The bike ride

Last week, Drew announced that it was time for the long-awaited bike trip to the river to take place. It is 6 miles on gravel from our driveway to the river. He suggested that I meet them at our chosen spot with the truck and we could all go for a swim before loading up the bikes and heading back home. They had SO much fun! Next time we will have to arrange it so I can ride too. I was happy this time to have a little while to sit, read and relax in the quiet. We had a great time swimming and looking for pretty rocks.
Coming down the final stretch...

They made it! All were smiling and saying "When can we do that again??"

Copperhead

We have 4 poisonous snakes in Missouri and this is one of them. We haven't seen any at our house yet but we have seen Copperheads along the road. As much as there is good reason for caution, I do enjoy them and think they are beautiful as does the rest of my family. I took this photo while Drew had the snake on one of his snake sticks. People kill many Northern Water snakes each year believing them to be Copperheads. We take every opportunity we can to educate people on their differences and how to properly identify them.

Catching up...

I have wanted to post but we have been spending a lot of time together as a family since Drew came home and I just couldn't seem to fit it in. Now we are getting back into a routine and I think I'll have more time.

The garden has grown amazingly since the photos I posted awhile back! I will post some new pictures this week. We harvested cabbage, radishes, mustard greens and will have quite a few zucchini by the end of the week. On the "To Do" list for next week: make zucchini bread and freeze.

The day lilies are in full bloom and are a beautiful splash of orange throughout our flower beds. Pictures coming soon.

Also, Yolanda asked about how we organize our homeschool into binders and I will share that as well. Sorry for the delay Yolanda...I didn't forget. :)

The boys have been picking red clover tops and drying them in the dehydrator. We will mix them with spearmint leaves for a tasty tea.

Well, there is much more I could say but I must get on with the day. We may be going to town today to get some more furniture if Drew can get the trailer lights to work. We bought mattress sets for 2 boys on Friday.

I hope you are having a good day with the Lord. He has been so good to me lately especially.

Building raised beds

Before Drew left he tilled up 3 long rows for strawberries. He didn't have time to build the boxes but he did get out all the boards so the boys and I could work on it. Well, today we finally built one! It didn't turn out as nice as I had hoped it would, but it will work. We are using salvaged lumber that was in the barn when we bought this place. Can't beat that!
The beds on the left are the ones Silas built with his Grammy. The next 3 are strawberry beds. You can see one is in the process of being laid out and one is done.
Here it is! Something is really weird on the right side. We used 12" 2x4's with the end cut like a tent stake so it would drive easier. We pounded those in as we went-flush with the tops of the boards-and then screwed the side boards into them. Some weren't pounded so straight and with the boards already a bit bowed, well, it's a little wibbly. Now, we have 2 more to build and we can plant strawberries! I wouldn't have wanted to do this without my 3 willing helpers.
This is me getting a board into place. Almost all of the boards needed to have the ends cut off so they would be straight.

Making one of many cuts. :) I am looking forward to making the next two. We made a few mistakes with the first one and now I think I have it figured out. The next two should go much faster.

Our greenhouse

Ann, over at His Grace To Me , asked me about our greenhouse and requested pictures. So, here are 2 pictures of our little greenhouse:


I really like it. Even on a chilly, dreary day, we can go in there and it's so nice. The air is fresh, things are green and growing and there is life long after the frost has gotten everything else. I am considering hanging my hammock chair in there this fall. :)



It is a metal framework that I believe was originally intended for some kind of carport thing. The previous owners stretched the plastic over and used it as a greenhouse. There are 7 raised beds inside with mulch on the walkways.

another opossum

This is our Barred Rock Pip. She is Levi's chicken and Drew's favorite. She is such a friendly chicken, following us around waiting for treats.
This is Raoul. He is quite old and doesn't get around very well anymore.
Last night I heard clucking when the chicken house should have been quiet. I had already been in bed and the boys were in bed also. I got up and that is when I heard the clucking. I called to Ukiah and Levi who bounded out of bed and ran out to the chicken house in their bare feet. Another opossum! This time it had a hold of Pip's tail feathers. Ukiah chased it off and up into a corner of the screened in part of the chicken yard. We weren't able to catch this one as easily as Drew had caught the last (by the tail). I didn't want to just grab it and I didn't want the boys to either. So I ran down to the workshop and got a big fishing net. Ukiah netted it and we put it into a big barrel. He spent the night in our workshop and was relocated in the morning. I wish I had pictures of the whole event to post. The boys sure are making some memories AND, Levi is getting much more diligent about locking up the chickens at night. :)

more chick pictures

The ones with the chipmunk stripes down their backs are Aracaunas. The white one is a white Silkie - they have blue beaks! The black one with his beak in the air is a Black Australorp. The black with white spot on the head is a Dominique. The golden is a NH Red. The little one in the middle, to the right of the Silkie is our Mystery chick!

