Tiggers and Zippys and Teddys, OH MY!

B#2 here today. Otis's kittens turned 5 weeks yesterday.:( They grow entirely too fast. Last week I found two kittens on the chicken coop floor; fearing that one might eventually get hurt I moved Otis and her kitties to the barn. They are absolutely hilarious to watch. Just to make things easier we gave them each a name. One is a fluffy tabby and white whom we dubbed "Tigger". We also have another tabby and white but he is not as cute as Tigger, anyway we named him Teddy. Next is Zippy. Zippy is a grey tabby who looks exactly like a cat that we once had. And last but not least is Minnie. She is grey and white and has a mouse-like face. We don't know yet which are males and which are females so we are just making assumptions for now. Earlier today Tigger was playing with Otis's tail; pouncing on it, biting it and just being adorable. At first Otis didn't mind but then Tigger bit her tail really hard, so Otis swatted him with her paw and the little tramp went sprawling. But he was after the tail again once he got up. Zippy is pretty funny too. If you are ever wondering where she is just look inside the food bowl! She has begun eating food and the food dish sides are so high that she has to climb in the bowl so she can eat.:D And the best part of all is that we might get to keep Tigger! He's the family favorite. But you still have nine kittens to choose from, so hurry and put a kitten on hold before somebody takes them all!

-B#2

Nature Notebooking

I recently have been re-reading material about Charlotte Mason. She was an educator in the 1800's who felt that we waste so much time on dumbed down books and textbooks that make you bleary-eyed. I have tried in the past for the kids to have a nature notebook but it is a bit more difficult when you live in the city. Not impossible, just more difficult. We have started anew in the past couple of days and it is going better this time. We are currently watching a caterpillar make a cocoon in some plants that the kids gave me for Mother's Day, which are sitting on my kitchen counter. We decided to go on a nature walk today after lunch on the property across the road from us which the owners have graciously given us permission to go tramping on. We saw some wonderful things but our favorite was the Juvenile hawk that was just sitting on a fallen log. We were able to get very close to take pictures. We could hear the mama hawk in the distance trying to draw attention to herself and away from her baby. We hope that it isn't hurt but aren't really sure of hawk behavior so we thought we would check back in a day or so to see if it is still there. Nature notebooking gives us a chance to stop and appreciate all of God's wonderful creation. Romans 1:20 says "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse". Basically all nature screams of a wonderful Creator.

Look at me, I'm as good as Bach!

B#7 enjoys banging on the piano keys. It is not the purtiest thing you ever did hear, but hey, it keeps him happy! He turned 8 months today so, like Bach and Beethoven, he is learning early. I hope that he will always enjoy piano like me!

~B#4~

Things that go meow in the night

This is B#3 writing today, and I'm here to inform you that the feline population on Mennagerie Farm has very recently increased from two to six to TWELVE! Allow me to explain. On Thursday, the twenty second of May, I was doing my chores inside when B#2 came in and said..."Olivia popped!" In case your wondering who Olivia is, she is Otis's sister. Anyway, with the camera in hand I (with B#2 and B#4) rushed outside and lo and behold there, in the exact same spot Otis had her kittens (in the compost bin), was Olivia and her six kittens. Three of them are black and the other three are tabbys. They were still damp when we went out and Olivia was in the way, so we haven't been able to take any pictures until today. Yesterday Olivia and her brood were moved into a cleaner, more comfertable nestbox. If Otis's kittens do not suit you, maybe Olivia's will. Don't delay, reserve your kittens today!

A strange occurance

Come thither my friends and I shallt tell thee a tale; A tale most strange, A tale that brings a smile but also brings tears, so listen my friends and hear the woefull tale of Boomer the bird.

Ookkaayy..anyway, B#2 again and today I get to tell you about yesterday's strange occurance. It was probably about late afternoon when coming from the living room we heard a strange tapping noise. Upon further investigation we found that a little orange and black bird was tapping furiously at one of the living room windows. I flipped through our well-used bird ID book and was able to Identify it as a male Bullock's Oriole. A beautiful bird that we only get in the summer (I guess he was a little early). After ten minutes or so he migrated to our Dining room windows. At first we thought maybe he was seeing his reflection and was trying to fight with it but our lights were off so there was no reflection to see and it didn't look like he was fighting with himself; He was just tapping at the window and watching us. I was able to get really close to him and snap some pics, He didn't mind at all in fact he wasn't the least bit afraid of us humans. So we decided that he must have been hand-raised and now wanted to be someones pet again. Of course I asked mom if we could let him in but a certain 17 year old brother convinced mom that it wasn't a good idea.
All throughout the evening and late into night he stayed there tapping away and watching us. It was his tapping that made us decide to name him Boomer, after the woodpecker in Walt Disney's Fox and The hound. Our Boomer also had a pretty litle mate who we dubbed Dinky, after the other bird in Fox and The hound

This morning somewhere around 7:00 a.m. something woke me up. Any guesses? It was a tap ,tap ,tap. Yup he was back and He wanted in. Later in the morning I looked for him but he was nowhere to be found. So I went out to the barn to milk the goat and take care of the animals. When I got inside the barn Otis met me a Cheshire grin that only cats can do. A few feet away was... The remains of Boomer the Bird.:(
He died a terrible death that he did not deserve, but he shall never be forgotten.
Thus ends my tale of woe.

