Flame Dude

Last week a cardinal flew into our screened in back porch.  It must have injured itself when going through the small hole in the screen because we discovered it couldn't fly.  Evan caught it, to let it go and let me tell you those things are vicious!  It bit him and Kane several times!  Finally we released it in the backyard but it could only hop from bush to bush.  Eventually it ended up back by our porch and we let it in for the night so it wouldn't be eaten by another animal.

Evan named him Flame Dude

In the morning the boys went out to check on him.  I was relieved when they reported that he could fly again!  I went out to prop the door open and help encourage him to fly out, hoping to avoid more bite injuries when I realized that there was actually a second cardinal in our porch and it was this one that flew not Flame Dude!   What the heck?!  

Seth named Flame Dudes buddy, Red Dasher.  

We propped the door open to let them leave, and they did but that hasn't stopped them from trying to get back in! Crazy birds! 

Spring

A small tree, that we thought was dead, sprung to life at the beginning of the month, with the prettiest pink blossoms!  

We've also discovered a few flowering blackberry bushes and another tree we thought dead, coming back to life!  We've never lived on a property with so many different kinds of trees and plants, we're really enjoying this spring here! 

Dinner

Yesterday I cooked Cornish hens for the first time since Evan was a baby.  They thawed in the fridge in their plastic wrap and then I took them out and unwrapped them, setting them on the counter in a glass pan.  

As I washed them Evan and Seth wandered into the kitchen.  They asked for a snack and then inquired what I was doing, I told them I was making dinner.  I don't know which one counted the birds but the total was quickly shouted, "Those are four chickens!"  I agreed with the assessment.  

Evan: "FOUR CHICKENS! TELL ME THOSE AREN'T OUR CHICKENS!" 

Seth: "You murdered our chickens?!  You can't make me eat them! Peep, wahh!"

I didn't exactly rush to prove them wrong.  I let them wallow in their accusations and assumptions for a bit. Finally tiring of the noise, I said, "Weren't you just outside?  Didn't you see your chicks out there?" 

Evan: "Seth, lets go check and see if they're alive!"

Seth: (Already racing for the door.)

I began putting the rub on the hens.  The boys return in better spirits.  

Evan: "Phew, mom, they're out there." 

Seth: "You scared us to death....  (Smiles devilishly) HEY, KANE!  MOM IS COOKING OUR CHICKENS FOR DINNER TONIGHT!" 

Our Road

It rained here for almost 2 weeks straight, finally letting up this past weekend.  

Now I'm not complaining because most of my family still lives in Michigan where its been below freezing consistently for weeks and the snow drifts are taller than I am but I did want to document some issues we've had.  

On the first rainy day I ventured out grocery shopping, when I left I drove down our road without a problem, 4 hours later, it was a completely different story!  The sand had turned to mush allowing the van to slip all over the place, at one point the steering wheel was ripped out of my hand and I was uncontrollably turning!  

It's been so long since I've driven on ice but many wintery memories came flooding back! 

This was taken after Jed had grated.

The next day Jed called me from work and told me that I shouldn't try to leave the house with the van, the road was too mucky and the puddles were too big.  And the van sat in the drive way for many days after that!  

Jed took his tractor out to grate the section of road out in front of our house, and to dig trenches for the puddles to drain off the road.  It helped a lot but that only got us 100 feet down the road. Our neighborhood has hired someone to grate the roads every week but they only come out on weekdays and only once or twice a week.  

Just before we moved here there was an HOA vote on whether to pave the roads, before the last two weeks we would have voted against it but now we're fully on board the paving bandwagon!  I can't even imagine how bad it would be during a hurricane!  

Homeschooling With Isla

She likes to be the center of attention. 

Karate

Just before Christmas break, surfing the web, I found a homeschool co-op in our area! 

Due to the fact that co-op wasn't budgeted into our 13-14 school year we decided to only do one class.  And since we already have all the academics covered in our curriculum, I let the boys all chose karate!  

This is the little boys class.  They learning basic commands and moves.  

Kick! 

 This is part of the big boys' class.  They're in the beginners group. 

This is Isla's refusing to be left out.  At least she wasn't screaming!  

New Years Day

I took the boys strawberry picking for the very first time!   

We had so much fun! 

Evan and Seth were basket filling machines.  Every time I turned around they had filled another one! 

 

Kane was kind of a wild card, I'm pretty sure he purposely filled his basket with rotten berries just to mess with me.  

And Ford was his usual neurotic self.  His picked a red berry that was squishy and rotten, freaked him right out.  He decided, without mentioning it to me, that only the white and green berries should be picked.  Thankfully he's a slow picker.  After talking him off his red strawberry, hating ledge, I showed him that they weren't all yucky and he could easily test them before he picked.  He was content until he touched a dirty one while he tried to get the dirt off he noticed more on his shoes, that's when the panic set in.  We left soon after that.  

But not before we picked an obscene amount of berries! 

Jed stayed home and had a party with these ladies. 

When we got home we sorted the berries into cook, eat and eat immediately piles.  While tackled the third pile, I started work on a pie. Then I remembered that we're officially a, 2 pie minimum family,  and rolling out that many crusts is labor intensive.  Instead I made a crisp, in a 9x13 pan.   

Yum! 

By evening, it looked like this!  I guess maybe we're a, two crisp minimum family, now, too.