Robin's Nest

As I was doing the stuff that starts each day I didn't notice the changes that were occurring. On top of that yesterday was such a whirlwind of things going on that I am not sure what all I did get done! When evening came and I had time to look at the animals more closely, I noticed that one of the ducks had changed. The change isn't complete but it is happening! We have a male Mallard and 3 females! This secures the fate of at least two of the 7 ducks. Same for the turkeys there are 3 males and four females. Of course only two of each are needed so the rest get donated or become freezer food. I am hoping that there are a male and female of the white ducks too. Time will tell. This summer has us building a ramp to the front door for my 101 year old aunt. I am sure it will come in handy for one or both of us one day, but for now it is mainly for her. There may even be times that the ducks and turkeys enjoy the ramp. If nothing else I get a front porch out of it. It has been too

  Good Morning. I wish my greeting could be more enthusiastic but after last night, well let's just say I am wary of what today may hold for me! Up at 0530 this morning to get the day started. It was nice to sleep in a bit. We are taking another day before hitting the academics again. More for me than for them. I went outside at 0630 to let all the animals start grazing only to find the barn door wide open. This little incident made me glad that Congress was in with the rest of the ducks. Nothing seemed a miss so time to get on with the day. Summer and winter squash were planted two days ago minus the zucchini. I plan to get to that today... We will see what happens. Breakfast and then laundry and kitchen chores will eat up much of the morning for me. Perhaps I can plant seeds too. So much for organization! Well I am going to get this posted and perhaps I will have a sequel later... perhaps. Or perhaps I will find myself upside down like this big guy...

  Third  day home from California and the bucket list of things to do is still there. Seeds to plant and other plants to tend and 5 peach trees to plant. Games to play must be included for sure! We have played five rounds of Clue so far. In between rounds we have tried to do little tasks. Today was a really weird day. First we left for babysitting after letting all the animals out of their pens and feeding them. That was pretty uneventful. As a trade off my daughter kept my two for an hour or so while I ran to get paperwork and new plastic plates for summer use. When I arrived back to pick up just one kiddo and try to find a trampoline center open both kiddos were sent out the door. It seems no one could get along with each other today. No worries, I had forgotten my wallet at the house and could not do any more in town without it. So home we went. On arrival I remembered to try and order medication that was due and encountered the new MHS Genesis system that has been put in place inst

Staying home with the kiddos has been fun... but challenging! All the blogs that show perfect homes and smiling kiddos can depress a person. Not one day of the week is my home picture perfect, nor are my kids smiling 24/7. I can't even make one counter picture perfect for a full day! I am pretty sure I am subscribed to every organizational blog that exists. Try as I might, I don't stick to any of them. Add extra visitors to that and animals that need attention and the first thing to go to the wayside is cleaning. There is constant noise in the home. Either kiddos, animals or guests. It is a joyful noise, most days. Then on the rest it is not so joyful! (the above portion was written pre-California trip) Now that I am home from going to Aunt Millie's, I am more motivated to get the house in order so that she can come here for enough time to get her home in order. I enjoyed my time visiting when and were we could but there was much work to be done. The garage is cleaned out o

Being Thursday in general has absolutely no significance, other than I usually do not have to babysit. Today is no different. I do plan to do yard work and plant a variety of beans and squash today. There is still a need for a fence on the east side of the chicken house and chicken wire over the top of all of it. Too many predator birds out here to not have a top IMHO. Although having a small yard to start without a top would probably be okay. There are 5 peach trees waiting for their place in the yard I am really torn about where they should go. I easily would like them along the north fence for protection from the wind while they are small and for snow in the winter to keep them moist. But in the past they have done well in the south of the house position they held for 15 years. Decisions, decisions. I think I will go with the north fence and hope for the best. Raspberries and blackberries are going to stay in pots for this season as, again I don't know where I want to put them.

May has been cold this year! Probably not unusual I just am home so I notice it more I think. My sister is here visiting and resting and working in the garden. She has taken the time to plant way more than I would have done at this time alone. So much in fact that the potato plants have already come through the soil in each of the bags that were planted. The raspberry and blackberry plants are being stubborn. She also replanted almost all of the houseplants that were in need, desperate need! For years I have bragged about the Colorado sunshine and it now is trying (and succeeding) to prove me wrong.  We have had gloomy, gray days most of her stay so far. With a dash of snow and rain to boot! I know I can still sow seeds in this weather but who wants too! It must be done if I want a garden. I appreciate her hard work more than she will ever know. Soon it will be time to take her to California to finish up things with our Aunt out there. I will miss her company and the craziness that com