Happy memorial Day!

                                                      HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!!!


                                         What a gorgeous perfect amazing day! Not just because I got to sit out under our shade tree ,lazing about and enjoying the constant and hypnotic breezes like some old lady well past retirement, but because I got to do so with my son who shadowed me all day in fear of me relapsing into the vile and horrific illness which kept me bedridden the past 3 days. We sat beneath the shade tree and watched the chickens and pet them and talked. Really talked, about nothing profound, about nothing guided, just chatted like to old golf buddies hanging out at the players lounge after a good 18. He kicked back and put up his feet and closed his eyes and said,"man, I am loving this breeze today. I could go to sleep right here". I had to agree and follow suit. After not eating and running fevers well over 103 on and off for 3 straight days,this was  just what the doctor would have ordered were I the type that frequented those sort of professionals regularly. ironically I am not. I prefer to wait and see, sweat it out, suffer it thru if you will first. I got some antibiotics from my friend on day 2, but after 1 pill didn't stay put, I refused another-why be wasteful right?
                                         Occasionally we got up to walk around the property and check on Dr. danger (he had a stroke and is healing well) or to water or weed a garden (though to be perfectly honest neither of us put much effort into it and that was fine too) or to grab a cool glass of water or sweet tea and devour some of the simply divine potato soup Layla made me this morning. So velvety and creamy it was sinful and left me craving more even when my stomach said I was full. I shall post our family recipe for you soon. I am still feeling a little weak and ready to lie down with my boo. Edd worked doubles all weekend and still stayed up most of 2 nites caring for me while I was delirious with fever (I am not joking people-I saw my dead grandfather ok?) yeah that fevered. He held my hand, held my head and catered to my every need. Bless him forever, because I am the worst-THE WORST patient in the world. He should have put a pillow over my head when I asked him to( I would have), but no, he clung to the memory of the woman he loved just 24 hrs prior and nursed  me to wellness. So today was day 1 of recovery and it was perfect.
                                       We lost a little bunny-baby Fernando-Dawsons bunny. Not sure what the cause was but our dear friend Jeff is replacing it for us with a lovely little buck on Thursday. Dawson was very upset and given that he has had a rocky week at home this week I am most grateful to Jeff for his generosity. We have Cornish down with a swollen foot, cannot determine source but we are treating her in the "wellness unit" for fever and giving her extra nutrition and fresh cold water as well as a room of her own until she recovers. We hope anyway. The guinneas were released into the yard with the rest of the chickens 3 days ago and have been doing wonderfully. They stay in the yard and go right into the hen house to roost at night. They started learning to climb trees and fly today it was amusing for Kieren and I, it took up over an hour of our time. They will "bounce" up to the highest point and then "bounce" to the end of the branch and then just LEAP with the last bounce like a high diver off the platform. and they FLY.
All the veggies are producing now and Kieren enjoyed gathering hot peppers and banana peppers from the salsa garden today almost as much as Owyn enjoys racing outside to see how many eggs we have. We have a couple new layers, I suspect the new Hampshire reds but we are not certain yet. Still hoping to find a barter or the extra money for the goats before season draws to a close.
                                           On saturday we pick up our summer guests. The kids are very excited and we are getting the rooms ready now to accomodate a couple extra. Layla is organizing the craft boxes and preparing her itenerary (she is in charge of crafts) Kieren is  making sure that all targets and weapons are ready and in good shape for target practice and all the fishing/sports equipment is as well (he's our activities man) Owyn is in charge of toiletries/bath (managing towels/shampoo/soaps/TP etc) and assisting the older children. looking forward to summer, so ready for more relaxed schedules and laziness than usual. We stay pretty busy and although we have charted so pretty lofty projects for this summer, it will still give us more down time than the hectic school year provides.I have a request to post the recipe for the cardamom cupcakes Layla made along with the ones she is making tonite-s'mores cupcakes! yummy! I will post these next blog.
                                             Good night all, before you close your eyes say a prayer of thanks to all the men and women who died preserving our right to live a liberal, and disgustingly privleged existence. Given their lives so we can live ours the way we choose, saying, wearing and doing what WE choose. I do not support war. However, I do  believe in supporting those who are given little chhoice in the matter. Many men and women in the last 10 yrs have not joined the armed forces because of an unwavering loyalty to our country or because they are blood thirsty war mongers. They became soldiers to feed their families. They became soldiers because UNCLE SAM promised them huge sign on bonuses and enormous paychecks during deployment along with what sounded like alot of other wonderful options. many were promised positions they were never given and deployed anyway. Most have missed the birth of at least one child, many, 2 or more children. Some have not seen their children yet. They do not make enormous paychecks. They live as meekly as most of us. One day at a time. But they still get up every day and defend a country that has broken promises and refused medical treatment and turned its back on it's veterans. Most do not believe in this war, most I have spoken to think it is bloody nonsense we are even there, but they do it anyway-because they are told to.Because Someone said it needed to be done. It is a job I could not do. I would not do,therefore I give utmost respect to anyone who does. My Grandfather fought in Germany 2 tours. My Father did 2 tours in Vietnam and came home ruined with a Purple Heart and more hatred than I have seen since. I know first hand what military life can be like. It aint easy. So when you say your prayer say thanks to the wives, the children, the families of those fallen, broken, damaged souls who went to war. To fight to, do what you and I DID not WOULD not,COULD not do.it's not just the soldiers who hurt, who suffer , sacrifice-it's the families on a whole. War sucks. It is an inevitability however, of a nation grown so large so strong and so wealthy, to have to defend itself by whatever means needed. The individuals doing so should be revered as Knights of old. Not looked down upon or forgotten. take these thoughts with you to bed and say THANK YOU.

