Crafty Fun

Today our curriculum instructed Katie to tape some pretty leaves to the page. 

She suggested a scavenger hunt for unique leaves that extended past our property.  I thought that was a great idea and a good excuse to gather materials for the wreath I had been planning to make.  

So we hopped in the car and took a ride down our gravel roads where I remembered seeing bright colored leaves. 

The landscape is beautiful in Texas, any season.  Oh but Fall is so pretty.  The weather is like spring.  Cool nights.  Perfect days.  Beautiful scenery.  

These were her favorite leaves

Here's all the leaves she collected

After finishing the school leaf collecting, we started hunting for wreath branches.  We came upon the most glorious mesquite tree.  It was as if heaven opened it's clouds and directed the sunlight onto this tree!  We trimmed some branches and then wondered if we collected enough.  So we trimmed some more.  and more.  

We got a little carried away. The tree is still standing. barely. :)  


So here is our cast of characters for wreath making.  

First: the meat of the wreath (we also collected some wild flowers to put in a vase) 

Second: a coat hanger

Third: Thread

Fourth: Helper (Katie) and Audience (well, I don't recommend the audience but in this case we had lots of helpers wanting to participate.) 

Katie, Ginger, and Grace.  (We got wire out thinking we could use instead of string.  it was too thick)  

Charlie 

Bend the hanger into a circle. 

Last, arrange the branches on the hanger.  Tie them onto the hanger with thread. Yes, this takes patience.  Do a couple of layers.  And wha-la...you have a wreath.  

Finished product.  Smells goooood!

See how cheap and easy?  





"All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made." John 1:3

Chicken Run

Yesterday, while doing school, we let the chickens free range unsupervised for quite sometime.

Yep, I think you know where this is going.

We went outside to discover our flock had gone onto our neighbors property.  Not too bad.  We have cool neighbors.  So off to their property we went.

Well, lately our method of herding the chickens into the coop has been to lure them with treats.  We say, "Here chicky chicky"  and shake the scratch grain bowl.  Usually, it will grab their attention.  Then you drop a big pile.  They come running. They peck until there's no more. Then you hansel and gretel them with a trail of goodies back to the coop.  We probably spend an average of 30 mins or less on this process daily.

Yesterday.  Well.

"Here chicky chicky"  shaking the bowl said I.

"Chirp chirp" said the crickets while the hens stared at me.

"Here chicky chicky" shaking the bowl harder and harder.

"Chirp chirp" said the crickets and the hens stare became more blank.

They didn't budge.  No they didn't.

I noticed the rooster wasn't with the flock. I scanned the area.

Behind our house is a seasonal creek which is a steep drop off with overgrown brush and downed trees.  It's kinda no mans land.  Okay, let me rephrase...no woman's land.  My husband likes to explore.

Anyhooo, there the rooster was.  In no woman's land.  A 5ft horse fence between us two. I called him, shook the bowl.  He tried several times to walk through the fence.  I knew it would be a long afternoon.

"Okay, let's gather the ladies."  I told Katie.

Chickens will run from you.  So as long as you are "chasing" them (just a slow walk will cause them to run) in the direction you want them to go, you're good.  Occasionally they will drift off in the wrong direction.  Katie and I will grab long sticks and come up alongside their right or left and direct them by blocking the wrong direction.

Well, when the rooster saw us from behind the fence herding the ladies, he cried out to them.  His cry was causing them to become bold and run toward me (and him) into no woman's land.  Realizing we could possibly loose the whole flock, we decided to step up the rescue effort. We blocked them off, cornered them into a fenced area, and tossed them over the fence into our property one by one. We guided the hens back into the coop and focused on the rooster rescue.

And of course, the rooster was no where to be found when we returned!  I would call "Here chicky chicky" and he would "Cock a doodle dooooo" back but was far off into the woods at this point.  We walked the fence tirelessly shaking the treat bowl.

