White Eggs and Blossom Rot

That's what our little farm is made of :)

We were very excited to see that--after three days of panting in the coop--our little white chicken laid her first Marshmallow egg! (Her name is Marshmallow, the egg is not actually filled with marshmallow, although if it were, she'd be allowed to sleep in the house :) The egg is HUGE, poor little bird! She's since laid two or three regular-sized eggs, about one every other day. It is so funny to see white eggs again after nearly a year of browns. Now, we're just waiting for our little Easter Egger to start laying--hers will be teal-colored we think.



Farmer Graysen harvested a carrot . . . they don't get very big because the weird dirt is like a clay pot, already fired. Not a lot of room to grow deep, so we will pick them when they're still small and sweet. All four of them, ha! Carrots don't grow well here either, I guess.


Below is what is known as Blossom Rot . . . it means the PH balance of our soil is no bueno. It's not a "disease" it's a "condition" according to the interwebs. It comes from not enough calcium in the soil and not getting the watering right when the blooms are on the vine. So, sheesh, how do we fix that when there are torrential downpours for a solid week and then no rain for a month? 

Supposedly, we can just cut off the black part and still eat the fruit. Ehhh, we'll see. For now, our biggest melon is still growing sans the rot! We may only get one, but it will be delicious---or else!! Ha. I'm going to try to get some limestone powder to sprinkle on the ground to boost our calcium levels. We can save egg shells and put them through a coffee grinder and then distribute those into the soil. As an in-between solution, I put some of the chickens' calcium/oyster shell pellets in the garden and had the kids add water. We shall see what becomes of our melons.




Busy bees on Gabby's sunflowers! Despite the deer snacking, we still have some blooms :) And in a variety of colors, though we just planted yellow . . . seriously, gardens are a mystery.



The tomatoes are doing well! These are two big tomato plants, and the second picture is a Roma tomato plant. Should they ever decide to turn red/orange at the same time, we will have tomatoes coming out of our ears :) Our neighbors have been blessing us with green beans (ours were a flop), zucchini (Buck got me a spiralizer!), cucumbers, and even some sweet corn . . . hopefully, we'll be able to tomato them back.




Here's Buck, pre-surgery, guarding the one chicken we let out to pasture (it's the bra-wearing one, she doesn't lay eggs, but sits on all the other chickens' eggs--much to the annoyance of all the other chickens and ourselves, so we figure . . . lol :) She just hung out next to Buck the whole time; didn't even try to be fox bait once! The big chicken ;)

Oh, and our hummingbird feeder has regular guests, yay for wildlife!




I wasn't sure where else to put these pictures, so since I was doing birds and animals, I figured here would work. All the pets got a bath (except for the fish, he stays pretty clean ;). The fluffy pig got a haircut, they all got their nails trimmed, and the budgies got to go outside (they can be VERY loud sometimes).

Buck wanted me to note that he's wearing the leather gloves because the hedgehog does not like baths or to have his nails trimmed and those teeth are like razors!





Gabby snapped these pretty pics of our hibiscus flower, blooming, blooming around the side of the house where no one ever visits :)

Senior Moments

One of Buck's many pre-surgery projects, was getting a new line on our old phone. This took more than a month because our phone company was being "not smart." We almost ditched the whole thing. We've been with them for at least a decade, if not two. Buck was so tired of spending hours on the phone with people who couldn't grasp the simplicity of his request, that we hooked up the line and that was that. However, the phone the kids have been using is the oldest version of our current phones, so they were interested in something a bit better. We have stacks of purchased phones from previous years in our cupboard. So, Buck just switched the phone number to a newer phone for the kids and the put the new line on a newer phone as well. Wow, this is a way longer explanation of these pictures than I was planning :)

Long story short: he did a factory reset on all of the kid phones and they lost all their contact pictures. Instead of sending them old pictures of himself and myself, Buck wanted to do a senior picture pose, and that's where this photo came from! Is he brooding? Is he contemplating? Is he thinking back through a scroll of memories? Reflections of the past? Or gazing towards the future? Lol :) Deep, right?

