Teenagers and Tinies

The five chicks that hatched earlier this summer are now almost seven weeks old. They have feathers instead of fuzz but still follow their mother around. Only three of them stayed still for a picture, along with a hen and our one rooster.


On Thursday morning we went outside to play and I saw little birds next to a hen near the barn. Closer inspection revealed TEN tiny chicks. We didn't even know another hen was setting on eggs; she must have been in the barn. I don't know how she keeps track of all those little ones, but they look so cute following her everywhere.

Now we call the older chicks "teenagers". If these hens keep being such good setters and mothers, we'll never have to buy egg chickens again (as long as we get hens, not roosters!). Fifteen chicks in one summer is a pretty good number when we only have ten adult hens at the moment. Next summer we'll have more eggs than we can use.

First Day of School

Yesterday was the first day of school. Since Myles is starting kindergarten, this was truly his first day at the big school and riding the big school bus. We took the traditional pictures of the boys next to their little pine trees in the front yard. Myles looks considerably more nervous than Carter. They put on their crocs and play sneakers just for the pictures, so their new school shoes wouldn't get wet in the grass. I don't want anybody thinking they went to school in those old shoes!

I pulled out the old stroller for the first time in almost a year so I wouldn't have to carry Berkleigh up and down the driveway. She will all of a sudden decide she wants to be carried. She'll stop and refuse to move and say, "I want you to hold me. I can't walk -- see?!".

We looked like a small circus while waiting for the bus. Grant and Makenzie's parents brought them in separate cars. Makenzie is in second grade like Carter (last year they were in the same class) and Grant is in kindergarten. Alison and Aleesa arrived while we were down at the road, so for a few minutes there were three cars, five adults, and eight kids there! Then there were just the kids, Grant and Makenzie's dad, Bryan, and I until the bus came. Alison and Aleesa come early one or two days a week, so on those days I'll have the eight kids (and sometimes nine) all by myself waiting for the bus.

The only daycare kid missing from this picture is CJ, who didn't come until the afternoon yesterday. He and Aleesa are both going to preschool this year, so there will be days when six kids get on the bus at my house in the morning.

Myles got quite nervous when the bus got here. He slowed down almost to a stop while walking towards it. Carter, who had said he'd help Myles, got right on without a second glance. I held Myles' hand until he got on the bus. Carter did wait for Myles after he got off the bus at school, and he and Makenzie made sure Myles found one of the adult bus buddies to help him to his classroom.

Labor Day

On Sunday the family gathered at Faye and Jerry's cabin for a Labor Day picnic. As usual, there was tons of food and fun. We had delicious chicken, barbeques, salads, pies, and "apple strudel" (made with zucchini but you'd never know!).

Emma, Renee, Carter, and Myles made a mudslide down the bank into the river. Renee would pour buckets of water down to make it even more slippery. Sometimes it was too slippery and she would fall right down. It took two washings and a soak, but I finally got their bathing suits clean!

Berkleigh played with and in a bucket. Bryan snapped a picture just as she fell over -- good timing for once, Bryan!






















I put a picture of Merlyn in here just because I realized there were lots of Berkleigh and none of Merlyn. Grandpa enjoyed the sunshine while he watched his great-grandkids playing in the mud.

All the brothers and sisters were there except for Aunt Stacie. I enjoyed spending time with fellow knitters. Grandma tried to show me how to finger knit, and Aunt Mary helped me with my i-cord troubles.

Our Latest Project

Back in April, we bought one of those outdoor furnaces and were hoping to have it installed in May. However, we had a lot of work to do to get ready for it, and so it finally came this past weekend. In June Bryan and I cut down several pine trees one the other side of the driveway alongside the house. Then one of Jerry's friends came with a brush-hog to clear the brush and smaller trees. Just before we left for Maine, Jerry brought his new tractor over to start levelling the ground.

This is how it looked in the beginning of August. Grandpapa and his tractor were a great source of entertainment for the kids, who set up their lawn chairs to watch the action. The second picture is how the spot looks all levelled out. Eventually we'll build a woodshed, garage, and barn there. It was a lot of work, and we are very grateful to Jerry for spending so much time on the project.

One of Bryan's chores was to cut a hole through the foundation in the cellar. Luckily the spot where the hole had to go was through the section of new foundation poured when four years ago, and not through the old three foot thick stone foundation. It was still a two evening job for Bryan. I wish I'd gotten a picture of him with the big drill and his geeky safety glasses.

We couldn't drive all the way up the driveway for a few days because of the trench for the water and electric lines. The kids had tons of fun playing in the trench and on the sand piles. Carter, Bryan, and Jerry are standing on the "island" waiting for the furnace Saturday morning. You can see the cement slab that Bryan made a couple weeks ago. The furnace guy arrived right on time with the furnace. The big roll is the black water pipe that goes from the furnace to the house. The trailer had a boom and cable on it that lowered the furnace onto the cement slab.

Once the furnace was in place, the guy put the water pipes in place, connected the electric, and put up the chimney. Bryan and Jerry worked on the electric and water conduits to where the woodshed will be. By the end of the day, the new electric panel was up and the trenches across the driveway were all filled in. Now Bryan has quite a bit of work to do in the cellar before we can hook the furnace up to our heating system. Of course, we also have wood to cut, so we'll be very busy the next few weeks.