Yoga thought for your Thursday...

So a friend of mine shared this photo on facebook.  It gave me an idea for a quick post...

Many of you may know that there is a great deal of health research into yoga these days, and they have confirmed some of the health benefits the Yoga folks have long purported (funny, that, huh?  Just don't think that means that you should try everything you see- not all poses are right for everyone!)

One of the things we do know?  That rounding and expanding postures, such as those being done by the kitty buddies in this photo here, are good for healthy breathing and stress reduction.Feeling a little stressed?  Folding forward, balanced by lengthening (as opposed to arching) the spine, might just make ya feel a bit better!  And take a relaxation break after your exercise break.  And smile! 

Hugs to you all!

Our silly girl, Hopper Spark, and the life of a desert dog.

This is our silly Hopper Spark.  She will be eleven any day now.  For anyone who knows Hopper, they know she came to us at around three or four months of age, after being hit by a car.  This was September 14th, 2011.  The broken front leg didn't heal quite straight, probably because she kept getting up to follow Bailey around the house.

In the end, Hopper, who bean as a temporary rescue, became a forever member of the house.  She contracted kennel cough at the fence from the neighbor dog, then Valley Fever.  She was o medication for Valley fever for four years.  Some dogs respond well to the medications, some don't she did well, but eventually she was well enough for long enough, that we chose to take her off so she would be more likely to respond again later if it came back.  The research is foggy as to the benefits and risks of leaving dogs like Hopper on it long term.

Hopper Spark is Wyatt's best friend in the world.  You seem many photos of her curled up in the floor with Wyatt.  During the long period when Wyatt didn't talk when he was younger, she just accepted him, and in the end he came around and would speak with her, reading to her and spending hours wandering around and playing pretend in the yard in their own little world.

Lately, Hopper has been a bit congested.  I was getting worried the Valley Fever was back, and we first tried some homeopathic things, as we thought we should rule out allergies before putting her through the stress of a vet visit.  Taking Remington to the vet over Christmas had been so stressful for her, and her didn't respond to treatment, and I don't to put them through that again.

The night before last, I awoke Charlie when I thought I heard her have a seizure.  It was a long night of stabilizing her, and evaluating her.  The only vet she knows doesn't have late night hours, and I will not got back where I took Remi.  They would not let me help her be calm, and stay with her to ease the stress of being off the farm.

She seemed to improve markedly, so I waited for the vet to open, and called to get her squeezed in.  Because we were an emergency add on to the day, she would need to wait a couple hours before they would sedate her for the procedure to check her tonsils and a couple other things, they would draw her blood then, too.  They let Wyatt and I sit in the waiting room with her until she was ready.  After her procedure, she rested at home for several hours, and didn't get up off her special pallet, under the watchful eye of the kids, until I got back from town and teaching the first day of the semester.

She is not quite herself today, but did begin eating.  She is on a few medications as we wait for the test results back, and think good thoughts for the silly girl who thinks Wyatt Clay can do no wrong.  When you say your prayers today, please think good thoughts for our girl. She has had a good life, despite her hard start and health trials, and we are glad to have her here with us, even if she does steal eggs and sneak up on the chickens from time to time!

Here we go again...

This is from last night.  Wyatt went out to check things, and this baby was in the water- again!  So in she came. We wrapped her in a towel (we have some we keep for the animals that have their own washing line), then gave her a quick blow dry.

 Unfortunately, her mama is a master of hiding!  Wyatt, Bailey and I wandered around outside as it grew dark, finding the mamas had traded nesting spots last night.  But the only mama we could not find was the mama which belonged to the little one who loves to go swimming.  We spent time with flashlights as well, after dark, but finally realized the little one would be with us for the night.  Baby really doesn't like to be in the house by itself!

