Sitting at the park yesterday, working on math with Wyatt Clay when a coach came by and asked him about homework, I thought how funny it would be when children began asking him what school he attended and, for the first time, he learned to start saying, "I am home schooled." I left the boys at the park, and headed home to manage the animals and do the watering. Shadow had gotten to stay inside with her brother, Vegas, during the day. The only thing we found out of place was a large stuffed Shamu, and he still had his eyes (the first thing she remove when destroying a stuffed animal.) As the dogs and I headed out to feed and water and collect eggs, I thought about all of the things coming full circle, and how children and animals really do mark the passage of time.
I am definitely not eighteen anymore.This photo is several years old, I believe the second Halloween after Wyatt was born. He has always been so big, the in-home day care talked me into dressing him up as BamBam, Bailey was a flapper girl in one of her dress up dresses (she has often been silly and fun in such a simple way), and Charlie went all out in his leaf suit. I had an old gypsy outfit, and was very nervous dashing out in it, you can tell what part of me never sees the sun! Funny, Charlie was between TDYs that weekend.
As moms, we often note that when something happened, the younger one was around so old, or like looking back to losing Callie Jo, our first family dog, January before the first county fair when Bailey joined 4-H, and Remington coming come while the club kids were preparing the animals for show.
In a military family, we have extra things, like oh, no, we were in San Diego then while Daddy's unit was flying against their F-18s. Or, no, we went to that chocolate factory in Phoenix when Daddy was up there on deployment briefings and we went to visit. When I first started hiking with the kids, we used to go to this place a little North of here, where there are petroglyphs on the rocks. Back then, Bailey didn't mind posing for pictures. It was before the bullies.
I look back at photos like this, and am reminded if part of why we chose to home school. In the balance of trying to deal with bullies, and life, and meet the constant expectations of others with life where we live, there was no time for hiking and family fun in the driving and craziness of live. This was a component, along with the refusal of the school to deal with the bullying, in our decision to home school. There are so many important things to learn in life, and a number of them are not taught while spending an hour a day practicing standardized testing to prepare for a test after the regular lessons. Hands on experiments and trying out random thoughts, chasing dreams and building things from scratch cannot be ignored. Now my hiking buddies are as tall as me!
Right after 9/11, when I had just begin working for the Tohono O'Odham reservation, this little dog was hit by a car. Charlie was away hunting, I didn't even know Wyatt was on the way yet. I brought the puppy home, hoping to bring it back to health and find its kid. Hopper Spark would be Wyatt's first best friend, getting him through long stretched of not speaking and withdrawing from the world during Charlie's deployments. We lost her right as Wyatt was turning ten last Summer. Wyatt and I still talk about how special she was, and how she loved him unconditionally, never complained and was such a special element is him rejoining the world.
On one of the many trips to San Diego, while Charlie was working and we would go to Sea World and help some around my aunt's house, she licked out this great place, with the history she knew I enjoyed teaching the kids- about explorers int he area who had traveled all the way around South America to make it there, and these neat little tide pools. She had once worked nearby in bunkers built into the sides of the hills. The kids loved the stories! You wouldn't think they would remember from being that little, but Wyatt still brings it up sometimes, and Bailey mentioned it while studying WWII last year.
Fast forward a tad to when Bailey joined 4-H. This was one of her first goats, Vital. Vital used to sit in Charlie's lap, when he was in town for 4H shows. Such a silly goat, and a great ambassador! He boy, Obediah, took over as lead buck this year. Talk about the passage of time!
Maybe not the best picture in the world! Anyhow, Wyatt always liked the bucks better than the does. Our bucks are cuddly, though you won't want to go anywhere in the clothing you were wearing when you cuddled them! Initially, we had Huey and Steely, they came along in Bailey's second year of 4-H. I will get to Steely in a minute. Huey is a beautiful black buck with a great personality. When shown, the most common thing for people to say about him in the line to show is how strangely sweet he is. He was so well conformed, and folks told us to go ahead and breed him as long as he wanted to. Typically, once his belly was full, he would be interested in girls more than anything else. This year, when Bailey put him in with his best girl, Glory, he went to see what was in her food bowl. Bailey called me over from the garden area, and said, Mom I don't think this is going to happen. I think he is retiring. I told her to give it an hour, and just rake the next pen over and watch. Yup, he laid down and ignored Glory, until Glory went to the fence and complained to Bailey. Obediah, his son with Vital, took over as lead buck. He was all to happy to, and funny thing is, he and the new guy, PowerStroke, spend most of their day calling to ladies from their fence. They give Huey first shot at the food, and pretend to head but him and are so gentle with him but play hard with one another. A far cry from the days of Huey's rough and tumble play with Steely and calling to the does from the show ring.
