Look What's Arrived!

She did it!

Remember this hen?





Well looky here:


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I'm waiting to see if more hatch, 'cause for now she is still setting.

I'll let you know.

Tomorrow I'll go buy some chick start, and while I'm there I'll put an ad on their board about having bantam chicks for sale.

My garden is growing well! There are tomatoes coming on, the strawberries are still producing, my beans and cucumbers are growing like mad, and my zucchinis and cantaloupe are flowering. While I was at Lavender Days I picked up a lavender plant, so today I planted it with my other herbs and found that my chamomile and sage are flowering too. At Lavender Days, there were fields full of chamomile, and I loved how they looked like itty-bitty daisies. As we rounded the corner there was a strong smell of honey, which come to find out was the chamomile!

Hope your day is hatching out some good things for you, too!

What a day!

Today was a good day. It was also a day that has worn me out. (This sounds reminiscent of Dickens "It was the best of days, it was the worst of days." No, it wasn't bad at all. Just tiring. In a good way.)

It went something like this: I woke up and took care of the animals (my son, the animal care taker is camping), weeded and watered the garden (all before 8 a.m., thank you very much!), sewed my 11 yod a pair of capris (that come to find out are too big and we'll have to put them up for next year and sew a smaller size for this year), took the kids to Young Living Farm's Lavender Days, weeded the flower garden, and mowed the lawn. I feel sooo worn out, but so great.



Young Living Farm's Lavender Days was fantastic, btw! The kids loved it! There was pony rides for younger kids, a rock climbing wall that had to be 20 feet high, an inflatable slide, wagon rides/tours around the farm, paddle boats, tours of the herbal distillery, goats and ponies to pet, human powered rides for all ages in the medieval section of the farm, live music, and lots of fun craft and food stands (complete with lavender lemonade and lavender ice cream!). Throughout the day there were classes covering many different topics.

Here are the parasols I bought for my dd and myself:



They are fabric with hand painted Japanese cherry blossoms and birds, the handle appears to be bamboo. The big one was only $6 and the small one $4. What a bargain!

I also bought my two boys a souvenir. For Michael I bought a sword:



It is made with PVC pipe with rounded caps on the bottom and top and covered in a foam material (the same material a lot of swimming toys are made of.)

And for Matt I bought a bow and arrows:



It is made with PVC pipe with rounded caps on the ends and the arrows are dowels with foam tips (the same kind of heavy duty foam as the sword.) Both were only $4 apiece!


We were only there for 3 hours (yes *only* three hours, there was much to do that we didn't have time for!), but they said that with our wristband, admission for Saturday was free! Maybe we'll go back! If I do, I hope to take my dh and stay for the professional jousting at 7:00 p.m.

If you ever have the opportunity to go, I highly recommend it!

Pioneer Children

My older two kids are going to Martin's Cove soon, so we have been getting their clothes put together.

My daughter really hates not being able to dress like herself. It bugs her to wear her bonnet (here is a link to make one yourself at Mother Earth News), and though I tell her that she should button her top button, she won't. But...she looks very cute! So here is my Pioneer Daughter:





Pretty authentic expression even, huh?

Here, I'll change it to be more like how it would have been long ago...



There you go.

I'll post the pics of my son in a bit...so check back!

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Ok, Here he is folks! Here is my Pioneer son.....JARED!



And here he is posing for "American Gothic":



And how he *would* have looked, had he have lived 100 years ago:



So which of my children do you think looks more like "American Gothic"? Jared:



Or Josh:


But Josh is no longer my contemporary American Gothic. Goth, is like, so last year for him! So here is a pic of the new and more mature Josh:



I remember being a teen and changing my style a lot too. I went from long hair to very short hair and back. I've had straight hair and perms. I alternated throughout high school from jeans and t-shirts to slacks and blouses. Change was fun and good. As I have gotten older I find I'm stuck in a rut. I think I've had the same hairstyle and clothes style for the last 5 years! Maybe it is time for a change! American Gothic, anyone?? Just kidding. I look terrible in black. And I'm allergic to metal, so piercings are out. And I hate pain, so no tats. I'll think of something...

