This Week

Does anyone know what happened to my sweet peas?

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Shane: "I'm glad I always have my evil laugh with me."

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Dirt for Saturday arrived Tuesday! Ever try to keep large groups of children away from a big pile of dirt for 5 days?

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This weeks craft was either hanging gardens,

or potato dolls

modelled after this guy:

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Ugh.

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$15 well spent!

Wednesday was a sad day. 13yo Bella, who had seemed fine the day before, appeared to have a stroke. We sat with her in the morning until the vet's office opened, but she passed away on the trip down the hill. We will miss her 'talking' to us (no dog talks like a husky does!), and sleeping on TOP of the dog houses in snowstorms.

She was a really great dog!

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People frequently leave things behind at the library, and if I think something belongs to one of my Facebook friends, I will sometimes post a picture to see who claims it.

This one resulted in a cross-country tussle, with people in several states declaring they left it right where I found it. Wherever that was.

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I can totally do plumbing and construction, but electricity is not my thing. So, of course, I planned a Teen program centered around making light-up cards. I was able to explain the basics of closed circuits, and made one of my own with one light, but I wasn't able to make two lights work off of one battery.

The kids experimented, and a few were able to make it work! That's scientific exploration that will stick in their brains!

Super simple program, you just need cover stock, batteries, LED lights, and copper tape. I got all that off Amazon, and have a ton left.

Why yes, that is the Death Star.

The program went way over because they were still experimenting. We will definitely have to do it again!

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The kids like to explore the fields and forest, and bring home old rusty treasures. An old railroad spike. A broken tool.

A car.

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In other news, Psycho Cat still hates my guts.

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Logan's head is filled with so many awesome ideas, even when he is sleeping he needs to write them down.

Show and Tell

It's not always bad when your husband brings his work home with him. Especially when his work is so darn cute:

 

 

This is a spotted skunk, which really does not belong at our altitude. She is about the size of  an 8-week-old kitten, and managed to get caught in a live trap that was SUPPOSED to catch a fox who is being a nuisance. Daddy relocates the animals he traps, and sometimes we get to see them first.

 

 

Yes, my 3yo is petting a skunk. I thnk I first fell in love with Daddy when he e-mailed me pictures of himself petting skunks as they meandered away. You can get a better idea of the size here - about as big as his hand, and she is full-grown! Very docile, too - never sprayed, even when he had to pokeher with a stick to get her to walk out of the trap later. Not sure how she ended up this high, but she'll be much safer now, away from houses.

 

The tank on the step is housing a mouse I caught, until I can take it somewhere tomorrow. I'm not as cool as Daddy yet, but I have to start somewhere!



Week in Review

Monday was the first day of school around here. We now have a first grader and a senior - how did that happen?!

There is reportedly a new girl in first grade. This is a very big deal when there were only four other kids in Kinder last year, all boys, and two have since moved away. C. sits next to her, and that was the very first thing I heard about when I asked how his day went. Then I asked her name. It's...um...? SUCH a boy!

No doubt a boy or two made mental note of M's name. Why can't they just stay six? This was taken outside the donut shop before school. M. and Daddy have had breakfast together every first day of school for the past thirteen years!

Of course, S. will NOT be left out of anything the big kids are doing, because she is a big kid, too. Sunday night as C. and I were packing his lunch together, she wailed, "I'm a first grader, too! I have to pack my lunch, too!" Thank goodness for extra lunch boxes. I told her with as much excitement as I could muster that she is now a "preschooler!" She was over the top with that news - whew, crisis averted!

Grandma even had a workbook waiting for her, but S. seems to have decided her curriculum should have more of a Special Ops slant.

Waaaaaaaaaay too proud of herself! Big sister was more upset than S. was, but she quickly took care of things:

Much better!

The rest of the school week went a little more smoothly, ending with a wet, rainy weekend. I stopped at Cadwalladers' * for a few ears of corn...7 dozen for $20.

* The web page isn't terribly up to date, but it will give you their contact info.

Not a bad deal - but what am I going to do with it all?

Fortunately, I had plenty of help in getting it all shucked.

Some helpers were more easily distracted than others.

Hey, what's in here?

Some were a little less help than others.

And some volunteers were politely turned down. And turned loose. Elsewhere.

I didn't get a picture of the skunk. Apparently the area outside my kitchen door is party central at night!

Cadwalladers don't spray with pesticides, which is nice. It does mean, however, that you will get the occasional - well, pest. Every time I came across a worm, S. would coo, "Ohhhhhhh, he's so cuuuuuuuuuute!" She was very happy that I was saving them in a jar. Let's not tell her I am saving them to feed to the geckos, 'kay?

Just cut the tips off, and the rest of the ear is perfectly good. Worms for the geckos, tips for the chickens, and the husks are drying to become chicken coop bedding. If you're squeamish, you should probably stick with grocery store produce. If you want your food to have some actual TASTE, though, get some of this!

Mmm...check out that color - with no artificial anything, thank-you very much. And the flavor! Daddy said it was some of the best corn on the cob he has had in ages. I have to agree. We gave away a bunch, ate a bunch, and still ended up with 3 dozen frozen on-the-cob (blanch for 4-6 minutes, flash freeze, then pack into freezer bags), two bags of off-the-cob, one bag of corn and bell peppers, and four bags of corn and bean salsa. I'm trying to use vacuum seal bags more. For foods with liquid in them, like the salsa, just freeze it with the bag open overnight, and then vacuum seal. More expensive than Ziplocs, but longer lasting, too!

We finished just in time to enjoy the rain:

Such a good big brother! I love that they play so well together.

How is her shirt dry???

Into dry clothes again, and on to baking. S. was big help with the chocolate cupcakes, which we had to make to go along with Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake.

And then, it was time for the fair! Lots of rides,

Note change of outfits again. There was some more playing outside in the interim.

Dang height rules.

I don't need no stinkin' help!

Checking the leg room.



S. kept screaming, "Can't somebody stop this thing?!?" while grinning and laughing hysterically. Fortunately, the ride operator chose to ignore her.

A brief moment when neither of them was stretched over the side, splashing in the water, with Mommy poised to jump in after them.

And, of course, there were animals:

S. was in LOVE with the goats.

She gave them all hugs (any that would let her), but this one was a definite favorite.

Looking around for something to feed her.

This morning she told Daddy that we shouldn't keep the raccoons, because "they would bite us," but that "we need a goat!" We have neighbors with pygmy goats, including a baby, and there is a near riot if I don't stop every morning so they can say hello to it. I have the feeling I know what our next pet will be...

This one was finding its own food.

S. had promised Daddy she would kiss a pig. This one is already smiling in anticipation. I didn't get a shot of the exact moment...

Just the afterward. They all look pretty pleased, though.