I took some selfies--I'm told I'm still not very good at it. Oh well, doesn't bother me.  Not everyone can be Buck :)

Carnival Games with Graysen

Graysen treated us all to a fun afternoon of games (complete with prizes) all thought up and set up by himself. Our first challenge was to make an air pump move a whiffle ball across a track of construction paper labeled with various point values, depending on how far the ball rolled. We all blasted it off the paper (his own trial run had been hands and knees, not leg and foot)--and for some of us that was all the points we got for the rest of the day ;)



His ring toss was extra tricky, because we were ringing empty water bottles--unweighted--with a pom-pom making loop that outweighed all the bottles put together. We each got a bunch of tries, but everyone scored a big old zero on the cardboard clipboard scorecard G$ was carrying around :)



Next was darts--I think he said these were for a handheld bow of some sort, so they were super heavily weighted and all of mine hit flat against the box :) Several others' throws, though, made some dents in the paper and were awarded whatever coordinating points were available according to the target.



Next up was the ball toss to knock down the cans! Graysen had a cool arch structure built over the top, but that not only increased the difficulty level, but it knocked the whole contraption over backwards when a ball came into contact with it. The base is a former robot head Graysen made for himself--I dropped a ball straight into the robot's mouth. I figured that would be bonus points galore!!!! But I got nothin' :)



The Nerf gun shootout was next. Graysen had a 10 point cardboard spinner attached to the water bottles mounted to the top with his endless supply of clear mover's tape. From the marked distance, the game was really challenging. Buck later tried it a little bit closer and the Nerf spun that dial just as Graysen had imagined it would. The wind was also pesky that day, trying to knock over our cool game stations. Good thing tape can re-stick!




Here's Gabby trying out the water gun shooting game. As long as the bullseye target (which Graysen cleverly waterproofed with more of his handy clear tape) had water spots on it, you got points for every color category! Whew, did I need those points!



In the end, Buck was the winner of eight king sized peanut butter cups . . . or maybe they were regular sized, but came in a king sized package? Either way, he shared them around, he and G$ each got two, and it was a super fun way to spend some time outside with our creative games director :)

The Case of the Missing Chicken

As we wade through a sea of broken stuff in our house--washer, dryer, t.v., carpet--we have a seemingly never-ending stream of strangers (five yesterday to work on the carpet! that's more than the entire installation team a year ago!) roaming about our abode. Thankfully, it's all still under warranty (which we wisely extended, knowing how repairs constantly pop up around here), and thankfully Buck was home.

We've gotten in the habit of letting the chickens out after lunch to free range. We need to keep them cooped up before noon, so they'll lay eggs in the nesting boxes and not out and about our lawn :) But by mid-afternoon, they are on prairieland bug patrol.

Sadly, in the midst of our distractions, something snuck in and left only a pile of feathers behind. We combed the grasses, followed the clues (feathers randomly dropped across the lawns and into the woods), and found no further trace of our egg-laying friend Chick-fil-A, a.k.a. Necklace. How the limping chicken and the brooding/bra-wearing/non egg laying chickens survived while our other bird did not, is beyond me.

We searched the internet for ideas of what might have been the culprit--we were down to wild dog, fox, and chicken hawk. After Buck watched a few youtube videos of these various animals attacking chickens (for research purposes), we eliminated the hawk theory (our birds are too big, and there was no blood, so the hunter carried away its prey).

A couple days later, Graysen went up to check on the still cooped birds and heard a growl. He looked over at the prairie grass and saw a bright red fox coming back for seconds. G$ started running for the house, the fox started running for the hills--but not before Buck and Caelan saw it bounding away, too. 

