Animals

by

ANIMALS!!!

I am super excited about the fact we live so close to a really unique attraction to NY.  It is called Animal Adventures. It has animals from all over the world and they are available to be pet and fed and you stroll around the park. They are always improving and exhibiting new animals.

We have seen and touched animals that we would have never had the opportunity to do anywhere else in the world. What a fantastic resource. I am super thankful to the owner/founder Jordan Patch. He is an animals super hero.

birdstogether01

McCaws

McCaws

Alpacas

Alpacas

White Toed Lynx - Canadian

White Toed Lynx – Canadian

lynxwhitetoe01

Female Hyena

Female Hyena

hyena01 lynxmilkclose01 lynxmilk01 lynx01

White MCcaw

White MCcaw

Alpaca

Alpaca

alpaca01

Camel Kisses

Camel Kisses

Marty the Camel

Marty the Camel

MartynRebecca01 Marty01

African

African

birdstraightoutta camera01

A little Tongue from Olie

A little Tongue from Olie

Capabera

Capabera

Kangaroo

Kangaroo

Prairie Dog

Prairie Dog

Scottland bovine

Scottland bovine

Jacob Sheep

Jacob Sheep

white jacob01

by

New addition to my Fiber Collection

June 2015

This new addition is a living breathing fiber making beast.

🙂  Welcome my sweetie, Satin angora rabbit, FLUFFERNUTTER!  She lives in the barn and comes in frequently to be groomed. She has just recently been cut down, so her next fiber harvest will be a in a few months and will hopefully have a little better stability than the new baby fluff from her first cut.

fluffernutter

by

First Visit to the Zoo!

April 2015

It has been over five years since we have had the pleasure of enjoying this lovely small local zoo. It has just opened for the season and I plan on attending several events they have planned for this year.

It was so fun getting acquianted with the old and new animals.  I also was fortunate enough to have had my parents along with me, as well as R. We got to play with our cameras. The days weather was perfect and the animals did their best to cooperate. Netted cages really suck for autofocus. 😛

Here are a few of my favorite images of the day.

tiger stand01 leopard01 penguins01 Lemar01 turtlezoosideciew01

by

Like a Box of Chocolates

Life is whizzing by…sometimes at light speed, other times at a snails pace.

B. has been home for almost three weeks from Scattergood Friends School, where he started his Junior year of High School this fall, for vacation.  T. is back in school at the Life Skills program, where he has been attending since this Fall, from a two week vacation.  S. is back to his regular routine of going to the gym in the morning then work, then back home for dinner.  I begin my next semester of classes at Kirkwood Community College, continuing my slow steady progress towards my associates degree in Graphic Communication, on the 17th of Jan.

The New Year has begun.  I have been feeling very vacant and disconnected to everything around me for quite some time, so in hopes of rekindling being more present in my life I have turned back to this form of expression, blogging.  I find I reflect more accurately and thoughtfully upon my life through this process of writing to the blogging void.

To play a little catch up regarding the Holidays….

Peanut Butter Cups…

Brian came to visit us for the Solstice.  That was so fun having him here.

Chocolate Raspberry filled…

Did I mention after almost two years of hair growing B. finally gave up on having his hair long.  On his own accord he chose to have his haircut, SHORT!!  I love it!! Finally he has peripheral vision back!

He looks so grown up now!!

Turtles…

And we got the cutest kitten 6 months ago and she is so grown up now and loving her new Solstice gift.  A huge cat tree with three columns and three levels of play and sleep areas.

I know she is adorable!!

Strawberry Cream filled…

S. is on the local fire department and since May we live 1 minute away from the firehouse, walking. O_o  Yes, you heard  me right.  We moved.  We are still in the middle of No-Wheresville-Iowa, but we now live in town rather than out in the country.  I hate having neighbors.  Not personally, but due to the issues it creates with T.  He is curious and social and has NO boundaries. So it is dangerous for him to play outside when there is so much going on outside, giving him ample time to break the rules.  Rules, like no walking onto other peoples property, no entering peoples homes, no leaving our property, If biking or skootering…no going beyond the boundaries, etc etc etc….It is crazy living in an area in which I have to be a hawk watching this kid, just so he can play outside.  Pathetic, I know.  But necessary.

Dark chocolate Caramels…

Do you know what I did for New Years Eve?  Nothing, but the next day I got the best gift ever!!  6 hours allotted for me to join a girlfriend in a movie marathon with no children and plenty of chocolate on hand.  15 minutes into the movie and both us ladies are passed out on the couch.  Three hours later we wake have a snacky dinner and hang out chatting until I feel sleep coming back upon me.  Again, Pathetic, but wonderful!!!

