Posted by Erin
Thu, 31 Jul 2008 20:49:00 GMT
Note to readers: this post is kind of long and about our chickens, so if that's boring to you, don't read it.
A couple of nights ago, I was awakened at 3:00 am by the squawking of chickens, which is never a good thing. Their coop is visible from our bedroom window, but there was no moon and I couldn't see anything. Jon wasn't home--he'd gone up to Scout Camp to be with Zed and Jacob--so after yelling out the window, which usually scares predators away, I went outside with the flashlight. (I really don't like to yell outside at night, especially in the summer when people have their windows open, but it's better than a shotgun blast, I guess.) I don't really like to wander around outside at 3:00 in the morning, but it had occurred to me that I had not verified the shutting up of the chickens before we went to bed.
Well, the bad news is that I found the coop door open, and inside were two sleepy chickens. Not ten, like we'd had the day before, but two. Piles of feathers in various places: black, butterscotch, white. I looked around a little but saw nothing. The wind through the dry grass was kind of loud and spooky. For a while I imagined a human stealing our chickens--stuffing baffled chickens into a big Santa-like sack--because that's better than imagining what it most likely was: dogs, foxes, or coyotes. Seems like the smaller predators, like skunks, are more modest in their theft. They'll kill one or two, even leaving the body. But dogs and foxes just make off with as many as possible. I don't even know if they eat them. (One time after a similar chickie massacre, we found one headless body out in the field north of us.)
I felt pretty crappy and didn't sleep well after that. I hoped some or all of them would appear the next morning, which sometimes happens. They scatter in a panic and find their way home hours later, after hiding under the neighbor's porch or something. But morning came and no chickens returned. I mowed the lawn and moped and felt horrible and sad. Two chickens are not nearly as festive as ten, and this batch was so pretty and they hardly ever crapped on our front porch.
Around 6:00 pm, a small miracle happened. Phin went to feed our lonely two, and a third was wandering around next to the chicken yard! Who knows where she was all day. Now I like to imagine a few other survivors moving into other people's yards, unable to find their way home but alive and well. Yeah, I know they're dead, but it makes me feel better.
So we have three chickens left out of ten. Better than two, I guess. We have one Black Sex-Link (the name means that you can tell what sex the chicks are by their markings) and two gray Araucanas (or maybe Ameraucanas; I'm not sure about the distinction). At any rate, I'm glad to have them, because they lay blue eggs and have what Jon calls leg-warmers.
Sorry, chickies. We loved you!
Posted in Miscellaneous | 4 comments
Posted by Erin
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:44:28 GMT
I gave the kids some failed lemon bars tonight--I overcooked them and the crust had kind of disappeared into the lemon part. Possibly a result of using whole wheat flour, too. Anyway, the following conversation ensued:
Seth: "These lemon bars taste kind of weird. But they're still good! No offense, Mom!"
Mira: "MOM IS NOT A HORSEY! SHE IS NOT IN A FENCE!"
It is still making me laugh.
Posted in Miscellaneous | 2 comments
Posted by Erin
Wed, 30 Apr 2008 22:44:36 GMT
Me: Did you go potty?
Mira: Yeah!
Me: When?
Mira (very happy and loud): At two firty seven!
This time the number actually sounded like a time, but often it's something like "Sixteen fifty two!" Which is a time when you're referring to the 24-hour clock, but I don't think she's that smart.
It's probably not a fair question to ask a 2.5-year-old. Like I expect her to have a record of her potty breaks or something.
Another frequent conversation is the following:
Me: Let's go potty!
Mira: I already did yesterday!
Posted in Miscellaneous | 5 comments
Posted by Erin
Fri, 25 Apr 2008 02:47:11 GMT
My youngest child, who is 2 1/2 years old and precocious, if you want to use a nice word for it, was messing around in my room today while I was doing something (something important, I'm sure) on my computer. I was trying to keep my eye on her, because she is into everything these days. She was jumping on my bed and "looking" at our books and hiding behind things, peeking out at me to see if she was hidden enough to do whatever dastardly deed she was about to do. I kept talking to her, just to let her know that I was paying attention, and taking things away from her.
At one point, she got quiet (you know that's not good), and I could suddenly hear that unmistakable sound of a pencil on paper. "What are you doing?" I asked in my accusatory Mommy voice. And she said, "Trying not to color on your book."
Apparently she wasn't trying hard enough. But I guess it's a start?
