Amazement

God gave me an amazing gift today. As I pulled into our driveway this afternoon, our female turkey Martha was hanging out in our front yard. I sat quietly in the car, grateful that the dogs were locked inside so that they wouldn't chase her off with enthusiastic greetings. It has been almost two weeks since I last saw her. My emotions ranged from hope that she was just in a safe hiding spot nearby and despair that she had found a better place to live. I watched her for a couple of minutes, enjoying the quiet little sounds she makes. Then, suddenly, I noticed a tiny yellow fluff ball at her feet. TWO little fluff balls at her feet! She successfully hatched out babies without me ever finding her nest or giving her assistance. I watched as the little family stretched out, enjoying a sunny patch. (I can't BELIEVE she hatched them in the dead of winter with temperatures well below freezing at night all this week.) Wait a minute! There's another one!
She has THREE little ones!!!... George is just strutting around doing his best tail dance, gobbling his delight to the world. Whether at the sight of his children, or at the company of Martha, I don't know. He was certainly happy. I quietly tiptoed into the house, took a few pictures, tiptoed out to give her some food and water and just stayed glued to the window most of the afternoon. She is a good mother, keeping an eye out for dangers, fluffing out her feathers and squatting on the ground to allow them to nestle in next to her. The little ones alternated stretching out in the sun with pecking at grass and chasing after Martha each time she moved. By the time the sun was setting, she was gone. I had hoped maybe she would return to the chicken yard, but I have faith that she'll be o.k. She is probably in the crawlspace under the house and I know if she's made it thus far, she'll be fine until the babies are old enough to freely wander the yard. The wonder of baby birds struck my heart anew with the miracle of creation. They are so fragile and beautiful and make my heart sing praise to the God who thought to make the whole process possible.

Best Christmas Ever

So much to be thankful for this year. Mostly for the reduction of expectations before Christmas. With the economy in shambles, it made our family glad to have a home, a job and each other. The kids reduced their "gimme" lists to one important item, so when I was able to expand their gifts a little, it felt like a LOT instead of a letdown. We spent the day quietly, just the four of us. I cooked a turkey, the kids helped with the mashed potatoes and green bean casserole. We pigged out at lunch, then played with toys or crashed with a book for a quick nap.
The leadup to Christmas was less stressful. We were able to do Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes and the kids' school participated in a Police Department Santa Connection for needy kids in the area. We had a ball shopping at the Dollar store and Walmart for the kids assigned to each of their classes. Allen kept piping up from the backseat: "Christmas is really about giving instead of getting, right Mom?!" We also helped serve lunch at the soup kitchen where I volunteer. The kids were blown away by the numbers of people in need this Christmas. (It was the usual end of the month packed house, lots of moms and kids as well.) I managed to push aside all activities for a Saturday to bake cookies and Emily and I ran a plate to the Police station and volunteer fire station in Waxhaw to thank them for being on duty over the holidays.
The kids' classes also went to see the Nutcracker ballet and I got to go along as chaperone. It really helped put me in the Christmas spirit. Temperatures have been so mild, it just doesn't seem time yet.
On Christmas Eve, we were invited to go ice skating at an open-air rink downtown with some close friends from Emily's class. We skated around until I got exhausted, then met Brian for a quiet dinner at a restaurant.
Brian was able to take the weekend off, so we headed off to fulfill Allen's only Christmas activity wish: "I REALLY want to go skiing!" There is a small slope about two hours away, so we got a house-sitter and hotel reservations and off we went. It was not the nicest snow we've ever skiied on, but we all improved tremendously. The temperatures have been too mild for them to make any fresh snow, so it really got a bit icy/slushy on the second day. Emily took lessons and went from barely able to stay up to traversing a challenging slope independently, leading her Mom in graceful S turns. "Look, Mom, this is how you stop if you get going too fast!" She and Julie are officially the same skill skiier now, so in future will take lessons together. Allen just took off and never looked back. He was on the challenging slope to start and progressed up through two levels of difficulty by the end of the two days. Brian had his work cut out for him as he followed Allen down the slopes. Allen was extremely patient, waiting at the bottom for whoever he was with to get down the mountain. There was just no way for me to keep up with him.
The second day we got a strong lesson in not letting a situation get you down. We awoke to a steady rain in our hotel room and fog so thick you couldn't see the adjacent road. We had paid for the day's lift tickets in advance and had our rental equipment stowed in a locker at the lodge. But it looked doomed. At the parking lot of the slope, you could barely see the other row of cars through the fog. But at least up there it wasn't raining. Brian went in to see if we could at least get a raincheck and if they were running the lifts. Allen listened carefully to the plan, then plaintively said,"I don't care if I can't see, I just want to ski the radical slope again!" So in we trudged to let Dad know how Allen felt. Brian was skeptical but kind enough to indulge his son's wish and it turned out to be an awesome day. True, the slopes were icy and slushy. But the rain down in town kept the lines at the lifts short and the fog lifted by noon so you could actually see where you were going. Never got sunshine, but had a great time. We all skiied to the limits of our physical endurance. There was such a lesson on not giving up and not letting a situation ruin your day.
Got back to find the goose had pulled a huge chunk of hair out of Chloe's back. Oh well. None of the animals died, so all in all a successful family vacation.

