The Prodigal Patterns

Some of you might remember when I lost my mind and my patterns back in October.  (If you don't, you can relive the magic HERE)

The prodigal patterns have returned!!

On our last rain day, I tackled the storage room in our basement to free myself of STUFF.  The kind that you wonder why you ever moved it down here five years ago.  THAT STUFF.  

As I was cleaning and organizing and making Hubby haul load after load after load to give away, I happened to work through a large basket that I used for "kid things" at family picnics and such.  I had piled things in there that needed to go downstairs.  And in it is was {insert drumroll here}, the patterns!!!

Now, I need to decide which ones to make and then buy some fabric in preparation for my next rain day.  Which will not be spent sweating in my storage room, but at my beloved sewing machine.

I heard a strange noise

As I was preparing supper the other night, I heard the three voices of my children.  But they weren't talking to each other.

As I listened closer, I heard one talking about Poppleton and Cherry Sue.  Cowboy talking about some new kittens.  And the Little One was squealing.

Then I peeked my head around the corner of the kitchen and saw this:

I think Grandma W might be just a little bit proud...

And the work goes on

I lie to myself every spring.

I say, "I won't have so much housework because we'll be outside so much."  Which, is true, in part.  The kids haven't touched their inside toys in at least a week, even on the rain day.

But when we do come inside, we usually bring "stuff" with us.  Stuff that requires sweeping up.

Little One loves to run the broom, even though it's twice her size.  I have another that has an adjustable handle that I ratchet down to its lowest setting and she's as happy as a gopher in soft dirt, almost literally.

In other farm news, planting of the gardens continues.  I recruited Hubby and Cowboy (minus his trusty hat) to help plant onions.  

 Planting onions is a GREAT way to get kids started in the garden.  They are big, there's a definite up and down and they can see the result of their work right away.  I started my niece and nephew with onions and now my own kids.  

These onions happen to be a variety called "Big Daddy" that is excellent for storage.  I'm hoping to keep a lot of these 1500 onions for use all winter long!

Tuesday Tidbit

Kiddo1 has been on a mission to catch a butterfly.  It has consumed her and allowed her to "use her big muscles" a lot in the past weeks.  

All to no avail.  She has not been able to accomplish this task.  It would seem that recently-four-year-old fingers are not swift nor deft enough.

As we returned from outside work to our kitchen, Kiddo1 suddenly screamed, "Mama!  A butterfly came to us!"  Sure enough, there was a butterfly (yes, I know it's technically a moth) right on our window.

And that night, Kiddo1 prayed, "Thank you God, for the butterfly that came to us."

The Little One

There are many bright spots in my life, but one I'm most thankful for today is this one:

We no longer have a baby (for the first time in four years), we have a little girl.

One who runs and jumps and plays...but doesn't say a word.

One who is jealous of anyone else using her mama's lap.

And loves to hold on to just one finger.

Let's Play!

Kiddo1 has to make her bed in the morning.  We help her, but she can pull up her covers herself and does a good job.  And then she tucks in her soft toys with their own blanket and opens a book for them to read while she is gone.  (Sister and Trixie alternate with who gets to come play and who has to stay in bed and take a nap.)

Then the hard core playing starts.  Kiddo2 is a big, BIG fan of cowboys so that is a popular playtime.  They each pick a cowboy to be (I am often assigned the role of "Cowboy Mommy".)  The each have a stick horse and they usually run through the house at least once a day to "move the cows".

One of their favorite toys is actually MY dad's from when he was a boy.  This truck has seen a lot of imaginative play!!

On this day, the cowboy in the cab was hunting for coyotes and all the other horses and cowboys came along to ride in the back.

Do you have a family-favorite toy??

Pullets and Turkeys are Out on Pasture

The time has come for the pullets and turkeys to move out onto the pasture.  We usually move them between three and four weeks of age (or when the turkeys start escaping the brooder).  We brood them together because turkeys need chicken teachers.  And once they've been taught, they are pretty indestructible.  We've never lost a turkey due to sickness, just one to our dog and one got rolled under the pen and was badly injured.

Turkeys are VERY socialable!  Lots of popping and whistling sounds greet us.  The toms are already strutting with their half feathered out juvenile bodies, and the hens could care less...kind of reminds me of my 9th grade teaching days. :)  

These 25 turkeys are in this pen for about three weeks, until they are big enough to stay in the electric poultry net.  Then they'll be in a much bigger area, ranging around.  Did you know turkeys will take up to 50% of their diet in forage?  It really is amazing to watch them stride and eat, stride and eat.

We also moved 124 pullets (young hens) to a separate pen for the next three weeks or so.  They will be joining the big hens and we want them to also stay in the poultry net AND be able to hold their own with the big girls.

Even though the forage is bigger than they are, they gobble it right up!

We have 50 Barred Rocks, 50 Silver Laced Wyandottes and 25 Ameracaunas (they lay the green/blue eggs).

This one is watching a bug...and then she ate him right up!  Yumm, protein!