Memories......

7 yrs old

12 yrs old

                         Today we had to go into town to sign Layla up for her High School courses. yes, she is home schooled but she does virtual  home schooling which is still linked to the county. So, we go in and we are sitting there listening to her options and I ma watching her fill out her own paperwork for the first time ever, and I felt a sudden jolting sense of loss blanketed with an overwhelming feeling of pride. My baby, my little girl was well on her way to growing up. Making choices on her own,and I could feel the nest emptying from beneath me. How had 15yrs + 9 months gone by so quickly?  seems like just last week I was telling her to, "look both ways before you cross the road", and to, "keep peddling baby even when I let go of the seat"! or " just take a deep breath and swim for the side, I'll be right there waiting". Now I'm fielding questions about S.A.T's and college pathways and summer courses for extra credit...
                                This inevitably led to Owyn's favorite car pass time of "TELL ME A STORY FROM WHEN I WAS LITTLE" . So began the ride to the pool, the ride home afterwards and still as I type the finishing touches of this walk down memory lane. It has me a little melancholy,

13 yrs old

   looking at baby pictures and reminiscing. When she was 7 I asked Layla, " what do you want to be when you grow up"? She replied,"a marine biologist, a photographer and a super model ".  Aahhhh, youth. How big we dream.Anything is possible then ya know? I asked her today on the way home," so,what do you wanna be when you grow up"? She replied," happy ". I like that, simple and to the point. HAPPY. That's my Layla, she is a pragmatist 100%. She was chosen to have a short story she had written published . It's really very good. I couldn't be prouder of her and to see her finding her path through art makes my soul rejoice!She is confident and doesn't care what other people think or want of her, she is her own woman and that gives me peace of mind. I know she love chemistry and poetry and a million other things, but I believe that no matter what she grows up to be, HAPPY will be in the title somewhere.

14 yrs old (look at that waist line!)

Summer time,Summer time,Sum Sum Summer tiiiimmmme!

