Catching Up

Well, it looks like I haven't posted anything in a long time! It seems that if we are busy with activities, then there is no time to post. Conversely, if I have time to update the blog, it is likely because there is not much going on!

I just looked back at the last two posts and it seems the photos have disappeared. I don't know why or where they are now. And I am less enamored with this blog venue as I am rarely able to upload photos from my phone and the video links don't seem to come through. So, that said, I apologize for any technical difficulties and will try to capture our doings with descriptive words in the case that the photos are absent.

Let's catch up on March since I seemed to have dodged that month entirely. March was spent, for Valerie, showing sheep (as usual). This year she is working on market sheep (as opposed to the wool sheep she had been showing). It's a whole new game, I tell you! It's like a Miss Universe Pageant for sheep. None of these critters are on a "normal" diet. There are all kinds of supplements and constant weigh-ins, shearings, special clothing and conditioners and techniques. The sheep don't seem to mind it much. But these things are a far cry from the cute wooly things we see grazing in the fields. 

Here is Valerie prepping Stumpi for a show.

And here she is showing him. She is lucky to have an amazing mentor who takes her around to all the shows and gives her lots of experience. Our friend, Carol, who runs a real farm is Valerie's former 4-H leader and now her "handler". Valerie gets all kinds of experience out at Carol's farm. She's like a young Dr. Pol.

A couple of weeks ago when I dropped her off at the farm they were driving cattle and vaccinating calves. Carol's kids were on horseback taking the cattle down the road. These kids are in 7th and 8th grade and have such incredible daily experiences. Now THIS is homeschooling!

Valerie spent the day vaccinating them. Big fun! Love this type of "school day". 

Michael had a job in Phoenix not far from Scott & Dawn's home so we dropped in for a quick 24 hour visit. They are delightful hosts. Here is our night out. It was gorgeous and we dined on the patio. And, mind you, we are happier than we look. It's just that we are over 40 now and the sun has set. In another 20 years we will be meeting for the "early bird special"!

The following week we went for a family spring break vacation. We only have those high school students a few more years. So, we have to squeeze these adventures in while we can. These kids are such great travelers.

April came round and I was reminded that this was my 48th trip around the Sun. Susan and John and Alan came over for dinner and provided many gorgeous flowers for the garden. Thank you! Now I look out at the amazing colors planted with my veggies and herbs. And I have spruced up a lackluster area with lilacs that I hope will bloom again next Spring.

Michael and I spent some time amending the soil in the garden again. We now have potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, chard, basil, cilantro, lettuce, cucumber, summer squash, cucumbers and loads of sweet potato slips in there. Also a gopher. So, we'll see how this plays out. Thanks again for the marigolds!  It is my hope they will repel some pests. Also I love their look and scent.

Did I also mention the artichokes? Mmmm! We are going to have to eat them all up this week as they are going to be beautiful flowers soon if we don't. Yardychokes!!!

Let's see, in other news Amira went camping with the Girl Scouts ... AT THE MALL! I'm going to comment that there were no badges for orienteering or building fires. There was dancing, shopping, hair braiding, candy eating and crafts and not a whole lot of sleeping. Well, I slept. I can sleep anywhere. I slept out front of Aeropostal with the troop. I fell asleep by 11pm and left the other mom, who is a night shift nurse, to be in charge. I might have narcolepsy which, in this case, is a blessing. Now, I cannot claim to be well rested as they kicked us out at 7am. But I was better rested than most. Here is a photo of Amira and some friends at their "camp site".

Rex continues with his paintball activities. He's really into it. And his team will be traveling again next month to Las Vegas for another tournament. Michael, coincidentally, has a job there at the same time. So I am hopeful that he can get some action photos. When he is not paintballing, he is at school or sending me texts of funny things he found on the internet. He's also been keeping up with the lawn mowing around here and is extremely handy with the tools if you need anything fixed, assembled or disassembled. He's a chip off the old block. Michael's block, that is. 

We also couldn't help ourselves on the poultry front. We don't presently have a rooster and Michael (the best darn chicken farmer in Chico) has been thinking about setting up the operation so that we don't have to order chicks from a hatchery in the future. We bought a dozen fertile eggs from a local place set them to hatch out on 15 April. (Can we use these to pay our taxes?)

We had a good hatch. We got 9 chicks out of the batch. One of them needed help out of the shell in the end. I was too traumatized by my memory of doing that a few years back. So, Valerie (resident Ellie May Animal Wrangler) volunteered to do it. And she did it successfully.

One night Michael and I were out to dinner and the kids were at home with the critters and I got a text that said "another chick just hatched out of the white egg" and the below photo.

Man, they look like they are not going to survive when they first come out!  But they are tough little critters. Here is a blury photo of most of them now at just under a week old. We have 4 blackish ones, 3 brownish ones and 2 yellowish ones. They are living in an old bunny cage under a light in Valerie's room.

In addition to these critters, we have 25 baby chicks and 4 turkey poults under the heat lamp in the garage. (They take up a lot of realestate). I wish had taken some photos of them all out in the "chicken tractor" yesterday as they frolicked in the sun and chased bugs and grass. It's too chilly for them to go outside today. But as they get older, they get more field trips into the yard until they ultimately move out there. 

Well, that's all the news from Tifftown for now. Catch you up in May (I hope!)