First things first.
We have EGGS people! Whoo hoo! Real eggs, tasty eggs, bright yellow eggs. Teeny tiny eggs, but hey, them's real eggs! I've been getting 3 or 4 a day for the last 4 days. But, yesterday is the first day that I actually found one IN the nesting boxes. Gotta teach these stupid girls to actually LAY in the nesting boxes, not just rest in them. Gotta teach the girls that it's safer to lay your eggs in the boxes rather than on the floor, where the humans might step on them. And, I need to make them understand that it's nicer to the humans to lay the eggs there than all over, under, and around the chicken house in the grass and weeds.
And, I'm glad to say that the rooster has finally figured out how to crow. He still sounds pretty pathetic, but I heard him finally crow. Now, I need to see him show some interest in the girls He hasn't shown any yet, which is good for the girls, but it seems odd having a rooster who isn't randy...
This is the strangest bunch of chickens I've had. They follow me around like a herd of dogs whenever I'm outside. Not when I want them to follow me around, but they will follow me around as I walk around the yard, and they'll go with me to check on the rabbits and they'll even follow me to the chicken pen. But they won't go in. It so...so "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink."
They aren't afraid to come up onto the deck either. Which annoys the heck out of Kevin. And, it is a little disconcerting to be sitting at the supper table and have a chicken looking at you through the patio door. But, Kev is so annoyed by it, he's ready to build a taller fence around the chicken house.
Another odd thing, is the way they act when startled. These hens will hunker down and kind of shudder. They're more nervous that way than any I've had in the past. They're easier to catch and pick up too, cause they'll hunker down like that. I'm not sure their mental capacity is that great, they just seem more stupid than any birds I've had before.
One annoying habit they have is pecking my toes. It doesn't hurt, but it's damn annoying to be feeding chickens and have them think that your toes look pretty appetizing and try to take a bite. These girls also tend to peck at my hand if I'm not quick enough with the feed. I've never had birds that peck at ME so much. And, those of you who are thinking "Well, she shouldn't be barefoot, or should wear better shoes than sandals out in the hen house", well you guys can just shut up. I will wear the shoe apparel that I want. If someone does peck at my toes, and it hurts, I will boot them pretty high up into the sky, sandals or no sandals. So there!
One hen committed suicide on Saturday night. Well, I think she did. She may just have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. We splurged and went to a Nut Fry on Saturday night. When Miss Kat went to pen the dogs up, she told me that there were 6 chickens in there. So, I went out to herd the chickens out. (Funny, but when I want them to follow me, they won't...) Since they wouldn't follow me, I had to herd them out. Either I missed one, or one flew back in after we put the dogs in the pen. As we were ready to walk out the door for the Nut Fry, we heard Midnight barking and carrying on as if someone was in their pen. We ignored it, cause, you know, we were on our way to the Nut Fry, and Nuts are more important than a barking dog any old day...
When we got home, with bulging bellies, we sent Miss Kat out to let the dogs out. She ran back to inform me that there were at least 2 dead chickens in the dog pen. I went out to pick up the birds--thinking I'd just go ahead and butcher them and put them in the freezer. Not that I wanted to, but I didn't want to waste the meat and I didn't want to toss the dead birds in the pasture to attract coyotes which might alert them to the presence of 26 other succulent dinner selections.
I only found one bird in the pen, and she looked like the dogs played tug-o-war with her. Her breast was in one spot, the rest of the body in another spot, entrails somewhat scattered, and a missing head. I never did find her head. But, I cleaned her up and gave her a decent burial. She's the first chicken we've lost so far.
But, hey, I'm gettin' eggs!
Monday, July 14, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Does anyone have a kleenx?
Now, this really, really bothers me.
There's a kid here in the library. He comes in almost daily, as he's a football player and has to spend time studying in the library.
But this kid is constantly snorting and sucking snot back up in his nose. Every minute or so. For at least 2 hours. It's driving me crazy.
I so want to march over to him, hand him a Kleenex and tell him to quit snorting. He sounds worse than any pig I've been around. It's a sound that makes me flinch. I react as if it were chalk on a chalkboard. It just sends shivers down my spine, and my ears flinch. Yes, my ears actually hurt listening to this kid snort and suck. Sometimes it's short snorts, sometimes it's long snorts, but each one causes a physical reaction and I just get the heebie-jeebies...
