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. =)