The Start of Something Beautiful - Part One

As soon as we moved to our new house, we had to get started making changes.  Lots of changes.  But to start, new kid's rooms.

The entire upstairs was a master suite, while the two bedrooms downstairs were supposed to be for the kids.  This just seems crazy to me, not because our kids will sneak out while we are sleeping, but for safety & security's sake, for any late night knocks on the door or dog barking fiascoes.  We didn't want one of them hearing or responding to any of the above.

We moved us and our home office setup into one bedroom downstairs, with the kids in the bedroom across the hall together while the upstairs demo began.  They bickered, giggled, fought and pranked each other regularly, so we knew we had to hurry.  Things got a little ugly sometimes, but I think they did bond and maybe become closer friends.  I like to think that anyways, I'd rather not think they are scarred for life, ha.

Caught them getting along on the trampoline (which we did not set up properly and had to redo twice!)

I came up with a perfectly even plan, both had the same sized rooms, closets, and a very nicely arranged shared bathroom.  There was a long home office/play area across the backside of the house with their bedrooms on the front.  One look in the attic revealed this would not work, unless the furnace was moved and ducts reworked.  It was going to add time and money to an already tight time and money budget.  So we changed the plan.  It wasn't the plan we had in mind, but it would work just fine.  Funny how that happens, right?

Our carpenter/handyman got started, ripping out the enormous jacuzzi (along with it's stage it sat in), the gigantic and odd walk-in shower, endless tile, and loads of 16 year old berber carpet.  He framed in the walls, called his brother to help him with the drywall...and they both headed to another project!

Each tile is 12", this tub took up so much space!

This is the landing at the top of the stairs.

He didn't want to do the drywall himself and his brother had larger fish to fry.

After lamenting to probably everyone we knew, trying to find a replacement, many friends and family said they had done it themselves here and there, we could too!  We decided it couldn't be that bad.  We wanted it done quickly and to save some money so we decided to tackle it ourselves.  We watched a lot of Youtube, read a lot of This Old House, and asked a lot of questions at Lowe's and Home Depot.

Boy were we wrong!

It was time consuming, heavy, and all out hard.  I don't think either of us have ever physically worked so hard in our lives.  Drywall sheets are heavy, dusty, and give minuscule fiberglass cuts, scratches and splinters.  It's a pain to cut, a pain to get even and level (especially when the framing isn't straight!)...we were almost thinking plaster and lathe would be easier.

We spent every evening, weekend, the entire week the kids were at camp, and even sheetrocked in our sleep (not good dreams, for sure).  A friend showed us how to mud, tape and sand.  I'm going to be real with you, it was not pretty and we were beyond exhausted.  Think almost new baby tired, but not quite.  The baby was super heavy, but at least slept all night.

I had stripped the bed, we had taken a break and someone fell asleep just like that.

You can tell where we started, it's a little uneven and lumpy, but by the time we finished, we were pros.  I could probably win an HGTV mudding and sanding competition at this point!

Things you don't think about...no ceiling fixtures yet equals table lamp on floor to work after dark!

After weeks of drywall mudding and sanding, we were ready for paint and floors.  We were moving on and getting closer!  ...stay tuned for Part 2!

Oh!  And about this time, barn construction started.  And the backyard fence.  Both items took an inordinately long time, far longer than either contractor had told us.  At one point, the fence contractor said he could have had that barn finished three weeks ago...he had been working on our fence at least that long.  The fact that he didn't see the irony in this made it even funnier!  We definitely did not tell the barn guys what the fence guys were saying.

And as they say in the country..."Y'all come back now!"

"ya hear"...

Tick Bit Hen

My daughter came running in the back door with a chicken in her arms (this is nothing new) while I was cooking dinner.  Something was obviously wrong with one of our Wyandotte hens.  She didn't have a name at the time, we had 6 of them and only one was different than the others, as she had a pea comb (lumpy instead of the typical one that stands up).  Why I feel guilty about this, I just don't know, because these pretty ladies really don't like to be bothered (except for given treats). 

The poor hen's face...was not right.

Her face, mouth, and wattles were sooo swollen and dark red, and she was laboring to breathe.  Her eyes, usually almost flush with her face, were deep set and her cheeks were large.  Her wattles stood out angled, thick and hot, instead of hanging loosely like thin flaps.  They were much darker than her comb, which was completely normal.

She looked really really bad, the situation looked dire.