I can't be out front when he's in here, it's too distracting. But, I can also hear him in my office!
Lord, help me, save me from dreaded snot suckers... Cause if he doesn't leave, I'm gonna kill him. soon. I really think I will.
There's a kid here in the library. He comes in almost daily, as he's a football player and has to spend time studying in the library.
But this kid is constantly snorting and sucking snot back up in his nose. Every minute or so. For at least 2 hours. It's driving me crazy.
I so want to march over to him, hand him a Kleenex and tell him to quit snorting. He sounds worse than any pig I've been around. It's a sound that makes me flinch. I react as if it were chalk on a chalkboard. It just sends shivers down my spine, and my ears flinch. Yes, my ears actually hurt listening to this kid snort and suck. Sometimes it's short snorts, sometimes it's long snorts, but each one causes a physical reaction and I just get the heebie-jeebies...
I can't be out front when he's in here, it's too distracting. But, I can also hear him in my office!
Lord, help me, save me from dreaded snot suckers... Cause if he doesn't leave, I'm gonna kill him. soon. I really think I will.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
T. H.
I got some terrible news last night. The kind of news that you really don't know what to do with.
A boy in Miss Kat's class in Colby was killed last night in a 4-wheeler accident. We knew this boy, we know his dad fairly well. How on earth do you express sympathy to a father who's just lost one of two lights of his life? How on earth do you express sympathy to anyone who has lost a child? Their sorrow is one that can only be understood by other parents who've lost a child.
That kind of sorrow, I hope I never have to feel.
I had to tell Miss Kat the bad news. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to react. How difficult is it for a 12 year old to understand death? At that age, you feel that life is...long and that nothing bad can ever happen to you or to any of your friends. Sure, old people die, but not someone who sat next to you in class.
I worried about her last night, because she didn't want to really talk about it, and she didn't ask many questions. She did say, "Well, sometimes, T was annoying." I told her, "yes, he was a boy, and most boys are annoying. Just because he died, you don't have to make him perfect. Just remember him as he was, and think of his family. That's all we can do now."
Then today, a friend of mine, who happens to have a son in Miss Kat's class, and one of T's friends, forwarded this on to me. It's an email from Miss Kat.
R.I.P
T. H.
He will be missed.
Sign your name if you wish T happiness in heaven.
And, she sent it on to all her friends, who have forwarded it on and on and on. All are adding their thoughts and their condolences, a bunch of 12 year old kids... sharing, and maybe finding a way to express their confusion and grief.
Right now, I'm so proud of Miss Kat for taking the time to think of an "annoying" boy, and to find a way to honor his memory. Maybe she's a good kid after all...in spite of her parents.
A boy in Miss Kat's class in Colby was killed last night in a 4-wheeler accident. We knew this boy, we know his dad fairly well. How on earth do you express sympathy to a father who's just lost one of two lights of his life? How on earth do you express sympathy to anyone who has lost a child? Their sorrow is one that can only be understood by other parents who've lost a child.
That kind of sorrow, I hope I never have to feel.
I had to tell Miss Kat the bad news. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to react. How difficult is it for a 12 year old to understand death? At that age, you feel that life is...long and that nothing bad can ever happen to you or to any of your friends. Sure, old people die, but not someone who sat next to you in class.
I worried about her last night, because she didn't want to really talk about it, and she didn't ask many questions. She did say, "Well, sometimes, T was annoying." I told her, "yes, he was a boy, and most boys are annoying. Just because he died, you don't have to make him perfect. Just remember him as he was, and think of his family. That's all we can do now."
Then today, a friend of mine, who happens to have a son in Miss Kat's class, and one of T's friends, forwarded this on to me. It's an email from Miss Kat.
R.I.P
T. H.
He will be missed.
Sign your name if you wish T happiness in heaven.
And, she sent it on to all her friends, who have forwarded it on and on and on. All are adding their thoughts and their condolences, a bunch of 12 year old kids... sharing, and maybe finding a way to express their confusion and grief.
Right now, I'm so proud of Miss Kat for taking the time to think of an "annoying" boy, and to find a way to honor his memory. Maybe she's a good kid after all...in spite of her parents.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Miss Kat's room
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The following photo is looking the other direction, toward her bedroom door. The picture is one that my dear friend, Sharon cross stitched for her when she was a baby. The shelf is new and it's full of special items, as is the top of the dresser. Did you see the pink footprint? That's Kat's footprint. We decided to do something...silly! All in all, it's a unique room for a unique girl.
