Chick Release Day

Today, we brought 6 of 7 of the first batch of chicks outside. The 'one' that didn't come outside is "chickadee". She has a splayed leg, and does the splits all the time. Her one leg is not very functional, and every web site we looked at said there is no cure and the most humane thing to do is put her down. Well, if you know my daughter, that isn't really an option. Her feeling was, if she's eating, pooping, growing and happy, she is staying. Well, she is doing all those things and Kristin feels that God gave her this bird, because it's a little like her with her CP. Chickadee is always happy to cuddle with Kristin, and we realize she can probably not be integrated with the bigger chickens. She is doing great with the new chicks we got a few weeks ago, and so we keep her with them. Maybe they will be fine at a later time to be integrated in together. Until then, she will be inside with the other 7. Three are about 3 weeks from going out, and the remaining 4, minus chickadee, have about another 6 weeks.

The sun was so beautiful today, Kristin brought out our two bravest and most social first....Speckled Red and Fat Louise. They took right to the grass and were happy to peck around. The next two were "Fuzzy feet"--we call them both the same...totally feathered even to their feet!! So cute. They did pretty well. A little apprehensive, but did well. The last two, were Happy Feet and Hawk.....they were nervous but did OK. Kristin sat with them all, and Chelsea made sure no one escaped. It is funny how she knows her job so well when there are new ones around. She is even cool with giving rides!!

We got them into the old chicken coop, and put them inside the pen. (Ryan even helped...he claims not to like them!) This way, keeping them close, old and new can hang out safely, with no pecking going on. Long Comb, our first chick, was not a happy camper today!! She did a lot of squawking!!
Even after we moved the chicks to the pen/chick coop, she laid right outside....she was with them the rest of the day, until it got dark and they went in the loft.
It should be interesting when no one can free range tomorrow, and they are all in the pen (of course the little ones are in the old fenced coop.)
After everyone was settled in their place...Kristin brought Chikadee out to enjoy some sunshine...we think she liked it.


God blessed us today with sunshine from the time we started working to 30 minutes after we came in....Thank you Lord for that gift!

What a great day!

Lots of catching up

WOW...I can't believe it's been a MONTH!! My favorite, most relaxing thing I do (besides sleep) is BLOG and it's been so long. Guess that goes to show how busy we've been!



Backing up to FEBRUARY--We headed to Canby on the 25th, to watch our favorite basketball star Jason. We were VERY impressed at how good these kids are!! We expected a comedy of sorts, but what we saw, was a bunch of very serious, but having fun 1st through 3rd graders, out there moving the ball, working on plays, and making it a fun event for those of us in the stands. Jason, we are so proud of you!!


We spent Sunday night and Monday night hanging with Charlie and the Teen Challenge guys.


Charlie was in Lebanon for a seminar, and we were able to see him for a few short hours while he was here. The bonus was Ty & Jason were with him, so we got a nice visit with them too.

Early March brought Kristin's best friend from Washington to Grandma's (who is our neighbor). The sad part is, it was only as they passed through from a church conference on their way home, so was only from 8pm to 11 am the next day. We allowed the girls to camp out in the living room, and since Ryan was gone to Youth camp, it was perfect. They giggled most of the night, we shut our door, and let them have some teenage girl time, as their time together was so limited...but to them, such a blessing.

Last weekend, Bill & the kids surprised me with a trip for the day to the coast. Ryan was off on Thursday & Friday, so they spent all day Friday, catching up on chores, so that we could spend the day as a family on the coast Saturday. It turned out to be a beautiful day....a bit windy, but beautiful just the same.


We had a great day, and rounded out the evening with a trip to Rogue Brewery downtown Newport for dinner.





Tuesday evening (March 21st--also our 19th Anniversary of living in Oregon), we went to bed, it was raining, but what we woke to was about 6" of snow at 4:30 AM. By 5:30, it was pretty evident that I was not going to work, as it was so white, you could hardly see our barn! 6AM and the power went out. By 7:30 there was about 10"....to which both kids were up and outside blowing up inner tubes. The sad part was, with no electricity, no air compressor...they were blowing them up themselves--now that's determination!

It wasn't long until we were hearing a lot of falling trees. Several at our neighbors to the North of us, along with a big cherry tree in our field. Ironically, it fell right onto the wood pile! No moving necessary after cutting!



Around 9:30, Bill & I headed in for a nap....we'd been up early, and it was snowing, the electricity was out, and it seemed like a good idea. So we stoked the wood stove, and headed to bed. When we woke around 10:30 the snow had slowed down, but we couldn't see where the kids had played...I'm pretty sure we topped out at about 12". The awning over the chicken coop/yard had fallen, cracking a 2x6 in half. The chickens never even poked their heads out of their coop all day! It was about noon when the rain started. We lost about 6" of snow to the rain, before it started snowing again, dumping another 4" overnight. I wasn't sure that I would get out of the driveway for work, and thought I'd be home on another "snow day", but Bill cleaned off the car, shoveled some, and with 4wd and a prayer, it headed to work on Thursday...late, but to work! Bill finished shoveling the entire drive with a coal shovel (we've needed a snow shovel twice in 19 years here...it always melts in a day or so), and thankfully he did, because everything turned to ice that night. By Friday, I was beginning to stress about the freezer full of beef & pork, that we just filled this last few months....and I mean FULL! Bill was blessed with an offer of a generator, and just as he was loading it in the truck, the electricity popped back on. Praise God!! When I got home from work a few hours later, I checked the freezer that I had been afraid to even open to check and everything was still ROCK solid! Phew. We lost a few things in the fridge, nothing major, mostly things that should have been tossed a long time ago. Thankfully, it was cold enough that we used the back porch as a fridge, placing most things but the milk inside the grill! It worked perfect!



It's been a wild kind of week, and so thankful for all the blessings...even though it was a different week, we were still warm, safe, and enjoyed some extra time together.






Bill headed to a conference in John Day this weekend with 4 other guys from church. They had a great overnighter. The kids and I rented a few good movies....The Help...I would recommend that to everyone, and of course Puss in Boots! It was a fun evening for just the three of us...followed by heading to Eugene on Saturday, for me to work, and the kids to bum around while I worked, then we all headed to do some fun shopping. Bill arrived home safe around 11, and we enjoyed a nice Sunday at church, complete with breakfast bbq followed by a nice afternoon nap.


Enjoy all the pictures of the snow...we had fun--despite the power loss!