Wyatt took little one out first thing this morning to find the mama with morning feeding.  Here's to hoping he comes back successful!  Otherwise, I will have to come up with a couple friends to go with it and more it in the house.  On the flip side, there is some early comb development, looking like a Phoenix rooster.  Hoping it is really a hen, though, and we are still calling is she!  Wyatt says she is safe back with the mama now, after the mama originally was worried about Wyatt being so close.  But then mama recognized the chirping, and Wyatt set the baby down to run back to her.  Glad for the happy ending!  I like those.  Now maybe baby with stay out of the water this time!

A beautiful Tuesday morning... with babies!

It is a beautiful morning of blue skies and warm sun.  Not sure why it had to get quite so hot later, but that is Arizona!

I went out to do a walk around with the kids this morning, and saw Miss Liberty hiding in the tractor tire sandbox getting ready to leave an egg behind.  She has been leaving a pretty green egg here most days lately.

This mama made her first appearance with babies today.  She is a beautiful Phoenix, with three babies.  They were adorable running around me as I tried to water the greenhouse!

This is the goofy mama who has been raising babies in the doe barn.  Strange choice, I know.  This pen seems to be her spot for teaching them to run around.  She chased Bailey out of it when she was trying to clean yesterday.

Here is Blondie.  A week ago, she decided it was time to get serious about having babies like the others, and has been broody!  Her roo is taking her protection very seriously.  Got the outside of her pen clean, but it looks like it will take a few of us to her her house done, and she is so touchy about not sitting on her eggs if things are moved.  Ugh.  She is funny!

These are the other two mama, with their babies running in and out of the frame.

Below is an Ameraucauna in the big hen house.  She was mad that I had Wyatt pick her up for a quick health check, and he wanted her to lay back down, but she wanted to tell us off!  Fussy, fussy...

Well, things are never dull around here.  But I guess we like it that way!  So we are enjoying have babies around, and getting things set up now that the kids are on Summer break.  Have a great day, a beautiful week, and hope to see you at the farmer's market!

Memorial Day... My thoughts for today...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyDboZZd6nY

So, most folks who have spent much time with me know that I am not usually the one to ask to sing the national anthem.  I would be too busy fighting the tears to get the notes right.  Remember that upbeat Brooks and Dunn song, Only In America?  The folks I used to train with in a gym back when Bailey was a baby used to put it on loud just to mess with me.  I am not usually an overly dramatic person, just for the really special moments in life, like watching Wyatt and those nice boys from Tierra Homesteaders pass through a record mark at the county fair auction this year, or feeling like we finally survived this year and Bailey still standing after the intense bullying from adults and youth alike.

But patriotic songs, they tug at my heartstrings. Big time.  All the time.

My husband is military, but that isn't where it began.  My Dad, and my husband's Dad, both served in the Navy in Vietnam.  But it is more than that.  My Grandfather and Great Uncle, they served.  My grandfather lied about his age to join the Army at the end of WW2, he ended up in the Army Air Corps, eventually the Air Force, serving in Korea.  If you look in the family archives, our family has served this nation in every generation since the War for Independence.

I had always been taught the reverence that stands due to the flag, what it means, and what the costs of our freedom entail.  I have walked the fields of Gettysburg, the old preserved battlefields of the Revolution, the Civil War, seen the bullets remaining at Pearl Harbor.  We were not taught to hate, as I hear them say some children are, but we were taught to believe and to stand.  I had grown up thinking I would fly fighter jets, and would be the one to defend our country, but in the end I am the one raising the children, while he does the military work, rarely anything that resembles the glory we think of in our youth.  Just the day to day.  And I do this in a time where women can serve, and we see the service of men, women, service animals, and the families back home.

We think about this at Veteran's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day.  And we try to live the thanks year round.  And sometimes these songs come out of the clear blue and remind us of how lucky we are, and all that we have, thanks to amazing people who did their job with valor and honor and strength, as we would hope we could do in their place, if called upon.  We run the flag up the mast, then lower it slowly for today, hand under hand, giving thanks along the way.  Hope you like the song.  Happy Memorial Day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyDboZZd6nY

What do I have to show for my Saturday...

