Second Week of Fall Break, Hunting, Thanksgiving Nov. 19-25, 2017

Second Week of Fall Break, Hunting, Thanksgiving 

Nov. 19-25, 2017

Giz and Grampy at the Thanksgiving table!

Hello, Friends!

Hunting season and visiting family in Indiana were our top priorities of the week.  Dh and Dd drove down to Indiana on Friday (11-17-17), but I didn't join them until Wednesday (11-22-17).  I had a medical appointment on Tuesday, so I stayed in Michigan with the chickens and kitties.  

Once a year Dh deer hunts with his best friend on our family farm; he usually gets one deer and this year fell into the normal pattern--though he didn't get it until Friday (11-24-17).  Normally, the first weekend of hunting season is when they are most likely to see deer, but the weather must have caused the deer to bed down.

The weather in both Indiana and Michigan were so warm and rainy that Dh's hunting wasn't favored; he didn't see deer for the first two or three days!  



Whereas I was able to put my laundry out on the line to dry in the 50-60 degree weather, which is so unexpected at the end of November in Michigan!  

In Michigan, with Dh and Dd out, I was able to pull out all the little Christmas gifts I'd been hiding in my closet and wrap, wrap, wrap their gifts.  It was nice having the whole living room to spread out and organize what I had been collecting without the fear of being seen.  It always amazes me just how long it takes to wrap gifts.

Dickens in farmhouse...looking SO big!

Tuesday was as warm as Mondy and I was able to work outside on building a better tunnel for the chickens.  The doorway/tunnel/entrance from the inside coop to the outside caged-in coop needed more of a wrap-around tunnel to prevent the cold wind from flowing straight inside their inside coop.  I like to keep their inside coop as dry and warm as possible.  I found scrap plywood to build up a wall to make the hole less open for wind and rain.  Then I cut open the big plastic bags the feed comes in to use as a cheap wrap.  I'm so glad I *finally* got that chore done!  It had been on my to-do list for over a year!!!

Carrie, the ailing Black Sex Link chicken/hen:

I continued to keep Carrie inside with me, in Sophie's old metal dog crate until Wednesday. 



 She seemed to improve a little.  I put her back with the flock before I left for Indiana.  I gave her warm baths in the kitchen sink each day.  

I can feel an egg, but she never laid an egg while I kept her inside.

She handled the attention very well, though I don't really know if I really helped any.

Monday and Tuesday Dd spent time with Giz (G'ma) and her two young cousins-"N" and "C."  They worked on art projects for future Christmas presents.  Dd just loves spending time with these two feisty girls; aged around 5 and 3 years old.  

Honeysuckle in farmhouse

Clay Pigeons:

Dh and Dd bought clay pigeons to practice their shooting; apparently, Dd was quite the shooter!  I hear she did very well!

Migraines:

I woke up Wednesday with a migraine, on the very day I was supposed to drive the seven hours south.  My packing took forever and I couldn't get myself out the door until around 1pm, so I was in rush hour traffic in Indy; which made for hours of stop-and-go traffic and bottlenecks.  I think I passed by four or five accidents on the way which also caused a very SLOW drive.  I was thoroughly frustrated most of the drive.  To make matters worse  I had to bring the two kittens down with me and they whined and meowed the whole way; which did nothing for my poor head!  Then on Thursday, I woke up with a new migraine.  I was thankful for a quiet small group of just us five for Thanksgiving.

HIDA Scan:

Further testing to figure out what is wrong with my digestion lead to my gastroenterologist to order a scan to see how my gallbladder and liver are performing.  Monday I drove to the hospital to make sure I knew where I would be going on Tuesday and familiarize myself with the area; which I call my "dry-run."  Tuesday I found my way without any trouble!  The scan took about 2:30 hours, but was easy and pain-free for me.  Apparently, my gallbladder is not working well, not "emptying;" on top of the gallstones, resulting in me being referred to a surgeon to consult in January.  I am curious what he will suggest, with one option being the removal of my gallbladder.  I have some time to think over the possibilities for the next month.

Thanksgiving:

Lobsters and clam chowder are our one annual big splurge as we celebrate a New England Thanksgiving!  Dh orders our meal from Maine each year and we happily enjoy every bite!  The company didn't have any of the bigger lobsters so we had to settle on some rather small ones; which were wonderful.  We were thankful for another special holiday with Dh's parents.  I suggested Giz make a Pecan Pie for our dessert, and it was so sweet and yummy!

After Thanksgiving:

Dh and Dd continued their woods/hunting and I spent two days getting over my migraines and sewing my Christmas felt birds and stuffing them with lavender.  Giz and Grampy get the Hallmark Christmas channel, which we had when we were in the apartment in Grand Rapids, and I found fun to watch.  So, I sewed and enjoyed some rest.

Giz's Christmas decorations up:



The three of us ladies worked together to get all of Giz's decorations and tree down from the attic and put in place.

Saxon Geometry Math :
Lessons 40 and 41

Fun Reading:
The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B by Teresa Toten



Dd still had math assignments and music lessons to work on while on her vacation.




On Saturday, Dh's hunting friend offered to sell his extra hunting crossbow for a good price.  Dh had told him that he had been looking to buy a crossbow so he could hunt longer during hunting season.  Dh really liked his bow and they agreed on a price and made the deal.  

Squirrel Hunting:

Dd has been asking to hunt deer with Dh, so he wanted to see if she truly has the steely heart for such activities, one good way to see if she was sincere was to take her out squirrel hunting.  Surprisingly, Dd took to hunting without any hesitation.  Dd is so much like Dh, they are truly cut from the same cloth.  I guess we will have two hunters in our home!