I hope that you all have a wonderful day!

Moon/Cloud Poem

I know I already posted today, (if you haven't read it, be sure and read "Baby Pictures" too!) but I have written a poem to go with my night sky picture, and I was too excited about how it turned out to wait to post it tomorrow.



Ok, that is the last that you'll hear from me today; I promise!

Hope the cat-nappin' is going well! :-)

Baby Pictures

I took these pictures last summer. These are my three now full-grown cat's baby pictures. Aren't they precious?!

I still want to put this one on some doggy outfits at CafePress with the caption, "Dinner is Served":



And this one totally expresses my feelings on the day:



Sometimes I truly wish I was a cat!

I wish you all a cat-nappin' day!

LunaPic

This isn't really a harvest moon, but you won't tell will you? I took this pic of the moon last week. I've played around with it a bit and added the poem as a finishing touch.

I hope that you are enjoying the stars and moon this summer too!

Hatching Eggs

I found hidden treasures in my backyard! Two of my hens have hidden themselves away to hatch a clutch of eggs.

One is setting in a 5 gallon bucket....



She has been setting now for nearly 3 weeks, which means that if the eggs are good they'll be hatching any time. She is a great mommy, puffing up her feathers and pecking anyone (mostly me) who tries to touch her eggs. She has stayed on these eggs through two massive rainstorms that has soaked her and her eggs. I wish her the best of luck.

The other has picked the lilac bush...



This hen has got the best situation of all. She has nestled down into the middle of the lilac bush, so she gets shaded from the sun and protected from the weather. I found her 2 weeks ago, so she may hatch her eggs at any moment or in a week, depending on how quickly I found her.

I will have to try to get to the babies before the cat does. She got the whole clutch as a meal last go round. She is the very best hunting cat I've ever had, and she teaches her kittens to hunt too, which means that I have bird feathers everywhere and an occassional mouse lying around too. The other day I walked outside to see two dead robins on the porch. She had killed them and brought them to her babies to play with and eat. May they learn well and kill all of the mice that come into our yard!

I hope you all have a happy day filled with sunshine and discovery of hidden treasures of your own!

Hurray!

Steve & Josh finished digging and cementing the fence posts! We miscalculated and need one more post, but other than that they are all done! On Saturday we will put up the mesh fencing and be finished! I am looking forward to the new freedom it will bring! Michael will be able to let himself outside to play, the dogs will be able to run outside all they want, and I won't have to escort any of them.

My garden is growing! My cucumber seeds are poking their heads out of the soil!



My Early Girl Tomato plant has a tomato on it, and so does my cherry tomato plant!


The strawberries taste wonderful!



The rest of the plants are growing and looking beautiful.



We have barbequed the last two nights for supper.

I love summertime!

Of Chickens and Men....

Having problems with a neighbor. I wrote out the whole sordid mess in a post, then deleted. I hate being a gossip. But I'll sum up all of my feelings with this comment:
I loved the animal rights laws in Arizona. Animals were allowed to free range. If you had a problem with other people's animals on your land you'd better build a fence. If you left your gate open and a herd of cows ate your fruit trees, so sorry, don't leave your gate open next time.

Ok, I can't leave it at that.
I try to be a good neighbor and pen up my animals. I give them a nice place to live, a roof over their head, and good food to eat. Sometimes though, a chicken or two with confinement issues get out. My neighbor is determined to believe that my chickens and I are out to get him. It is a ridiculous thought since every time I see the escape artists out I quickly put them back in their well fenced and maintained coop.

