Look what became of this little chicken!

This is my friend, Kelly, pointing at the bell-bottoms of the rooster in the previous photo. Less than a year has gone by! And he is supposed to get even bigger. The best thing is that he is a nice, gentle rooster.

Well, every year we make progress. Here are the tulips planted by Marty; and the ones I put in. On the edge, you can see the daffodils I planted also.

Just a different shot of the house, showing the tulips.

Is it just me, or are the flowers a little early this year? It's just the end of February... I want to say, to them Don't do it....but they just don't listen...

I have been very neglectful of this blog!

It has been a busy time with my classes starting up again. I'm taking two classes - one a Master's Seminar on 19th century American women writers; and the second a class in creative writing.

Paul has finished his freshman year as a wrestler - he has a good record 16 wins and 7 losses. He missed a couple of matches due to an elbow injury, but it is better now.

Last night, we went to the annual Labor Auction, a fundraiser for the Future Farmers of America.
He was bought for $100, a little above the average, which seemed to vary from $60 to $90. Often, the parents or grandparents were bidding on the student, and sometimes they bought up to $120 or so. It was a lot of fun, as the auctioneer has been coming to the auction for years, and knows many of the families. He jokes with the students and the ag teacher. He asks each student what they do best, once in a while a student, usually a boy, will tell him his speciality is underwater basket weaving; generally, they say they can drive a tractor - the auctioneer asked this kid if there was anything hooked to it, or did he just drive one around in circles, just simple jokes like that.
One girl said her speciality was gardening, and the auctioneer confused her to the point that she said she raised vegetables like tomatoes, and they had fun when she realized she mis-spoke and tomatoes are fruits. But he was kind to a mildly retarded kid, and he didn't rise to the bait, like when one kid said his speciality was "stealing girlfriends."

Paul got up and said he could throw hay bales, and the auctioneer said that he was surprised that a kid would admit to being able to to that. Maybe that's why he brought so much :)

In any event, I remain surprised in today's age that kids would agree to a labor auction (used to be called a slave auction, but political correctness intervened). I will say that the one girl bought by her dad was pleased because she wouldn't have to do any work, but that doesn't say that she wouldn't have worked for someone else. Once in a while, the kid won't come, or can't make it, even though they have until the end of the year. Then, the FFA refunds the money.

I left, as I have in previous years, with a profound sense of hope for these young people.

Here are a couple of photos stolen from Ellen, from our trip to Ellis Island...

And here I am looking out over the New York skyline.

The Statue of Liberty. Unfortunately they are not offering tours.

It was freezing cold, but time for a quick shot...

Ellis Island. I was very impressed by the displays and the stories of the immigrants.

One day, we got to go watch Hannah practice gymnastics. She's a strong kid!

So our visit included one trip to the city, to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. It was really cold, but I'm glad we went. I was really impressed with Ellis Island and the stories of the immigrants. My family didn't come through Ellis Island, having been here since the 1700s (mainly) but it was still so moving to see the struggles of the immigrants. I can't imagine the courage it would take to even consider such a trip.

We could have gone back into the city, but I picked up a cold from my grandchildren, and didn't feel like wandering around in the chilly weather. We went and saw the new Sherlock Holmes movie, and I enjoyed it, I think everyone else did also. Then on Friday, we went to Princeton to wander around and eat lunch. It was just a nice easy to get to outing, that included a trip to my old favorite bookstore.

I'm reminded how much I hated the traffic. Ellen is a good driver, but I'm so glad I don't have to face this every day any more. Glad to go... glad to be home.

First off, wonderful trip to see Ellen and the gang.... opened Christmas presents....

Just a shot of Ellen and Daniel...

Hannah and my opinion that she is "Cowgirl Tough"

Simon and Seth playing with Simon's gift - Zombie kit...

Paul and I just returned from a wonderful visit with Ellen, Daniel, Hannah, Simon and Seth. Otherswise known as "Ellen and the gang." I'll start with the Christmas photos. Note, there are no photos of Paul, as he has developed the habit of trying to ruin all the photos.... He did OK on another trip, however...

We flew in on Christmas Day, and out again on New Year's Eve. Cheaper that way.

It was a total day of indulgence for me, as we went to the Mother Cabrini Shrine and went and visited my Father's grave.

Wasn't it nice of everyone to go along with my odd requests? While at the Mother Cabrini Shrine, Paul and I lit a candle for his dad. I also bought a rosary as a gift for the Kay, who took care of the chickens and dog while we were gone, and when I gave it to her, she told me that is where they spent their honeymoon... in 1966! I had brought along the brochures from the shrine and she said it had changed a lot in the intervening years...

We went to Karl's wedding to Tabitha, a delightful young woman.

That's Tabby in the middle next to Ellen, and next to her is her mother. Her father is on the end next to Karl.

Karl married his girlfriend, Tabby, in a meadow in the mountains near Evergreen. Unfortunatley, it had snowed the day before, but at least it wasn't snowing that day! He wanted to go to the that meadow because that was where he used to go with his dad, who died in several years ago.

