The Mahucahucan Quest

The trailer you've all been waiting for!! Thanks, Scott & Dawn.

The Lambs Who Loved Me

I love iMovie! Sadly, my iPad can only access my photos, not my videos. So, although not the vision I had, I think you might enjoy the following movie trailer.

Enjoy!

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Home Grown Goodness

If the kids pick these:







And these:




And make one of these:





And set up one of these:





They will totally pull in the coin. Amira, Ruby & Rex pulled down a sweet $8.50 each. And I got the benefit of getting my patch picked. I pulled out some of non-edible ones and sent them out to the chickens who, you would think, might be appreciative. But they don't care much for fruit. They are all about meat and carbs.

Anyhow, I got first pick of these ...






And this ...





So, I made one of these. Yum!





And my chokes send a special shout out to an uncle who just might be weeping somewhere in Minnesota.




We'll serve up a few this week in your honor.

April Days on the Farm

Someone put this poster up at the girls' school. I was in a hurry as I rushed by it the first time. The second time I grabbed a shot of it. I need to remember this!






And so I need to appreciate some of the beauty in the yard. Here are a mix of our herbs and annuals that are always ready to happily greet anyone coming up to the front door. We like to pick strawberries out of this patch too. I find that crushing the lemon balm on my fingers before picking and eating a strawberry makes it even more delicious.




Here go the girls walking the sheep. They'll be the best halter broken sheep at the shows this summer.






Forbes is still a lap lamb.





Our red ranger chicks and broad breasted bronze turkey poults are good buddies. Turkey in the straw!





These guys are pretty cool.




That Forbes! We had a sheep invasion in the house. Good thing he's still a lap lamb.






Michael has been working so hard on the sheep shack. It's been primed but not painted barn red with the white trim yet. The lambs have definitely been using it for shade on the sunny days and to stay dry on the rainy ones. (Yes! Finally we are getting some rain. We are very thankful!)





After a hard day of working, someone deserves a mojito on the patio.





Glancing back at the patio from the artichoke hedge. I think Valerie is enjoying the sun.





Work and play!

Okay, time to stop playing! Get back to work.

Garden o' Weedin'

Like most of you, I get up at five thirty and make the coffee first thing. You might be saying to yourself, "Now, there's a woman with her priorities straight!" Maybe you're not saying that. It's probably just one of the many voices in my own head. Then I feed and water the baby chicks and turkeys brooding in the garage, unload the dishwasher, maybe start some laundry, check in my work e-mail and then heat up bottles of milk for the 7am feeding of the lambs. By 7:30am I am on my school bus route and possibly going to the grocery store or Zumba class (depending on the day of the week).

When I come home, I check work mail again. Sometimes I'm trapped there for hours and I grab a shower just before I have to go out and play school bus again on the afternoon route. This week work gave me enough of a break that I could turn my attention to our garden of neglect instead of the phone and computer for a change.

While Michael has been slaving away in New York to support our hobbies and pay the mortgage, I decided it was time to reclaim the garden that had been overtaken, primarily by the ever present and invasive Bermuda grass. I pick axed my way through a number of what used to be rows. I then finally planted my Yukon gold spuds, sweet potatoes an anemic looking tomatoes and peppers that survived my attempt at growing from seed. Yay!! Survivors!!! Truly Darwinian gardening.

Here you see the line of defense with Bermuda grass in the foreground. In the back you can see my garlic, onions & shallots. I later had to delve deeper into the triple threat of Bermuda, bind weed and red ants. I did you a favor by not including a photo of my ankles after the ant attack. I have some skin left ... Not much.






I cheated and put some carrot starts from the nursery in the potato row so that people wouldn't assume it was unplanted and ripe for trampling.





Here are the alliums before the massive three day cultivation. I found volunteer carrots, marigolds and tomatoes amongst the nasties. I'm amazed at the little treasures that revealed themselves to me. Yay! We eat food from the yard in spite of my best efforts to kill the plants. I really can't take much credit.








Valerie & Amira have had their spring break this week while Rex has had to go to school. (He had his break last month ... We are doomed to be on conflicting vacation with every kid in Chico as long as I have the girls at Blue Oak). Valerie spent a couple of days with her friend Ruth (who also had the week off). Ruth graciously helped Valerie with the chores (taking the poultry babies out to the tractor, putting them back in the brooder, bottle feeding the lambs and walking them on leash ... Not to mention dishes and general clean up as well as egg collecting).