We wrapped her up in a towel (you know it's bad if she allows that), it just seemed to be the right thing to do, then sat her on my lap while Natalie searched online for what could possibly be wrong.  It was essentially the chicken version of the WebMD search.  You know the kind, it always points to cancer.

Fowl cholera, bacterial infection...all very bad things that mean imminent death and possibly flock destruction. 

As she's looking, and we're both starting to freak out a bit on the inside, I notice a bulgy blister on the hen's head.  Natalie looks up "blisters on chickens head" just as I realize it's a big fat tick!  We call them dog ticks here, they are gray and get very large and round (they might be called castor bean ticks elsewhere).

I pull the tick with tweezers, both of us laughing with relief, and we look up if chickens can have Benadryl (they can).  We give her some children's Benadryl (they'll eat bread dipped in anything), and before our eyes, the swelling starts going down and her color looks a little better.  She starts breathing normally, and then suddenly with a loud squawk, wants off of my lap.  We turn the impatient hen loose outside, she doesn't even look back as she joins her friends.  Natalie and I giggled with relief, thank goodness for Benadryl!

It took a good several weeks for her comb and wattles to go back to normal, but she eventually made a full recovery.  And while ticks are something chickens eat (read about that here), it's bad news when a tick turns the tables.

Ticks, it turns out, though small, are very complex creatures.  The have special ways of latching on, making them hard to remove and allowing them to stay attached for a very long time.  Their saliva has anticoagulant properties.  On a small animal like a chicken, a little goes a long way!

Along a Winding Path

"Life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans."  -Allen Saunders

I spent this week working with a dear friend I would never have met, for a good company I never would have worked for, doing something I would never have thought of doing had my career followed my plans.

My plans were interior design, and lots of it.  There's nothing like a quiet warehouse, painting walls and setting up a trade show booth while the kids are hanging out with the grands to allow a person a chance to think and look back.

Thinking about it, life feels a bit like a path.  We have an idea of where we want to go, but have no idea the bumps, dips and detours we may find along the way.  A lot has gone according to plan, but there are a few things that haven't quite, kind of like stepping in the unexpectedly deep puddle!  Allow a person some quiet time, and the mind really wanders.

Proverbs 16:9 has been on my mind lately, "The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps (esv)".  In my younger days, I would have felt rankled by this verse, though now, it gives me comfort.  I now realize, just through life in general, that God really does know better than me and that he has our good in mind.  I think that even though some things that I have deeply desired and hoped for have not come to fruition, maybe my life has been sweeter for it.

I've seen many times how God's "no" to some things and detours around others have actually been his hand of protection and not a withholding of blessing.  It has been for my best interest, my family's best interest.  It's hard to see when you are walking through it, but much easier when you can stop a minute and look back.  Of course, many prayers have been answered with a yes, but it's the no's that really make us think...

Younger years dating matches that didn't work out, and then, the one that did.  And still is, 22 years running!

The office closure of an interior design job in my twenties, pushing me out of my comfort zone and into marketing, meeting a number of great friends, stretching my art muscles and opening doors I never thought to knock on (15 years running!). Hence this week!  (And the catalog shoot I got to style earlier in the spring! Talk about FUN!)

Selling the budget swallowing, money pit of a dream home which allowed for less stress, strain, and constant maintenance, gave us breathing room in many ways and allowed us to put away the hammer and saw.

Opening and closing another office location (husband's shop) ultimately showing us we didn't want to move, we didn't need another location, and that God still provides even though sometimes we tune him out and do what we want to do.

Losing my mom unexpectedly, which was all sorts of hard, but it did lead to a closer relationship with my dad and a deeper understanding (ie crash course) of what really isn't important and what is.

The complete feeling of "halt and desist" of building a house on family land later allowing us to buy  a house tucked away in the needed quiet, with plenty of space, privacy, and room to roam and relax.

If you find yourself feeling a little off the beaten path, not really sure how you got there or how to get back, keep these things in mind.  They've certainly helped me.

1.  Trust that God has this.  Proverbs 16:9 "...the Lord establishes his steps." We may make the decisions and mistakes, but they come as no surprise to God.  He knows where you are going, and maybe he's pointed you that way for lessons that will change your character.  I deeply believe any purpose he has for us will be fulfilled, we won't mess it up.

2.  Reflect.  Take a minute to look back sometimes.  Think of the good that has come out of the bad or hard, and the wisdom and friendships you have gained in the process.