We had a good trip out and back and it was great to see Ellen! Next I'll post photos from an outing with Ellen.

Well, I have sad news and happy news.

First the sad news. Frank, Paul's father, passed away over the weekend. Or rather, we found out over the weekend. I don't have any information yet about funeral arrangements, etc. as his oldest son, Mike Hancock, is down there now, sorting things out. It is sad that if Paul will now never be able to reconcile with his dad.

The good news is that tomorrow we are heading to Karl's wedding to Tabitha. She is a lovely girl, and I'm sure she and Karl will be happy together. They are getting married in a meadow above Evergreen, where we used to live. We will be able to see Ellen, and that is wonderful.

My goodness, it has been a long time since I've posted. I'll blame it on Old English, and the translating thereof.


Today, I'm writing because of what might have been a tragedy, but it wasn't. Last night, I woke up about 1 a.m. to the sound of a what seemed to be a massive car crash on the road in front of the house. I got up, peared out and saw headlites in the ditch. Mike called the sheriff, while I dressed and drove my car down the lane. When I saw the car, I thought on it's side, I thought for sure someone was injured.

Turns out it was a neighbor who has swerved to avoid a deer, but he ended up hitting it anyhow. He had climbed out of the car and already called his girlfriend to come. He seemed OK, and he was prepared to go and bring back a tractor and pull his truck out of the ditch. Mike came down, too, and helped. The sheriff wasn't too happy to learn he'd already left, but he came back with his tractor, and indeed, righted the truck, using the fork they use to move round bails of straw. I couldn't see the entire operation, but it looked like he had perhaps poked the tine into the window, or perhaps on the top of the cab. He ended up driving the truck home, and coming back for the tractor right away.


I thought to myself.... no stinking tow truck for this guy. Just take charge and move on. It's sort of the "farmer way"... do it yourself.


When we first moved here, Paul made a comment to me that if you wanted to win a war, all you'd need would be a bunch of old farmers... they'd never give up, and work forever. And, they'd do it all themselves.

Paul and his sponsor Dale Mangett and the Archbishop.

Paul had confirmation this Wednesday. He had injured his knee in football and was not on the best of moods, but he did OK. I think wearing a tie contributed to his mood, but doesn't he look nice?

Paul played football this evening for this first game as a freshman. He played on almost all of the defensive plays. He informs me he is a linebacker... what ever that is :)

He didn't spend much of his time standing around, but you can see actually see his face here... He's with his friend Lane Forge and Coach O...

Football has begun. This means weekly games. I don't know if I'll make all the away games, but last year I attended many of them. Paul really seems to like football, so there you go!

My how time flyes when you're having fun.

I can't imagine it has been this long since I posted!

Many things ...
I'm so excited by the cooler weather. Slept with the windows open for the first time since early summer. It has been nice and cool.

We have several hummingbirds at the feeder. They go through around 4 cups of syrup per day. I know this sounds odd, but I don't wonder if they are the result of nesting in the area, as they are small, even for a hummingbird, and there are about 6 females and 2 males. I don't really know, but it has been a blessing to watch them.

Paul is adapting to the contacts. I've been researching a topic for Old English on the Sutton Hoo burial in England. To me, it is fascinating to see how advanced these "Dark Ages" people were. I think we're reconsidering what we call the dark ages, into an appreciation of their culture.

About a week ago, I made Salsa, repeating the recipe that worked at the County Fair.

Today, I decided to do something with the Roma Tomatoes that are coming on, and I thought someone might find it interesting, as it is really easy. My friend Dorothy Moen incouraged me in this, as she said it was what she used to do. All you do is blanch the tomatoes (peel) and then quarter them, and put them in a container for freezing. I'm acually using containers from Dorothy Ebert, and one of them has a mark on it that says "Corn '74" which indicates to me that the container is older than my daughter, but it still works fine. After they are frozen, the tomatoes are just ready to dump into soups or stews or tomato sauce. Something about the freezing process makes the more like stewed tomatoes - without the headache of stewing. And without the hassle of canning.

Around our place, I save all the various tomato pieces and take them out to the chickens. They just love rotten tomatoes and tomato pieces, almost as much as they love the tops of strawberries.

The new standards are to pressure can straight tomatoes and I don't have a pressure canner. It limits what I can do, but that's OK, freezing them is so much easier, and you can do it when they come on, not waiting for bunches to be ready to make it worthwhile to set up all the canning equipment.

In other news:

I've decided to see if Paul can wear contacts. He keeps breaking his glasses, and I think that contacts will be safer for sports, as he sort of tapes his glasses inside his helmet for football. This can't be a good thing. In wresting, it was good that is it s close sport, as he can't see much without his glasses, and can't wrestle with them on, obviously.

School starts this week for him, and next Tuesday for me. It's been a pretty darned good summer.

Hannah driving the tractor around on the farm.