Buck snagged a gun and waited in a stadium chair on the hill part of the next afternoon, but the fox did not return. We're experimenting with having Chauncey out to guard the chickens. He doesn't seem interested in chasing them, and the chickens aren't afraid of him, so it might be a good partnership. That dog has got to do something to earn his keep on the farm ;)




"Who's the new guy?"
"IDK--looks indoorsy to me."
"What's he doing up here anyway?"
"Well, who wouldn't want to hang out with us?!"
"Oh, Honey, you're so right! I was just saying to Josie . . . ooh, BUG!"
And both run squawking away--we're pretty sure conversations like this happen ALL the time on our farm ;)



Buck has a new chicken friend :)



Guard dog extraordinaire :)



So, half our potato plants shriveled up and died. The boys spent some time digging in the dirt and this is what they came up with. Better than no 'tatoes at all!




Don't you love our stylish new melon fence? The chickens were eating all our cute little watermelons and the only pumpkin we had growing on the vine. We are out of chicken wire and posts, but we needed something fast to protect what fruit remained. So, out came the boys' hockey goal nets and some landscaping cloth . . . a little bit of duct tape and some landscaping hooks from the garage, and we are homesteading ugly :) But so far no deer and no chickens! Moles though, ugh, those stinkin' moles.

New Experiences

Remember that soap Caelan made? Well, the best we can figure, it was the culprit in this--her first onset of hives. It's been almost two weeks and she's stopped using the soap (except on her hands). If I had to guess, I'd blame the dye additive or the knock-off essential oil scent she bought (we have the real stuff, but she wanted to try something different). Just before youth group, she turned red and splotchy! Buck wanted to take her to the ER, but I keep a supply of Benadryl on hand for all the strange skin things these children have written into their DNA. Within an hour, she was pretty much back to normal, although the hivey spots under her chin do appear now and again.




On a more fun note, Caelan got her first paycheck at work! Pretty exciting stuff! We made her pose for a picture, even though she thought we were weird ;)





The next day it was POURING rain, and I thought this would be a good opportunity for the girls to get some weather driving practice. Caelan did a good job getting us to the other side of town. To her surprise, I requested that she drive through the narrow bank lane to deposit her check with the teller. It was all very grown-upy! She did the deposit, asked for some cash back, didn't hit any walls or bank structures, and we were good to go :) My picture attempt wasn't fast enough--when I put the camera up she was smiling at me with her, "Are you serious, Mom?" smile. I guess the teller didn't want to look at my camera either :)



Gabby also got a chance to drive in the rain. It was the first time Gabby had Caelan for a passenger and the first time Caelan had Gabby for a driver . . . it was the first time I've taken new drivers on the slippery roads and visibility-impaired streets of our town (we mostly stuck to the expansive mall parking lot, but Gabby did get mixed into some traffic there). 

Overall, it was a good learning experience, and probably the most important lesson--when the sky is dumping BUCKETS of water from above, requiring those needing to leave the vehicle to go into a building . . . forging a raging water puddle the size of a small pond . . . we don't park on the opposite side of the parking lot. Lol! I walked in SOAKED to the bone, hair dripping in my eyes, and had to do a Kleenex dry off session while shivering in the intensely air-conditioned place of business. Pretty sure they will both remember to park closer next time :)

Fun-n-Games

Whittling down a huge to-do list pre-op, Buck has kept the kids (mostly the boys) very busy with home and lawn improvement projects. He even had them taking out weeds across the neighborhood and mowing the lawn for an out-of-town family. In addition to the workings, we've been trying to have some fun, too :) We got a stack of movies from the library, we shared treats at our favorite bakery, we've been bowling, to a museum, to the zoo, and . . . well, you can look at the pictures which are worth 1,000 words (but I could probably write that many if I tried ;)




Buck and the boys had to chase this nefarious intruder off the neighbors' property while they were away ;) It was so intimidated--that it came to OUR house to hide in Chauncey's dog house, lol :) What a turkey!



One of the summer fun list items is an ongoing game tournament. Buck and the kids (and sometimes me) are working through our stacks (mountains) of board games. They are keeping track of who wins what. Brennen was the Connect 4 king, and won the much-sought-after prize of the last Nutella snack! :) These were the snack Graysen wanted to bring to baseball, but our snack night got rained out twice, so we kept the "treat." B's amazing moves scored him the final prize.



