Mama Hen is still setting on her nest on Day #6. We keep finding a couple of new eggs there every day when some other hen sneaks in and lays a fresh egg while Mama is out on a coffee break. Thank goodness that I numbered them so that we can tell the old from the new!
I snuck out tonight with my flashlight on dim and discovered that Mama was only sitting on 10 eggs, instead of the original 13. Hmmm. A quick peak into the coop revealed #6 and #4 abandoned on the floor. Does this mean they are bad eggs, or were they accidentally knocked out in a fight over nest ownership? One has mysteriously disappeared.
I brought them in and candled them in my dark closet with an LED flashlight, and did not see anything that even resembled veins. We are going to take precautions and dispose of them deep in the woods, so that we don't accidentally have a Templeton sort of mishap with a rotten egg later on.
15 days to go until we learn whether Mama Hen will have some peeps this summer, stay tuned!
Friday, May 17, 2013
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
April Showers Bring May Flowers
After dinner this evening, in the dimming light, I planted my Mother's Day gift of flowers in the flower bed. The girls sat on the porch swing, chatting. The dogs cavorted on the lawn. It was a summer-ish day today - blue skies and temps in the 80's, and we all enjoyed this evening after our chilly weekend and frost the night before that nipped my little tater plants down in the garden.
JP did a bit of Red Neck tree pruning. A branch was broken most of the way off our big hickory out back in that big blizzard of 2010 that buried us for several days. It was too far up to reach, even with our extension pruning shears, but it dangled perilously above the hammock for entirely too long. JP took his 12 gauge shotgun, shot it neatly through twice, and it is now on the brush pile, awaiting some evening when we want to make S'mores.
Once the flowers were all neatly tucked into the soil, I joined the family on the porch swing, and read "Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator" until it was too dark to see the words. Then we came indoors and tucked the girls neatly into their beds.
I went back outside to put away my flower pots and watering can, and found the night still too lovely to leave behind. I sat on the veranda, watching Lizzie leap about crazily after moths, and stroking Ernie. Every now and again a bright tongue of lightening flicked off to the West. I finally came in when the thunder started to roll.
The rain was brief, but the new flowers got a refreshing drink of water.
The part of my flower bed that didn't get excavated last summer, or trampled by cattle last weekend is looking better than ever. Here is a peek at the May flowers I have right now:
JP did a bit of Red Neck tree pruning. A branch was broken most of the way off our big hickory out back in that big blizzard of 2010 that buried us for several days. It was too far up to reach, even with our extension pruning shears, but it dangled perilously above the hammock for entirely too long. JP took his 12 gauge shotgun, shot it neatly through twice, and it is now on the brush pile, awaiting some evening when we want to make S'mores.
Once the flowers were all neatly tucked into the soil, I joined the family on the porch swing, and read "Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator" until it was too dark to see the words. Then we came indoors and tucked the girls neatly into their beds.
I went back outside to put away my flower pots and watering can, and found the night still too lovely to leave behind. I sat on the veranda, watching Lizzie leap about crazily after moths, and stroking Ernie. Every now and again a bright tongue of lightening flicked off to the West. I finally came in when the thunder started to roll.
The rain was brief, but the new flowers got a refreshing drink of water.
The part of my flower bed that didn't get excavated last summer, or trampled by cattle last weekend is looking better than ever. Here is a peek at the May flowers I have right now:
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| Clematis |
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| These Irises came from my Grandma's flower garden. |
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| More Irises - from the Farmer's Market |
Monday, May 13, 2013
Blew a Gasket
My dad was using the splitter yesterday to split firewood, when it blew a gasket on the oil filter. He was sprayed all over with oil. "I'm glad I was wearing safety glasses!" he remarked.
When I blew a gasket this afternoon, safety glasses wouldn't have been sufficient. I exploded and yelled, and sent red, hot, burning lava flying across the room. A full body asbestos suit would have been more appropriate.
What could have caused this reaction, you might ask? Art.
I've mentioned before that I really like the curriculum that we have been using for the past 5 years in Cyber School, especially History, Science and Art. I haven't mentioned, however, that the girls DON'T like the Art. I really think it's put together well, and starting in Kindergarten, the girls were taught Art History, about well known artists, and about various art techniques. Some of the projects are kind of hokey, but for the most part, they seemed fairly simple, and pretty fun. For some reason, both girls developed an instant dislike to doing a project the way it was instructed, instead of doing their own thing. Most of the time, if the their technique would not distract from the lesson, I gave them some freedom. I heard complaints about the EXACT SAME projects from both girls, and for some reason, Art is the very last subject that we finish EVERY YEAR.