                           Summer is just around the corner and I have to admit we have been ready for weeks. Edd has staunchly refused to eat any watermelon that we do not grow ourselves, so the kids and I are praying to the watermelons daily to hurry and grow! We are ready for lazy mornings and haphazard days filled with the spontaneity and devil-may-care casualness only summer break can bring. This summer we will have a few extra kids here full time ,Edd says ," it's like summer camp" and snickers, because he knows  I am loving it. I really am. I am looking forward to it. believ it or not- it actually gets easier the more kids you have if you get the numbers right.
                         We will have a 12/13 yr old a 14/15 yr old (girls) 3 10/11 (boys) and a 7 yr old girl. This is perfect! We have had these kids together before and the chemistry is good. yes, there are inevitably squabbles, but it works itself out pretty quikly and then we are back on track. The new comers will be learning things from the  others like cycling, ice skating and swimming-while they will all be learning to horseback ride ,zip line, and possibly dirt bike together. There will beach trips and the pool and festivals galore! theres the fireworks and a couple of people have birthdays this summer too. Cross your fingers and I'll keep ya posted.
                                                                On to the property.
Gardens are in full fruit at this time, as a matter of fact I have gotten 2 regular weekly deliveries booked for produce and a weekly bread/pastry delivery too! I am so excited, I will have to till another plot to plant again for the family if I get many more local orders. I have my friends on Post @ Ft. Stewart in GA to deliver to bi-weekly also. I had hoped to maybe do a weekend market once or twice this summer so this makes me exceedingly happy to have regular deliveries.  We had our first egg customer on Monday. A very sweet lil ole black lady pulled right into the driveway. She said," them chickens look good and healthy and  I's hungry fer some eggs!" so we sold her all we had and grinned about it all day. We are managing to pay the bills (although we no longer have our cellphones) and keep food on the table and I have bartered labor and goods for a few fun surprises for the kids this summer. I am working at a horse ranch here locally to pay for riding priveleges for the kids.  I will be mucking stalls and doing repairs for a couple months most likely during the hottest of summer days so that all the kids staying here-not just ours- will get to ride a few times over summer. I have to admit I am excited about it too. I was tickled to death when I was able to negotiate terms with the owner. Kids will D. I. E-die! when they find out.
                      Elvis has reached his sexual maturity and has been attempting (and failing) to mount everything in the yard! it's very literally hysterical to watch. He saunters up to the hens,who are about 2 months from maturity, and grips a mouthful of feathers on their backs in his beak and before he can leap on top he gets pecked and flapped and shooed away! he keeps trying though. Gotta give him credit for that. Edd says he needs to learn THE DANCE. You know the, hey-pretty-mamma-check-me-out, wing dance they do, to intice the hens. They drop a wing and do a little circle around her to show her the goods. if she wants it, she drops it like it's hot and it's ON! Otherwise, not so much. He is getting the NOT SO MUCH right now. Poor fellow, but his crow is definately improving.
                     The Guinneas are almost old enough to be released into the yard, maybe next week and Layla's house chicken Esme, is doing just fine and more than a little spoiled. He (we are almost certain it is a rooster) he follows us like a puppy and insists on being fed at the table and roosting on my shoulder when I go to bed. Edd usually scoops him up and puts I'm in his cage long after I have fallen asleep.
Dawson doesn't come out as much as before ,but we still see him 3 out of 7 days a week. His brother Darris,broke up with Layla the day of Spring Formal. What a dick huh? Layla says it's cool-she thinks he may be into guys anyway,"cuz he never even tried to kiss me", she says. She is ok ,I am ok-just keep breathing slowly kinda ok. I really thought this first Boyfriend break up crap was gonna flip me out, but Layla took it well and therefore I am taking it well. That's not to say I don't think of pit maneuvering his bike every time I see him riding down the street, I just don't , so I am OK. right? even though I still refer to him as DICK instead of Darris. I AM OKAY.
                        Got all the kids final papers turned into the county school board for review for their end of the year grade today. Glad to be done with it-it basically signals the beginning of summer for us. We still technically have a week + to go but we are done. Getting late and I am pooped. I will post recipes tomorrow for some delicious cinnamon rolls and pork egg rolls from left overs!.
'night ya'll
                     
                     

What's Cookin?

cinnamon rolls I baked with Layla today.

                                             My dear sweet natured, even tempered, blessing of a Husband,surprised me with this statement last night,"I want to open a restaraunt", he says. Very matter -of -fact like. He left no room for questions or argument. He wants to open a restaraunt. Why? you ask, because he wants me to cook.
That's right, He wants me to cook.Not just for him, but for EVERYONE. He sits back and watches me flit around the kitchen and he enjoys what he sees. He likes the way I dust off my hands when they are covered in flour (you dont just wipe them, you dust them, all dainty like and purposeful) ,the determined look I get on my face when I'm kneading dough and the way I manage to get everything to the table HOT at the same time. He is amazing my husband, he has none of the wariness and distrust I carry for humanity. He has learned Faith since we began our journey together and theses traits combined make him utterly irresistable to me.

Fresh ,hot, home made pretzels!

                                           So I ask,"you and me,cooking together"? This is one my favorite things to do,cook with my husband. You know the movie EAT, PRAY, LOVE? Okay that is us.Even when we are boiling angry with each other for something stupid,if we walk into the kitchen and begin to cook (mumbling under our breaths-be it prayer or curse words) soon we are hugging and kissing and grabbing handfuls of each others behinds and all is right again in our world. Our family comes together, really fuses, over dinner each night. We turn off all distractions and we talk. We laugh, we debate-but we interact with one another  OVER FOOD. So it is just natural that my husband would believe that the new direction I am seeking to embark upon will lead me to food. perhaps he is correct,I would be lying if I said the thought had not crossed my mind. "No" he says, "just you cooking -I'll manage the front, handle the customers-I wanna see you cooking and smiling and doing what you do best". "what's that " I ask? "feeding people", he says. "You are our go to woman, when we are sick you make broth or soup and we feel better. It's not just the soup it's the love, the caring, that goes into it. When we are excited and celebrating you bake and the house smells like a party of happy people live here. When we are sad, or hurt or our hearts are suffering you bring us warm bread, you make us pudding, you pour yourself into your food and it makes us better, healthier and stronger and... better. I want you to share that with more people than just us. Comfort food, the way your Nanna made it,the way you make it.Would you?-please"? That is a request I cannot pass on, "sure", I tell him. I would love to.
                       So I guess I am preparing to put my family recipes into a binder and begin small. Tamales and bunuelos on the beach from a stand, downtown on wknds Costa Rican bagel sandwiches and Scotts eggs for breakfast in the plaza, fried green tomato sandwiches made on Indian fry bread...? who knows where this will end up, but it certainly seems like an adventure, a challenge and we all know how I love a good one. keep this in your prayers, watch for recipes and future updates and follow, encourage comment-most of you have eaten from my kitchens and used my recipes. let me know whatcha think.