Here they are in front of my poppy hedge. Ruth has Bambi and Valerie has Forbes. Heel, Forbes! Heel, I say!










When the girls had enough forced labor, I mean, "holiday farm camp" they called Neni & John to rescue them. Those Bollingers provide a full service operation. Neni drove over to pick up three girls who promptly popped out in their swim gear. I continued pick axing weeds. I like to keep my chiropractor in business.

When I was tired of cranking about the Bermuda in the back, I turned my attention to the front. I need to weed, re-mulch and set up watering. In fact, I took time out at the end of the day to hand water each plant (and there are loads!!) Of course, at the end of the day we got a surprise thunder storm. My plants will be so grateful. Actually, I can hear the Bermuda snaking its tendrils back through the garden. Doh!

Here's looking out our living room window to the north toward the new sheep shack Michael is building. Little water droplets stick to the window before sliding down to quench my camellias and gardenias.

Turkey in the Straw

With all the lovely weather our little poultry flock takes daily field trips out to enjoy the sunshine, grass and bigs. These turkeys are surprisingly good foragers. I think their little chick buddies are good teachers.

Here's the whole batch out being busy.

Michael has really taken a shine to the sheep. He loves bottle feeding them and bringing them treats during the day. When he's not doing this, he's busy building a sheep shack.



We have been visited by loads of humming birds. This one perched above the sheep/chicken area while we were out with the varmints.



Last night Grampa Alligator brought some preserved animals over for dissection. The girls were all over it. What's that on the picnic table, caviar? No. Frog eggs and possibly the remains of a crawfish.





Fun, fun, fun!!

Evening at Rancho Wilhelm

What did you do Monday? I picked up Amira from guitar lessons, Valerie from orchestra, a friend near by, hit up a taco truck and then took the girls to their monthly 4-H Community meeting. When we came home, Michael & Rex had already fed the lambs and had the basketball game on.

I was going to have a seat and zone out when suddenly there was a turkey on the coffee table. Then a hamster dropped in. This was followed by a surprised looking chick and a photo session ensued.
















Of course the turkey pooped on the table and the hamster tasted it. Then, since turnabout is fair play, the turkey tried to eat the hamster poop.


In order to get these photos, a lot transpired. In fact, here's a behind the scenes video:

You're welcome.

Spring Chickens

Upon our return from the land of red rocks, our first order of business was to pick up Bambi & Forbes. They had gotten so big that I couldn't believe it. But still so cute and expectant for that bottle! Love those little waggly tails.



Amira went to her first poultry show with 4-H.



And this week we finally received our Red Rangers from the hatchery. These are not show chickens or a 4-H project. These are future dinners.

I received the call about 7am from the post office. We piled in the Swagger Wagon and hauled down to the loading dock at the back of the post office by 7:30am. A box of peeps was promptly handed over. That's right, teaching the kids how to pick up chicks.

After I dropped all the kids off at school I swung by the feed store for an impulse purchase. It has been two years since we kept turkeys. So the utter annoyance of keeping them was sort of a distant memory. I guess it's sort of like forgetting the pain of child birth. We just remembered the entertaining parts. I suppose that's the royal "we".

"I say, Sir! I'll have 5 of your hardiest broad breasted bronze!"

"You gotta watch those turkey poults. They'll look fine one minute then be dead on the bottom of the cage the next."

"Yessir. That's why I'm taking FIVE. Of your HARDIEST. Put that skinny one back and grab that big bruiser, please."

This afternoon when the kids got home from school they ran to the box in the garage to hold the chicks.

"Hey, why do some have spots?"

"Yeah! Why are some ugly?"

"Oh no! These aren't TURKEYS???"

Well, perhaps I was the only one who forgot the turkey peril. I of have a rather selective memory. It's what allows me to ... get through each day.

Below is a short video of the brooder box. Notice how the chicks are eating and drinking and chirping. Notice the poor dazed and confused things amongst them. Yup. Turkeys!

Double Rainbow

We have had some crazy weather out here lately. We are so happy to have received some rain! And with some of these showers come beautiful rainbows. Michael photographed this one from our back yard Monday night.