Sigh.
L is extremely persistent. She did NOT want to do the Art project today, which was to draw and color a building in the style of Ancient Greek Architecture, including columns, a frieze and a pediment. It isn't the most exciting of projects, I agree, but it is simple, and should be quick. After getting through the first few negative comments ("This is dumb." "This is boring." "Why do I have to?"), which were echoes from J's 1st grade year, she moved on to: "I can't draw a rectangle." "I can't draw a triangle." "I don't know how to use a ruler."
By hour number two, it morphed into: "The ruler is broken. I didn't do it." "I can't draw steps." "I can't draw columns." etc, etc, etc.
I lost it at "The ruler is broken."
Needless to say, the simple, quick Art project is edging into the third hour, which has kept us from accomplishing any thing else this afternoon. It happens frequently, and it is so, SO frustrating.
Pair that headache with the one where the On Line School crashed about 7 times today, I am ready to be DONE with Cyber School. DONE.
Now I am so angry with myself. Why do the little things FEEL so BIG? Why do those things get under my skin in such a BIG way? Why don't I have the self control of an adult, when I definitely have the problems of one? Why? Why? Why?
There seem to be no straightforward answers, and changing my fiery short temper is taking a lot of WORK. The end result will be worth it, so I resolve to be persistent, just like my youngest daughter.
When I blew a gasket this afternoon, safety glasses wouldn't have been sufficient. I exploded and yelled, and sent red, hot, burning lava flying across the room. A full body asbestos suit would have been more appropriate.
What could have caused this reaction, you might ask? Art.
I've mentioned before that I really like the curriculum that we have been using for the past 5 years in Cyber School, especially History, Science and Art. I haven't mentioned, however, that the girls DON'T like the Art. I really think it's put together well, and starting in Kindergarten, the girls were taught Art History, about well known artists, and about various art techniques. Some of the projects are kind of hokey, but for the most part, they seemed fairly simple, and pretty fun. For some reason, both girls developed an instant dislike to doing a project the way it was instructed, instead of doing their own thing. Most of the time, if the their technique would not distract from the lesson, I gave them some freedom. I heard complaints about the EXACT SAME projects from both girls, and for some reason, Art is the very last subject that we finish EVERY YEAR.
Sigh.
L is extremely persistent. She did NOT want to do the Art project today, which was to draw and color a building in the style of Ancient Greek Architecture, including columns, a frieze and a pediment. It isn't the most exciting of projects, I agree, but it is simple, and should be quick. After getting through the first few negative comments ("This is dumb." "This is boring." "Why do I have to?"), which were echoes from J's 1st grade year, she moved on to: "I can't draw a rectangle." "I can't draw a triangle." "I don't know how to use a ruler."
By hour number two, it morphed into: "The ruler is broken. I didn't do it." "I can't draw steps." "I can't draw columns." etc, etc, etc.
I lost it at "The ruler is broken."
Needless to say, the simple, quick Art project is edging into the third hour, which has kept us from accomplishing any thing else this afternoon. It happens frequently, and it is so, SO frustrating.
Pair that headache with the one where the On Line School crashed about 7 times today, I am ready to be DONE with Cyber School. DONE.
Now I am so angry with myself. Why do the little things FEEL so BIG? Why do those things get under my skin in such a BIG way? Why don't I have the self control of an adult, when I definitely have the problems of one? Why? Why? Why?
There seem to be no straightforward answers, and changing my fiery short temper is taking a lot of WORK. The end result will be worth it, so I resolve to be persistent, just like my youngest daughter.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Cross Your Fingers...
It appears that we may FINALLY have a broody hen. She has been sitting on the nest now since yesterday morning. Ever since I discovered that the hens freaked out when I moved them to a posh and private location, and refused to set any longer, I have not been taking any eggs out from under hens on a nest. I will only collect eggs if there are no hens around. Of course, since then, no one has stayed on a nest longer than about 2 or 3 hours.
Yesterday morning, one particularly bedraggled hen was on a nest. I checked again after lunch, and she was still there. Lo and behold, when I peeped in one more time before bed, she was still there! Typically the chickens all roost at night, they don't stay in the nest boxes. She was still there this morning, and again this afternoon when I really needed to clean out the hen house.
She stayed for several minutes while I shoveled poo, but finally freaked out and left her 8 eggs all alone. I checked again several times after I had finished, and she still wasn't back on the nest. She was off for several hours, I'm sure. Finally this evening, she was back in there.