Eventually, we gave it up.  We try to have the motto that "The strong will survive out here" but it's hard to embrace that motto.  So we gave in because we couldn't relax with Mr. Rooster out there somewhere. We got in the car to drive the property lines around the vacant acres and acres of no woman's land. We weren't out too long when we spotted Mr Rooster:

Well, Hello Mr. Rooster.

  No.  We didn't scold the rooster.  That's the old me without Jesus. :) Did I imaging choking him just a little?  Yes.

I said in my sweet voice," Oh, Mr. Rooster, where have you been?  We missed you so much."  (This is where my husband usually says, "Honey, are you talking to the animals?")

Katie ran back to the house to get the treat bowl.  And again we heard crickets.  So guess what?  I went into no woman's land...just a tad.  And we herded up the rooster and attempted to guide him back the loooooong way.  He was not happy to comply.

He was so mad at the hens when he got back in!  He grunted and flapped at them...They all cleared away.  We gave him some grains.  The ladies didn't dare touch them!  This might be the day he moves into chicken manhood.  Any other day, the ladies pick on him.  (Honey, you can be so proud now.  The dog finally lifts his leg to pee and the rooster is crowing and bossing the ladies around.  You've done a fine job.)

Back in the coop

That was so fun, can't wait to do it all over again. 

The Chicken Whisperers Lacey and Katie

"The chicken was running so fast that we couldn't find where it was.  And then we found him a little far from our property.  I shook the bowl, he didn't like to come back. So we pretty much ended up LOL trying to chase him all over and then he began to go toward the road. We had to capture him and then we led him back all the way to his nice home. Though he didn't like it.  The end." ~Katie (7 years old)


  

The Prodigal Kitty

 



When talk of buying a house with land began, we all discussed some goals and ideas of what we wanted in a property. Katie didn't care too much about square footage or land size...it was mostly, "Can we have a kitty?"  Well, if any of you have a little girl, that subject really never dies! 

 

We agreed to a kitty.

 

Our farmer offered to give us some spare kitties running around her farm, but as timing was a concern, they grew older and became too wild to catch.  So one day, my husband called us and told me to load up and come over to his work.  He surprised us with a batch of baby kitties being raised by the guys in the body shop at work.  As we beheld the sweet kitties, my husband said " They haven't seen the mom in about 3 days. The guys have been feeding them. Ya'll pick one."  Of course, I picked up the black little runt.  Just a tiny little thing!  Katie found a sweet little fluffy grey one!  We snuggled the kitties and looked over at Jeramey and he said, "Ok, Ok, you girls can get both!" 

 

 

Ginger (grey) and Grace (runt-black) The day we brought them home. 

 

We took the kitties straight to the vet who said they looked to be about 4-5 weeks and in good health.  So we kept them inside until they were old enough to protect themselves.  We tortured them with sweet hugs, dress ups, and pretend grocery store runs. :)

 

Grace (left) has never really been into snuggling.  Ginger (right) is a snuggle queen.  :)

 

The black kitty (runt) we named Grace and the grey kitty we named Ginger. Wherever Ginger goes, Grace is sure to follow!  If Ginger gets far from Grace, Grace will cry and whine until Ginger hears her and comes back. It's really odd that Grace has such a need for Ginger because she really isn't the cuddling type.  She's pretty busy!  

 

The first night we sent them to live outside, they spent the majority of the time with their tails all fluffed up...sensing danger all around.  But as time passed, they began to feel at home on the porch.  Our sweet dog Charlie is a blue heeler, so he is continually herding them up! Grace has no fear of him, barely even acknowledges his existence...and oddly enough, Charlie leaves her alone.

 

One morning, Charlie was out of his pen.  Grace was outside whining and crying.  There was no sign of Ginger.  This was not normal at all.  If she hears the door open, she runs to us! So we went searching high and low all afternoon into the night.  We walked the property looking and calling "Ginger" with Grace tagging along kitty calling Ginger too! We checked everywhere. She wasn't hiding in shed, under house, or in the vehicles...We checked nearby properties, had the neighbors check in their garage and pool.  Still nothing.  

