It has come to my attention that I've been neglectful of the blog. It is amazing how fast time can go by when one is in graduate school, working, and caring for a family.

Nothing in particular has happened that is out of the ordinary. Just in time for rather monsoon-like weather, The Man added a huge tarp over the chickens, so they are cozy, which is great. A person came out to look at stone posts, and their dog got a hold of a chicken, doing some fairly significant damage to one wing. But the chicken is limping around, and, oddly enough, doesn't seem to be in pain when I manipulate the wing. But because of her inability to fly, I'm worried about her ability to escape further damage, so I've isolated her in with the babies. Then, one silly black hen keeps flying into that portion of the cage, and back out. Who knows what's up with this?

Paul continues to play football, with varied results - they've lost two and won one. But he seems to be learning; the various men in the grandstand who come to watch the games who used to play football seem to think he's doing OK. It's hard not to compare him with the kids who have been playing football for several years.

He's almost 14! Time for his farm permit. We have the book to study, and all the proper documents, and at some point soon we'll go in for the driving test and written exam. Is it just me, but it seems odd to require a driving test from a kid who isn't supposed to have been driving yet ...? With the farm permit he'll be able to drive the "little blue pickup" a 1980s Ford Ranger, to and from school and on a farming-related task. Way cool. He can't transport friends, or go on non-farm errands, which is just fine with me.

Can anyone tell me anything significant about Hamlet? We're studying the play in class. It's hard to come up with anything new when it's been studied over and over again.