GadZooks! SNAKES!!!!

                                      Let me just preface this blog by saying, that the 2 major fears I had when deciding to move back into the country and live simply were in order of importance:1-kids being bitten by a snake(we have a minimum of 15 minutes wait time for EMT response out here) and 2- my truck breaking down rendering us helpless and STUCK.  As you well remember we survived the truck dilemma and learned that it's not really a big deal if it goes it goes and we will manage. Yesterday afternoon we learned that we will survive our first poisonous snake encounter too.
                                                     Here goes....
 I have been feeling a bit under the weather the last 3 days,some kind of summer cold that I just can't shake. I have been doing chores as early or late as possible and trying to rest in between. Yesterday afternoon a hefty gust of wind blew thru the yard and stirred me from my rest. When I looked outside it seemed as though a huge dark curtain were being pulled across the sky and the damp smell of rain hung heavy in the air. I rushed outside to make sure the heirloom tomotoes are staked well (they have some heavy fruit on them and I didn't want the stems to break in a rain and ruin them). while I was in the front garden I look up to see Layla standing stark still and stiff just over the hill in the back yard. I yelled,"whats up?" and she said ,"there'[s a snake RIGHT HERE!" .
                            Now mind you I am nowhere near as nimble footed or flexible as I used to be, arthritis and several back injuries have gauranteed that, but I jumped over the low garden fence and grabbed a shovel and RAN for Layla. I yelled to her for a discription and she told me it was black and yellow striped I think.My mind screamed COPPERHEAD before I even saw the damned thing (Owyn had had a similar run in and her drawing of the assailant had indicated it was a copperhead). When I reached Layla sure enough there the vile thing lay, coiled up and pissed off!I yelled for Kieren to get my Pellet gun and machete and for Layla to stand back. I shot it once in the head and once in the body and got it to move out from under the brush it had coiled into just long enough to for me to take aim with the shovel and sever it's head from it's body and then chop it into tiny little bits. I HATE SNAKES.  I was frightened, I could only think, "I have it trapped-it can't get to the kids,I HAVE to kill it-WHAT IF I MISS?" I was terrified that because it was in the middle of a bramble under the trees I would strike at it and miss and it would go under the leaves and disappear and here we were all BAREFOOT too.
                      Luckily I got it. It was 2 feet long and evil looking(though beautiful-strange huh?) and it is no longer a threat. I did it. I faced down my worst fear and I protected my kids. Kieren thinks  I am like some kind of Annie Oakley for shooting it and dismembering it and Owyn is still dancing around singing my praises. I told the kids how scared I was,that I was shaking with fear. That impressed them even more. Owyn says she wants to be JUST like ME when she grows up. Not fearless, but tough enough to handle her fears and be able to sacrifice for her family the way I do. So I guess we all learned something yesterday, about ourselves and each other.We raked and burned most of leaves from that area ,the rest Edd mowed over and put into composter. Today we will start controlled burns of the remaining unsderbrush in the back of the property to ensure theses encounters are few and far between.

             I am sitting at Layla's computer (my laptop died) and sharing a cup of strong coffee with Esme (the house chicken)who is sitting on my shoulder pecking at my ear for another sip from my cup, and I stopped briefly after the last sentence to look out the window as Elvis was crowing. How beautiful this view, this life. This hardworking,bone weary life. The ducks are in the pond, splashing and the hens are hustling for bugs around the perimeter of the garden and each of the 3 roosters are crowing in synch like a boy band rehearsing. Owyn is working on her Math, Kieren has left for a sleepover with Dawson and I have let Layla sleep in this morning because she stayed up late finishing a final paper for her History class.
It is still and oddly silent in this house for the moment and I relish this time to embed into my memory the sights and sounds and smells of this place. The sun is just now creeping across the yard and filtering beyond the tree branches. It is gleaming off the hen house tin roof and reflecting into Layla's room,playing shadows against her walls.The gardens are thriving. The front garden is blooming full with fresh tomatoes ,corn, eggplants, watermelons and okra. All have fruit and are days away from first harvest.The salsa garden to the west of the house gets full sun almost all day is bursting with tomato,onion,habenero, jalepeno, serrano and pablano peppers. The back garden or SE garden is filterd light most of the day and holds our more fragile plants which can wilt easily in harsh light and excessive heat. It has an abundant crop of brussell sprouts, black beans,red/yellow/green/orange/chocolate bell peppers,cucumbers,carrots,sorghum and some white corn growing there. The peppers have fruit on them and the carrots tops are over 3 inches long. We should have enough brussels to freeze after blanching for the winters preserves.I am putting in a 6x12 crop of sunflowers in the front garden this week to harvest for the hens to boost their grains for winter. We will do the same with the seed heads from the sorghum at harvest. This will give them added nutrition at minimum cost to us during the winter months when hustling produces scarcely enough  for them to survive on. After we harvest fresh bells we will roast the remainder and store them in olive oil for recipes requiring them during the winter months. Edd is working on a design for a protable hot house forme so I can keep a tomato plant or 2 going through winter.I will post pictures as soon as I can, I take them daily but the computer is not always agreeable to my plans.
have a beautiful day, live simply, live completely,live freely.