3.  Relax and take a deep breath.  You may not feel you are where you are supposed to be at this point in life, but it's not a race.  And the people you feel may be watching you?  More than likely, they are worried about their own position, knee deep in the weeds.

And lastly, when you find yourself fretting, say this verse out loud...

"And we know that for those that love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

I Did Not Get Bit

I did not get bit.

It did get really loud at our place.  I think it was mostly noise coming from me, though there was sound everywhere.

Natalie sicced the dog and came running to help.  Graham grabbed Ranger and pulled him back in the house, he wanted to keep him safe.  Chris came running from the garage, wielding the simplest weapon, a shovel, and took care of the problem...

A BLACK SNAKE coiled in the corner of the coop!

Which had just eaten an egg and tried to unsuccessfully swallow a chick.

And I had just TOUCHED the thing by accident.

Poor chick.

I had gone in the coop just before dark, to count chickens and gather eggs.  It was too dark, so I brought the flashlight back from the house and propped it in a laying basket.  The coop was loud, as it always is at bedtime, with hens jockeying for roost position and ducks settling in.  Tonight, the month-old juvenile chicks were piled up against the door and even up in the nesting baskets.  It was shadowy down below the baskets, and I grabbed for one of the chicks nestled in the duck area.

My middle and index fingers touched it first, and instead of feeling the soft, warm fluff of baby feathers, it was cool-ish, smooth, and unyielding.

What the?

I grabbed the flashlight from above and....

Coiled up, it stuck it's tongue out at me and froze.  Noise came from everywhere.  I calmly and rationally left the flashlight shining on the snake, tossing nearby chickens away from the area as I ran to find Chris.

And that brings us back to the frightened children, husband with a shovel, and problem solved.  I really do hate to have to kill a nonvenomous "good" snake.  Snakes are only good though until they hurt someone or something you care about, no matter their benefit otherwise.

 Egg in it's belly

You may have seen bigger, but this is big enough for me!

Everyone is calm now, tucked in their beds, roosts, and baskets.  Bedtime prayers of thanks and requests for no more snakes have all been said.  All is well that ends well!

With Silver Bells and Cockleshells

...and pretty maids all in a row...

Well, that's not how my garden grows.  Unfortunately. (Mary, Mary Quite Contrary)

The grass and weeds have taken over!  And the rain, we've had so much that my garden has been a swamp, though it is finally draining.  My poor tomato and eggplants have yellow leaves, they've had so. much. water.

Chris plowed up a big section of the backyard with his tractor, and we "installed" (one held, while the other used a rubber mallet to tap into the ground) a short picket fence to keep the chickens and dog out (more on this later).  We had it straight, pickets fairly the same height, and pretty square.

Not super pretty, because it isn't super straight (maybe next year), but functional.

And then it rained a lot, and there might be a wet weather spring there near the garden (because the ducks have a swimming lane there occasionally)...

and now the pickets look like teeth with newly installed braces.  They've followed the slope of the yard and are no longer a pretty straight line but at least they're spaced evenly!  I corrected the height as much as I could, it's still pretty wavy, and then we covered the entire garden spot with several bales of straw to keep the weeds out and future moisture in.  I planted seeds from Baker Creek, bought some plants from Chicken Holler (a local heirloomy kind of place), and caved and bought more seeds from Lowe's and Walmart, even though they weren't heirloom, organic, etc.

We planted tomatoes, eggplant, okra, yellow squash, cucumbers, zucchini, Bok Choy, Rainbow Swiss Chard, bell peppers, beets, carrots, and all the herbs you can possibly think of, a grape vine the chickens had decimated elsewhere, and some lavender.  Then we left for vacation.  And came home to WEEDS!

Overgrown mess.

Not enough straw to keep anything suppressed, but it definitely holds in the moisture!  Many seeds did not come up, except the Baker Creek seeds, which most all germinated.  The plants were all still there, but so was an unexpected amount of grass!  I've replanted most seeds, but looks like I may just have to buy the herb plants.  I'm not having any luck with them.

As for the grass, it's good old fashioned weed pulling time.  My fingers and nails are stained brown, despite scrubbing and soaking (who wears gloves, you can't tell what you're grabbing).  But weed pulling, oh my goodness, it is so satisfying.

Frustration at work?  Chop those weeds with the hoe before pulling.

Lots of words hurled through the air about Minecraft and PS4 games?  Enjoy the solitude of pulling weeds in the heat (nobody wants to be outside then).