Buck took some cool pics of the boys working on their bow and arrow skills against the backyard target. Maybe the next phase of backyard camping--deer for dinner! :)



In the field by the creek by the train track by the church, the kids learned how to play Ultimate Frisbee with their youth group. I explained Frisbee Golf, so they were duly confused when they were told the actual rules. Silly me, I thought these two titles were the same game :)



There is a traveling exploration game at an area museum. You go through the pathways making choices about food, health, morale, and wealth. Depending on your answers, you either survive Jamestown . .  or ya die. And at the end you get a sticker that tells the world what your outcome turned out to be :) We all survived, whew! Good job, homeschool kids ;)

"Now, I know historically that the wealthy men did not work when they came to the new settlement--but if they would have, more people would have survived . . ."







These are some pretty flowers we've discovered around our house. The first pic is of  a Tiger Lily that is growing almost beneath our deck. In five years, we've never noticed it . . . but this year, pretty! The second pic is a bunch of wildflowers Buck and the kids found. The fluffy purple is wild Bergamot--medicinal, according to Native Americans. The spotty flower that twists closed at night is a Blackberry Lily and it is medicinal according to the Chinese. I don't know how it ended up in our prairie land, but it is so pretty and unique!



Our trip to the zoo to see the red pandas :) They are so cute! And such a crazy combination of a fox, bear, racoon, cat . . . God is certainly creative!





I wouldn't normally include a picture of a bat (and you can bet your boogie board I didn't take its picture), but here's the story. We walk into the jungle at approximately 3:58. A posted sign says, "High bat activity at 4 p.m." What does that mean? Just then a MASSIVE winged-creature (picture a flying house cat) comes swooping by with umbrella-like wings. Buck stood stock still and said, "That was a bat." That bat could have carried away our dog. But, okay, no big deal, I will either see or hear that monstrosity coming. But the jungle has caves. Did you know it's not just in the movies that bats like to hang out in caves?



Now, I'm not really "afraid" of bats. Just having lived with them IN MY HOUSE for several years, we did not become the best of friends. I don't want them near me; I don't want them to touch me. Outside, eating bugs, not swooping near me--sure! But we rounded one corner, and it was like a swirling cloud of fruit bats had taken over the path to the exit--hundreds!!! There were two options--turn around and go back the way you came, or run screaming through their midst on a fast track to the exit. I chose option B.

I made it past the swirling masses (Buck stopped to take pics of the *cute* mama and baby), I don't know where the children were--maybe the giant bat picked them up for a ride? I thought I was in the clear, until . . . the tunnel. Pitch black with visible light on the other side--a tube of darkness, the only way out. And guess what I could see, outlined against the light? BATS!!! Flying, swooping, at eye-level, blocking my exit, bats. Brennen caught up to me and said, "You can do it mom!" I ran screaming "I hate the jungle, I hate the jungle!" (and we don't use the "h" word in this house, kids) through the tunnel--with the bats--and straight out of the jungle. Brennen caught up to me and said kind of laughing, kind of hesitant, "One bat flew right over your head when you were running." Yeah, I know. Shudder.

Buck, who probably had the flying rats perching on his shoulders like Snow White, meandered out a few minutes later and said, "Good job, honey. You were very brave!" No, I was very OUT OF THERE! Lol :) Never again at 4 p.m. Never.




Buck likes to take selfies :)

Okay, so this is cool! Back behind our second hill there is this massive stretch of open land. For years, Buck has been trying to figure out who owns the land, because it attaches to our property. Every year, we see a guy on a tractor cutting and collecting the prairie grasses for hay, I suppose. Well, this year, Buck managed to flag him down and ask some questions. It turns out, the property is owned by the city. Buck called the city, and the guy was like, "Yeah, go ahead and let the kids play up there! If anyone bothers you, give them my name." So now the kids have this flat, open field to ride bikes, the motorcycle, play baseball--whatever! I haven't been up yet, but Buck showed me these cool pictures, so I'll have to take the trek soon :)



Apparently it is also a magical place, like Narnia, where boys turn into bike-riding deer and husbands send animated suggestions for lunch :)