When he came over a couple of days ago to complain, I told him that I had all of the pieces and parts to put up a 6' chain link fence - minus 9 line posts (thank you Tom!) - between our properties. It didn't seem to make a difference to him. He didn't see the light at the end of the tunnel and offer to at least dig post holes, if he couldn't afford to pitch in any money for the posts. He just seemed content to complain. So yesterday as I was doing the dishes I thought of Arizona animal rights. Thank heavens that in some places people see that the one who has the problem should find a solution rather than whine.

Arizona, anyone??

There is Sunshine in My Soul Today

I'm sure by now you are all worried about my mental and emotional state. I am much better this week, thank you. The sun has come out and burned off all of the mist in the corners of my soul, and I am excited to resume planting in my garden.

I still need to plant my watermelon plants and green bean seeds. How I wish that I could have gotten those planted before all of that rain went away! But I tried, and that's what counts.

Amber is at girl's camp, and the rest of us are staying busy at home. Yesterday for family home evening we recycled! During the day I had been cleaning out a room filled with boxes left unpacked from 2 moves, and I discovered many clothes that my family has outgrown. So, we packed them up in bags and put them in the car to take to a second-hand store. We also cut open the cardboard boxes and put them in a recycle box too. Whew! Helping the environment is hard work, but well worth it.

I have started keeping a journal in a notebook that I use for church stuff. I have been writing in the notebook every Sunday during church. I also try to pay attention. Anyway, I have liked the reflection every week. I like to write down the little successes in addition to all of the goings on of the week. I found that it was an emotionally healing thing to do this past Sunday. I don't know about you, but sometimes in all of the day-to-day "stuff" that happens, I forget the little things that really make a difference in my life. By reflecting and writing about those things, it helps me to be grateful to the Lord and to my family and friends for all of the love, support, and help that they give to me. So I say Thank You to all of you for being there for me. :-)

I'm off. I need to visit the chiropractor today, plant the watermelon and green bean seeds, finish cleaning and organizing the room I started on yesterday; all of that in addition to straightening the house, doing the dishes, and cooking for, feeding, and raising my children.

I wish you all a soul brightening day!

Gloom, despair, and agony on me.....

Gloom, despair, and agony on me
Deep, dark depression, excessive misery
If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all
Gloom, despair, and agony on me

Do you remember this song from Hee Haw? It is the soundtrack for my day.

I have some bad news to share today.

Because it has been so cold and rainy, 5 of my chicks have died. The breeds that I lost especially makes me sad: three of my five cochins, one of my two light brahmas, and one that I didn't recognize because its feathers were too wet and clumped. I have put a brooding light out again for them. I thought they were past that stage, but all of the wet has made things so chilly, especially for babies.

And another thing: two of my outside cats have disappeared in the last month. And maybe a third, as I can't find Tiger today. Socks, my tom that we've had for 3 1/2 years, disappeared about a month ago. About a week ago, our 6 year old Jewel, the last survivor of our Kentucky cats, disappeared, leaving her three kittens. And hopefully Tiger, our cat that we've had for two years, is just roaming, but she has been staying close by the kittens since Jewel disappeared and didn't come when I called as I put out food this morning. My favorite cat, Bagherah disappeared about six months ago. It all makes me very sad.

I think the stormy skies have gotten to me. I need some sunny days to burn off the mists.

The sun is peeping from behind the clouds today. Maybe things will get better.

P.S. I just went ouside again to get Michael, and Tiger was on the porch eating some cat food. HURRAY! The day just got better!

How's it going with you all?

So how is summer vacation going at your house? Life is cRAzY here! You'd think having my teenagers home would mean that my house was running easier and maybe even a little quieter. Yeah right! It is noisier than ever, and the kitchen is a disaster. And can you believe that it is RAINING and COLD?! Come on! Can't the weather cut a girl some slack? If it was warm and sunny they'd be *outside* running and screaming instead of getting cabin fever inside. Rain, Rain, Go away!

Maybe we just need a schedule...or some Valium. At least just me.

I hope you are all having as much fun as I am, because misery loves company!