Monday, July 18, 2011

Zombie Monday.


I have never been a fan of Mondays.  Mondays mean responsibilities (which seemed ages away on Sunday) bombard you without reprieve.  Sometimes it feels nice to get back into the routine of daily duties, while other times (like today) I feel like I have on iron shoes, and the whole world is thick as split pea soup, forcing you to    go     through    the     d a y       s  l  o  w  l  y . . . .     It makes me wish I could roll back the clock and have an extra Sunday.  As time travel is out of the question, there is no way to avoid zombie Mondays.
Over the last few days I have been taking extra care of Speck, our un-well Australorp.  Her mobility has decreased drastically, though she continues to be very alert and I have seen her eating the clover and grasses around her.  I have to keep her separate from the other chickens for her own safety; the new head hen has been beating up poor Speck.  Nature can be a cruel mistress; she has no place for sick or injured creatures, but I am unwilling to accommodate her in this case.  Today I took Speck over to a non-chicken approved area of the garden, she seems fairly content, now I just have to pray, hope, and wait.
I did accomplish one task that usually thrills me; well, mostly accomplished.  For as long as I can remember we have recycled as many items as possible, but the task of sorting and actually taking everything to the recycle place has never been a sought after task.  After many attempted methods, we finally hit on a system that works for our family.  The only hitch is our commitment to going when the containers are full; instead it gets done when the need becomes near desperate!  So today I sorted, packed, loaded up the truck, and mom and I were off.  Unfortunately what we didn’t know is that the place is closed on Mondays. (Grumble . . . grumble . . . Mondays! . . . grumble)  A couple bins were accessible, but we will have to go another day to dump off the glass (grrrr!).
I am looking forward to this zombie funk wearing off, in fact *sniff sniff* I would not be surprised if a delicious dinner followed by a cherry and almond clafoutis might just do it; *long, deep, sniff* I am so thankful I have a mom who loves to cook.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Progress.

Progress, isn’t that a lovely word.  Over the past week the garden has really started to take off; the corn is growing strong and straight, and the squash and zucchini have really filled out.  Several of my greenhouse tomatoes have grown drastically, and even the in-ground tomatoes have begun to add extra stems and leaves here and there.  But, the most exciting thing has to be the smaller sized eggs I have begun to gather, the teenagers have begun to lay!!!  I just love tending young plants and watching young chickens grow, it makes all the hard work well worth it.

Keep Growing!

Tiny in-ground tomatoes.

Greenhouse Tomato!

A small egg from a small hen.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

23!!!

Yesterday Matthew turned 23!!!  We celebrated with a special take out dinner from our grocery store, Cal Organics; followed by Matthew’s favorite dessert, homemade chocolate chip cookies.  Happy Birthday Matthew!!!


Thursday, July 7, 2011

Hot Summer Days.

The heat is here and I am appreciating every minute of it.  I know as the season progresses complaints will undoubtedly pass my lips, but right now I am relishing summer.

Swimming at last!

Bingo has been staying cool by stretching out in the shade.

The chickens seem to be adapting well to the heat.

Even the babies have a cute way of keeping cool; 
I call this one the swan pose.