we were newlyweds, it was our time (if we were both off work) to watch a movie or television and eat popcorn and split a Coke while lounging on the sofa.
When the kids were little and went to bed all at the same time (8:00), I would pay bills and balance the checkbook, clean up from the day, run the vacuum (since children sleep through white noise once they are asleep, or at least mine did), fold the day's laundry, then read a bit before going to bed. Occasionally, I would do a project then, like lay new tile or the like, but it was a nice quiet when I knew they were in bed and asleep after mommy sang a little and gave everyone their smooch for the night.
Now, it seems they never go to bed. Each has a separate bed time, so that is a little crazy, but you can't expect a 15 year old to have to go to bed at the same time as his 9-year old sister. The ME time has been shortened significantly, and by the time all is quiet, I don't feel much like doing laundry and dishes and vacuuming (which now wakes the beasts rather than soothing them to sleep). So, it is time when I check out what my friends are doing, via Facebook. I look at what is new on Craigslist. I check out what is on BYC, if there are any good auctions ( not that I am hatching at this time) and to see if there is something new I can learn and apply to my flock. Sometimes it is just fun to see what people need and if I can lend any helpful tidbits. There is always the game of "What breed am I" or "Am I a boy or a girl" that people are stumped by, but that is a game that is getting old.
Nighttime is when my brain gets creative and I draw/design new chicken coops or gardens or what I want my new house to look like. I come up with 101 ideas for our 4-H club to try. I practice piano a little too, even though I stopped lessons 6-months ago. I do enjoy actually making music and seeing how much more used to the keys my hands have gotten. I will never even dream that I could be a concert pianist, it just isn't in the cards, but I like the music I am able to play.
My husband has never bought into the thought that people are morning people or night owls. Can you guess? He, of course, is a morning person. He wakes up on the weekends a picks up a book and reads for an hour. If I even thought about reading when I woke up, I would just fall right back to sleep. Then again, I don't have to think about reading to fall back asleep, I just close my eyes and viola! I'm asleep. He doesn't get it. If he is woken up after having fallen asleep, he lays awake for hours. Me, I crash again, real quick. It makes him mad too that I can do that. However, last night Daughter came in at 1:00am. She could not sleep. Some kids at school were telling her some stupid story about "Bloody Mary" and if you look in the mirror at night when all is dark and the doors and windows are locked, she will come to get you through your mirror. Gee, let's see, Halloween is next week. I asked her if she didn't think it a little coincidental that she is hearing stories like this at this time of year? Mind you, she is a pretty smart cookie, top of her class, but this thing has got her in a mess. She woke me up to tell me she can't sleep and she is scared and so on and so forth. I, of course, being the sweet mommy I am, told her she could sleep with me since daddy was gone overnight for work. Well, 30 minutes after coming in, she is over there sawing logs and I am wide awake and cannot sleep. What the heck??? I can almost always sleep anytime, anywhere. Nope, I was up for 4 hours!!! Yeah, nighttime is usually a great time for me, but there are exceptions.
CC
Then when I was a teenager, I like the night when I could be in my room, listen to my own brand of music and read or do homework. It was MY place.
When I became a young adult, it was about going out and having fun, followed by going to bed late with ringing in my ears from the night of loud musice, then by getting up much too early and wishing I hadn't stayed out so late the night before.
When we were newlyweds, it was our time (if we were both off work) to watch a movie or television and eat popcorn and split a Coke while lounging on the sofa.
When the kids were little and went to bed all at the same time (8:00), I would pay bills and balance the checkbook, clean up from the day, run the vacuum (since children sleep through white noise once they are asleep, or at least mine did), fold the day's laundry, then read a bit before going to bed. Occasionally, I would do a project then, like lay new tile or the like, but it was a nice quiet when I knew they were in bed and asleep after mommy sang a little and gave everyone their smooch for the night.
Now, it seems they never go to bed. Each has a separate bed time, so that is a little crazy, but you can't expect a 15 year old to have to go to bed at the same time as his 9-year old sister. The ME time has been shortened significantly, and by the time all is quiet, I don't feel much like doing laundry and dishes and vacuuming (which now wakes the beasts rather than soothing them to sleep). So, it is time when I check out what my friends are doing, via Facebook. I look at what is new on Craigslist. I check out what is on BYC, if there are any good auctions ( not that I am hatching at this time) and to see if there is something new I can learn and apply to my flock. Sometimes it is just fun to see what people need and if I can lend any helpful tidbits. There is always the game of "What breed am I" or "Am I a boy or a girl" that people are stumped by, but that is a game that is getting old.
Nighttime is when my brain gets creative and I draw/design new chicken coops or gardens or what I want my new house to look like. I come up with 101 ideas for our 4-H club to try. I practice piano a little too, even though I stopped lessons 6-months ago. I do enjoy actually making music and seeing how much more used to the keys my hands have gotten. I will never even dream that I could be a concert pianist, it just isn't in the cards, but I like the music I am able to play.