What do I have to show for my Saturday?  Not a whole lot.  I scrubbed the kitchen, did some laundry, did some chores.  The wind was still a bit much for me to get anything measurable done in the garden.  But, the open box on the East side of the greenhouse- I had been debating putting some of the tomatoes in there, or putting lettuce in there.  I had changed my mind about it frequently, and watched squirrels nibbling om the leaves of my squash and cantaloupe plants through the expanded metal covering the other bin. 

In the end, I have tomato plants ready to bear fruit, which were burning in the greenhouse, and rather root bound, so I selected the four most egregious ones, and transplanted them.  The simple black mesh covering them has me a little worried, but I will be watching closely over the next couple days, looking to see if the animals foil my plot to keep them from the plants.  Well, today the wind should be less.  I need to weigh chickens with Wyatt, get some exercise with Bailey, and take on that garden.  After all, this time of year, 88 degree days don't come by that often, we need to take advantage of them!  Hope you all have a great one!

What to do on a hot day?

So what should you do on a hot day?  According to these girls, sit down and take a load off!

Jalympics likes the blue chair, where she has been sleeping for the last several months.  Just a hint, if you come by, don't sit there!  Jal would also tell you, if anyone comes along, demand treats. =)

Carmina, on the other hand, likes the storage bench.  And, she would tell you, if anyone comes close, go for their hands!

Wyatt would tell you to go swimming, but these girls would much prefer to see the chores going on from a distance, especially from the comfort of the cooler back porch.  Hope you have a great day made in the shade!

Stay out of the pool!

This morning, we all headed out to see to the animals.  Baby waters, food, waters.  And the greenhouse.  I wandered around trying to get photos of the single baby to update on the blog contest, in between filling watering cans.  I thought I heard a lost baby, Wyatt did too.  He wandered around looking for a baby without a mama, I got back to work. 

Wyatt came back carrying a little one.  I asked if it was lost, or why he was holding her.  He said she was more than lost, she was standing in a play water, with her head barely above the water line, getting cold.  So off he headed to the livestock towels and the couch to dry and warm his little friend.

When I cam inside, she wasn't drying off or warming up enough, so Wyatt and Daddy asked for the hair dryer and gt to work warming and fluffing her.  In the end, her eyes were bright and her fluff warm and fluffy.  Charlie thought she was ready to go back outside, so he gave her a talk about staying out of the pool.  Wyatt took her back out to her mama, and luckily guessed the right mama on the first shot.  He put her down, and she ran to her mama, her mama running to her. 

 The two headed back to the other babies together.  Happy ending, this time.  For all of the baby waters we put out, we still occasionally have some try their feathers and the water that helps the big chickens stay cool this time of year.  we just have to be very vigilant!  Funny, warming up babies used to be a big Remington job.  Miss her every day.

A little update on the single baby

Remember that baby for the contest?  The little one who is its mama's only baby this season?  We have been working on a contest where folks guess the eventual color patterns, and whether it is a pullet or cockerel (girl or boy). 

Well, baby Spindles (as I have taken to calling it, though it does not officially have a name) has been beginning to feather out.  For those of you who have begun with babies, you know how wild this phase looks.

So I thought I would share some updates photos of the little one, for any of you who want to add more guesses.  The guesses so far have been fun and widely varied, even colors more prone to dogs. 

Guess as many times as you like on both parts.  It is really just about fun, since it is really impossible to know gene expression, or guess the gene expression of these little ones.  That makes it all the more fun!  So these are the new photos, and have fun with more guesses!

Enjoy your holiday weekend!  Oh, for the contest, we will keep updating photos and select winners a couple times, I think over Independence Day and Labor Day!  Who ever guesses pretty close is a winner, and we can have lots of winners- why not?

Guess what these photos mean!

