Mama hen retired
from the job as mama and has joined the rest of the flock. Here she can be seen coming out of the flowers behind the rooster. She has also started laying eggs again, so she is still "working", just in a different way. Even though teachers have the weekend off from teaching, we still have plans and grading to work on. Farmers never have a day off. And who ever said "Life on the farm is kind of laid back" (RIP J.D.) must have been visiting a friend's farm.
The week at school flew by.....maybe because I was flyin' by the seat of my pants. Britney was great help with all the grading I had. Early on I give homework nightly (actually I do this through out most of the year) but I also collect it daily, (along with the daily work) all of which I grade and hand back the next day. This way, I can see what my students can do and they can see what I expect. I like to set the standard, routine and pace from the get go. I'll let up then after progress reports.
The baby chicks were quick to escape their fenced in enclosure once mama was gone but they appeared ready for life on their own around the farm. 
They stayed close to the coop at first and slowly ventured farther away.
I kept a close eye on the barn kitties and felt the "chicks" were safe. Bro and Sis do most of their hunting at night when the chickens are closed in the coop.
This weekend has gone equally as quick as the week. Joe's family from Iowa visited. There was shopping and cleaning to do before they came. Britney spent 5 hours giving the house a good cleaning. It was so nice to have that done. Joe and Daniel mowed, and I just picked up, organized, and sorted stuff out, both inside and out. Also had to capture on film everybody hard at work.
We had a great visit with Joe's three sisters, brother in law and nephew. They all pitched in to help cook and do jobs around the farm. No "laid back farm life" for these visitors. With the tight sleeping quarters....they got 2 hotel rooms in Le Roy, so that really helped me out.
The remainder of this blog post will be pictures and captions to give you an idea of what went on around the farm this past week.
On one warm, dry, day I cleaned and filled the 60 gal. stock tank. The chickens were soon over to see what I was doing.
And they waited around for a drink.
Some preferred to drink out of the dripping hose after I was done filling the tank.
I caught Zorro sleeping on the job while Amiga was standing guard.
Something alarmed her and she jumped and trotted over to get a better view of the alley between the corn plots towards Becks. Zorro woke up, looked around, and eventually decided he better get to his feet.
Because our round pen has been moved some when dirt was added to level it and there is now a big hill on the east and south side of it, Joe and Daniel tore (sawed actually) out the bushes nearest the barn so we can now get big equipment through to the field that way. Dan hauled the branches away and Joe leveled the dirt Marvin had dumped there last week.
Joe added dirt to the south end of the corn crib so water won't collect there.
It looks a bit barren, but once we get the grass replanted and growing, it will be better. We will also put some rock at the drip line of the barn roof.
Late last week Zorro irritated his other eye and I was putting medicine in both of them twice a day. But it cleared up quickly and the other also looks healed so hopefully the eye saga is over. Now it is his back right. hip. On Sunday evening (a week ago) Courtney discovered he was lame. So we have had him confined to his stall off and on. (If you click on the above rt. picture, you will see Zorro looking out of the stall gate.) We took him to Marj's for our Thursday lesson, and she could see he was off as well. So Courtney has not ridden him for over a week. I thought he looked better yesterday, and let him out to pasture....but last night Courtney thought he looked worse, so he is back in his stall. On Thursday night while we were ridding in the indoor arena....a big storm blew in. Literally. Marj got soaked closing the barn door. We got off and held the nervous horses until it blew over. Richard said we got an inch of rain. Driving home, our new water way was flowing like a river. Here it is a day later.
Lower left, you can see it is pooling at the culvert under the railroad tracks. The photo on the right is a view from Beck's side....you can see that their land is higher than the bottom of the culvert. We also discovered that inside the culvert much of the wall is crumbling. It may all cave in some day....and act like a big dam....not a pleasant thought.
I found this bird on the floor of Zorro's stall, unable to fly. The poor thing had mud caked to it's feet. I can relate when that happens with my boots. So, I had Britney soak his feet in water until the dry mud softened and came off. Then she released him back into the wild. Which reminds me.....the cute little bunny I brought home last Sunday has also been released into the wild. Well, actually he escaped. The second day when I opened the cage to give him food and water, I scared him and he came flying (It was a running jump I think) past me and ran into the yard and was no where to be seen. He was a fast little bugger.
I also planted another red bud, so there is a row of four and then I put a flowering shrub between these poles where it is a pain to trim.
When our company arrived Saturday, they helped in many ways:
Mary baby-sitting Zorro as he eats.
Patty and Britney dead heading flowers.
Kaysha and Bro get in on the action.
Bro adding fertilizer before I plant the red bud tree.
Courtney riding Amiga.
Then Teresa gives her a try. All three "girls" did very well.
Britney and Patty making egg noodles....thank you girls and chickens.
We had a fire in the fire pit Saturday night that everybody sat around. We talked and joked and had a good time. The cool air made the warm fire quite pleasant and relaxing.
First came the demolition and then the making of new corner posts because the four old ones were rotten at the bottom. Tracy started in on framing the windows and doors. We added a door between the shed and the deck. We ladies helped with clean up of old nails, metal and rotten wood.
During the shed work, Joe got out his dirt bike for Nathan and Britney to try, but after a bit, it malfunctioned. We also tried putting boxers on Kaysha to get her to stop licking and pulling the hair off of her belly and crotch. She had had a relapse with the foot earlier, causing it to be raw again. Daniel had woken up with a stiff neck and was kind of out of commission, so rested on the hammock.
All of us took a break in the afternoon....Teresa and Nathan to go to a Cubs game, Joe to go to his Football draft/Poker party, and us girls to go to Moraine View. That left Tracy behind to work on his own. Patty and Britney went for a canoe ride at the park while Mary read, I graded papers and Kaysha hung out.
The Volks headed back to Hills, Iowa after a late dinner Sunday night. This morning Mary and Patty came back to visit a bit longer. Coffee, tea and Britney's home made cookies were enjoyed while we watched Joe work on the picnic shelter on a brisk, windy morning.
Before Mary and Patty left, we picked apples and pears for them to take back to Iowa City.
After the ladies headed home, the Monday blues hit, and I came in to work on this and school work. Joe was at work on the shelter all day. I took breaks to check on his progress and get a picture. He was framing the other three "windows." The wind really added to the challenge. The whole thing is kind of leaning, thus the temporary cross boards. The strong wind also knocked a lot of pears (and apples) from the trees.
We hope to take care of the lean of the shelter as we put the plywood on. The whole thing is catty-wompis, but it is just a picnic shelter. It was more rotten than we had realized. Maybe we should have just tore the whole thing down as many had suggested.
In closing, I want to say it has been great having today off from "work", even though I have been doing some school work. But I also want to say that I am so thankful to have work. I have so many family and friends looking for employment right now....that no matter how busy and laborious the job can be, I am really glad to have it....(especially since it is just part time). Britney has really been hard "at work" searching for work...but no job as of yet. Daniel hasn't really even been looking, he is too discouraged I think. I continue to thank God for my job and other blessings and pray for those who need work.
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