The Countdown

This has been a rollercoaster week. The weather on Tuesday was 80 degrees and now we are experiencing a couple of days with temps in the 30's and 40's. Monday we lost a hen, no signs of why, the day before she was fine and no one else has had any signs of an issue. On Tuesday one of my amazing neighbors broke up my garden spot for me with his tractor. There is no way the tiller would have touched this plot because in the past it had horses on it so the ground was pretty packed. This was perfect timing because now with the cooler weather it should kill off some of the weeds that were in there but it is great because the clover had really gone nuts with the burst of warm weather and so now that is buried up in the soil. I plan to spread some composted horse manure across it before we till it in which should help really prepare the soil for planting. I am giddy with Spring on it's way, only a little over a week til it is officially here.

Daniel's blood sugars always get crazy with the changing of the seasons, the last couple of days have been absolutely nuts. Usually Spring brings many lows for him but he has been going through the roof, tricky disease that diabetes just when you think you get it, you realize you don't. He is so thrilled with the idea that baby chicks will be here soon. The kids are really looking forward to getting to know the new babies.

New adventures and Old memories

We are so excited to say that we will be doing the 4H Chick Chain again this year. It went so well last year and has really added so much to our lives that we are looking forward to the next stage. There are a couple of ways that we could go about handling bringing a new flock onto Redbud but we have decided not to mix the flocks. We are building a new hen house and run for our existing layers and will clean, disinfect and rebed the existing building as a brooder unit. Since the babies will not be able to use the run for some time it will give me a chance to correct things I now know I would have done differently and to turn the soil several times for the sun to disinfect.

My first wave of garden seeds should be arriving this week. Now to find someone to break up the garden area for me. We have a tiller but it is ancient and tricky, the first go around on that ground out there needs to be deep like with a tractor. In the meantime I will be starting my seeds in small pots the kids and I are making out of newspaper so that when it is time to transplant we won't have to disturb the roots, we can just put the whole thing in the ground. We have been saving soda bottles, the kind that come in a six-pack of soda. We cut the bottle in two pieces about half way down, set the pot into the bottle and water. Then replace the top half and it creates like a terrarium of sorts to hold in the moisture and warmth.

I love sharing these things with my kids. Daniel is only interested in some parts of it and then moves on but Sarah loves to help and to learn it all. Sarah is eight now so I think when it is time to can our treasures this year I will start teaching her that part too. Some of my most wonderful memories is helping my grandmother garden and can each year. She taught me so many things that many kids today do not get to be a part of. I was never fond of chicken killing day when I was little because those headless beasts would chase you. lol Grandma would set me on the back porch and have me clean gizzards to keep me out of the way, but she did it in a way that made me feel that it was the most important job of the day. The good part was that I learned how to cut up a chicken and just how many meals could come from one bird. =) We always had one goat and once in a blue moon grandma could trade stuff for a calf that we would raise for butcher. The goat was a good friend to an only child, she followed me every step I took and the milk she produced was always a treat. The calf thing got easier as time went on, but in the beginning I made the mistake of naming one and growing attached. Her name was Tinker Bell and she was great. Boy it was hard when I found out her fate but understood that Grandma had a reason for everything she did. Somehow the occasional pig we raised did not cause such an emotional response when it had to say goodbye. Neither did those blasted mean roosters that would flog any and everyone that crossed it's path.

The older I get the more in awe of my grandmother I become. She was such a good provider and worked so hard even with RA and Lupus. She raised her own seven kids as a single mother and then took me in and raised me most of my life as well. She was the person that taught me to fish and even let me keep my first one, even though it was so small it probably would not have been worth cleaning. She taught me how to be a good shopper and careful with money. The first time I bought the groceries alone I was probably about eight or nine years old. She could no longer drive, it was a small town so everyone knew us, she called the store to tell them I was coming and I did the shopping all by myself. I can not even imagine sending Sarah to the store like that now but we did what had to be done then. I wish my kids could have known her, she was not lovey but you knew she loved you by her actions. I guess that was part of her Indian influenced raising, her mama was the same way. She taught me to quilt, how to cook, how to make do, to always be honest and help anyone in need. She taught me about family, community and the love of our country. She believed in me when I did not, she encouraged me when I felt hopeless, she would admit her pitfalls when she saw me go through the ones of my own and she was the one constant rock I could always count on. I miss her every day of the world but I feel blessed to have a part of her in my heart and in my character.

Spring is on the way. I hope that everyone can find the joy even in these trying times. Better days are a comin. =)

Overdue Update

Apologies to you and this blog, I have been neglecting to get posts written and I assure you I have slapped my hands with the ruler for this misdeed. While the posts have been few it does not mean that we are all lazing around and have nothing to say, just the opposite actually.

The family: This month has been busy for the humans on Redbud. Taylor had her 17th birthday, Sarah slept over at a friend's house for the first time ever, Daniel celebrated his fourth D-aversary (the fourth anniversary of his diabetes diagnosis), Taylor had Governor's School auditions (which is huge and nerve racking for her), we had our annual IEP meeting with the school for Daniel's Asperger's, Daniel had his 4-H poster to turn in, there has been much planning for the garden and the chickens going on and the kids have been home on and off from school because of weather. Whew, that is a lot and I am sure I have missed stuff.

The chickens: Those silly girls have been up to some antics. They have not been big fans of the weather, the rain and the cold have them in a tizzy. There was a point when we thought we would have to rename the hen house The Ark and the girls looked a mess because they would not stay out of the rain. We had a few days that were so super cold that the egg laying decreased and I was afraid even with the light on for the 14 hours a day that they would stop, but they plowed through it. It did send one girl into a semi-moult and she got picked on for it. She looked so ragged with her little half naked neck. Then I saw Zelda pulling feathers from the moulting girl and eating them. This can mean one of two things, they are bored or they need more protein. Because of the freezes the amount of greens have been fewer so I figured it was the protein issue. I cooked up a bunch of eggs and fed them, I know it sounds wrong, and they loved them. Voila, protein. One day they got scrambled eggs and another day they got boiled eggs broken up. The shells can be baked and fed back to them for a boost of calcium as well. They will be happy to know that in my garden plans is a plot of ground just for their greens, both for spring and for fall. One thing that was tough during the cold was gathering the eggs fast enough that they would not get too cold, hopefully the worst is over and we can go back to our regularly scheduled collection times.

The dogs: They have a canine apartment of sorts in the barn and they enjoy it. They love to be let out so they can play outside too but this month they have spent more time in the barn than they would choose because of all the rain and cold. One of the spring plans is to fence off half of the area behind the barn and then they can go out when they choose. Dixie is ok to let roam free but Sunny is half border collie and she likes to herd things, like cars. Over all they are happy girls and enjoy the time in the afternoon that the kids go and play with them and give them treats.

Collectively we are all getting excited about spring, the green coming back, the warm days, and starting on the next phase of Redbud.