More PEE Please!

                                            Well, it's been awhile since I've blogged and I must beg a thousand pardons for this. Things have been hectic and days have been filled to bursting with activity so the moment the children have gone to bed, I too have fallen into bed and plummeted into dreamless slumbers much like those of heavily sedated patients in mental wards..or ,so I'm told anyway  =)
                   Moving on, The weather has been fantastic the last 3 days. Warm and sunny enough to make the corn stalks stand up nice and straight but with lots of big fat juicy looking clouds and and a breeze I can only describe as hypnotic. You know, the kind of breeze  that makes you wanna hang out and nap in a hammock all day long, a book or magazine across your chest ,as though you might be tempted to read, if the breeze stops swaying your hammock so perfectly. If... yep those kinda days. My favorite because they hold the promise rain. I love a good summer storm,the ones that start with the silent illumination of heat lightening early in the dusky twilight (resembling fireworks on mute) and rumble into the after dinner hour with a cool, occasional gust of wind tinged with the scent wet pavement somewhere,and damp grass. Oh yes, those are the best,because you know it's only a matter of time before those gentle rumbles off in the distance get a little more insistant and the first white hot streaks of lightening crack! open the sky loud enough to make you jump. For me, that signals bedtime. I just wanna curl up next to Edd or the kids and listen to it all tearing and thrashing and pouring down onto my metal roof. It's like a lullaby...
                  Okay, so the weather has been perfect and we have 7 bunnies now. Two copper satins(bunni and clyde) and 2 broken chocolate netherlands(shushi & tolva),2 black netherlands (Penelope & bear) and a gray chestnut netherland (Dr. Danger).  They are all between 3 weeks old and 6 weeks old and so freakin cute you wouldn't believe it. I will post pics as soon as my laptop stops hating me and throwing tantrums-I swear. We have watermelons,eggplants,tomatoes(5-varieties of heirloom) cucumbers,mixed bell peppers(incl chocolates) and all our hot peepers on the vine! yes, they have all begun producing and I am excited beyond words. I actually got to pick a few sweet peppers during Owyn's birthday party for her friends to try and what an impression that made on her little Townie friends!!  They had more fun taking a 30 minute tour of our little farm and learning about composting and clean water filtration than they did at the carousel. I was so proud and so was Owyn, her little chest all puffed out and a smile across her entire face as she explained about the breeds of Bantam chickens we have and why they are special. Her party was threatened by one of my rainstorms I so love while we were in town ,so we drove ALL her guests out to our place and had an art party. Layla helped with the painting and so did Esme. Owyn's friends were impressed that: 1-we HAD a house chicken,2- it could paint. We toured the farm & they asked lots of questions about our charcoal water filter and our composters and our chickens. They hand fed the girls bananas("I didn't know chickens ate bananas!") and held them and pet them ("OMG! they are so soft!","they don't even bite","where are their teeth?"). So much fun. Owyn is still talking about it and we have such lovely artwork to remember it by too.
                       Layla is not going to the Spring Formal, after all. Sadly she made some very poor choices regarding her school work and has been grounded because of it. For her sake I will not go into detail, suffice to say she is VERY GROUNDED. However, Today she came to me in tears and apologized for saying she hated me  when she was angry. I was admittedly taken back a step or two by her unsolicited confession and asked her ,"what happened to bring this on?" she replied," I was sitting here doing my schoolwork and I realized how hard you work for us, how you have ALWAYS been there no matter what and I felt like an ass,I felt really sorry,I love you Mom". Then she shows me her final essay for history,the schoolwork which gave her the epiphany. My teenager who has constantly reminded me that I ,"ruined her life" by moving her here has written a beautiful 4 page essay about how getting back to basics and upholding the ideals supported by the "American Dream" of the pioneer, would benefit our our country and improve the quality of life for everyone involved. I almost swallowed my tongue. She is happy here. She gets lonely-we all do occasionally -but she is happy. She is going to survive this and thusly so will we all. AMEN!!
                       We have discovered that we have at least one drake duck (Kieren's-Diablo) and possibly a second drake as well (one of the Pekin) we are very excited at the prospect of ducklings to hatch. We also have a male Rock Cornish with potential breeding there as well and therefore a great deal of savings for meat production poultry. Cornish can be culled in approximately 8-10 wks and will produce large,juicy and tender breasts and leg/thighs pieces for the freezer or to sell with minimum expenses due to rapid maturity. The first set of hens we purchased when we came to the farm will be laying in approximately 6 wks. that should bring our egg production to about 75 per week, once the remaining 30 pullets(young hens not sexually mature) start laying we will be collecting over 200 per week. We have plans to add another 50 straight run (unsexed)chicks to the yard in July. Edd will get his Phoenix rooster (hopefully) and we will have 3 new breeds of heritage hens to add to our inventory. On that note I must encourage anyone interested in purchasing a hen or two for their backyard coup to invest in the Mottled Java. They are an asthetically exquisite hen to look at and have interesting personalities to boot. Mine resemble muddy dalmations(too many spots that start running together) and they are very bouncy and springy in their gate. Beautiful really, a larger and no less attractive bird is the Silver Brahma. My SB hen is so creamy looking she reminds me of snow ice cream,or coconut milk. Everytime I look at her I just wanna Pina colada! Very gentle breed for having a giant status as well.
               Well, the thing with Dawson's  Stepdad finally blew up ,but it smoothed out much quicker than I thought it would and the children were able to stay friends. I would be lying if I said things haven't changed. You can just feel it in the air when he's here now,but Kieren still cares for him and they are great friends, so I keep my mouth shut-literally,I know I can't trust the kid now so...- and I let it roll.Layla and Darris are still "not dating" and that's going fine I guess, he's shy,she's shy-could be in their 30's before they kiss and that's FINE BY ME. Really it's ok. no rush, take your time...
                Worked for the first time in Georgia this past weekend. It was great to see all our friends there again-it's been awhile. It was good to work again too. Business is so slow in our town and I hate that Edd is pulling the burden of all the bills himself most of the time. I have been the "bread winner" for so many years now, I don't know how not to be, so I am in a bit of a crisis. I have just thrown myself into baking bread and maintaining the property and the children's schoolwork, and the animals. I love being here,with them. I love listening to their laughter when they don't realize I'm listening andI love making love to my husband with the windows open on cool evenings  and not worrying about anyone seeing us. I like peeing outside. There, I said okay. Edd didn't think I would but hey, I don't care. There is something so feral, so FREE about  hiking up your skirt ( I frequently work in long lightweight skirts) or dropping your pants and peeing right out in the open and not worrying or caring if anyone sees you. Seriously, like, three cars per day between the hours of 8am and 630 pm drive by my house (incl the mail person)-my whole family could urinate in the middle of our road and no one-NO ONE would ever know-til now.
                Which leads me into the next topic I would like to cover before I sign off this evening: Urine as compost. Yes, you read correctly no need to re-read it. I am experimenting with the concept of our families household urine as liquid fertilizer. I recently read in an article of HOMESTEAD magazine that if you collect clean urine samples from your family members and "cure it" for 30 days in a sealed container then you can pour it directly into your garden soil and it works like MIRACLE GROW for the soil. Though it may sound gnarly and the teenager staunchly ,"refuses to pee in a freakin funnel-geez MOM!", I will keep you posted as to whether or not the tomatoes burst with blossoms or turn yellow and die. Keep reading! It just gets better, and better....