Hannah had a great time driving the tractor on the farm. She says that she wants to live here, and barring that, come for two months in the summer. She wants a hog and a rabbit. She also got a quick driving lesson on the little blue pickup, just around the farm. You'd think if she lived here, she'd get to where she wouldn't want to do the chores, but I'm not so sure. I think she might just hang in there.

In any event, she's so advanced in her schooling that Rock Creek would bore her to tears, and there'd be no gymnastics. She's a strong kid, after all, she has to be able to lift her own weight for gymnastics, and she weighs 90 pounds. When we were tearing down the chicken area, she was carrying the same weight as the older boys!

Ellen said I'd steal all her good photos, and she was right! Here's Seth on the teeter-totter at the farm.

And Seth with Skyler Forge's bucket calf, "Cadillac."

And Seth with his prize willing chicken.

Ellen took a photo of Hannah helping move the chickens. Don't worry, they are very calm being hung upside down.

Paul showed his hogs and got two blues and a red. He got a nice premium when he sold one of the hogs.

Hannah and Simon were very interested in what the chicken judge had to say about the birds.

It has been a great week. Ellen and Hannah, Simon and Seth came for a visit, and we spent most of the time at the county fair. Only the little one was bored at times, Hannah and Simon found lots of things to do, even if one of Simon's favorite thing to do was tag along with one of Paul's very patient, kind friends!

We let the kids choose a chicken to take, and Seth chose a white Polish Crested that took Reserve Champion in open class. Hannah chose a Dorkin, a rare breed, and she got a blue. Simon chose the one I planned on taking for sure, but it turned out to be a cross-bred bird. I thought it was a gold-laced wyandott. The judge did not like it at all, and it got a red. Bummer. But the kids didn't seem resentful that Seth's chicken did so well.

The Pottawatomie County Fair is a really cool fair. It isn't wonderful because of the rodeo, or the shows, although all that is fine, it is wonderful because of the people who are there. This is my second fair, and I'm so glad to be a part of it. People pitch in and do work together. I remember thinking last year when the volunteers were doing the initial set-up that if you really want to accomplish something, get a bunch of farmers to do it! It is very safe for the kids, who run and play. I wouldn't turn by back on a kid at the Riley County Fair, but we let Paul spend the night with friends who camp each year at the Pott fair.

I agreed to be the Poultry Supervisor next year. The current fellows are going to stay and help, particularly with the check in, where every flock has to be tested for disease, and all the birds need to be dusted for mites. Heck, I'm there all the time anyhow.

Bad day at Black Rock.

Is this from a movie? In any event, the chickens had a tough weekend. We lost one to the heat. Since we have to close them in so tight due to the darned raccoons, I think the heat just overwhelmed one.

Then, later on Sunday, they were all out free-ranging and having a good time, and I see the go rushing by, and don't think much of it, but a few minutes later, Mike and Paul come in and tell me they've penned two stray dogs into the chicken run! Get this, apparently, the dogs tried to chase down the chickens, but settled for going into where they were nesting, and were less able to run. They killed one, just outside of the coop, and from the evidence inside, it was clear they chased it around the coop. Also, I could see many feathers outside, and I assume they tried to kill another one. I have to say, I'm sorry I'm getting pretty good at figuring out the "scene of the crime" when it comes to deceased chickens.

Needless to say, I was most upset. Mike had to go back to the fields, so I called the sheriff, with the idea of getting the animal control guy to come and get the dogs, and it turned out a person had called and they were looking for these two dogs - a pit bull looking dog and a Saint Bernard. Paul's out there, watering the dogs and telling me they seem like nice dogs - ya, except they KILLED A CHICKEN. But dogs are one of the worst predators on chickens. They killed it and then left it alone, which was good, because I left it with them as "evidence."

The people came immediately, and they paid me for the chicken willingly, which was nice. I didn't know what to charge, and I remembered an auction where the hens were going for $5 and I said that, and he gave me $7. I guess I should have asked for more, considering loss of egg income. In any event, good old Paul took care of the chicken for me, hauling it off by one leg, just like Mike does.

Of course, the dogs killed the one chicken I could have taken to make a pen of 3 for the Barred Rocks at the county fair.

It's tough being a chicken.

Free Range in the heat

I have discovered something that seems to really help them, however. They love running water, and come over to soak their feet in the water. They are so funny to watch. The rooster, Mr T, will try to bite the running water.

I guess despite all the problems, I'm really enjoying the little buggers.

The Babies

The babies aren't so little, and we're weeding out the roosters. A relative will come tomorrow morning for the rest, except for the Wyandott and one other as I'm keeping a Rhode Island Red. The Wyandott is extremely aggressive and I don't know if we can keep him after the fair. I know we can't keep him and the mixed breed rooster that is not in his isolation bin - otherwise known as an old grain silo. Despite how pretty both roosters are, I'm thinking of seeing if I can sell them both at the fair. I don't want either of them harassing the hens - Mr T is enough.

God gave me (and everyone else) a great gift this morning with a fantastic sunrise! Just what I needed to begin the day ...