I checked several chicken forums on line, and it appears that if they are fertile, they could still hatch, even with an extended period of inattention. We'll know for sure in another 20 days, although I could try to "candle" them and look for "veining" next weekend. I have educated myself in this process by watching youtube videos.
Stay tuned, there may be peeps in a couple of weeks!
Yesterday morning, one particularly bedraggled hen was on a nest. I checked again after lunch, and she was still there. Lo and behold, when I peeped in one more time before bed, she was still there! Typically the chickens all roost at night, they don't stay in the nest boxes. She was still there this morning, and again this afternoon when I really needed to clean out the hen house.
She stayed for several minutes while I shoveled poo, but finally freaked out and left her 8 eggs all alone. I checked again several times after I had finished, and she still wasn't back on the nest. She was off for several hours, I'm sure. Finally this evening, she was back in there.
I checked several chicken forums on line, and it appears that if they are fertile, they could still hatch, even with an extended period of inattention. We'll know for sure in another 20 days, although I could try to "candle" them and look for "veining" next weekend. I have educated myself in this process by watching youtube videos.
Stay tuned, there may be peeps in a couple of weeks!
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Out of My Hands
We did it. Today, L and I got her birth certificate out of our Safety Deposit Box at the bank, and took it to the Elementary School to enroll her for 2nd grade next year. The paperwork has been filled out, signatures signed, i's dotted, and t's crossed. All done.
I'm going to have more "free time" next Fall than I ever have before in my life. I'll have no more excuses for not having dinner ready when JP finally arrives home each evening. Oh, I'll fill it up all right. I'm sure I'll FEEL just as busy as always, but I just might get a few more of those things done that have been on my "To Do" list forever.
At the same time, I feel a bit sad. I can't believe that my baby will be leaving me, or that my home schooling adventure will be over...at least for the time being. My goal, when I ventured into home schooling, was to provide the best education that I could for as long as possible. I think I've achieved that.
I sat down out in the soft, green grass to chat with J this afternoon. I have been feeling guilty that her last year at home was so stressful, and there was so much yelling and crying from both of us. It was a rough year. I apologised to her about it. She assured me it was alright, and then told me that she missed some things still: the Art History, the History and Science.
After I informed her that the local Library contains many, many books on those subjects, J launched excitedly into her plans for the summer. "I want to do a lot of reading," she said.
We talked about other things that we hoped to achieve this summer. It was a wonderful moment to spend with my blossoming older daughter.
"You know, you have a lot of things to work on too, Mommy." she announced.
"I know," I told her. "I've been really working on yelling less. Don't you think it's better?"
"Oh yes," she replied, taking my chin in her hand. She traced the dark circles under my eyes with a finger. "You see these?" she asked. "You work too much."
I work too much, all the while my little girls are growing up.
Then my Doctor phoned. She reported that my mammograms this morning were changed from last year's. I think she commented on a "consolidation on the left" that was new. More mammograms and ultrasounds will be ordered. It is unlikely that there is a problem, but it's difficult not to worry a tiny bit, especially since another friend has recently been diagnosed with Breast Cancer.
Deep breath. Release. Let it go.
It's all out of my hands: the "consolidation", new educational opportunities, girls growing up. I have to just let it happen, roll with it, and enjoy the ride.
I'm going to have more "free time" next Fall than I ever have before in my life. I'll have no more excuses for not having dinner ready when JP finally arrives home each evening. Oh, I'll fill it up all right. I'm sure I'll FEEL just as busy as always, but I just might get a few more of those things done that have been on my "To Do" list forever.
At the same time, I feel a bit sad. I can't believe that my baby will be leaving me, or that my home schooling adventure will be over...at least for the time being. My goal, when I ventured into home schooling, was to provide the best education that I could for as long as possible. I think I've achieved that.
I sat down out in the soft, green grass to chat with J this afternoon. I have been feeling guilty that her last year at home was so stressful, and there was so much yelling and crying from both of us. It was a rough year. I apologised to her about it. She assured me it was alright, and then told me that she missed some things still: the Art History, the History and Science.
After I informed her that the local Library contains many, many books on those subjects, J launched excitedly into her plans for the summer. "I want to do a lot of reading," she said.
We talked about other things that we hoped to achieve this summer. It was a wonderful moment to spend with my blossoming older daughter.
"You know, you have a lot of things to work on too, Mommy." she announced.
"I know," I told her. "I've been really working on yelling less. Don't you think it's better?"
"Oh yes," she replied, taking my chin in her hand. She traced the dark circles under my eyes with a finger. "You see these?" she asked. "You work too much."