Oh NO! BAD!! BAD DOG!!!

The evening was progressing smoothly after a hectic day of errands. We had an hour and a half to get ready for piano recital. The kids were making themselves dinner, and I was working on making a batch of pumpkin cookies we were supposed to bring for after the recital. The kids were in their recital finery and we had half an hour to go as I slid the last sheet of cookies in the oven. The previous two sheets were cooling on the counter. I ran into the office to print out directions to where the recital was located. I came back and stopped, confused. Where were the cookies? Only crumbs remained. Oh, Emily must have put them on a plate to take to recital. Boy, she sure left a lot of crumbs. Well, Where is the plate? Nope. No plate. I look at my feet, and there is Roger. He looks up at me and burps. Oh NOOOO! BAD! BAD DOG!!! THOSE WERE MY COOKIES! Good thing I still had one sheet of cookies left. This time, I made sure to put them where he absolutely couldn't get at them.

P.S. If your Fifi suddenly turns up her nose at her dogfood, you might try pumpkin. My dogs, especially Roger, have gone nuts over the pumpkins I was processing. As I discarded the roasted peels, the dogs got into the chicken bucket and dragged them off to devour as quickly as a pig ear. Even got into a few squabbles over the skins. Then, when I left some of the roasted pumpkin seeds on the counter, Roger ate THEM. (And drug the Ziploc bag full of raw pumpkin seeds outside to devour at his leisure.) So, if your dog won't eat, roast up some pumpkin and watch the fun.

Frost on the Pumpkins

Well, winter has officially arrived and it is COLD tonite. (About 25) I have succumbed to affection (INSANITY!) and have installed a heater in the chicken house-- Just to help the little ones stay warm and to encourage the older ones to resume egg laying! Really! I know what I tell everyone about their ability to handle cold, but they just look so Miserable all fluffed out on their perches. Just until they get their feathers fully grown, then I PROMISE I'll turn the heater off. (My husband helped in my resolve by sneaking in and turning off the heater for me last week.)

I have been busily processing pumpkins this week. I was at the grocery store and they had pumpkins out front for 50 Cents. Most of the other stores didn't have any after Halloween and these were LOVELY. Saw a woman and her two daughters pushing three carts full of pumpkins into the store. She said that the grocery in the neighboring town had pumpkins for a penny each, but the manager said they weren't selling fast enough and so he threw them all away. She hadn't gotten there in time to buy all that she wanted. I was just on my way home from serving lunch at the homeless shelter and was horrified by this story of waste. If only there was some way for unwanted produce to get to people who could use it- even farmers can feed slightly spoiled produce to their chickens and pigs! I asked her what on earth she was going to do with all those pumpkins and she said she was going to somehow get them home and then she knew people who wanted them. I paid $8 each for my first Halloween pumpkins, so I grabbed four for my cart. After a while of shopping inside, the lovely cashier informed me that my pumpkins were a penny apiece. I almost ran out and got some more! I am now eternally grateful I didn't. I processed those pumpkins into 27 pint jars of puree. Everyone I know will be offered pumpkin for their Thanksgiving feast. It truly is an amazing fruit(?) full of energy and vitamins and so perfect for cool Fall days. Well, must go back to knitting booties for the bunny....Just kidding!