Insect collecting

This is Ukiah's prize Luna moth along with a few others. We are working on labels.

The chicks are here

They arrived yesterday morning. 27 chicks! Silas made up a little countdown "calendar" when we placed our order over a month ago. It was so cute to watch him cross off each day. Levi got white Silkies, Silas got New Hampshire Reds, Ukiah got Aracaunas, I got Black Australorps and Drew got Dominiques. We also got a surprise exotic chick. :) A few have already been on an excursion outside to eat grass clippings and bugs - courtesy of the boys.

A visitor

This little bird must have hit one of our windows and decided to take a rest on the deck. Our deck is not a safe place for birds to rest so we moved it inside just long enough for it to recover. Isn't it beautiful? We think it is some kind of warbler.

Tomatoes!

Levi and I were out in the greenhouse today doing some weeding. I knew we had a lot of blossoms but Levi spotted some little tomatoes! We were so excited. This plant is an heirloom variety called Principe Borghese. It produces nice small tomatoes that are good for drying.

Ukiahs' insect collection

Ukiah is fulfilling a long-time desire to make an insect collection. We made a net, prepared a jar with plaster for killing the insects, fixed up some display boxes and ordered a few inexpensive supplies like pins and a spreading board. He already has quite a few specimens and works daily to get more. Here are several of his butterflies and moths on the spreading board:


We found a very large dragonfly today to add to the collection. We are using an older 4H entomology manual that we found online as a guide.

Mystery lily

At first I thought this was some type of unusual iris. After looking more closely at the foliage, I think it is a lily. They are so delicate and beautiful.

muffler repair

One of the things on my "to do"list was to repair the muffler. I needed to get the truck inspected and we didn't think it would pass in the condition it was in. So, yesterday I got out the cold-weld stuff my husband told me about and got to my task. It was actually kind of fun...and cooler under the truck. The dogs must have thought so too because they joined me. :)

I got out all my supplies. Read the instructions. I had everything except the gloves, but I needed to forge ahead. I figured I would just be careful not to touch it. So...mix Bottle A with Bottle B...stir for 3 minutes. Add powdered aggregate to achieve desired consistency. Hmmm. What consistency do I want for this job?? Start out thinner, add more if necessary. The kit included a short paint stirrer kind of thing. That is how I am going to apply it...I think. :) Here is what the muffler looked like before:
So I started applying it all around the edges to seal the crack. Then, I would press in the strips of fiberglass tape I had pre-cut. All the while trying to do this with that awkward paint paddle. Well, the stuff started heating up which took me by surprise so I figured it was going to begin to harden...I better hurry. Finally, I ditched the paint paddle and started using my fingers. Bad I know. I applied a coat on top of the fiberglass to keep it in place.

Here is what it looked like when I was finished:

Now...here is what happened. I let it cure all day and all night. I decided this morning I would take it in for the inspection. We looked at it before we left and it was solid just like the directions said it should be. When we were almost there - like I could see the mechanic's sign - I heard the muffler get really loud. Silas said "I think it came apart!" I had to agree. Just then I sensed the Lord prompting me that nothing happens without it going through Him first. Because of that, I could have peace. We proceeded to the garage even though part of me wanted to pull in somewhere and look. The mechanic inspected it right then and there, passed it! and only charged me $12! I am so thankful. We will take care of the muffler as soon as Drew gets back but until then, at least it is legal. :)

A tree frog

Yesterday morning I decided to walk down the lane to get the mail and the boys could ride along on their bikes. It was such a peaceful, warm morning. Then I heard "Mama, Mama! Look what we found!"


Since they were on their bikes they couldn't hold it the whole way back home so they handed it to me. I didn't want to hold it because I knew my dry, salty hands wouldn't be good for it so I carefully put it in my shirt pocket. lol As soon as we took some pictures, we let it go. Isn't it beautiful? The yellow under it back legs was so bright!