Posted in Miscellaneous | 5 comments
Posted by Erin
Mon, 14 Apr 2008 05:44:14 GMT
The kids and I went to see a live production of this at a (sort of) local theater. It was delightful. The plot could have been more complicated, even for kids, but the music was energetic and delightful, and the performers excellent. Even my 2-year-old was transfixed.
Posted in Miscellaneous | 2 comments
Posted by Erin
Mon, 25 Feb 2008 23:55:42 GMT
If the youngest is crying, and you give some bubbles to the big kids so they can distract him, he might stop crying, but the arguing among the elder children might be so loud and vehement that you consider taking the bubbles away, even if the little one starts crying again.
If there is a water and ice dispenser in the door of the refrigerator, there will always be at least 20 cups and glasses on the table, half-filled with water and ice. Even though there are only eleven children.
Posted in Miscellaneous | 3 comments
Posted by Erin
Sun, 24 Feb 2008 20:11:13 GMT
I'm spending this week at Ivy's house while Ivy and her husband are gallivanting around Orlando, Florida. (I totally approve of the gallivanting, by the way. They'd better be having marathon fun!) That makes me, the lone adult, with eleven children, ages 19 months to 12 years. Of course, more than half are my children, so it's not really as big of a deal as you'd think. The days start off pretty calmly, and it's only around dinner time that the noise reaches such a level that I start to feel like joining along with the screaming. And right after that, it's bed time, the best part of the day.
Ivy and I have watched each other's kids several times, and it's interesting to see how interactions between the kids change as they get older. For example, the older boys now spend a lot of their time talking about their "band." Keep in mind that none of them plays an instrument. Well, Ivy's oldest is taking guitar lessons, and my boys play the piano. Occasionally I hear a couple of bars of something familiar from the guitar, but that's about it.
Of course they've discussed band names, and isn't that the most important part of being in a band? A few of their ideas are Fried Chicken, Fudge, and The Band. (There have been a lot of ideas, but I can't remember any more than that right now.) They've had some pretty heated arguments about who's going to play which instrument. I've also heard this sentence spoken: "What if someone doesn't practice enough before the concert?" That's when I wanted to yell, "What concert?!" But I refrained. They are 12, 10, and 9 and don't appreciate their ridiculousness.
I think it would be kind of cool if they actually learned to play drums, guitar, bass, etc. and covered some Foo Fighters songs or something. But I doubt that they'll come to me for suggestions. Maybe they'll let me make anti-suggestions: please not "Ironman" and only "Sweet Child of Mine" if you're joking. I'll just be hoping they don't get anything pierced or tattooed, and trying not to stand too close to the drum set, which is really loud, did you know? Even a kid size one. Even when it's being played by a 2-year-old.
Posted in Miscellaneous | 3 comments
Posted by Jon Jensen
Tue, 15 Jan 2008 18:48:06 GMT
I don't know why, but some time last year, Wheat Thins started coming with tons of extra salt on them. The first time I encountered it, I thought it was just a bad box. But it's been consistent every time since then, across various varieties (except the low-salt kind).
Nabisco, stop it! It's way too much salt! You're killing us.
You took out the trans fats a few years ago, which was fine. The crackers got harder then, but that's a minor deal.
But seriously, cut back on the salt!
Posted in Miscellaneous | 4 comments
Posted by Erin
Mon, 30 Oct 2006 02:50:00 GMT
Okay, if you've read any comments, you've already met her. Ivy is my sister (one of my six sisters, that is), and she has agreed to post occasionally on this here blog, which makes me very happy. Like me, she likes to avoid housework by reading, so why shouldn't we benefit?
I'd like to clarify, though, that while Ivy does let things get messy around the house sometimes, she's way better than I am at getting things done. She makes beautiful, pieced quilts, paints walls and furniture and stairs, re-covers furniture (two of my couches, even!), and is otherwise more industrious than I am. Recently when she visited me, she scrubbed my stove, cleaned my washer and dryer (they're like new!), helped me fold laundry, cooked, and cleaned up the house several times. I love her! I'm glad she'll be writing here sometimes.
Posted in Miscellaneous | 2 comments
Posted by Jon Jensen
Thu, 27 Jul 2006 14:51:10 GMT
Spam has gotten so obnoxious, intrusive, and time-consuming. Especially if you're the domain contact and postmaster at a large number of domains. And even with spam filtering.
But then every once in a while, the infinite number of spam monkeys strikes paydirt, and I receive a spam with a subject like "Better Life, whirligig mullet", and I don't even have to open the email because my life is better already thanks to the deep beauty of their word-art.
Ah, pink quivering meat product.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Tags spam | 3 comments