Chocolate Covered Peanuts…

This week when B. returns to school he begins an Independent Study in the of Japanese Language.  I ordered him a PC program and a textbook.  Now I must go through each and try to create a cohesive lesson plan using them both.  This has meant staring and typing and reading and typing and learning more about Japanese than I ever intended. LOL  I am glad he loves the Language but him learning two languages at the same time seems like overload to me.  He is not phased by it so I guess I will simply follow his judgement.  He is so smart and eager to learn.  This summer he wants to take Trigonometry and Physics courses, continue his TaeKwonDo, and visit colleges.  It’s going to be a big challenge to get everything he wants complete, but I will do whatever I can to make his aspirations come to fruition.

Well, that is enough for now.  Crazy and busy, but mostly in a good way with the only exception being T.  That is just part of my world.

by

Thanksgiving!

I am very fortunate.  I have a lot to give thanks for.  I have a family that loves me and supports me.  I can legally homeschool my children.  I have food on our table, with much to spare.  My family has clothes on their backs.  I am able to stay home with my children and meet their needs.  I have incredible friends who reach out to lend a hand or an open heart whenever I have need.  My man loves me so much he gives me chocolate regularly!  My man has a job.

This last one listed is such a blessing to us right now.  He was laid off in Oct. and he was so fortunate enough to have found himself torn between several available options all vying for him.  We aren’t quite their yet, but it makes me feel a lot better knowing that there is a job waiting upon our arrival in Iowa.  Making it to Iowa and surviving with no money until S.’s first paycheck will be interesting.  We purchase the hotel, transportation, meals and all that jazz while finding a new home, and then Steve receives reimbursement.  We don’t have the money upfront, so this should be very interesting.  This wasn’t how it worked when we moved to NY.  That was all taken care of by the company, but this one is very much do for yourself.  I don’t even get to go out to Iowa with Steve initially.  I have to stay behind with the boys, while packers come and real estate people interview.  I am so overwhelmed with all that needs to be taken care of prior to  move, that I am about catatonic.

We have painted for over 6 days straight, pretty much messing up every wall we came to. 😛  And prepared the biggest Thanksgiving Dinner for only 9 people.  😛  My dear friends the Rayne Family from Wild Acorn Farm, gave me a 30 pound piglet for my suckling pig dinner this year.  We also purchase(and I slaughtered and processed) an 18-20 lb turkey for dinner.  We had enough meat to feed over forty people!!  We had too many pies to count for dessert!  Too many sides to even recall!!  We had two tables set up for all this food and we still ran out of room.  We were very blessed by my Sister-in-law, Carrie, and her two boys, that joined us for Thanksgiving.  My parents were there, of course, as well.  My brother, David, is once again(4th time) in Iraq.  Knowing this was our last Thanksgiving or any kind of holiday in this house, I thought we gave it a pretty good send off.  Great food, fun conversation, and loving family.  Oh and don’t forget the Football.  Good games all around.

All this, while prepping the house for New Carpets coming in two days from then.  It was slightly crazy, but its done.  Now off to fix all the messes I made of the woodwork.  Doh!!!

Next!!

by

Making May Memorable! (cute alert!)

This morning I was doing a goat check, since our newest arrival happened unawares, I thought it would be best to check several times a day now for our last pregnant doe to give birth.  I was glad I did.  I noticed right away this morning that she was getting ready, so I moved her from the stall that she was sharing into the newly cleaned and “re-hayed” stall for the event.  Then, I sat and watched and watched.  All morning I watched and waited for the kids to drop.  Thankfully, before lunch she had given birth to two baby bucks.  The first one with a dark brown head and the second all white and creamy colored.  I am actually a little surprised to see that she didn’t have more than two.  She is huge!!!  I must be feeding them way too much, cause they are all fat!!  hehehe  All the babies we  have are big and healthy, so I am happy!

We had our friend Jacqui’s daughter join us today to watch the happenings.  She was a pleasure to have around.  I always find it such a relief to have another female within my home.  I am seriously outnumbered here with three males around me all the time.

So altogether now, we have five kid goats this season.  Two are does and three are bucks.  All three mamas are very proud and protective of their little wards.  Now we tackle the hoof trimming of the mamas soon.  This should be interesting as they are all really well over due for it.  And to find out who is going to de-horn these little ones, as I have no equipment nor enough knowledge to do such a procedure but most certainly must have it done.

Enjoy the pictures!!

by

Memorial Day Celebrations

Beginning on Saturday we were prepping for the Annual Rayne Family Memorial Day Party.  This is always a great celebration hosted by a truly fabulous family.  No matter how hard things are for them or busy they are, this party is something they grace our community with.  Putting this event together is always a large challenge and I am so thankful they put in so much effort to make it happen every year.  It very much reminds me of the family parties I attended in my youth with my family, with the exception that these folks are my homeschooling community and friends, rather than  family.