Sunday we packed our things, ate lunch with G, G, and Uncle Bob before heading on the road and back to our Michigan home.

We have such beautiful mullenstocks all around our farmhouse in Indiana.  They are just so pretty and soft!

A few pictures of the family farm in Indiana:

Dh and I planted all these trees years ago and love seeing how big they are now.  Many have died or been cut down, but we love seeing the remaining trees.

This Catalpa tree was rubbed by deer when it was so small, I kept having to wrap it in clear tape to try and keep it intake.  Now it is so big and sturdy, after such a difficult first year.

The fields are still full of corn to harvest.

Check out this green vibrant grass in Indiana!  It looks like it is still August there!

These trees had an abundance of TREE-EARS!

You can see the old OUTHOUSE still there!

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Fall Break Nov. 12-19, 2017

Fall Break 

Nov. 12-19, 2017

Ailing Carrie in my kitchen sink.

Hello Friends!

Agnes, she enjoys it when I put layer after of layer of warmth on her!  She loves it!

It has been a good break so far, we needed some time off our books.  Friday, Dd and Dh drove to Indiana for part of their break.  I stayed home to care for our critters and give them some time to make their own memories.  Dd doesn't get much time to have Dh all to herself very often.

Chickens:

Carrie, one of my Black Sex Link hens has diarrhea and has been not coming when I'm feeding the other chickens---another words she has been acting really odd and not being a part of the flock.  

It feels like an egg is inside her, but she isn't laying.  It is a waiting game now--either she will lay this egg or she probably won't make it?!?

I tried separating her a few times a day to feed her extra good food, but that didn't seem to help her any.

Here is Carrie in the tractor.  I hoped being in the good dirt would help her, but it didn't seem to help any.

  Friday I brought her inside our house and have been keeping her inside an extra large doggy crate.  

Due to her diarrhea, her back (bum) feathers have been getting gross each day, so I have been giving her a good warm bath in the sink each day to get her hygiene back up to speck. 

 I'm not sure what I am going to do if she doesn't improve.  But, at least I know I am doing everything I can to help her.  I've bought a pro-biotic mix to put in her water.  I've put apple cider vinegar in her water too.  I'm trying everything I've picked up from watching YouTube video's on chickens with diarrhea.

Chicken Tractors:

Dh put the two chicken tractors in our garden and we've been letting the chickens have some time digging up the soil and eating the earthworms.  

They love dirt!

Eggs:

The chickens have been laying very well; perhaps better than the summer.  I've had to use the heat bulbs most nights; especially because of all the rain that we've got almost every day.  They would be fine if they weren't already wet.

The two little white eggs are from Ms. Lemon, our Bantam hen.

Garden:

I picked the last greens and I think I am done for the year. 

 The chickens picked off a bunch of kale when they were in the tractors.  I think I may get one serving of the other Dinosaur kale, but it is pretty much done.  It was my best year so far.

Honeysuckle:

We had both kittens "fixed" at the vet last week.  Honeysuckle had a big bump, the size of an apricot, beside her incision.  

The vet said it is b/c she has been too active; kind of like a blister--fluid is building up from all the friction.  I asked for some sedative for her; she is just to wild to sit still.  The meds seem to be helping.  Dickens is doing great, no worries there.

Fall is coming to an end...the leaves are down and the color is fading.

On Sunday, after church and Sunday School, in the evening for youth group, Dd and the group went to an apartment complex where a few members of our church reside, and they decorated the place for Christmas and sang carols to many residents.  

Monday and Tuesday Dh had off.  They had a lot of fun together here in Michigan.  Monday, they got all layered up and went out in the woods and found a good place to sit and watch for deer.  They enjoyed hiking around the woods.  They sat out there for hours but didn't see any deer while they were out there.  Dh did see about five deer before they headed out.  On Tuesday they layered up again, but this time they were sighting in Dh's new rifle.  Dh bought a new scope for my .22 and sighted that one in with Dd shooting.  It's funny, we have been seeing deer practically every day, but of course, they didn't see any when they were mock hunting.  Dd would have to take Hunter's Training course before she could hunt in Michigan, and they have already finished the classes at least a month ago, so she can't go hunting here.  Indiana doesn't have Hunter's Training course, so we are trying to figure out all the rules that Michigan has that Indiana doesn't.

Dd tried to make a cinnamon bread dish, one that I could eat too---a Gluten Free one.  I guess the bread doesn't rise if there isn't gluten?!!  So, she tried really, really hard, and used a lot of my almond flour, but it was pretty much un-eatable!  The chickens loved it though!

Dd was successful making a double layered yellow lemon cake with a cream cheese and lemon frosting.  That one had gluten, so I didn't try it.  She was feeling like a proper baker this week!

All Dd's regular classes were still scheduled and she did fine in all her activities; which will be her academics for the week:

Music Classes:

Violin Lesson with Christie: 45 minutes

Intermediate Orchestra: violin: 1:30 hours

Piano Lesson with Wendy: 30 minutes

Intermediate Band: Alto sax: 1:30 minutes

Strings Group: Ukulele

Three deer in front of our pool!

Church:

Church, Sunday School, Youth Group, Volunteer: Games Wed. Olympians, Strings Group on Thursday.

Grace Classes:

Painting Studio: Dd finished an oil painting for Dh and me

Botany drawing class

Saxon Geometry Math Class

Friday--Dh picked Dd up from her classes and they drove down to Indiana.  Dd did a lot of the driving.

Next week is going to be another 'Fall Break' for us.  We are enjoying our time off!!

This is one of those great moments when your kid is acting like a kid and not looking or acting grown up...I had to get a cute photo!  Dickens, of course, could not resist the clean kitty litter, not even a few seconds!  

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