This first photo... mean that t will be a wonderful year for prickly pear jelly, and I am planning a new experiment- Prickly Pear Soap!

Thought i would also share that the tomatoes are coming out in the greenhouse, and

The cantaloupe plants are taking over!  They are actually growing out of their protective expanded metal now.  And blossoming like crazy along with the zucchini.  Looking forward to those!

Everything in moderation...

I always loved making homemade ice cream with my Dad.  It was really rich and took lots of time, but was so worth it!

I have made ice cream a few times over the years, using my Dad's recipe, but Charlie didn't think it was anything spectacular, so I rather gave up. For Christmas, my niece and nephews gave the kids and I a new ice cream maker. On a lark, I picked up one of those goofy packets at the store the other day, and we bought ice on the way home Thursday night.

(Seeing these photos, I am thinking I should show that I washed everything after he took it out of the box!)

 Wyatt had a great time setting up the machine and reading the instructions, then after dinner we mixed up the mix and set things in motion. Wyatt had such a great time with it, that he wants to pull out his Grandpa's recipe and make more!

 Sure, ice cream isn't the best choice nutrition-wise, but everything in moderation, and it is such fun to share the tradition down the line!

It's the great new game that's sweeping the nation!!!!

It's the great new game that's sweeping the nation!

It's time to play....

GUESS

The FUTURE COLOR PATTERN

OF THE BABY CHICK!

And say that five times fast!

This is the little one being raised as the only baby by its mama.  She is a Phoenix, and the Daddy was either Sergeant Major or Golden Boy, one a BB Red Phoenix, the other a Golden Phoenix.  The genes of our flock also carry recessive traits for silver as well as white Phoenix poultry.

Even harder to guess when baby hides behind a lemon tree!

This is the mama.  And an excellent mama she is.  Nice white earlobes, perfect points in the comb.  But a little bit of shafting, depending upon the judge you ask.  So two questions for the audience, here:

1. What color pattern do you believe the baby will have?

2. Do you think it is a pullet or a cockerel?

Since every good game has prizes, we will have some too.  When you respond, add it as a comment what you think baby will be, and what you think the prize should be (maybe custom flavored lip gloss, lotions, hair feathers, I don't know!  That's what your ideas are for!)

This should be fun!

I LOVE when we have babies!

This mama has been raising her babies in the feed shed.  She is rather crazy.  I love when the babies look like they are wearing tuxedos!

I can only seem to find this mama in the mornings, but they seem to be doing well, and I believe they are living under a trough where the cat and hawks cannot see them.  They are almost all a little lighter than the ones above and below, but cute little poofballs of fluff!

The mama in the shed has her babies well trained- a few clucks and her little ones run under her.  It reminds me of Mother Ginger in the Nutcracker.

Here she had them out by the waters running around.

This one is sneaking off... the adventurous one!

She does seem very attentive!

This is the other mama, she watches closely, but doesn't particularly like to let her babies come close or mingle in with the big chickens yet.

This is the older baby. It has come into the rather spindly stage!

Here is the mama for the single baby.  She still dotes on her little one, even though it is growing up a bit.  Watch for another post on those two coming up!

Well, I sure love baby time!  Since my own babies are growing up a bit, I rely on the animals for my spring baby fix.  But at least then I can easily give them back!

Following babies...

I love baby time. It is crazy and tiring, staying ahead of hawks and leaving enough little water containers around in just the right places, but they are such fun to watch grow.  I thought I had another photo of the single baby, but I guess not.It has reached the rather spindly stage where they become taller and more awkward.  A bit independent, too, we occasionally have to watch to make sure it remembers where its mama is when I wanders off to eat with other birds.  I snuck into the big pen two days ago, some of those older hens aren't nice to babies, so Wyatt herded it back our to its mama.

These above are the second group of babies.  The mama decided to move them into the hay shed, where she gets angry every time Bailey goes in to get hay and grain for the goats.  She is one the goofy side, but doting on her her babies.  She had her little ones in the buck pen when I first wandered out to check on them all yesterday.  Obediah likes to follow them around, his curiosity high with the little poof balls of silliness.

