They hatched! They hatched!

This evening we had some hatching action.

It went on for so long that we had to go to bed.

But when I woke........

.....I saw little button quail wiggling EVERYWHERE.

Three of our six hatched and four from the preschool also.

Their names are:  Tiger, Quantum, Quasar,

Favorite, Slate, Rainbow and Snow White.

Some of my 4-Hers are going to keep their Button Quail.

And other families will give their quail to us.

So my list of quail may grow.

We promised to give all the Button Quail a home on our farm.

They are so much fun to watch.

And they make the most calm, contented sounds.

Stay tuned for more pictures.....as our Buttons grow.  

                                                               

OOPS, I did it again....

I can explain.

Really.

Just let me tell you the story.

You see, I go to the local feed store often.

And they almost always have day old chicks for sale.

But for years I have never had a chicken house.

So for years I would look but not buy.

Now that I have a chicken house I look but.....

They never seem to have the breed I want.

Or they only have straight runs.

Which means that the boys and girls are mixed together.

And with my luck I would get two roosters.

And we are just not ready for Cock-a-doodle-do.

No not at all.  Maybe never. 

So on this day it was like the stars were all in alignment.

~  ~  ~

1.  I had a chicken house.

~ ~ ~

2.  They had the breed I wanted.  (Americana)

That's the Easter Egg Chicken.

The "Easter Egger".

Americana chickens lay colored eggs.

Blue, Green, Teal.

No kidding.

~  ~  ~

3.  AND they were PULLETS

That means GIRLS!

~ ~ ~

So that's my story.

The story of how Henrietta and Lucy came to our farm.

I am now the proud owner of 4 chickens.

And as each day passes I am more hopeful that I will someday see

a beautiful egg in the hen house.

The Chicken House

It was time for the chickens to get in their coop.

They had definately outgrown my mud room.

So we took their brooder box outside

and got them settled in their new home.

 Alex helped them get settled.

And my husband leaned over and whispered in my ear,

"Take a good look at that floor

because this is the cleanest it will ever be."

Victoria and Gregory Peck seemed to like their new abode.

(I'm still hoping that Gregory Peck isn't a Gregory after all.)

And I like my mud room minus the smell of chickens.

Although I do miss their little "peep peep peep" sounds all day.

Tennis Team

Ranae made the Tennis Team!

And the girl's team went to the Championships!

Woo Hoo!

Spring Ballet Performance

 Sarah Kate performed today with her dance class.

 She loves to have flowers in her hair

blush on her cheeks

and sparkles on her costume.

 Backstage she was all smiles.

 And afterwards she was all smiles too.

It was special to have Papa and Fifi come see her dance.

So no more ballet until the fall.

It is feeling and looking like summer

everywhere we go.

Kayak Trip on the River

 Our 4-H Kayak trip was today.

The river was great.

The weather was just right.

And the scenery was beautiful.

Our guide showed us to a great fossiling place.

Ranae found a sting ray jaw.



We were looking for tiger shark teeth.

Sarah loved getting cooled off in the river.



And Kevin did find a tiger shark tooth.

And some of us didn't look for fossils.

(Isn't Alex so smart to catch a nap?)

(Tonight is prom and he's going to need all the sleep he can get.)

Muffins for Mom

 Today I got to go to Sarah's preschool!

(Literally one of my favorite places.)

We had muffins

and made necklaces

and colored

and glued

and planted seeds

and all the moms talked

about how we can't believe

that our children will be "graduating" soon

and going to kindergarten in the fall.

~  ~  ~ 

Sigh.

~  ~  ~

Yes.  They will be "graduating".

But I can't help but compare it to my son Alex.

He's a senior and also "graduating" this year.

Only difference is....he's leaving home.

For college.

In 3 months.

~  ~  ~ 

Heavy Sigh.

Wince.

Stray tear.

~  ~  ~ 

And I'm sure he'll be o.k.

I really think he's ready.

Prepared.

Head screwed on straight and all that.

~  ~  ~

I just hope I will be o.k too.

Kindergarten I'm looking forward to...

College....not so much.

Hatching Eggs

Second time charm?

We are trying to hatch eggs once again.

Our homemade incubator is being put to the test....again.

This time they are Button Quail eggs from a local farm.

They only take 16 days to hatch.

Here's hoping they do.

I distributed 50 fertile eggs to all my 4-H club.

How many could we possibly get?

Care to guess?

Grad Night

Grad Night was at Disney today.

And the Seniors left their cars in the school parking lot

and jumped on a school bus to Orlando.

With the Seniors gone the Juniors will play.

And they did.

When the Seniors came home the following morning....

their cars were "decorated" with:

paint

toilet paper

peanut butter

and vaseline....

among other things.

Alex's nickname at school is "DANGER".

Hence the colorful sign on his window.

~ ~ ~

I wonder if a sign like that on my car

would keep people from following me too closely.

.....just thinking.....

The Chickens Are Here!

These are my first two chickens EVER!

Aren't they the cutest!

We aren't sure what breed they are yet.

That's because we ordered 40 eggs

with at least 10 or more different breeds in the order.

But from the looks of his feather head

we are guessing he's a Polish breed.

We will love them no matter what breed they are.

They are a farm dream come true!