Need some time just to think and organize your brain?  Maybe you just want to talk to Jesus, weeding is the perfect time.

They may come find you, but they won't stay long, because weeding as a speculator sport?  BORING.

Hallelujah.

Today, a ray of hope came in the form of sunshine yellow squash tucked sweetly underneath beautiful bright green leaves.

 Postage scales are legit, right?  Haha

We collected two pounds, nine ounces of squash (plus two okra).  I want to weigh each gathering, I'm so curious how many pounds of healthy, delicious food we can raise.

We have a multitude of green tomatoes, and it looks like the beets and maybe Bok Choy are  going to make it.  Everything else is a bit chancy, though the okra is doing almost as well as the squash, just not producing much yet.  There is nothing like two pounds and nine ounces to motivate someone to get back out and weed more...and replace the herbs with plants and not seed.

We NEED fresh marjoram.  Need it!

As for the picket fence, it is only 24 inches in height (found at Lowe's), before being tapped into the ground.  And guess what?  It works like a charm!

The chickens will not cross it.  It's pointy, and they will not fly over something that they cannot roost on first.  Pointy equals danger and scary.  Why keep chickens out?  They are walking, hopping, scratching, pecking garden desecrators.  If they don't eat it, they will uproot it while scratching, and then eat it or it's roots.  Or both.  They will eat the little fertilizer balls that come with the plant, then dig it's roots out.  They will strip a beautiful plant of it's leaves, leaving it standing there bare and wondering.

Who me?  Yes, definitely you.

And the dog?  He's a Collie, and unlike Lassie, he just does not jump.  Ever.  Nor dig.  He will not dig or purposely get wet or dirty for anything.  City Slicker, for sure.  Dumpy the cat is a different story, and I've found a couple of "buried treasures" but he does keep the bunnies out.

We've had raised beds, but not a real garden since our very first house, when we raised way more tomatoes than we could even give away.  We've had quite a few fails and learning lessons, I'm ready for some success!  Our takeaways from this experiment have been...

1.  Picket fencing (even short!) works great for keeping chickens and ducks out (and OUR dog, but maybe not anyone else's).
2.  Straw works great as a topper to keep moisture in.  And maybe weeds out, just make sure you cover the garden with a very thick layer.
3.  Better quality seeds and plants do better.  You will save money in the long run to buy the better seeds.  Save yourself some work and frustration.

Do you have a garden?  Do tell, I'd love to hear your tips and advice!

Lord Willing and the Creek Don't Rise...

"I'll be there, Lord willing and the creek don't rise", my grandmother, MeMe, would often reply when invited to something.  I never really thought of it in a literal sense, until now.  She wasn't kidding,  the creek did rise, and we were stuck!

It started raining Saturday evening, storming through the night.  We left for church Sunday morning with just a slight drizzle.  As we headed down the drive, we discovered it had rained more than we thought!  Runoff from the night tumbled down ditches, made little rivers across our yard, and cut streams into the gravel road heading down the hill.   Our yard had a mini pond next to our real pond, where the ducks promptly started swimming (they refuse to swim in the real pond, but that is another story).

On the road out, the little bridge over the creek was completely covered.  We turned around and went the other way, the long way, but had to turn around as that road had water flowing over it as well.  Cars ahead of us were not crossing, though some were considering it before turning around.  With two future drivers in the backseat, we made a point to emphasize "turn around, don't drown", and did just that.

We went back home, got cozy, and enjoyed the novelty of being stranded.  We missed church and a birthday party, but spent a relaxing morning drinking coffee and eating lunch on the porch, watching it rain.  We kept up with road conditions and photos of area flooding with the county sheriff's department Facebook page.  Our road had officially closed, and then our water went out!  A main line in the Illinois River had partly washed away.

When the rain let up, we went for a hike to see the small wet weather waterfall in the woods that we could hear from our house.

I'm always amazed at how water, though changeable and fluid itself can etch rocks and change landscapes.  Always reminds me of that concept, "small gains over time"...

When the rain had completely stopped for awhile (and we had a nap), we ventured out.  The flood water had receded as quickly as it had come, and the road was open again.  How lucky are we to live on hills, where we really only have trouble with the occasional flash floods overwhelming drainage systems.  We've thought a lot over the past few days about those with true flooding and loss of life and property.  I cannot imagine.