This group is the newer set of babies, though they don't appear to be much -if any- smaller than the group above.  I believe there are five or six, though more in the light brown coloration as opposed to the darker ones who seem to grow up as Golden Phoenixes.  She is raising her little ones by the tree on the northern end by the old garden.

We still have two to five hen sitting on eggs.  I think the one in the doe barn has some white Ameraucauna eggs from Muffy and one of his girls, though one of his girls is also in a nesting box in the hay shed.  The silver duckwing Ameraucana is in there too, as well as one Phoenix.  They are tag teaming rotating nesting boxes when one goes out to eat or wander.  And then there is the one in the pot on the back porch.  Not sure about her, she seems a bit neurotic to me.  Hopefully that is all in my head, because we will have to move her once her babies hatch.

Well, lots to do!  Better get rolling so we head to town on time,  I need to check in with resource folks and get some grading done before teaching!  Have a great day eveyone!

My Daughter the Princess... nope, didn't see that one coming!

I had spent some time hiding out grading papers and was on my way back toward picking Bailey up at the Prom last night when she called me.  "Hey, how is it going?" I answered, moms don't usually get called during the peak of fun.  "When you pick me up, could you bring me some benadryl, I am reacting to some one's perfume.  Oh, and by the way I won Freshman Prom court." 

Nope, didn't see that one coming.  But she has had a group of seniors who have laughed with her and brought her spirits up, gracefully encouraging her from her eighth grade endeavors in the school musical, inviting her onto the upper high school robotics team and looking out for her like a little sister.  They called her their freshman.  Still, voting en mass for her as Freshman Prom Court?  That was pretty sweet.

To know Bailey like we all do, her character shoes for drama are high enough heels to be dangerous territory.  She lasts about five minutes with them on at a dance, opting for her barefoot redneck ways instead.  Last night, she put them back on for a walk to the parking lot, and crashed at the bottom of the stairs before even trying to go up to the parking lot.  Her middle school PE teacher would say that she falls all the time, but carries her own first aid kit, so she can patch herself back up.  The office staff know her well for her coming in to raid her stash of allergy medicines.  After an entire school year of allergy shots, she still lives on benadryl, though the really bad reactions might be a little shorter.  Wish I had some great option for the hives, though.

At home or 4H, she is never to proud to dive in to catch a lose animal, get dirty to patch one up, or sit in a kidding pen all night waiting for babies to be born and bathed.  She will still dig in the dirt with her brother and crawl under a planter with him to help save a lost baby chick.  Heaven help the tarantula that dares to walk up to one of her livestock pens!  And the night after Christmas, when my Remi had to go to the emergency vet, she would not have left my side, holding my hand and supporting me as we both realized how bad it was.

Silly?  Yes.  Crazy?  Definitely.  Crash a good nickname?  Undeniably.  Fierce defender of friends?  Absolutely.  Willing to work whatever hours to make sure the job is done, the friends are cared for and animals have what they need?  You bet.  Princess?  Not typically synonymous.  She might have been raised to be a good southern girl who can bake family recipes, use appropriate language and manners and write a thank you note, but that walking with a book on her head thing never did work.  Does make a fun game in the evening, though. 

But maybe despite the shallowness we attribute to the coming generation, there are still some who see the good little things.  I know I have watched them reach out to her and look after the huggy little one who doesn't always fit in with her peers.  And I know what it means to her, and to me.  Nice job, kids.  For all the times I see things that scare me about the world, I see kids like the ones who helped Wyatt at fair, and look after Bailey and more who keep a flame in that candle of hope. And boy did she have a good time at that Prom, no date needed.  She will be remembering the great times of this year right alongside the hard ones.  Like Ms V told me last night, it is a cute little crown, looks good on her even if she can't keep it straight.  Love to all.