Catching Up

Wow! Its been a long time since I blogged. Sorry about that. We've had some unexpected stuff come into our lives that has taken us by storm. Mostly, it is good stuff.

I thought I'd post some pictures of our hanging garden progress. The basil has taken off like crazy since I took these pictures.

I'm working several hours a day now in our tutoring business. I'm so very relieved that things have picked up with that!

The kids are both in baseball. Mr. Blueberry Eyes enjoyed celebrity status on the team when he hit a home run on Friday! I nearly damaged my vocal chords screaming! I'm actually learning the game now that I got roped into scoring! Yikes! Someday I'll have to post about how that happened!

I'm behind in my garden. Onions, cabbage and pease should be in by now. I'm trying to not think about it. Maybe I'll get to it this week. - Nanette

Cleopatra and Her Brother

I'm always delighted when a history lesson captures my children's imaginations. I love to see them absorbing the story so much that it becomes thought material for them outside of history class. But, really, did it have to be the story of Cleopatra?! When we read the story yesterday, Laughing Water was mesmerized! Who wouldn't be? The carpet stunt and drama and lovers and more drama has captured many a romantic.

Tonight when I emerged from my own quiet time (hiding out in a hot bath), this is what I saw. I asked Mr. Blueberry Eyes if he was Julius Caesar or Mark Antony. He said, "Oh, I'm her brother!" Laughing Water quickly reminded me that Cleopatra married two of her own brothers. Gross! Did she have to remember the lesson quite so well?! I doubt Mr. Blueberry Eyes remembers that they both died under suspicious circumstances!

Gotta love history! - Nanette

A Place to Keep My Small Garden Tools

This is my latest project. I'm tired of having my small garden tools and supplies laying around the garden or back at the house when I need them. So, last summer, I purchased a mailbox to put them in. It never did get mounted. Last week when I was hauling manure into my hoop house, I saw it sitting there. I was in a mood to be creative, so I brought it in the house are starting playing around with it.

My latest poultry craze phase influence my motiff! (We're making progress in that dept. I got permission from the landlords and have started working on cheap fencing options. The Wood Artist is completely overwhelmed with business developments, though, and I'm thinking we may have to postpone getting the chicks until next year. Time will tell.)

I still have to put an outdoor sealer on it. I can't wait to use it!

In other news, Laughing Water has been taking ITBS tests in town this week. This means that I have had to spend a lot of time in town. The kids got snowed out 1/2-way through their baseball practice again today. We had several blustery squalls go through our valley.

I got to spend time today with my new sister-in-law tasting cake options for their upcoming wedding ceremony. We're all getting excited about it!

It has been quiet on the blog lately. Is anyone out there still reading it, or have I worn you all out entirely! TTFN - Nanette

Random Thoughts and a Birthday Wish

Today has been full of snuggles and tickles and favorite foods and lots of remembering. Laughing Water turned 11 today. Cliche's can't capture the meaning of time flown by. Surely it was just yesterday they put her stout little self into my arms. We bonded the first instant. Now she is eleven. I refuse to think about the future. I'm content today.

Here is a picture of Laughing Water working on her sewing project over spring break. It isn't done yet. I'll post pictures of it when it is.


Here are random pictures of our garden, bare and anticipating the good things to come. We hauled lots of manure for it, but it isn't near enough!

Baseball was cancelled today at the last minute due to a snowstorm. Laughing Water was delighted. She's afraid of the ball now that she's been hit in the mouth.

I'm scrounging to see if I can find about 600 ft. of 6 ft. chicken wire for really cheap or free! Am I crazy? Yah.









My chive patch is bursting to life already. It is inside my hoop house.












Here is my garden, ready for the planting season.

Fish Hatchery and Chicken Fever

We visited a local fish hatchery last weekend. It was a lovely spring day, so we snapped a few pictures. After the long winters that living in the north provides, spring sunshine is always welcome.

This spring, I've come down with a peculiar fever, though. I'm really not sure sure what triggered it. I've always thought that I would one day want chickens. Someday. In the future... When we have our own land. But, alas! It has hit my head with overwhelming desire. Now! I have to have chickens now!

Now this does present a bit of a problem in that we rent. Our landlords have chickens that run all over the property and it would be a nuthouse to add more. This, however, I think, can be managed with The Wood Artist's plans. He has proposed to me that the perfect way to keep chickens is to build a 6 foot run all the way around our garden. The coop would open up into this run. The run would also be covered with chicken wire, thus protecting the darlings from the bald eagles and resident hawk family. The run would also keep the foxes from grabbing at will, and would keep our flock separate from the landlord's flock. It would achieve the idea of having free range chickens with all the safety benefits of confinement. Since our garden boasts a perimeter of 320 feet, I figure that I can keep 15-20 chickens.

Another benefit that has me delirious with joy is that, with this plan, the chickens will eat the grasshoppers as they move into the garden. This should be a good year to test this. We had a mild winter - too warm to kill off the grasshopper eggs. I have confidence that my Semaspore bait from last year will kill off the resident hoppers, but what about the ones that will move in? Cluck-clucks to the rescue!

My poor husband. He is so overwhelmed with things that must be done. I really don't know if I should push for it this year. He is, however, game to give it a try. I think I'll make enough sewing for this wedding to pay for most of the fencing and posts. The Wood Artist thinks he has enough scraps for the building of the coop. I've got how-to books and chick catalogs on the way. The children are so excited. We've agreed they each get five and I get five. Most of them have names already.

So, stay tuned. We have a few hurdles to cross - like permission from the landlords and $. This could be a new adventure! Just think of the benefits - eggs, manure, free and safe insecticide, and countless hours of fun just watching them strut around! When I was a kid, my favorite place to be was my grandmother's coop. I could watch them by the hour, such comical creatures they were! I want that for my kids. - Nanette

Spring Break

We're having spring break here at our house. I chose to reserve two weeks for our spring break because one week just didn't seem near enough! We haven't done much of what we set out to do, but we have had fun. Grandpa and Grandma visiting and filled our pantry to overflowing with yummy foods. Laughing Water has worked on sewing her first dress. I've started teaching myself how to knit dish cloths. (This is especially fun using hemp yarn. It is supposed to be antibacterial, so it will be useful as dish cloths.)

My kids have been cooking and baking a lot lately. The first picture is of Mr. Blueberry Eyes making French toast. Here, Laughing Water checks on her baking while managing her dress-up skirts! What a hoot!

I'll try to post more often now. I have a lot of philosophical thoughts rattling around in my head these days! - Nanette

Spwinter

We're in the dreary days of spwinter - that time of year that can't decide if it is still winter or if we should venture into spring. I dislike this time of year the most! We've returned the kids' cross-country skis for the year. There isn't any snow to use them anyway. But neither can we break out the short sleeves and flip-flops. Spwinter. Bother!

The Wood Artist found this butterfly on a piece of firewood in the wood pile. Thinking it was likely dead, he brought it in the house. Not long after photographing the poor, deceased creature, it flew up to my ceiling. I guess the warm house had awakened him. Not sure how to best care for him, we talked to a ranger and he said it would be best to put him back into the cold so he could stay dormant or whatever you would call it, until there was something outside for him to eat. The next day, Mr. Blueberry Eyes was able to guide him outside without touching his wings.

Here's the view from one of our recent outings. This view never ceases to take my breath away. It is the view from where I spent most of my teenage life.

We're in Spring Break now. I set aside two weeks for it. We did some sewing together today. My goal for these two weeks is to sew, knit, work on some garden chores, and rest. Hopefully, I'll have something to show for it! If I do, I'll post pictures. - Nanette