Picture of the Week Thursday

Picture of the Week Thursday: A Chicken Update

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Kat and Moonrise

The last time we posted pictures of the chicks, they were tiny. This one was actually taken last week. This is Moonrise. As far as we can tell, she is a hen. We tried to get a shot of Sunrise too, but he wouldn’t keep still.

They both seem to be doing quite well. They have both escaped a time or two (I think they flew out), but they don’t go far. Still, I would rather they stayed in. We’ve had a couple stray dogs about, and Meeko still escapes as well, and I don’t want to risk them all being out at the same time.

We figured out this morning that Meeko not only gets out, but he can get back in too.  That’s another blog post: probably one Ed will write.

Connie

Picture of the Week Thursday: Woodpecker

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Good morning!

Since I have some potted herbs and flowers that I want to over winter inside, and since the over night temps have started dipping into the 30’s, I started bringing pots in this morning.

While I was out in the  front yard, I started hearing the tap tap tap of a woodpecker. It didn’t take long to locate him on one of the sunflower stalks. Ed came outside about that time, and I whispered for him to get my camera.

Sometimes I think the Lord shows me things like this for the same reason I show them to my children. He knows I think it’s cool, and He likes to see my face light up.

Woodpecker on the Sunflower

Woodpecker on the Sunflower

Have a wonderful day.

Connie

Yes, We’re All Ok

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It’s just been a crazy week.

In the last 10 days, Ed has had one day off: yesterday. Of the nine days he worked, he has put in mostly nine and ten hour days, in addition to the hour or so drive time. The drive time has extended too, due to road construction. He’s spent what little spare time he’s had, building the chicken coop. I know he’ll want to tell you about that, but I will tell you that it’s finished enough for the chicks to be in it, in relative safety.

Since yesterday was his only day off, we had to run all day. First was a trip to the vet for Libby. I was concerned because she seems to be losing weight. She’s always had trouble with flea dermatitis, and I wanted to take care of that too. It was our first visit with that vet, and it won’t be the last. He was very good, and he didn’t charge us an arm and a leg. He said that Libby’s issues are more than likely flea related and he put her on the flea pill. We took care of her shots while we were there. He told us we could just bring Meeko over and he could get his shots and a flea pill. He wouldn’t charge us for an exam. You can’t beat that.  We brought Libby home, and headed back out for the hour drive to Liberty. We were home long enough to put groceries away before I had to be at a Sisters-in-Service meeting at church, and Ed the men’s Bible study out at the preacher’s farm. It was a long day.

What am I doing while Ed is working?  To be honest, since we started the Whole 30, I’ve spent most of my time in the kitchen. Since processed foods are out (as well as grains, dairy, and legumes),  I am spending a whole lot more time cooking. There is no “grabbing a sandwich”. There is a whole lot more clean up too. The up side is that I have energy to do it all. Looser fitting clothes are a bonus too. We have ten days left before we enter the “reintroduction” stage.

When I haven’t been cooking, I’ve been planning for school, which we start next week. I did have one day where I was able to get outside and do some clean up. That is when I got our Thursday picture of the week. I went out to the barn to look for something that I had misplaced (that happens a lot), and saw this guy on the door. I called Kat to bring my camera, and we used hers for scale.

Kat and the praying mantis as long as her phone

Kat and the praying mantis as long as her phone

Lord willing, I’ll be able to get the herbs harvested tomorrow, and set to preserving them. Oh, we harveseted the potatoes this morning. It was disappointing. I’ll share more about that next time.

Connie

Picture of the Week Thursday: The Moth

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This picture was actually taken last week, but when we took it, I knew I had to save it for today.

Ed was working outside and saw this.

Moth on 1x6 board

Moth on 5 1/2 inch boar

Of course he had to come get us. I have never seen one this big up close. We thought it was dead at first, but eventually, it flew off.

Isn’t it beautiful?

This second picture is to show some scale. Those are Ed’s work gloves. The moth was about five inches wide.

Ed's gloves and moth

Ed’s gloves and moth

Connie

Making Plans and Picture of the Week Thursday

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Yesterday morning, as we looked at our still overgrown, under producing garden, I told Ed that I am ready to “be done with this”, and start working on a fall garden. He agreed. So probably some time today or tomorrow morning, we will mow it all down.

While we were out there, we also discussed where to put a temporary chicken coop. I told him that I want to be able to look out either the kitchen or the den window and see the chickens, which basically means they will be in the back yard. He should like that. It means less to mow.

Since he is off today, and we don’t have to do a bunch of business in town, we should get a lot done around here. Lord willing, he’ll be able to tell you about it tomorrow. I have a few things in working on too. I’ll share those this weekend.

Now for the Thursday picture(s)of the week:

As most of you know, we have three generations of cats: the daughter (Adora), the mother (Bookworm), and the grandmother (Captain). Adora’s nickname, given to her by Ed, is Arrhythmia, since she pretty much stays in freaked-out mode. She will eventually get her own blog post.

Like all cats, she likes to cram herself into places where she really doesn’t fit, but the last few days, she has taken it to a new level.

Adora in the ktichen drawer

Adora in the ktichen drawer

She used to do this when she was a kitten, at our last house, but it was usually a bathroom drawer. She stayed there about five hours. I just let her sleep.

"Tater"

“Tater”

Ed says her new nickname is “Tater” This roost didn’t work out quite so well for her. Its wasn’t so great for the potatoes either.  I wish I could have got a shot of her in the pot with the avocado tree!

See ya tomorrow.

Connie

Picture of the Week Thursday: The Frog

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Just in case you hadn’t noticed, Old Folks at Homestead is now on facebook.

Monday night, Ed was using the push mower to cut the grass next to the house. I could hear him outside the kitchen window, when suddenly, I heard him holler. I didn’t hear what he said, but I didn’t like the tone, in light of his recent mishaps. I went out the back door calling for him. He assured me he was okay, but told me to get Katherine and come out where he was. I called for Katherine and headed around the side of the house.

We have flexible black drain pipes that run from our down spouts and away from the house. He had picked one up to move it, and something living came out of the pipe. It was a rather large bull frog! It startled him, hence the hollering. About the time Katherine got out there, Ed told her to go back in a get the camera. She came back with her phone, and took this picture.

Posing bullfrog

Posing bullfrog

If I had been thinking, I would have got my camera to take a picture of my daughter squatting down next to the frog and gently holding the grass in front of him down so she could get the shot. She really does have a way with critters.

Connie