If you give a boy a tree...

He must climb it! The other day Katelyn and Jonathan were using this ladder from a former swingset/playground to 'rescue kittens' as they played firemen in the backyard. They would put the ladder on the benches of the picnic table which served as the firetruck. Then they would get an 'emergency call' and haul the ladder to whatever the 'kitten' was caught in (the swingset, the trees, the trampoline, etc.) Katelyn made sure that Jonathan didn't get up into the tree by telling him that they needed to get the 'kitten' down instead of going up into the tree. Today Jonathan decided that it was time to get up into that tree. And if Jonathan does it, then of course, Ian does, too!

Enjoying the sunshine

Today was a beautiful spring day. We could hear the peepers in the wetlands across the road and the grass is starting to green up a bit.

The alpacas had a chance to enjoy the salad bar in the field...they enjoyed munching for quite awhile and weren't very eager to return to their regular pen.

Here's Rachael and Nathanial having a turn holding on to the leads while the alpacas grazed. The other day Wayne and the 3 youngest marked the new fenceline that we'll be putting in soon. We hope to make this fenceline more permanent with separate paddocks to rotate them in throughout the summer.

Here are the kids having fun on the trampoline. Matt is pretending to be a spider catching the flies (his pesky siblings).

Joys of having little boys...

The other night Ian came to me and said, "Here, Mama. I made a picture of you." Unfortunately, he drew his first picture of me on the magnadoodle so I had to take a picture with the digital camera. I'm not sure what the circle in the middle is...hmmm. When I asked Ian, he looked highly insulted. "It's a circle, Mama." Later when commenting to Nathanial that I had no waist. He reassured me with, "Well, Mom, look at it this way...Your body isn't any wider than your head!"

Later Rachael was doing "little brother duty" and was playing a computer game with them on her lap. After things got very quiet in the study, she opened the door and rolled into the family room and asked for a little assistance. Thankfully, the chair had wheels...otherwise she might have been stuck in there all night.

Spring has sprung!

One of the best things about warmer weather is the kids can get outside without all the extra layers of clothing and burn off some of the excess energy. Last summer we got a trampoline at a yard sale and the kids have far exceeded getting our money's worth from this piece of equipment.

Ian found his sister's ladybug hat and had to wear that outside the other day...along with her jacket (because his was covered in mud from falling earlier in the day). He was quite a fashion statement!

Since it was sunny yesterday we did a lot of outdoor work. The boys moved some compost onto my herb garden since the chickens had been doing a very good job of uncovering my tulip bulbs. Jonathan got right into the task...with both hands!

Wayne and I have been studying our garden plans and getting things ready to start seedlings. We're also planning for our "poultry crop". The boys plan on raising some pastured poultry (chickens and maybe a few turkey) and add to our laying hen population. Marc is getting lots of requests for the delicious eggs from his flock. If we are to have any eggs for our use, we definitely need to increase the flock.

The next big project will be preparing for those 2 legged babies before they arrive at the farm.

It's been a lon-n-ng winter...

Last fall I posted a picture of part of our gourd crop--freshly picked. It's been a long winter for them to cure and here's the "dried" version...

They don't look very pleasant, but they have dried nicely and some warm day in the next few weeks, we'll wash them and get the molds off. Matt and I are looking at potential projects to make with our crop of gourds...we'll let you see the finished products.

Wayne and 3 of the kids went for a walk down to the river this afternoon. Washed up on the bank was a dried "swan neck gourd". Rachael recovered it and brought it home to add to our collection.

We've ordered several different types of gourd seeds for this year's crop. We hope to harvest some luffa.

Thankfully, the kids have been fairly healthy throughout the winter, but now we're dealing with a nasty cold. Nathanial came down with it first and now 4 of the others have it. Ian is so cuddly when he's sick..."I hold my mommy" is his favorite activity. We knew he was really feeling rough when he asked to do his least favorite activity..."take a bath please". As I type this he is in my lap showing me the picture of Ian and Mommy...he's perked up a bit from that bath. :0)

Raindrops and Rabbits...

It's still raining and the puddles are getting bigger and bigger. Thankfully we had a sunny day on Thursday which helped dry up some of the water before this latest drenching. The river is getting higher, but thankfully, it's not any higher than is typical during spring thaw.

Yes, I am insisting that spring is here before the calendar says...all my snowmen and winter themed decorative items have been put away. I started washing windows and curtains this a.m. (That's a sign to the kids that it's spring.)

For the past 2 weeks in our local "Pennysaver" there has been an ad for an 8 month old angora rabbit. It caught my eye because they were only asking $10 for it (angoras typically go for a lot more). I mentioned it to Wayne and he smiled and asked if I was going to call. I shrugged and put the number aside...The ad was in the paper the 2nd week and I commented that the 'angora is still listed'. Wayne said that I should call to check it out. I hesitated because I didn't know if we really needed another animal to deal with right now. Well, last night my dear husband asked, "Did you call about the angora?" I shook my head 'no' and he told me to go call and find out the story behind it. Well, I couldn't NOT call after he told me to call so-o-o...

This is "Arthur"...he was bought at an auction when he was only about 4 weeks old...a matted little furball of a bunny. The lady who bought him brought him home and started working out all the knots in his fur and loved on him. His fur kept getting longer, longer, and longer. She then realized she had an angora. She already had several lion-headed rabbits and a beautiful lop. Ann has arthritis and other medical issues and was finding it harder to comb him out each week. She knew that she needed to find him a home where he'd be cared for and appreciated for his beautiful fur. She had several responses to her ad, but many people were looking for an "Easter bunny" pet or didn't know what an angora was. When I called her last night she was pleased to hear from someone who knew what an angora was, their special grooming needs, and had some experience with rabbits. Rachael and I went to meet Arthur this afternoon and he came home with us. If all goes as planned, Ann will get something made from the yarn Arthur furnishes.

So...our profile has changed again...we're back to having 3 rabbits!

Rain...rain...rain....

Nathanial and Katelyn decided to take advantage of the lake forming in our back field due to all the rain and snowmelt. It's not very warm weather for paddling, but they were doing their version of Washington crossing the Delaware. (Can you tell what period of history we're studying?)

So far the river has stayed within its banks, but several roads are underwater. They say the sun will come out tomorrow...that will make many people in this area breathe a sigh of relief. Our neighbors are pumping their basements...so far ours is dry, but we're watching it carefully since we have standing water in areas we never did before the flood. When the neighbors pull out their pumps, we always say it's the first sign of spring...I know the calendar says spring is a few weeks away, but I'm being optimistic! :-D