Monday, June 21, 2010

A new canoe and another chicken lost

What a fun Father's Day weekend! Cole got a new canoe for Father's Day thanks to my nephew Hastings who found it for us. It's used but perfect for the ponds at the farm. Now we can explore and fish from on the water! Woo hoo!!!

Saturday morning dawned very foggy and misty which made the pond look enticing to two children with permission to use the canoe. We only have one paddle so Cole, handyman that he is, quickly fashioned one for Annaliese out of some scrap boards we have left over from the chicken run. The pond is really deep so life jackets are definitely in order if child-only canoe excursions are on the agenda.


A little work on the chicken run, a little snuggle with the chickens and we were off to the lake to spend the afternoon boating and tubing. If only it weren't so hot!

Cole awoke on Father's Day to coffee in bed, presents (surely we couldn't just get him a canoe!) and a dance routine performed by two adorable little dancers. Vacation Bible School songs rock!



What's Father's Day without a snuggle on the bed with your little babies?



After a wonderful church service, and lunch at the Country Club (total yum!), we were off to the farm to spend the rest of the day. Cole decided to take the kids on a Walkabout. Sadly, it's just too humid for my poor lungs to spend much time outside. After my bout with pneumonia, hospital stay and surgery a few years ago, summer time humidity and heat = me inside during the heat of the day. Two hours later, the Walkabouters had not returned and I was beginning to worry. They eventually showed up, hot, dirty and sweaty but thrilled with all they had seen. Next on the agenda, a dip in the pond.



This was the first time we'd actually swam in the pond and Cole declared it just as good as the lake. Even Toby got in on the action! I'm sure the water felt wonderful on this sweltering afternoon. Uh, Cole.... I'm not sure that's the right way to use the canoe!!



Unfortunately the weekend ended up on a sad note when Toby killed another one of our chickens. Fudge Stripe got out of the screened door we are in the process of putting on the chicken run and out into the yard.  I heard a horrible sound and we all ran outside to see Toby with that sweet little rooster. Fudge Stripe was a beautiful bird and had a very sweet temperment. He was one of my favorites. After questioning the children, Annaliese admitted she had gone in there and left the door unlatched. Poor little girl. We convinced her it was just an accident and no one blamed her. Cole buried Fudge Stripe in our animal graveyard while Colin cried inside and Annaliese helped. Losing animals remains a horrible fact of farm life. Losing them at the hand (or mouth) of one of our other animals stinks. Toby's future on the farm is precarious in my mind.

Anyone want a very gentle dog?  I wouldn't recommend him if you have chickens though.


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