Finally--here's the photos of Miss Kat's bedroom. Bright green walls with a pink accent wall. Kat found the border and it matched her colors perfectly. Believe me, this is probably the cleanest her room's been in a very long time...
The following photo is looking the other direction, toward her bedroom door. The picture is one that my dear friend, Sharon cross stitched for her when she was a baby. The shelf is new and it's full of special items, as is the top of the dresser. Did you see the pink footprint? That's Kat's footprint. We decided to do something...silly! All in all, it's a unique room for a unique girl.
Cleaning up memories
This past weekend, we cleaned out Grandpa's apartment and moved his stuff back to Big E. Sandy and I then cleaned the apartment after the menfolk took everything home. Mom somehow got out of this part, because she was at the elevator. It's harvest, so she had to be there, but dang, it was a convenient excuse!
After we had the apartment empty, we drove down and started on the house. Oh my. Note to self: do not buy any more crap. And throw away all the crap you have... Seriously, Grandma and Grandpa haven't thrown anything away in years and years. And, fortunately, Mom was able to join us. (She had help at the elevator, and they weren't getting in many trucks, so she got to help.)
We started out in the house, watching the guys haul in furniture...and being typical men, they just stacked it where ever, willy-nilly. We left it for a while. Mom had ordered a big construction dumpster and the first thing that went into that dumpster was the loveseat. It was literally rotting, but Grandma and Grandpa loved that icky old thing, so it was still there, in the house. The second thing to go into the dumpster was that 1952 wool mattress that weighed about 1000 lbs. Ok, maybe not 1000 lbs, but it was heavy. And then the springs went on top. YEAH!
Then the hard part started. Where to start, what to do with all the...stuff... We discussed having a sale, but really, nothing is valuable. We talked about a garage sale, but no one ever comes to Big E for a garage sale, it's been tried and failed. Ok, then we discussed Sandy and I taking stuff and trying to have a garage sale in our communities, but we really couldn't face boxing up all this stuff just to make a few dollars. In the end, we decided to just toss the majority and divvy up the rest, again, setting aside things that we thought someone in the family could use. Miss Kat and her BFF, Miss Jenna rescued some stuff. Which means, that Miss Jenna took home some lovely pieces back to Colby. Thanks Jenna!
Before the day was over, we'd filled up the dumpster. We moved from the house out to the garage and to the trailer house. Most of what we tossed was from the garage and trailer. But we did find some interesting things...
In the garage, there was an old barrel that was sealed. In it, we found, Mom's baby quilt, a pair of a child's bloomers and 1/2 a corset. Under these were more quilts--old quilts that were shot when they were sealed up. We looked at them all, and we know that there are people who love old quilts, but these were just shot and not worth saving, cause believe me, we examined them and debated but, in the end, they went in the dumpster. (they were really nasty. Sandy thought that they were saved in case Grandma and Grandpa ever got poor again, they'd have something to keep warm with.) I kept the bloomers and showed them to the girls, who were not impressed with bloomers for underwear. (Somehow, the thought of them being crotchless just turned the girls off. Big ick factor for them!)
There were a couple of neat discoveries, in the trailer, we found a box labeled "Carol and Sandy baby clothes." There were little dresses and coats and an outfit of Sandy's that Mom remembered her wearing a lot--with rubber pants still intact. There were also cards from when Sandy was born. Remember, she was a "surprise" child, and many of these cards talked about what baby boys needed, and how nice it was to have a boy. Quick reminder here, Sandy is NOT a boy. But, we decided these must have been from a shower before Sandy was born and that most in the community thought she'd be a boy. It was an interesting peek into 1950's society.
We also found an old suitcase with my Mom's high school scrapbooks in it and other "stuff". One item was a thank you note, from my Dad that said:
"Carol
Thank you for the tie, HONEY. I hope someday you'll be getting mail addressed as Mrs. instead of Miss. Hope it's soon! Eugene
I love you."
Now, I got a kick out of finding that, and shared it with...well, everybody... Mom got embarrassed, Dad got a laugh out of it. But, it's neat finding something that shows your parents as young people, in love. It was my favorite find.
But, we filled the dumpster, so we had to stop. We've still got lots of cleaning to do and lots of crap to get rid of. Those short episodes of fun are necessary when you find a box of Reader's Digest magazines from 1952, and you find yourself wondering why were they saved? Really, why? That's a question we asked repeatedly, why did they keep this stuff?
