Very Busy Summer!

 School letting out in May was a welcome relief from the mundane routine we had fallen into. Of course it came with babysitting full time and that was not in my summer plans. Sometimes you just roll with the times and see what happens. So let's get to what happened!

After school let out on Thursday, May 27th I left for California to return my sister to her task of taking care of  "Aunt Millie". My daughter and I jokingly told her wear a depend and bring snacks we will be there in less than 24 hours. We were. But we did stop many, many times for bathroom breaks and stretching.

We listened to this record that my Uncle Jack recorded while away with the Army Air Corp to Aunt Millie.

This is the Walmart that we went to get a record player at to listen to the record. That many miles just to go to Walmart... crazy.

Aunt Millie enjoying banana bread in her own home. All the construction has begun and she is taking it in stride.

The return trip was much more adventurous. Also, a bad choice made it not as fun and too long! We arrived home safely and got back into our routines and life went on.

"Dottie" was tired of traveling by the end. She had such good manners and never once had an accident in the car. That's how movie star dogs roll.

 With the summer heat came the maturing of the barnyard animals. Ducklings finally changed into their identifiable sexes and with that I'm pretty sure there will be ducklings at some point. Same goes for the turkeys and chickens. The chickens are taking the longest to reveal who is who, but they have started laying their eggs the fastest.

Fastest chicken catcher in the west!

The ducks are enjoying their pond and the rain that came! The 2 male ducks are next to each other.

Some of the chickens offered to help build things

Other birds are just impatient when it comes to food.

A couple of the first eggs for this bunch.

A foreshadowing of fate in the barnyard...

Turkeys putting on a show worthy of an audience!

The are still many projects to complete to be ready for next winter. The garden was a bust this year. There will be potatoes and onions, garlic and shallots... that's about it in the garden department. Unfortunately my time was spread too thin for gardening. I did plant several varieties of squash and likewise beans. But it seems the chickens that "free range" love these delicacies. Time will tell if, what they didn't eat, will produce anything.

In the child arena, #9 added a broken bone to her collection of injuries thwarting any travel plans we had dreamed of. Not that the influx of yard birds and puppies hadn't already changed those. The youngest kiddo added her spin with relentless allergies and many sleepless nights. The start of school looms in the near future and we want to make the most of what is left of the season.

Her new name is "Grace"! Just kidding but she is definitely safer on a scooter than on crutches!

Even little Maddie is trying to figure out how she broke it... dancing

But swimming must go on for the other kiddo!

And it turns out the ramp is needed even if you are not 101!

Why can't I ride this? She isn't using it right now.

All this said, you are pretty much up to date as far as major developments out here. Every day something new comes up and puts a different spin on how the day is going to go.