There's No People like Chicken People

Got a phone call the other day from a dear elderly lady to whom I sold three chickens in the spring. "I was hoping I could buy some more chickens from you- my hens have stopped laying and I sure miss the eggs." (She must not have many chicken friends except me, for this is the forlorn story of every chicken keeper come winter all over the land.) Visiting my friend's farm in Virginia we combed her fields looking for a hiding spot. "Surely they can't just have stopped laying completely!" Sent 7 kids into the barn to search high and low there. Yielded a dozen eggs. Talking with strangers at a 4H Horse Composition Class- "Yes, we just put up lights to get the required amount of daylight. But my husband expects me to go turn them on and off at the right times and it's driving me crazy. Still no improvement in the egg numbers." At the farmer's market in Waxhaw: "My grandpa's hens haven't been laying for months now." And in my own chicken house: a lonely brown egg, the only production for a flock of over 60 hens. Roast chicken, anyone?! Just kidding....My family would kill me. Although with a feed bill of about 100/ month, I WOULD like to see some eggs. I put up lights middle of last week and installed the timer today, so I WON'T have to go turn them on and off.

So back to my dear friend..... I inquired, ever so politely, "Do you have any lights on in their house? They need at least 14 hours of daylight to produce eggs." She replied, "No, I don't. Wouldn't that keep them awake at night? I am fond of my birds and would hate to disturb them." I assured her that only a low watt bulb is necessary and that most chickens are not kept awake by light. I also told her she could use a timer to turn the light on and off to only the hours necessary to make up the 14 hours needed. She said, "Oh, well that would be easy because I already have a heater on a timer out in the chicken house." A HEATER! I thought. Keep in mind it has only been 40-50's at night here and these are adult birds that she has. I cannot imagine her electric bill. I then reassured her that with their feathers, the birds did NOT need a heater as they had each other to huddle next to for warmth. "Oh, that would be save me SO much money!" I was struck by how chickens bring out the caretaker in us all tonight as I looked at my puffed out ladies on their roosts and wondered if maybe I need to put in a heater myself. Hee Hee.
I DID sell her three new pullets (young hens) this morning and was able to reassure them as I stuffed them into the dog crate, "Relax, honey - you're going to someone who is going to treat you very well and love you more than I ever could." Somehow, they didn't seem reassured but continued scolding and squawking as fiercely as ever. Oh well. My friend will have them won over in no time. That's just how chicken people are.

At the bottom of the pile.

Woke up the other morning at the bottom of a pile. Can honestly say it is one of my favorite things. Two children, two dogs and three cats were in the bed with me snuggled as close as they could get. One other dog snoozed on the floor beside the bed. Brian says I'm the pied piper. Lucky me. Sometimes I think God sends me all this love because I get so preoccupied with routine and forget how much He loves me. So many sins stem from forgetting who we are in Christ and the insecurity of feeling unloved. God is awesome! May you notice him singing to you in the birds in the trees, a gentle crisp fall breeze caressing your cheek. Watch him painting the trees for your enjoyment.
I truly stand in awe of his creation. Somehow it assures me that even if everything is scary and unsure, that He is ABLE to handle caring for me.

There's a sheep in my car!