Steely, Wyatt's smiling buddy, is shown with him below in the monsoon sunset. When we brought he and Huey home, there was another we also liked, named Mr Wiggins, but he was Steely's brother, so we wanted to keep different blood lines for the bucks in our small herd. After losing Steely and Bailey seeing PowerStroke show for a couple years, the son of Mr. Wiggins, Bailey bought PowerStroke this year to round out the breeding stock. So, not only has Obediah taken over as head buck, but Powerstroke, Steely's nephew, has come to Patriot's Dream as well.
This was Bailey at her first county fair. The little girl to the back left, who Bailey met st fair this year, went to leadership camp with her a couple years back, and they are still friends now.
This past year was year number seven in 4-H for Bailey. Despite the ups and downs, she loves learning about her animals, and loves to help the younger ones. When she went to meetings this year, the older ones were asked to teach more, and help the younger new members learn. Working with the other kids is one of her favorite things, and this Summer she got to be a camp counselor for her first time.
This was one of the first baby goats born here at Patriot's Dream. I just showed Wyatt this photo, and asked if he remembered getting along this well with his sister!
Well before Wyatt could join 4-H, he began asking for chickens. We kept getting stuck in the poultry area of the petting zoo at functions, and he figured out he could teach children about them, and look after them, but never have to speak with the adult. (He doesn't care for crazy show parents, but then again...) He spent a year taking care of the dogs where all I had to do was check, and then as his birthday came around, he wanted to start looking for birds for his own flock. This polish was Sgt Winger, his very first, who laid in his arms the whole drive home from the other side of town. After Wyatt had his established flock, and the economy went south, friends of the family would find abandoned birds in their rentals, and call Wyatt, leading to him learning about quarantining and flock management. Before long, the flock grew, and grew, and now his eggs are sought after at the farmers markets and by local customers who come directly to us. While the research is all over the place, this week we make the transition to non-soy, non-corn, non-GMO feed, since we finally have a source again! Looking at this photo, I can see where the pens are now that was once empty and how different things are! Remington, on the left, learned to be a flock protector then.
Remington, who came home at eight weeks old, right before that first county fair, while Charlie was on his way back from that long assignment to the Border deployment up at Silverbell Army Air, learned to warm up cold babies who fell in water buckets, helped raise a bottle baby goat (remember Nathan from the sidelines when Bailey was on the basketball team?) and shared her home and bed dutifully, even when she didn't want to. Plume Snowflake, here, followed Remi around the lining room during Christmas after getting wet and coming in hte house, nestling up to Remi until she cuddled it.
Remdog was my buddy, who adored the older dogs she was raised with, and who we lost the Christmas before last, but when Hopper passed so soon after, We moved back to being a two dog family and Wyatt brought Shadow Paws home. Here she is with Vegas, about six years ago. How do I know this, because she was still skiny, not fully filled out, and look at Vegas' face.
This photo really shows the passage of time. Old man Vegas has been with us fourteen year, but the animal control estimated him at seventeen to eighteen year old. Shadow Paws dotes on him, and makes sure he always has food in his bowl, the door opened on his whim and someone to play with or help him chase lizards when he wants to. Wow, those photos next to one another sure say a lot about the goofy buddy presently at my feet. Wyatt snuck some arthritis happiness in a treat for him this morning, hoping he feels good as the storms rumble overhead.
Speaking, of Wyatt, you saw him as BamBam, you saw him with his first chicken, here he is with his d'Uccle hen, Millie, when they went to sing Christmas carols with the 4-H club at the elder care facility.
These juvenile chickens he was holding a few months back are some of this year's new layers. That little Brahma in the middle may have been one of his champion heritage meat birds this year, too. Those chickens are in the 9-11 pound range at this point! And then hens are all laying, most of them up to full size eggs. some with eggs in the incubator in our work for determining the best breeding stock moving forward. That Millie, above has babies in another part of the county (don't tell her, though, she might want visitation!)
This photo was from Wyatt's first year in football, when they were lucky enough to play at half time in a scrimmage on the field of the Arizona Wildcats.
Here he is about a year ago, back to back and out-sizing his adult cousin, Jamie!
And, as we begin a new football season, here he is this morning working tire drills, with Shadow Paws in toe, doing extra training for this season. I am adding obstacles to the obstacle course daily for us, and this tire is five feet tall. Where did my baby boy go?
Well, I am just back in from checking on the Javas out back. They came home about nine weeks ago as tiny chicks, and I just switched them to big chicken food mixed with the baby food, in preparation for their move out to the Buttercup pen. The cycle continues, as always.
Got any before and after photos to share? This would be a great place and time. Maybe the first day of Kindergarten alongside the first day this year? Or any of those photos and stories that show the passage of time. Your thoughts and experiences are ALWAYS welcome!
Hugs to all,
Erin