 

My husband asked me to bring Grace in when we went to bed to make sure she didn't go off to look for Ginger.  So we did.  She howled and moaned and cried in the house for Ginger.  Around midnight, I went outside because I thought of one place that I didn't check.  So I checked with no success. I did one last call for Ginger. And here she came....running up to me!  I woke Katie up and we rejoiced.  Katie cried while she held her.  She said a prayer, "God, I prayed for you to find Ginger like more than 10 times.  Thank you for bringing her home."

 



 

 

 

 

Here they are the next morning. Grace is not letting Ginger out of her sight!

 

"Ginger had been lost for a long time.  Mommy woke me up and I found her.  And I hugged her tight into my arms...smiling so happy. Especially she is a sweet cat. Ginger is my best and favorite kitty...but also Grace too.  As you can see, she's not letting her go away. Good news is, we found her!" ~Katie



"A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast; but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel."  Proverbs 12:10

Egg-citing News!



We got our very first egg!  I would have never egg-spected to feel so excited-like a little kid!

Yes, Katie enjoyed it too :)

 

The neatest part about all this is watching the chickens and learning their behavior. These chickens are not domestic...at all.  The only chicken that will let us touch her voluntarily is a young pullet (pullet=female-not laying).  So whenever we enter the coop, they run and hide under the nesting boxes.  From what we could tell, none of the hens or pullets had touched the nesting boxes .  The day before we got our first egg, we noticed one of the older pullets resting in the nest.  I touched her and she didn't budge.  I nudged her a little and she stood for me...but no egg!  After I walked off, she cackled loudly and passionately...as to get the point across!  I expected to see our first egg by morning.  And there it was!   

Here she is!

 
 "For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands; happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee" Psalms 128:2

Chicken City

So we finished building Chicken City! 

$2.50 sale on plastic crates at Wal-mart was an inventive idea for nesting boxes.  My husband used an electric saw and cut the fronts out of these exquisite condos, leaving a small lip at the bottom to hold in the bedding.  Though we have wood chips on the property, we decided to try local hay at first for the litter. 

My husband measured and made stands with 2x4's and plywood to lift the crates off the ground.  If you have tools already, this proved to be an inexpensive way to make a cozy nesting place for the hens!

Just as our book suggested, we contacted the local feed store to find a source for chickens. While we were unsure of what breed of chickies we wanted, we knew that a dual purpose breed would be the best route.  (Dual purpose meaning good egg layers and good for meat.)

Luckily, the breeder, was informative.  He may have been intoxicated on our visit to his home, but man, he is the chicken whisperer!  (He was so much fun!) We decided to go with "Production Reds" because they are just as their name suggests...productive! They are a vigorous, hearty chicken that lays lots of brown eggs.   

We decided to buy one already laying, one about to lay, 2 four month old, a younger one, and a rooster!  The rooster is not a production red, but a bantam.  Since we are planning to free range them after they have settled in, we felt it best to get a rooster.  If a predator is around, the rooster will alert the hens to run to safety...alerting us as well.  And anyway, who doesn't want little baby chickies? :)  

Here they are, about to get settled into their chicken high rise :)

Katie's favorite....the baby :) 

For about a month, we will be going out to the coop at least 2 times a day to get them used to interacting with us and to train them with scratch grain in preparation for free ranging.  And of course, to watch chicken TV!

"My favorite chicken is a sweet chicken (you might even want to meet it too).  Chickens are a great idea for an animal.  You might even use it for eggs too! Chickens are the best ever! My favorite part about raising chickens is having fun activities to do, like getting eggs from the egg nests. I see you can see the picture...I hope you like it!" ~Katie

Acting Out

While Katie does act out at times, I am not talking about the behavioral acting out today. :)

We use the King James Version for study which can be a little daunting to even the most educated adult.  Thank God for the dictionary! There are many Bible versions out there that interpret the King James Version but not all of them are accurate.  Some don't even come close.  So, since I have the opportunity to root her at a young age in KJV, I am taking full advantage.