Gack! said Roger, the mastiff. There's a sheep in my car! Mom, can I PLEASE ride up front with YOU?! No, said mom and Allen. You may NOT. Oh MOM, it's so SCARY!!. It has horns!!. AAAAChoo! says the sheep. And promptly returns to munching her hay.
To picture this, take your average minivan. Fold down the back seat, assemble large mastiff wire crate. Fill with hay. Load 80+ pound Jacob ewe into crate. Remove one passenger seat. Place dog bed on floor. Place daughter and son in car and request that large mastiff (Roger) take his bed as usual on floor for 3+ hour drive to Virginia.
The ewe still has her winter wool, so she looks enormous. Roger did NOT approve.
However, the drive was uneventful after we convinced him that he could NOT ride in my lap. The sheep delighted the kids by sneezing every so often and by going potty in her crate. EEEEWWWW! said Allen.
Once we got to my friend's farm in Virginia, the sheep was unloaded without much fuss and Roger got to bark at ALL the big animals there. (Cows, goats, sheep, etc.) The sheep settled in nicely and made friends with her new flock. She even showed signs of going into heat and flirting with her new beau, Boaz, another Jacob sheep. Jacob sheep are from Biblical times and are sturdy spotted sheep that either have two or four horns. (Remember Laban dividing the flock with Jacob and Jacob choosing the spotted ones.) They are prized for their beautiful wool, and Ophelia(the ewe) has wool that looks creamy lavender in the early morning light. Beautiful.
We had SUCH a lovely visit. Got to help herd one of the cows to the neighbors to be bred over the next month. Got to explain to Emily (again!) what exactly was trying to be accomplished. Got to explain that, yes, that IS what happens with people to make babies. And Yes, that is how Mom and Dad got you. No way to get around the truth on a farm.
I have never worked so hard in my life as when the ten of us (two adults, three teens and five children) tried to convince the cow to meander to the neighbor's pasture. We all formed a line and had sticks to enlarge our reach, but she broke the line three times. Once, she charged across the creek and right up the side of the thickly forested ridge. By the time we had all charged up the hill and headed her off, she realized that now the pasture was clear all the way back to the barn and off she boogied! Boy, we were running through knee high grass and stickers for the better part of an hour. Finally contained her to a fenceline and gently moved her along it to the desired goal. I was so impressed at those farm kids and how quickly they anticipated the cow's (Priscilla) movements and how to react. I almost collapsed as she sauntered into the neighbor's pasture and I realized now I had to walk all the way back. Emily, of course, being a city girl, also felt that way and promptly declared that there was no way she could walk, that she had stickers in her shoes and that I needed to carry her. I declined.
Some how, we made it back.
The next day, we picked the very last of that season's apples. The UPick was abandoned with a coffee can for you to leave your money in. We got the best Red Delicious apples I have ever eaten. We were able to use the picking tool at the orchard and there were just a few apples on each tree. Managed to get 2 bushels. There had been a fierce wind the day prior and we were blessed to find a LOT of perfect apples already on the ground. I hope to make apple butter and pie filling this week sometime.
The day after, I made butter. Did you know you can make butter with just heavy cream and a blender? I didn't. Ginger's cow, Cocoa, makes about 5 gallons of milk a day and the percentage of cream is impressive. Cocoa gets to hang around the yard, pasture or house and is one HAPPY cow and her milk shows it. I think I must have made about 6 lbs of butter that day. Couldn't stand up by evening. Roasted a pumpkin and canned it. Roasted the best batch of pumpkin seeds I've ever made. (Olive oil, and LOTS of it!) Gorged myself on goat cheese, fresh bread, pumpkin seeds and fresh mozzerella. (Ginger was busily whipping up fresh cheeses for a winery and I got to be her taste tester!) Her daughter helped make a pumpkin pie and an apple pie for dinner. Delicious!
We prayed over dinner that God would bless those who don't get such variety and who mainly eat rice at each meal. I was reminded of how many people get to eat meat once a year on a big festival and was thankful for the bounty of our land.
Got to chase the pigs briefly the next day (the dogs helped). Kept the fire stoked as snowflakes swirled in the air. What Bliss!!!
Took my precious friend to a movie for her birthday. "The Secret Life of Bees" Bawled my eyes out. Loved it. Catharsis is good for the soul. Went out for late appetizers and pigged out yet again on delicious food. (I highly recommend the Olive Garden Appetizer assortment!) Got home and crawled in bed with my snuggle bunny, Emily, who was keeping the bed warm for me. Bliss just doesn't cover friendship, hard work, good food, God's blessings and the beauty of the Roanoke countryside in fall.
Halloween was one of the best ever. We went to a friend's home for chili and costume preparation, then to a TINY quaint town for a short parade and being set loose for door to door frolicking. We made out like bandits and were done before everyone was exhausted and began bickering and sniping. Then back to home for a cheery hour of bartering among the kids before bedtime. "My store is still open! I have two Jolly Ranchers up for grabs!" The kids got enough to have fun sorting but not so much they will be visiting the dentist prematurely.
Now it is back to home and back to school. May God keep my eyes open to the wonders around me here.