I have not had a chance to update recently for several reasons. One being work is crazy right now and is taking up a LOT of my time. I have not been able to come in early as well, so I could not get online before I started work. When I was able to leave for the day, I was in pain and had to rush to pick up Perrin at school or do things for someone that I was not able to stay after work to post anything. I have not even been able to give much needed attention to emails as well. I tend to forget I can email over my cell phone, so I apologize to those I should have emailed.
A few weekends ago it was very nice weather here. Chris and I decided to move some of the old bricks from the chimney that is falling down, and will soon be torn down completely for repair. We rebuilt our fire ring and actually moved it down next to Brannon Brook, near the spring. It is a very pretty area, with lots of shade and right beside the stream. That will be our central area for all family picnics and cookouts. After getting it set up, we got Lakota and Devin for the day on a Sunday and let them roast weenies and marshmallows. They had a great time as always. At one point they made a trip to the barn and was gone for a very long time. I have no clue what they were doing up there and did not ask, although I think it involved a ladder and the loft. lol They had a great time playing with SadieMae and Tucker Muffins. The dogs were thoroughly enjoying the good weather and having kids to play with. I lost count of how many times Devin got the seat of his pants grabbed by a dog and he hit the ground. I pretended not to notice when Chris laid the hot dog stick on the table while he prepared his bun and Sadie noticed a nice warm hot dogs hanging off the end of the table. She only took one little nibble. She left MOST of it for Chris to eat. 
Amanda has been trying to get a little ahead at work lately. She is going to Belgium in a few short weeks and has to have everything done at work before she can go. Therefore we have had Perrin a little more than normal lately and I have been getting him from school almost every day, because Amanda has to work late most days. This has not been an issue for us, just time consuming. Lol We are always thrilled to have one of the grandkids, or all of the grandkids. He was craving Mexican food not long ago and Amanda paid for him to go get his favorite. She had tons of work to do and could not take him so we took him out. Once he made a mask, with assistance from Papaw, and I had to force him to eat his food. I snapped a few pics of him and will post them as well.
Tuesday, tomorrow, is Dr. Seuss Day at his school. He can come to school dressed as his favorite Seuss Character. When I had Amanda ask him who he wanted to be, I was hoping it would be something simple like a Wocket in his Pocket or even Dr. Seuss himself. Maybe One Fish, or Red Fish or something….but no…he wanted to be Fox In Socks! That is his favorite and after all they are supposed to dress as their FAVORITE! So they send the note home on Friday and give you just a few days to come up with a costume. This weekend, I went into the deep crevices of my brain, back where the cobwebs and dust covered gummy bears live, to devise a costume. Now grant you it is not the BEST costume in the world and the pictures I have are without the fox whiskers and nose, but it is a costume and I think any Seuss fan would recognize him as the Fox In Socks. Or at least I hope so! At least the child is thrilled. I took the costume to him last night and he tried it on, he did not want to take it off and was very happy with the results. So hey…as long as it brightened his eyes…I am happy.
Lakota showed me her grade card this weekend and I was thrilled. She has managed to bring her grades up to par and I am so proud of her. She has worked very very hard to get there and I plan to get her for some special celebration time this weekend. Too many times you help a child reach a certain goal, especially when it comes to grades and then overlook the struggle they faced once they reach that goal. Positive reinforcement is the key to ensuring the progress continues. If not they will see they get more attention from the bad grades than the good ones and before you know it, they are doomed. So…this week I plan to call her every day and tell her how proud I am, pick her up and take her out for an ice cream cone at least once and then let her spend the weekend with us. I am very proud of her, she has been through a lot and I am proud she overcame the grade issue.