More times than we would like to admit,  the two of us will have difficulty understanding certain passages or even a story line.  We hit the dictionary for confusing words, and then we act it out!

Today, Katie's difficulty was not a KJV passage but instead a story about sheep in Animal Science.  The story read like this:
" Sometimes a sheep will stray away.  A straying sheep can become cast and die within a few hours. A cast sheep is one which has turned over on it's back and cannot get back upon its feet. Sometimes a fat sheep with long fleece will lie down in a low place on the ground.  The sheep will roll far enough on one side that its feet do not touch the ground.  The sheep begins to kick but finds that it cannot rise to its feet. When the shepherd finds the cast sheep, he helps it get back on it's feet.  Sometimes he has to rub the sheep's legs.  After a while, the sheep begins to walk and then run."

After reading the story,  it came time to answer the fill in the blank questions on the next page.  I noticed her scrambling and re reading the story to find the right answers.  Usually, when your child is trying to look up the answers, it's because they are not comprehending the story.  If the story is comprehended, the answers will come easily.

I said to Katie, "Okay, I'll be the shepherd and you'll be the sheep." So as I read the story, I asked her to act like the sheep."  After that, she was whizzing through the questions without stumbling.

When all else fails, just act it out!

"Katie, do you want to kiss the fish before we throw it back in?" ~Eli Genung 

Prepare The Way

Well, we finally bought a house in the country! We've been so busy with moving, packing, and starting school lately, I haven't made time to blog.

The property we purchased is heavily wooded and backs up to a huge drop off that appears to be a seasonal creek. We have downed trees everywhere you turn and so much limb and leaf debris that its overwhelming at times.  We have so much work to do with not too many hands :)

 "Train a child up in the way he should go....is a hard concept for me to grasp at times.  It doesn't say in the way I want her to go, but the way she should go.  I have a part in influencing her which way to go, but it's turned out that her interests and desires have usually stretched my comfort zone.  Katie has shown a special interest in Animal Science which is the study of animals, their behavior, and biology.  This is an elective subject for us that she enjoys. It's funny to me because as I watch her develop interest in an area of her life, I typically find myself saying, "Oh crap, here we go!"

So....Oh crap...here we go! We are getting chickens!

Yes, for real.  We are getting chickens. Maybe you're like, "oh that's it?  just chickens?"  But this is a big stretch for this born and raised city girl.  Not because I desire to clean up chicken poo on a weekly basis but because my child never wants to leave the farm when we visit to pick up milk, meat, and eggs!  Plus, I really like nutritious fresh free range eggs! On our last visit, she begged our farmer (like all the rest of our visits) to help collect the eggs.  Since our farmer's chickens are not on site, we can not partake in that chore.

So I said to Katie after that visit, "Come on. Lets go to the library and pick up a book about raising chickens."  That was step one.  So I devoured a small book about raising chickens. Then we called grandpa to get some good old time advice.  I feel like a professional chicken raiser already.  :)

Step Two:  Prepare the way!

All hands on deck!  My mom came over which made 8 hands total.  We have an animal shelter already on the property that at one point was used as a chicken coop. The bad news is that it was full of fire wood and in need of repair! So we moved all the firewood from the shelter and stacked it off the ground against the lean to off the shed. (we plan to extend the roof to cover the wood)

Ok, so maybe we will beautify the stack soon.  For now, it works! 

There were some repairs needed such as new door hinges, new chicken wire, and a new bottom door panel.  So we took a trip to Tractor supply.  We purchased all that we needed to repair plus some chicken accessories.  Below is the finished chicken coop.  (well, still a little clean up to do)

We also have many huge piles of wood chips we inherited with the property that will make fine chicken bedding!

The cinder blocks with wood were possibly used previously as a chicken perch but we are using them as a Katie perch so she can reach the door latch.  :)

Step 3: Make nesting boxes and buy chickens!

Chicken raising to be continued....

Speaking of inheriting, we inherited this huge rosemary bush!  Nothing like fresh herbs.

As Daddy promised, a new tree house is under construction!  

View of the back