Much winter clean up happens during the week prior to this fun event and I love being apart of it.  Getting dirty is not a problem for me.  It is fun!!  Even if it means cleaning up in the process. LOL  When it is all done, everything looks so shiney and new again.  A great beginning to the growing season!  Did I mention that this event happens on a working farm!  This family raises pigs, sheep, chickens and goats.  They have pleasure horses and assorted fowl whom reside and  play in the pond.  The care of all these animals year round is a fulltime job!!  Somehow between children, the house, church, community, jobs and more they find time to run everything naturally and with gentility of Saints!  I am always in Awe and find so much inspiration from this family.

I had somehow managed to injure my wrist so wasn’t much help in prep this year, but I finally got a picture of the pig for the pig roast.  😛  You’ll see!!!  We had a great time being outside working again as we hadn’t done much of that this year yet.  I don’t even have my garden going yet.

On Sunday, S. arrived back at their home to put the pig on at 6:30am.  It was a long day for these men, but it was worth it!!  The pig was finished before guests arrived!!  It tasted delicious!  And everyone, even the hosts actually got to have fun and particpate in their own party this year, rather than cooking etc..  It was a fun filled day with several performances through out the day.  Even my son B. played a few songs on his guitar.  There was a professional band that played two sets, called Voodoo Highway.  The lead singer is a homeschooling mother from our local group.  The bassist works at BAE with S. so he was pleasantly suprised.  A Highway Poet Motor Cycle Club member that we are friends with read some of his peices for the crowd.  Great stuff!!  And, of course, our lovly local fabulous musician, Jacqui Rayne, herself blessed us with a performance.  And More!  It was just an all around good time.  Hundreds of people from all over arrived and joined in the fun.  The night fell and the bonfire was lit.  Twenty foot flames arose and the heat was blazing hot.  After it settled down, smores were to be had!!  Before it got too late, we headed out to hit the sack.  We were all a little wired still, but were soon all asleep.  I wish I could have gotten more pictures, but my camera card ran out after videotaping Jacqui and B. performing.  Maybe next year I will come prepared with an extra memory card or some such.

The next day a hair came across our butts and our own procastrinated barn cleaning needed to be done.  I walked in and checked on all the mamas and found that whilst we were playing all day prior one of our mamas had a beautiful little doe.  I checked her all over and everything was well.  Good job little Mama!  We had some serious cleaning to do and we just cranked it out.  I was very glad to be done by 3ish in the afternoon.  Now each goat mama had a stall all to her own and the bunnies stall was all cleaned out.  Our compost pile is just massive!!!!  I wish I had a bulldozer to turn it every few weeks.  My parents came over that evening and we had hamburgers, watermelon, chips, mushrooms, baked beans, and hello.  Yum, giggly Jello!  We just sat around chatting.  It was relaxing.

I hope you had a good Memorial Day and found some time in your celebrations and such to honor those whom have passed with the designation of Vetran and any other family/friends that could use some remembering.  I know I am truly thankful for all that I have and know it is only possible due to the many who are brave enough to join our armed services.  Thank you!

by

Day 2: Goat Babies!!

by

Today I am a Grandmother!

What?  How is this possible, you say?!  Her children are 10 and 13!  No.  It is not what you are thinking and I hope that may never be ther case.

Tonight,(as I was getting ready to leave the house for a chance away from the children) my goats began the kidding process.  The youngest goat was the first bred this winter and she gave birth to two kids tonight.  It was not the most graceful of birthing processes, I must say.  Kinda gross, as a matter of fact.  She wasn’t quite letting go of the placenta and I had to help with that, but later on she finally expelled the rest.

She had one buck(male) and one doe(female).  She had no idea what to do with them, other than clean them and call to them to imprint.  She took a really long time and so did the kids to figure out how to go about nursing.  She did finally figure it out, but it is clearly going to be touch and go with her.  I will have to watch carefully to make sure they are getting fed.  I stuck her and the newborns in a kidding pen in hopes of less moving about, so they have a better chance to suckle.

All in all, a successful first kidding.  I was surprised.  It totally figured she would have them at the very moment that I had an opportunity to finally get out of my house with out my children for a little while.  I will have to find another way for that to happen on another day.  Hopefully, these babes will thrive.  I am exhausted and stinky.  I must shower and hit the sack.

Enjoy the pictures.  There will be more in the morning, but these were the initial shots as we found them in the barn this evening.