My Mother's Heart

There he goes....all alone...without me...will he be safe?...will he make good decisions?...I know it sounds so trite and typical to say "They grow so fast", but it really is true. I still can't believe that I have a 17 year old. My big, tall, handsome boy is now driving on his own. He took and passed,with flying colors, his driving test yesterday. God's grace to us is so amazing...I have one learning to drive without mom or dad in the car to correct while I have one learning to crawl on his own. There is nothing I could have done on my own merit to be given the great and awesome blessing and responsibility of raising children. I thank God for each and everyone of them and their unique gifts and abilities.

Is it winter or is it summer?

B#4 mowing the yard while wearing a puffy coat, gloves and a hat.

Suprises in the chicken coop

Hi everyone! This is B#2 again. I just wanted to give you a quick update on our kitties. As you have been told, Otis had them in our compost bin (of all places) but after about a week or so, Otis decided that it was not a sufficient place to raise a family. So off she trotted to find a new nest. Any guesses on where she put them? In one of the Chicken coop nestboxes! Imagine my suprise when I went in there to look for eggs and Instead found Otis and her kittens! The kittens are almost four weeks old and like most kittens, are very fluffy and adorable. It's so funny to watch them wrestle with each other and they all lean out of the nest when you come in; hoping for a scratch behind the ears. Unfortunately They are becoming more and more curious each passing day and they are starting to climb out of the nest. This morning I found one of them two nestboxes away from the other littermates! In about four more weeks they will be old enough to go to new homes. Us kids were really hoping to get to keep one but alas and alack, mom and dad said no. All this leads me to say: Kittens Anyone?

-B#2

About Me

This is B#4 writting and I thought I'd tell you a little about myself. I'm 11 years old, and have a wonderfull family!I enjoy reading, writting, playing outside, and playing instruments (such as piano,ocarina,as well as numerous stringed instruments). I also enjoy horse back riding,(though I rarely get to do it!).And I have 2 rabbits,1 alpaca,2 chickens,and 1 duck.

The bread lady

B#2 is our resident bread lady...she makes great baguettes, crunchy rustic bread and our everyday bread, which we call our cheater bread since it doesn't have to rise more than once.A few days ago she thought she would try a sourdough starter and make some sour dough bread but mom couldn't handle the smell so she dumped it. Anyway, B#4decided she wanted to learn to make baguettes so in the pictures B#2 is teaching her to make them.

Geese

Hello everyone! This is B#2 writing. I've been wanting to do a post for a really long time, the problem was that I didn't know what to write about. But I have finally thought up something.

Mom has introduced you to my geese a little bit but I get the honors of telling you more about them. For starters I have two geese (females) and one Gander (male). My gander's name is Shim (not Shem like mom wrote). I named him after a fictional character who was a dwarf-sized giant. I thought it fit my Shim pretty good. My geese's... goose's... How would you write that? Anyway their names are Hazel and Amber. Hazel is the sweetest goose I have ever met, She was sleeping on my lap earlier. Amber is the Beauty of the bunch, with an absolutely adorable doll face she is very hard to resist. About half an hour ago I was in the pen where we keep them and I had an absolute blast with my feathered friends. I was sitting cross-legged in there when Hazel snuggled down into my lap and fell asleep, a duck soon joined her. Shim was standing on my knee looking like a pirate in the crow's nest and Amber was preening my hair, I guess it looked messy to her. Mom and I tried to put the pictures at the bottom but failed. So I'll just have to tell you about each pic. The first one is a head shot of Shim, the next one is shim nibbling at my skirt. After that one is a pic of Hazel. Following is a shot of Shim getting ready to take a nap on B#3's Lap, with Amber watching him closely. The Last one is my beautiful Amber. Well,that is all for now but I will keep you updated. TTFN Ta Ta for now.

-B#2

Granola

I have been experimenting lately with making granola. I have made lots in the past that just needed to be thrown in the trash but I think I finally figured it out....the trick for me seems to be not to leave it in oven until it is as dry as you would eat it since it hardens up more after you take it out. I do stir it quite often both in the oven and once you take it out. Below is the recipe that seems to work best for me. I quadrupled it and it makes about 1 and 1/2 gallons.

2cups rolled oats

1 cup nuts of your choice(we prefer sliced almonds)

1/2cup coconut(optional)

1/4cup wheat germ( I use ground flax seeds)

1/2cup honey or maple syrup

2Tablespoons oil(I use melted butter)

1cup dried fruit(we like dried cranberries)

In a large bowl combine the oats, nuts, coconut, and wheat germ or flax(optional). Stir together the honey or syrup and the melted butter or oil;stir into oat mixture. Spread evenly onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes in a 300 degree oven, stirring after 20 minutes. Take out before 30 minutes if it is looking brown since it will cook and harden more after you take it out of the oven. Since I quadruple the above recipe it takes the full 30 minutes to cook on multiple cookie sheets but if you are just doing a single recipe it may not take the full 30 minutes. Stir often after taking out of the oven and wait until it is cool and hardened to put into a container. The book says you can store it in an airtight container for up to a week but I do think I have stored ours a bit longer or you could freeze it. NOTE: don't add the dried fruit until after you have taken it out of the oven. I have put it in before cooking it and it can make some of the cranberries very hard.

Starting Early

We all know the saying "Boys will be boys". I think boys are just born with an inate sense of boyish stuff. For the most part they all love bugs, planes, guns, mud and frogs. Just to prove this thought of mine I enter the following exhibits....

B#7 with a bee



B#7 with a frog in his pocket