I work too much, all the while my little girls are growing up.
Then my Doctor phoned. She reported that my mammograms this morning were changed from last year's. I think she commented on a "consolidation on the left" that was new. More mammograms and ultrasounds will be ordered. It is unlikely that there is a problem, but it's difficult not to worry a tiny bit, especially since another friend has recently been diagnosed with Breast Cancer.
Deep breath. Release. Let it go.
It's all out of my hands: the "consolidation", new educational opportunities, girls growing up. I have to just let it happen, roll with it, and enjoy the ride.
Monday, May 6, 2013
To Lime or Not to Lime...
With my Mom's help, I FINALLY finished digging all of the sorrel out of the bottom of the garden this weekend. We essentially dug every square inch of that area (50 ft x 10 ft) with hand trowels and sorted out all of the weeds, rocks, and tenacious, spreading roots of that nasty sorrel.
JP dumped 2 tractor buckets full of mushroom manure (aged horse poo, mostly), which we then spread around that whole area. My intentions were then to spread lime, and allow JP or my Dad (they can fight over who will get that pleasure) to till it in with the roto-tiller. I went on line first, however, to get an idea of how much lime to use. That's when I saw the links with warnings not to use lime and fertilizer together. Apparently together the two can form ammonia gas. I got varying information from each site I visited. Finally, I had to ask myself...how much of what is on the Internet should I believe?
What did I do? I put the lime out there, of course. I rarely follow directions. Both the manure and the lime were dry, and the lime is pelletized for slow release, so I really don't think it's going to make too much of a difference. I promise that I will report if I did the wrong thing.
After all that, I mowed the garden paths. It looks so nice out there right now!
Garden Report: We still have beans, and more corn to plant (in a couple of weeks, so that it doesn't all get ripe at once), as well as the seedlings - tomatoes, peppers, squash and cucumbers. Peas, greens, radishes, potatoes, spinach and onions are up. The other root crops - red beets, carrots and parsnips are still not doing much. Things are coming together!
The rest of the weekend passed in a flash. L and I went on a field trip with some others from her cyber school on Friday to nearby Laurel Caverns. It was an enjoyable trip.
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| Limestone Formations at Laurel Caverns |
Someone gave JP another huge bag full of morels.
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| Fresh Morels |
We celebrated my Dad's recent birthday on Friday night with a mushroom fry (2 big platters of fried morels) and home made cherry pie.
The remainder of the morels, we dried. Hopefully we will be able to enjoy these later.
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| Dried Morels |
Saturday morning, we attended a seminar given by the Apiarist who keeps 2 hives near our garden. I had invited along a bunch of our friends with children, and a handful of them were able to make it. It was fascinating, especially when he opened up a hive and let us all take a peek.
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| J all suited up for bee watching |
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| Searching for the Queen Bee (the one with the crown) |
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| L and her friend E looking at a tray of bees with the Apiarist |
That evening, we attended a cook out at a friend's farm. L found a horse to ride off into the sunset upon.
On Sunday, we all rode our bikes in the parking lot at the Elementary school. JP and J rode their new bikes, and L graduated to J's old bike. My bike was unchanged, except for the kick-stand that JP added for me.
That evening, we had a quick and unexpected visit from one of JP's cousins. Afterward, we were finally able to collapse together on the couch and read "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
And now, it's the beginning of another week. L and I are still working on school work at 3:15 this afternoon, because we took some time off this morning to have a tea party with my grandma before she headed back home, and we planted 2 beds of corn after lunch. It is supposed to rain tonight, so we were hoping it would get watered well.
Life keeps rolling right along. Thanks to the love and emotional support of many of my friends and relatives, I made it through last week without a mental break down. There are several "extras" on the calendar this week, but I think they are do-able. I made it through the weekend, the crazy, crazy weekend, yelling only once. (I stopped myself in the middle, so I'm not even counting it.) That makes 4 days with no yelling! Hooray!
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
The No Yelling Thing? Not Going So Well.
I think I'm about to lose it. Seriously. Things are BAD. I'm way stressed out. I'm lonely. I don't know how much more of this INSANITY that I can take! I actually broke down about this time last week. Unfortunately, JP's method of calming me down consisted of him telling me that I should cancel some stuff, which made me feel MORE guilty. Um...which thing should I cancel? My yearly Gyne exam, L's speech therapy or swim lessons, J's after school programs x 2, taking the van to the repair shop, visits from family, mandatory work trainings...which one? I did end up cancelling a speech therapy this week...helped a lot, actually.