As for the farm: The chickens are really starting to put out. We are getting about 8-10 eggs a day now. I had 7 ½ dozen last week alone. I have to say I am pretty impressed with my Reds this year. The eggs are HUGE! I still like the temperament of the Cuckoo Marans and would suggest them to anyone looking into getting chickens. They are good brooders and just good chickens all the way around. The egg production is great, the eggs are a beautiful chocolate color, the roosters have a good personality, can be strong but not temperamental. I really enjoy these chickens. I have Aracauna as well. They lay green eggs, olive green eggs. They have a good personality as well, but I am not fond of their roosters that much. We had some mix with the Marans and the eggs are the dark olive green but actually a darker color with a beige/brown mix as well. The eggs are a little larger than the regular aracauna eggs. They are a pretty chicken, but I am fast leaning towards the Marans being my favorites. We have Wellsummers too, but I am having an issue with the hen eating the eggs. They are a smaller chicken and the eggs are small as well. I tried my hand at Turkins a few years back and was glad actually when I made dumplings out of the last one. The roosters are not very nice at all, the hens are domineering and although they are interesting to look at, that is the height of my love for them. I don’t recall a more flogging roosters than the Turkin. AND….he flogged you for no good darn reason at all. He would run from across the yard to flog you as you were taking food to him. I hated that damn rooster. I was killing chickens for the freezer one day and actually had planned to spare him. Every time I went into the coop to get a rooster to kill, he flogged me. So finally I was like…you know what….you are next buddy! I hate to be graphic but do you know that darn rooster clucked after its head was cut off? I swear on my life it happened. I had the head in my hand, departed from the body in the killing cone and the neck was moving around, bleeding out. All of a sudden the neck started opening and closing and that rooster was clucking from the headless throat. I never seen anything like it in my life. If I had the camera with me back then I would have got myself a video for everyone to see. I stood in awe, holding its head in my hand while the body was crowing in the cone. I’ll never forget that! So as for the chickens, they are doing great!
We have been clearing and cleaning and working on things around the farm as the weather permits. It has turned cold again and we have had a lot of snow flurries off and on. With that going on, it is hard to get things done outside, but we are trying. We have a to-do list, but we desperately need to look at it and make some priorities. The main things we need to do are: the pig pen, a shed, a spring house, a gutter system on the barn for rain water collection, a tool shed in the barn and a sun room. So….we HAVE to pick one of those and get it done very soon. I want to get all the wood used up from the old house and with those projects, that will pretty much take care of all the wood (then I can have a back yard behind the house again!)
All the cats are doing great, except Cutie and Azrael, who are both about 14 or so and showing their age more this year than last. There is a chance Wood Shed Cat has come back. Chris thinks he saw her last night. Barn cat is warming up to us slowly and lets us touch its head now and then. I still have no clue what sex this cat is but I think it may be a boy. Tucker is growing faster than I imagined possible, but then again the dog would eat rocks if she could…actually I think that is one of the things she has eaten that made us worry for days. You would think we never feed her, but I swear we do! She weighs 27 pounds now and weighed 7 pounds when we got her. So yeah…she is growing. She is over half the size of Sadie Cakes already. Speaking of the Princess, she is doing well. I sometimes still see a sadness in her eyes and it breaks my heart. The other day I went outside and she was laying on Cletus’ grave. It is amazing how much emotion and animal can have. She just raised her head and looked at me, then put her head back down staring at the road. I find her there sometimes and almost think it would have been better to take him somewhere else and bury him. My first clue should have been her getting in the grave with him. But…at least Tucker has brought her some reprieve and she does enjoy running and playing, nibbling and wrestling with the pup. It has been good for her.
I want a buffalo. Just thought I would throw that in there. If I had a buffalo cow I could calf her once a year or so, use the offspring for meat and be happy. I love the taste of buffalo as opposed to beef. I don’t plan on rushing out and buying myself one anytime soon, we have land to clear and a fence to put up, but it is something to keep in mind for years to come. Chris wants hutch rabbits for food. We may look into that some time this summer.
So things are good, busy but good. The daffodils and jasmine are starting to bloom. I imagine the forsythia will be blooming soon as well. There is much to be done before the last frost. Spring will find us as busy as the bees in the cedar tree. I look forward to cups of cocoa on the porch of a morning. Life is good…hope it is for you all as well!
A pic of the new fire ring we put down by the spring and branch.
Lakota and Devin test out the fire ring with yummy marshmallows, while Tucker looks for something to get into!
Emma Mae Tucker Muffins posing for a mug shot no doubt!
Perrin does what he does best, ignores his food so he can play.
My two favorite men! Perrin and Chris
Fox In Socks....without the nose and whiskers of course.
Perrin's version of Fox In Socks!
Tucker Muffins and Sadie Cakes!
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