Here we are Wednesday, the water has been on and off all week as they make repairs.  We're on a boil order, but at least we know we can bathe and flush the toilet as needed (that made me feel a little crazy!).  I always think back to the old days, before people had running water, how hard just bathing and basic sanitation must have been.  It certainly makes one appreciate modern conveniences!

Make Room for Ducklings

Back in March, we bought a dozen ducklings at Tractor Supply.  They keep all ducklings in one metal tank, all varieties, unsexed, there's no way to tell what you're getting.  After last year's chick catastrophe, that was ok with us.  You get what you get, even when you order specifics.  At least this way, we would only get 12, not the 52 (!) from the hatchery (you can read about that here).  We picked out six light colored and six dark - three of the dark were a little stripey and three were completely black.  They're almost grown now, just a few weeks later, and we still don't know what they are!

We learned with chicks that a wading pool will only confine even tiny birds for a short time.  The perfect place this time seemed to be the unused (and deep) jacuzzi tub in the downstairs bathroom.  Contained, waterproof and easy to clean, it even had a handle to clamp the heat light on.  Everything we had read had stressed how wet and messy they are.  We had no idea!

It seems most baby anythings are cute, but ducklings really take the cake.  They waddle around peeping like little squeaky toys - rubber duckies are spot on.  Their sweet fuzzy heads and tiny bills just beg for cuddling and their delicate little flippery feet feel like nothing else I can describe.  They make little smacking noises when they drink, and their bills move so quickly that they vibrate against the feeder and water bowl.  We couldn't believe how cute they were!  

We also couldn't believe that they were so afraid of us!  Or that they were so messy and stink so bad!  And nothing we read prepared us for how WET they got everything.  They shrieked and ran anytime we got near.  We picked them up to hold, hoping handling them would help tame and build trust and they really got loud.  And their delicate little flippers?  They had the sharpest little claws!  

Cuddly, they are not.  And smell, oh my goodness, the smell!  The tub had to be cleaned daily, with all new pine shavings.  They played in the water, spilled their water, spilled their food, pooped everywhere, and splattered and played in anything even remotely damp (including, yes, you guessed it).  Baby chicks and ducklings are two very different creatures.  I think "can't we send them back?" popped into more than one of our heads, more than once.

The first time I cleaned the tub, I put the babies in the shower with a dish of water to play in, thinking the barrier would contain them.  It did not.  There were tiny, wet ducks ALL over the bathroom, scrambling to escape me, shrieking loudly and POOPING everywhere!  The shrieking was enough for me, but the pooping!  Oh, the pooping.  And they were soaked to the skin from the water they played in.  Getting them dry and under the heat lamp was a little difficult (and definitely an urgent matter) when the tub still wasn't cleaned out.  Something had to change next time!

The next time, we took the babies upstairs in a laundry basket for a cleanup in the that bathtub.  They were a mess, with splatters of wet food and goodness knows what else all over them.  We ran a few inches of warm water and upturned a casserole dish in the middle so they could rest if needed.  Seeing the tiny little ducklings, only a couple days old, take to the water and actually swim...maybe they weren't so bad after all!  

They zipped under the water, popping up in different places, paddled around lazily, dunked their heads, bathed, and made little blowing noises underwater.  And while they quickly turned the water green, we realized that maybe we just needed to adjust our expectations.  They really were amazing little creatures.  Recently hatched, never knew their mama, yet instinct told them how to do what they were born to do.  It made me think about us more "complex" creatures, how we start out with parents to guide us and schools to teach us, and still reach adulthood searching for our purpose.

In a matter of two weeks, they had quickly doubled their size and were too crowded in the jacuzzi.  They had also become too heavy and big to all be carted upstairs in a basket for the daily bathtub swim while their tub was being cleaned.  With the weather warming, they would soon be able to coop up with the chickens.  In the short lived meantime, they moved to a metal trough in the garage.  The stink was out of the house! 

Now fully feathered, the duckies (silly to call them ducklings, but not quite grown enough to be ducks) sleep in the coop with the chickens at night, graze the backyard during the day and go for swims at the pond when we're home.  They're still unsure about us, but will eat from our hands if hungry and begrudgingly allow us to help them up the ramp into the coop at bedtime.  They are a little hysterical at bedtime, just wanting a place to sleep, and get really excited about their food in the mornings.  They remind me of toddlers in so many ways, wanting to do it all themselves, but not really able to yet.  And while they are not the cuddly pets we expected, they are a welcome addition to the pond, doing what they are made to do.