     

No Sadder Sound,Than a Childs Heart Breaking...

                        Whew! This past few days have been, well, to say the least-interesting.

I am not even sure where to start, There is a minimum of 5 blogs worth of angst & humor & witty one liners I would like to deposit on this page, but I cannot fathom why anyone would sit in front of their computer long enought o read it. So, I will do my best to sumerize the events of the last few days w/o butchering out the best parts too badly K?

                        Let's start with this; THERE SHALL NEVER AGAIN BE A MOTHERS DAY celebrated at our house. There, I said it out loud. This past Sunday was quiete possibly the most horrific holiday I have yet to be force fed. I will not go into explicit detail, but suffice to say Layla's PMS and burdgeoning hormones are going to get her killed. Yes, killed. Or at least, sold into slavery somewhere or bartered for canned goods...something. Kieren and Owyn saved the day by adeqautely kissing up and spoiling me and smothering me with kisses and "I love you's" at every turn. Suck up's. Aint it great? They see one sibling screw up royally and they circle like vultures trying to get your favor and sign (the sibs) death warrant. it's almost comical and  yet sad at the same time.

                        From this disastrous Farce of a Holiday we  acquired our "house chicken" ESME. Esme is one of our Sicilian Buttercups. A heritage breed from Sicily, that I stumbled upon with dumbluck, needless to say they are special.  Everything comes in 3's my irish Grandma always said and damned if she wasn't right. Particularly this past wknd. First Layla lost her mind temporarily, Edd forgot to water my gardens  & animals when he let me sleep in way too late and the magice number 3-the buttercups and guinneas ran out of water and food and began to fight and thusly I found Esme lying crusted in blood,half dead and dehydrated.

