RAIN!!

Yippee - we got a lot of rain in the wee hours of the morning. Now, it's miserably humid but I am not complaining because we so desperately needed that rain.

ALL FOUR of the Barn Banty's guinea eggs hatched!

This was the view from where I was in the barn this morning at 6am feeding #14. The other kids didn't think they should have to wait for their bottles. It was pouring down rain and it sounded really loud on the tin roof. As usual, we got some hail. Our house roof has a lot of hail damage already and the insurance company gave us a little money to replace it. (Like about 1/3 of what we will need!)


Yesterday and today I have been in total
MATH MISERY.
When I was about 9 years old I got left behind in math (this was before we were homeschooled) by the rest of the class and I have never recovered from the trauma of it all. (hee hee) This was in New Guinea where the teacher had a classroom full of kids of all ages, so I don't really blame her.

So, I have been trying to teach fractions and though I can understand it, I can't seem to teach it very well. You know you are desperate when you break out the Teacher's Manual AND the video! :>)

Daytime Drama?

These critters are worse than the "people" on the soaps!

Mama Ameraucana abandons her brood of 9 to have more babies. (She went back to laying eggs and left the chicks on their own.)

Barn Banty abandons her nest of 4 guinea eggs to adopt abandoned brood of 9!

Abandoned guinea eggs begin to try to hatch, despite no one sitting on them. (Thank goodness it's a hot day! I put them in a cage with their Barn Banty Mama. I hope she sits on them. )

Kris' dad found a baby goat in the middle of the road on the way to the cabin today with no goats anywhere in sight. He brought her to me, and that makes Orphan #14 for 2008!

Here she is with 3 of the abandoned chicks in the background.

Tuesday 5-13-08

angry bird strikes again

Several blue jays have been annoying James every day for over 2 weeks.

They actually fly low enough over him to strike him with their feet. Then they land and scream at him from just a foot or two away. He just wants to be left alone.

Thunder was rather scared of the marching band in Mason on Saturday, so Erinn had to get off to control him better. Directly behind Thunder in the upper picture is a 4 foot deep concrete drainage ditch that I was quite worried he would back into while she was on him. He was dancing around - more sideways and backwards than frontwards.
After the band scared him he decided not to load. It took about an hour and a half before he finally gave up and got in the trailer! This picture was taken at the Baptist church in Mason.

Anyone want some kefir grains? They are taking over our kitchen!! I guess I will give the extras to Hannah with her dog food this morning. I make 2 to 3 quarts of kefir daily, so the grains grow and multiply quite rapidly.

I mix up 3 gallons of milk/kefir/milk replacer for the goat kids every morning. The kefir really helps prevent scours from the milk replacer which I have to add to the milk in order to have enough for all 8 orphans.

Monday 5-12

Gabby, Zoe

Deet, Sophie

On Saturday we went to Mason not only for Erinn to ride Thunder in the parade, but for our long awaited chance to sell soap at the Sesquicentenniel Thing they had at the park.

Well, it was a total flop. Didn't even sell enough soap to cover our gas. End of story. 'Nuff said.

So, today I am really really really pleased to have a "Normal Day" again. The kids are home, and we are not madly wrapping bars of soap, etc. So, we can just do school, and catch up on various chores. The soap is still sitting out on the deck in plastic boxes... I need to figure out where we will keep it all! If I dont sell any, it will be 15 years before we use it all up. :o) Tommy and Brenda really want us to come back and try to sell soap again in September at the County Fair. They say there will be a lot more people and we should do better....

Valley and her kids are doing really well!

Mooky and I worked in the garden for awhile this morning while Erinn slept. I woke her up at 6:30 when I went out to milk, and she got up for about 2 hours, then went back to bed and slept for 3 hours! She is still having fevers almost every day. She said that she was "just really tired" today and that is why she took a nap. I hadn't taken her temp before she went to sleep, but she did not have a fever when she woke up.

She has a doctor appointment Thursday and I am working on a list of tests I want done. The doctor is quite agreeable to test for anything I can think of, but has no more ideas of his own.

Cuteness!

Gabby and Zoe show off their baby dolls.

Unfortunately I have forgotten their names! OH MY! How could I?

Help me out Someone, and I will post their names! All I know right now is that Zoe's baby has a screaming fit if you remove her pacifier. :D

Storeroom Banty and her guinea keet.
Erinn riding Jack and Tana riding Smokey in EAST TEXAS at the Baker's house!!!!
Valley kidded on Saturday morning at 7:30 and 7:50. I know the EXACT times because I was supposed to leave the house at 7am to go to Mason. Erinn was going to ride in a parade with Grandpa, so Kris and Erinn took Thunder and went on ahead. Mooky and I came later AFTER Valley kidded. Made it in time for the parade too!
A girl and a boy! The boy is the one with more color, as often happens.