Happenings: beaching and farming

Well, with the heat and lack of A/C at this house, the beach has been the place to be often.  But, I do love quiet days at home and slowly unpacking more boxes.  Feels like I'm really getting somewhere on the stuff.

 We've had a house guest that needed lots of tending (and one that needed trapping, but thats another story...).  Kellen wanted to save the baby robin, I hope we did, but had to put him outside since we weren't going to be able to feed him while I was working for a couple of days.  We put him close to where another mama and baby were.  He was almost flying out of the tall rubbermaid we contained him in, so I'm hoping he's out there doing great now.  Lanelle has been saying with a sad face how much she misses Kellen's bird.  So cute.

 But the bird wasn't so cute at 5 am chirping for food.  It's not easy getting food right in such a little mouth, it took some patience.  I don't say quite so sadly that I miss him.

 These other birds of ours are also doing amazing.  Out in their fenced yard now.

 Snow seemed a little too curious at first.  After jumping in once, creating havoc and getting yelled at, he stays on the appropriate side of the gate.

 Kellen kept trying to pick up a chicken, but of course they would have none of it.  He wasn't brave enough to really make it happen.  But, he announced he has found his Buddy.  He was over the moon excited about picking up this calm, content chicken.

 The next morning, he was pretty concerned that he might not be able to identify His Buddy.

 So he got a blue marker and once he thought he had the right one, he made sure he would easily identify his friend.

 Of course, Lanelle had to get a buddy too, so there is also a purple chicken.  *Just a note: the markers are washable crayolas and the chickens didn't seem to mind :)

 I have weeded like crazy in this mess of a garden, so I decided we needed to lay down some cardboard where the weeds had already won and start some lasagna layering.  I'm hoping to go to a no till garden, which I'm learning about, we'll see..

 This picture makes me laugh.  You know its a hot day when... you let baby wander around naked and you use the campstove outside to cook supper.

Auntie Andrea, this ones for you, way over in Estonia at the moment.  Look what I finally did with my Nova Scotia rocks!  It was a quick little naptime project that gave me a little bit of happy accomplishment during these days.

 And there was a late night project of lotion bars and deoderant, which I am loving both of. 

 Little lotion bars on the bathroom counter make me smile and make Lanelle repeatedly sniff and ooh and awe.  I don't like using the term homesteader, although its quite popular these days.  I did kind of feel like a homesteader, oh, but wait, all I had to do was go to the local health food store (and pottery store, but again, that's another story...)  I used Ian's fancy battery operated scale to weigh my ingredients.  Turned a knob to have heat.  Poured my concoctions into silicon moulds.  Perhaps I'm not quite so hard done by as the real homesteaders.

 Getting ready to move to the next step after chick starter feed, we are blessed to inherit Bill's hammer mill and feed mixer.  Not so hard done by, us "homesteaders", eh?

 This is the face I see all the time looking up at me.  "Hold me!" she lets me know in her own voice.

 Clinging to me if I'm not holding her.  Sheesh.  I love you, Nevey, but really?!

 Only happy in my arms, sometimes the swing, and generally if outside, which she demands by saying, with raised eyebrows, "shees" and a big smile when I pull her little pink shoes off the shelf.  Soon she will be feeling better from these blisters in her mouth and I hope she returns slightly more laid back old self.

 The big kids aren't much fazed by this hand, foot, mouth disease except at the table when they don't want to finish eating.  Kellen's already recovered and I am thankful for these healthy kids who bounce back amazingly.  Off they go to try catch more chickens...

How's that for a random, rushed, disjointed update of happenings on our Back Forty?