I rushed her inside and cleaned her wounds with Layla's assistance. We made her an electrolyte solution and placed her in warm towels from the microwave. it didn't look very promising and my mood grew more doar by the second. When I left to pick up Edd from work at 6, i fully expected a corpse to be wrapped int hat towel when I got home. The phone calls from Kieren updating the Buttercups condition for me didn't raise my hopes any however, when I returned home Esme was hopping around the house and chirping cheerfully!
                 She rode on my shoulder all evening and tried to sleep there when I turned in for the night! I made up a medium dog kennel for her with fresh hay and feed and water and covered her with a towel.  She slept quietly thru the night and greeted us with chirps and twitters bright and early. Layla dubbed ESME which is french for "LOVED" and she has become our house chicken. She will live in a large birdcage when she is not riding on our shoulders or terrorizing the cat or scratching in her wn private chicken yard outside Laylas room. She will wear chicken diapers,yes diapers. She is very affectionate and loving and refuses to go outside. She's had enough of flock life I guess.

                 Our new roosters Steven & Joey are doing well, frustrated but well. They are confined to their own residence and yard away fromt the hens and thusly they are none too happy for it. Edd and I prefer to use a select breeding or confined breeding method, thereby giving us the correct genetic code for our hatchlings. In other words, no MUTT chickens. We want to preserve the Heritage breeds pure bloodlines so lecherous young roosters must be kept in check. They make the fiercest growling sounds too. Sorta like a veloceraptor! It's uinnerving late at night when you're half asleep walking the dogs, but they are actually very timid.

                   We picked up 2 ofour 8 bunnies that we bartered for today. They are Copper Satins and they are so beautiful. We worked off their cost already so we are just waiting as each pairing gets weaned to pick them up. They were orphaned early so we have them indoors for climate control until they are old enough to handle the severe heat of a Florida summer.

                    OH! before I forget, 2 nights ago as we were cleaning the yard and raking up for the day I heard Owyn singing a little song and the beat was kinda catchy. Now I admit I wasn't giving it my full attention, more like listening to someone talk under water,absorbed in my own thoughts of the day.  The roosters were crowing and we had been joking about all the "cocks" in our yard and laughing like 4th graders about it. All at ONCE, Edd,myself,Layla & Kieren all stopped & listened,for the first time apparently, to Owyns little diddy she was gaily chanting at the top of her lungs as she danced in circles,"COCKS-COCKS WE GOT COCKS! LOTS OF COCKS-WE GOT COCKS!" over and over and over again. How had we missed this? I quikly told her that it wasn't apprpriate for her to SCREAM that word in the front yard, and of course she asked ,"why?" I explained it's another funny word for a boys penis, and her jaw dropped literally and her cheeks flushed and she looked at me with a sly little grin and shook her fist & we all fell down laughing !!! OMG! I nearly peed my pants, okay I did , a little. But hey! I have had 4 kids, gimme a break ok?

                  Now to be serious for just a moment, the events of Saturday the 6th, were enought o make a Mother forget herself and behave very badly. My daughter has a friend (she's appeared on this blog in photos) and they have known each other for almost 11 years. Been BFF's for most of that. We know all the dirt on each others families , been thru a divorce or 2 on each side and countless other intimate bonding delights. On Saturdday the Mother of this child  informed my Layla that her daughter was not allowed to come to our home again ever  because,and I quote,"of where we live, it's to rural and I have heard about random shootings taking place out there-everyone has a gun". DUH! we live in the woods, you HAVE TO PROTECT your ANIMALS AND YOUR FAMILY from wild life for chrissakes. It's not like people are packing assault weapons and grenades, it's not BOSNIA my Lord! Layla was so freakin hurt, watching her sob all the way home tore me to pieces. There is no sound sadder, than that of a childs heart breaking...

                 Of course, it is all my fault for moving her here to the sticks and this inevitably set the stage for Sundays disasterous behavior.  Has this tarnished the appearance of our farms appeal for me? No, not a chance. Has it made me regret my decision to move here and get back to basics? No way! if anything it has confirmed for me that it was the right choice and that it will weed out the "friends" I no longer need or the that have no place in my life any longer. Only the true friends will be here when the dust settles. The ones I can count on thru thick and thin. My REAL FRIENDS. Hers too, she see it now and she understands small minded people, but it doesn't change the hurt it caused, or the stress it generated for a full 48 hrs. People are disappointing. But life goes on. We choose to move forward and leave them behind in their miserable lives filled with toxic love and fear.

                         We plan to evolve BEYOND. ONE DAY and ONE BLOG at a time.

Good night, sleep well, I will ;)

                     

                         

Cock-A-Doodle-Dooooooo!!