It's hard, dirty, but necessary work. I'll be glad when it's done...and, honestly, it will be sad too, because when it's done, we will all have closed a chapter in our lives and this is one chapter that I don't want to see end. I understand that this needs to be done, but...but...this is all evidence of a life--of the life of a family...and once we're done, it will be over...and, in the end...well...it will be the end...
After we had the apartment empty, we drove down and started on the house. Oh my. Note to self: do not buy any more crap. And throw away all the crap you have... Seriously, Grandma and Grandpa haven't thrown anything away in years and years. And, fortunately, Mom was able to join us. (She had help at the elevator, and they weren't getting in many trucks, so she got to help.)
We started out in the house, watching the guys haul in furniture...and being typical men, they just stacked it where ever, willy-nilly. We left it for a while. Mom had ordered a big construction dumpster and the first thing that went into that dumpster was the loveseat. It was literally rotting, but Grandma and Grandpa loved that icky old thing, so it was still there, in the house. The second thing to go into the dumpster was that 1952 wool mattress that weighed about 1000 lbs. Ok, maybe not 1000 lbs, but it was heavy. And then the springs went on top. YEAH!
Then the hard part started. Where to start, what to do with all the...stuff... We discussed having a sale, but really, nothing is valuable. We talked about a garage sale, but no one ever comes to Big E for a garage sale, it's been tried and failed. Ok, then we discussed Sandy and I taking stuff and trying to have a garage sale in our communities, but we really couldn't face boxing up all this stuff just to make a few dollars. In the end, we decided to just toss the majority and divvy up the rest, again, setting aside things that we thought someone in the family could use. Miss Kat and her BFF, Miss Jenna rescued some stuff. Which means, that Miss Jenna took home some lovely pieces back to Colby. Thanks Jenna!
Before the day was over, we'd filled up the dumpster. We moved from the house out to the garage and to the trailer house. Most of what we tossed was from the garage and trailer. But we did find some interesting things...
In the garage, there was an old barrel that was sealed. In it, we found, Mom's baby quilt, a pair of a child's bloomers and 1/2 a corset. Under these were more quilts--old quilts that were shot when they were sealed up. We looked at them all, and we know that there are people who love old quilts, but these were just shot and not worth saving, cause believe me, we examined them and debated but, in the end, they went in the dumpster. (they were really nasty. Sandy thought that they were saved in case Grandma and Grandpa ever got poor again, they'd have something to keep warm with.) I kept the bloomers and showed them to the girls, who were not impressed with bloomers for underwear. (Somehow, the thought of them being crotchless just turned the girls off. Big ick factor for them!)
There were a couple of neat discoveries, in the trailer, we found a box labeled "Carol and Sandy baby clothes." There were little dresses and coats and an outfit of Sandy's that Mom remembered her wearing a lot--with rubber pants still intact. There were also cards from when Sandy was born. Remember, she was a "surprise" child, and many of these cards talked about what baby boys needed, and how nice it was to have a boy. Quick reminder here, Sandy is NOT a boy. But, we decided these must have been from a shower before Sandy was born and that most in the community thought she'd be a boy. It was an interesting peek into 1950's society.
We also found an old suitcase with my Mom's high school scrapbooks in it and other "stuff". One item was a thank you note, from my Dad that said:
"Carol
Thank you for the tie, HONEY. I hope someday you'll be getting mail addressed as Mrs. instead of Miss. Hope it's soon! Eugene
I love you."
Now, I got a kick out of finding that, and shared it with...well, everybody... Mom got embarrassed, Dad got a laugh out of it. But, it's neat finding something that shows your parents as young people, in love. It was my favorite find.
But, we filled the dumpster, so we had to stop. We've still got lots of cleaning to do and lots of crap to get rid of. Those short episodes of fun are necessary when you find a box of Reader's Digest magazines from 1952, and you find yourself wondering why were they saved? Really, why? That's a question we asked repeatedly, why did they keep this stuff?
It's hard, dirty, but necessary work. I'll be glad when it's done...and, honestly, it will be sad too, because when it's done, we will all have closed a chapter in our lives and this is one chapter that I don't want to see end. I understand that this needs to be done, but...but...this is all evidence of a life--of the life of a family...and once we're done, it will be over...and, in the end...well...it will be the end...
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