THE QUEST FOR GUINNEAS IS OVER!!!
Yes, you read me correctly! Tomorrow morning I pick up my long sought after guinnea keets-just 10 days old. I am- to say the least-ECSTATIC over this most wonderful news. Those of you following know that I have been on a mad quest to find guinnea keets in groups of less than 25 (the typical order size from most distributors). Today I located a woman locally who hatched 20 guinnea keets and is selling them for $2.50 each and is willing to sell me pairs of 2-so we are getting 6. I was informed that we MUST get them in pairs because they mate for life, how romantic!! I am even more in love with them now than I was before. I will post pics ASAP of our new additions to the flock. I am also placing an order for another 50 chickens. We are getting Black Minorcans,Cocchins,My beloved's PHOENIX, Speckled Sussex,and Hamburgs. The kids and I spent the day building in preparation for the growing flock.I found a guy giving away 2 outdoor rabbit hutches and I am on the list for them if the lady who called 1st doen't pick 'em up. This is great news since the first of our 6 bunnies will be coming home in 2 weeks and will require accomodations.I also found a huge birdcage(think old victorian wrought iron) for my lil bantam rooster to live in IN THE HOUSE. Yes, in the house. He will be my house chicken. No more deaths among the peeps,the sicilian buttercups were cursed it seemed,doomed to die a mysterious death, one a day ,but their unlucky streak has broken and the remaining 5 are alive and well and thriving.
Homeschooling is coming along nicely, kids are all very productive together, even with Dawson acting as our 4th. We take frequent breaks and pepper a lil house/yard work in for exercise. We have decided to go off the grid next year and return to traditional homeschooling,leaving the virtual school academy behind us. It has been an interesting experience, but somehow less like homeschool, more like boot camp and we are just not that tight assed about things.
Layla's dance is just 3 weeks away and her dress is gorgeous. Edd found it(he said I HAD to type that or he would pout), but he really did. Right size and everything, it is PERFECT and she LOVES IT!! A short lil number the deep,vibrant color of concord grapes bathed in sunlight. She looks beautiful. I am so proud, a lil nervous, but so proud. She is growing up-she has a NON-boyfriend and a couple of NON dates under her belt and I struggle to suppress the urge to shove her in a closet, bound and gagged until she is 30-maybe 35. I know-relax, I am trying okay? Kieren now has a date for a dance too. Only the girl asked him! She's Miss Putnam County, our fairground Princess. She is cute with a lil upturned nose and Kieren is excited. I am again nervous ,but proud and happy for him. I realize they need the affection and approval of someone other than me to grow as individuals, this knowledge does not however ease my butterflies over the agonizing realization that they are growing up & will one day want to leave home and get married and, and, and... I gotta stop this, I will never get to sleep thinking this way.
Kieren drove the truck today for abut 8 blocks and he drove very well in fact. He said afterwards he was sweating like the heater was on and felt totally drained from the adrenaline rush but he enjoyed it, and more importantly he LOOKED calm & in control. My little man, he's growing up too & I like where he's going. Some days the road is bumpier than I would prefer but the direction in on track and that's what matters,right?
I'm off to pick up my Edd from work, I missed him today. More than usual, maybe it's the weather-every morning looks like rain, even smells of rain. The air heavy with the promise of raindrops, tight little pellets of warm compressed water molecules, pelting the rooftop almost painfully hard and sending the chickens scurring for cover. Then...nothing. Alot of tension in that scenario, day after day. It looks like a long, hot, sticky summer. Today was 87 in the shade with no breeze whatsoever, and it is APRIL. August will be sweltering at this rate. When Edd gets his pell check we are installing the pool and a fence. The kids will be miserable with out it, gas is too expensive to drive to town everyday to swim. The gardens are growing up so quickly I can barely blog before they have changed again. The corn is getting tall and the beans are winding around the stalks and flowering. The brussel sprouts are about 3 inches tall and sturdy- I believe we will have a good crop-enough to freeze for fall. At least 12 tomatoe plants are thriving, each a different heirloom variety,and the okra (always a great grower-no matter the conditions) is promising to yield early.
It has been a good day, I enjoyed working along side the children and getting things accomplished together. I like knowing they are learning important things about self sufficiency and survival and I pray they remember them as they get older, as I did. I am still learning though. Today for instance I learned to make seed strips. Using biodegradable materials you can make strips of seeds to wrap around a tissue tube to store for planting season-then u just lie the strip down on the turned earth, cover ,water and Voila! , planting done. Will post more on this with photos tomorrow eve. Sleep well, dream pleasantly. The world is your oyster.
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