"Steve &Joey"

                        That's what I heard this morning at the tender hour of 6 a.m. and what a magnificent sound it was! No, it was not Elvis finally asserting himself as the Big Daddy Rooster in the yard. It was our new Buff Orpington Cocks crowing in the dawn. They are unamed as yet,the children have affectionately dubbed them"Steven & Joey" for reasons only they can fathom. Edd has it in his mind however that the roosters should be named after famous(or not so) Kings of old. That will be another blog I am certain. For now I will tell you that loud, almost strangled sounding crow of our 5 month old Rooster was a delight to our ears. yes, we are wierd that way-quiet bothers us. At least too much of it. We inherited the boys from my new friend Jeff (rabbit guy) who had a rather tragic raccoon incident that left his flock considerably smaller and vulnerable,thus we relocated his roosters and their ownership to our lil farm.

                           So, Edd and I have been exceedingly busy building yet another MUCH LARGER addition onto the henhouse, in order to comfortably accomodate everyones needs. We used 7 wooden beer pallets and 2 large 8 foot long plywood pieces to construct a pen frame. We then inserted additional beams along the center of the pen to support a roof . We added a roof of plywood to cover only 1/2 the top of the pen, choosing to use hardware wire for the rest for better ventilation. Summers here are scorching hot and though the shade from the roof will be welcome,ventilation will be required to catch what small breezes  arise to keep body temperatures down. The outside of the pen is completely wired top to bottom in hardware cloth for added safety from the prying hands of small creatures which pray on the hens and their eggs.

Everyone seems very content in the new housing and it is light and airy while being secure enough to allow me a solid nights sleep with out worry.  The rooster called "Steve" is crowing now as a matter of fact. It is 4:22 a.m.
                          Kids are flourishing. they haven't slept in doors in almost weeks now, preferring the crisp night air and starry skies to the boring white cielings of their bedrooms. They spend their days homeschooling and baking and working on science projects or playing in the giant mudhole the ducks have made under the trampoline. I say playing , but what they actually did was build a small dirt and water replica of Venice. Yes, Venice.I am sure it started out as playing, but what they called me over to view was a small working canal system, complete with houses made of twigs and sticks and tiny "ferry's" floating along as water taxis made from large leaves. I was amazed. We haven't even studied this , this year yet here it was in my backyard. they were so proud. So was I. Today they spent the afternoon riding their skateboard and playing baseball at the neighborhood park, It's a field with nice grass and a swing set with no swings and a basketball court with no nets. but it has port-a-potty's and they love it so...
                           Owyn will be 7 soon-May 14th to be exact and it seems like time has flown past with such speed that I must have missed something, I blinked or I slept in too many times or, or, ... I just feel like she is so grown up and soon she wont be my little Owie anymore and then what do I do with myself? I never looked past being a full time Mommy to children young enough to need me constantly. The thought actually terrifies me. I don't want an empty nest, I want a FULL one. Raging each day loud and boisterous and full of life. I don't crave  me time, or down time or quiet time. yes, it would be nice to have unrestrained sex again again, wherever and whenever we wanted, but lets face it-we are just too tired for all that nonsense anymore. It's a lovely thought though.
                           Layla has admitted in that "I'm not admitting anything by NOT denying it" way that teenagers tell you things they are not yet comfortable yet to admit openly, that she is dating Darris. She is excited about the dance in 3 weeks and so am I if truth be told. She is ready for a crush, for a first love if you will, for a heartbreak if it comes to that. She can handle it and she will be ok. I'm telling you this for my benefit not yours. I need the comfort, letting go aint easy ya'll. Those who know me well ,know I don't let go of anything. I'm kind of a pitbull  about things. I get my involved and I STAY involved. So it is hard. S.A.T kinda hard, but I'm reigning in my demons and pushing her a little to towards her independance.
                          Kieren has become an excellent skater and is changing his habits and physical appearance as well. he's getting a six pack. His abs are getting firm and the baby fat of a few months ago are melting away before my eyes and the torso of a young man is emerging. He walks straighter and a lil more cocky and he speaks with more confidence now too. I see his future changing from the day dreams of an elementary student to the apirations of a pre teen with dreams and goals. This metamorphis is largely credited to Dawsons growing presence in our home. He is a great motivation for Kieren and they make an unstoppable team. Kieren has an artists imagination and vision and Dawson has the mind of an engineer. Tonite they built a working cross ow with legos and a rubber band. granted it was not going to take down dinner but it held a "bow" and shot it across the room when the "trigger latch" was tripped. All that in less than 10 minutes. Impressive I say. It is nearly dawn and I need at least a couple hours sleep before we start all over again. There are cinnamon rolls rising in the fridge for breakfast and the coffe pot is ready to brew. Goodnight all-Thanks for reading.