My husband has never bought into the thought that people are morning people or night owls. Can you guess? He, of course, is a morning person. He wakes up on the weekends a picks up a book and reads for an hour. If I even thought about reading when I woke up, I would just fall right back to sleep. Then again, I don't have to think about reading to fall back asleep, I just close my eyes and viola! I'm asleep. He doesn't get it. If he is woken up after having fallen asleep, he lays awake for hours. Me, I crash again, real quick. It makes him mad too that I can do that. However, last night Daughter came in at 1:00am. She could not sleep. Some kids at school were telling her some stupid story about "Bloody Mary" and if you look in the mirror at night when all is dark and the doors and windows are locked, she will come to get you through your mirror. Gee, let's see, Halloween is next week. I asked her if she didn't think it a little coincidental that she is hearing stories like this at this time of year? Mind you, she is a pretty smart cookie, top of her class, but this thing has got her in a mess. She woke me up to tell me she can't sleep and she is scared and so on and so forth. I, of course, being the sweet mommy I am, told her she could sleep with me since daddy was gone overnight for work. Well, 30 minutes after coming in, she is over there sawing logs and I am wide awake and cannot sleep. What the heck??? I can almost always sleep anytime, anywhere. Nope, I was up for 4 hours!!! Yeah, nighttime is usually a great time for me, but there are exceptions.
CC
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Running Short
Short of...
Daylight. There is no longer long, leisurely days of enjoying the sun and green of summer. The days are getting short, the nights are cold and the leaves are nearly all on the ground. That doesn't change anything about the amount of work that still needs to get done. It actually increases it. Now, on top of all the regular chores, there is the fall clean-up and preparing for winter to do.
Two days ago Husband started the annual "Planting of the Garlic". Actually, last year the "annual" part was interrupted and we had to buy new seed stock this year. My father-in-law had cancer and passed away at the time we should have been planting. It was more sad to lose him, of course, but not having our 8-years' work of seed stock gone was very sad too. Life is unpredictable that way though. But the garlic is nearly done, and then he can get back out to help me finish my chicken house and get the birds in so they can be warm and cozy again. Okay, so maybe they won't be that cozy since it has 4 big windows that will remain open all winter. They will be healthier for it though, I am certain.
The garden did not get the attention needed to produce a harvest. In other words, I grew a great weed patch this summer. My chickens and ducks are really enjoying the 5-foot tall grass that has grown up all over in there. I sent Middle in today to collect all the supports and cages I put in when I planted last spring. I sure hope next year is better. It couldn't get any worse. I will say though, Sunflowers did wonderfully this year. That is probably because they grew anywhere from 7 to 12-feet tall and were way above the weeds.
Daughter is pressing us to have our traditional leaf ride for her. Every year except last year since we have lived here, we have collect leaves on a huge tarp and pulled the kids around on it with the lawn tractor. The boys have outgrown it, but Daughter is still trying to hold onto those things we have done with them as little kids. The tough things about doing this leaf ride is that 1.) they are Silver Maples, so the leaves, if we use the mower, just disintegrate; and 2.) the wind has already blown most of the leaves away. Let's not forget to mention the 70 asparagus plants and the 2 huge raised beds of garlic that now take up half the front lawn that used to be where we pulled the leaf tarp. Just one more thing for her to be disappointed about. It makes me feel bad, but at the same time. there has been a lot going on in the way of work and projects this year.
As much as I want to keep rambling, I will have to pick up with a second part next time. The day has ended for me, and still I could fill the night with work as well, but that just wouldn't be a good thing.
CC
Daylight. There is no longer long, leisurely days of enjoying the sun and green of summer. The days are getting short, the nights are cold and the leaves are nearly all on the ground. That doesn't change anything about the amount of work that still needs to get done. It actually increases it. Now, on top of all the regular chores, there is the fall clean-up and preparing for winter to do.
Two days ago Husband started the annual "Planting of the Garlic". Actually, last year the "annual" part was interrupted and we had to buy new seed stock this year. My father-in-law had cancer and passed away at the time we should have been planting. It was more sad to lose him, of course, but not having our 8-years' work of seed stock gone was very sad too. Life is unpredictable that way though. But the garlic is nearly done, and then he can get back out to help me finish my chicken house and get the birds in so they can be warm and cozy again. Okay, so maybe they won't be that cozy since it has 4 big windows that will remain open all winter. They will be healthier for it though, I am certain.
The garden did not get the attention needed to produce a harvest. In other words, I grew a great weed patch this summer. My chickens and ducks are really enjoying the 5-foot tall grass that has grown up all over in there. I sent Middle in today to collect all the supports and cages I put in when I planted last spring. I sure hope next year is better. It couldn't get any worse. I will say though, Sunflowers did wonderfully this year. That is probably because they grew anywhere from 7 to 12-feet tall and were way above the weeds.
Daughter is pressing us to have our traditional leaf ride for her. Every year except last year since we have lived here, we have collect leaves on a huge tarp and pulled the kids around on it with the lawn tractor. The boys have outgrown it, but Daughter is still trying to hold onto those things we have done with them as little kids. The tough things about doing this leaf ride is that 1.) they are Silver Maples, so the leaves, if we use the mower, just disintegrate; and 2.) the wind has already blown most of the leaves away. Let's not forget to mention the 70 asparagus plants and the 2 huge raised beds of garlic that now take up half the front lawn that used to be where we pulled the leaf tarp. Just one more thing for her to be disappointed about. It makes me feel bad, but at the same time. there has been a lot going on in the way of work and projects this year.
As much as I want to keep rambling, I will have to pick up with a second part next time. The day has ended for me, and still I could fill the night with work as well, but that just wouldn't be a good thing.
CC
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