So, YEP, I've got a lot on my plate lately. Then just glop on top of it all the fact that the garden is not getting itself weeded or planted, much to my dismay, AND the grass is not staying mowed! Plus I am so, SO tired of homeschooling. I'm all burned out.
The no yelling thing kinda slipped to the back burner about 2 weeks ago. I do catch myself sometimes, and over all, I still think I'm yelling less frequently than before, but it's still not good.
Almost daily I'm having to deal with a moody pre-adolescent, who has very different opinions about what is or is not appropriate school attire, and who frequently "doesn't hear" the things I tell her to do. She's also attained a somewhat disrespectful attitude since starting school, which I don't appreciate in the least. That's my biggest downfall, dealing with the eldest child. I get so angry with her, and I still haven't learned to walk away and count to 10 before unleashing my full head-of-flames fury.
Perhaps this time, before I sit J down for a heart-to-heart, I need to sit myself down - do some deep breathing, and have a heart-to-heart with myself. If my number 1 priority is to have a peaceful and satisfying home life, then I need to make that start with myself. If I can exude inner peace, it should spread to those around me, sort of like the irritability oozes off of me now and infects everyone else in this house.
Yes, I'm tired. I'm frustrated. I have more obligations than I have time or energy to do them. I frequently feel that I'm failing as a Mom.
No, I don't need to make my husband and daughters feel bad too just because I lose it when I'm feeling overwhelmed.
The Orange Rhino, who has been my inspiration for this no-yelling lifestyle, keeps reminding herself to "take care of me!" It's true. When I get more sleep, exercise regularly, and take time to relax, I feel a whole lot better, and can focus more on the task of parenting peacefully. That is why I chose to stay up an extra 30 minutes tonight to blog - my OWN 30 minutes of this day - instead of head to bed. It is therapeutic. I always feel better after venting on my blog, especially since nobody ever slaps me across the face and says "stop yer whinin dammit!"
There is a light at the end of the tunnel though. The van is fixed (for now), J's last after school program is tomorrow, L has only 2 more swim lessons, the Gyne thing is done for another year, and we are entering the last 4 (or 6...depends on how much I can tolerate) weeks of school.
So how about a do-over? Tomorrow is a new day, and I'm making a new commitment to not yell at my family. Hold me to it, won't you?
So, YEP, I've got a lot on my plate lately. Then just glop on top of it all the fact that the garden is not getting itself weeded or planted, much to my dismay, AND the grass is not staying mowed! Plus I am so, SO tired of homeschooling. I'm all burned out.
The no yelling thing kinda slipped to the back burner about 2 weeks ago. I do catch myself sometimes, and over all, I still think I'm yelling less frequently than before, but it's still not good.
Almost daily I'm having to deal with a moody pre-adolescent, who has very different opinions about what is or is not appropriate school attire, and who frequently "doesn't hear" the things I tell her to do. She's also attained a somewhat disrespectful attitude since starting school, which I don't appreciate in the least. That's my biggest downfall, dealing with the eldest child. I get so angry with her, and I still haven't learned to walk away and count to 10 before unleashing my full head-of-flames fury.
Perhaps this time, before I sit J down for a heart-to-heart, I need to sit myself down - do some deep breathing, and have a heart-to-heart with myself. If my number 1 priority is to have a peaceful and satisfying home life, then I need to make that start with myself. If I can exude inner peace, it should spread to those around me, sort of like the irritability oozes off of me now and infects everyone else in this house.
Yes, I'm tired. I'm frustrated. I have more obligations than I have time or energy to do them. I frequently feel that I'm failing as a Mom.
No, I don't need to make my husband and daughters feel bad too just because I lose it when I'm feeling overwhelmed.
The Orange Rhino, who has been my inspiration for this no-yelling lifestyle, keeps reminding herself to "take care of me!" It's true. When I get more sleep, exercise regularly, and take time to relax, I feel a whole lot better, and can focus more on the task of parenting peacefully. That is why I chose to stay up an extra 30 minutes tonight to blog - my OWN 30 minutes of this day - instead of head to bed. It is therapeutic. I always feel better after venting on my blog, especially since nobody ever slaps me across the face and says "stop yer whinin dammit!"
There is a light at the end of the tunnel though. The van is fixed (for now), J's last after school program is tomorrow, L has only 2 more swim lessons, the Gyne thing is done for another year, and we are entering the last 4 (or 6...depends on how much I can tolerate) weeks of school.
So how about a do-over? Tomorrow is a new day, and I'm making a new commitment to not yell at my family. Hold me to it, won't you?
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