Sunday, October 11, 2009
Funny Fall
"I'd like to try a worm sandwich," Carie said seriously as she stared down at the worm we discovered while sweeping the patio. Instead of eating it, we showed the almost dead worm some compassion by moving it to the dirt and grass and enriching its life with some water. A few minutes later it was gone. I assume it found a comfy spot in the soil.
Later that brisk Friday night as we sat around the fire pit warming ourselves and looking up at the stars, Carie said, "I think I prefer chicken from something bigger than a worm." She won't be trying worm sandwiches anytime soon. She'd rather have pork chicken or beef chicken or even chicken chicken.
That night Carie also kept us updated on the approach of a dark bank of clouds in the twilight of the western sky. "The snow clouds are coming. They are higher now," she'd say every few minutes.
Sure enough, a little after 10:00 PM the winds started blowing and when Bob and I peaked out, it was snowing. We awoke Saturday morning to a dusting of snow and a few inches of leaves in our back yard. Our ash tree was stripped nearly bare of its pale green leaves. So much for the nicely swept patio.
First thing in the morning the kids suited up for serious snow play -- snow pants, boots, extremity coverings. They poked around in the snow for a while. Later in the afternoon they used rakes to make a pile of leaves to jump into, but by the time I was ready to go out and join them, one flip flop clad youngster was done with the cold (I didn't check attire before they went out). Carie supervised and occasionally helped as Maggie and I built up the pile. Carie jumped with Maggie once into the pile of wet leaves and decided she had had enough. Maggie was sad that no one wanted to jump with her, so I offered my companionship. We flopped and twirled and jumped and fell into the great pile of leaves. I have green stains on my pants to prove it.
2-4 inches of snow is in the forecast for tonight, so Bob and I (mostly Bob) collected the leaves and disposed of them at the city compost pile. Maggie and I pulled up all the plants from the garden. Fall is here. Summer is gone. We enjoyed the last of it as we finished our homegrown watermelon today.
Later that brisk Friday night as we sat around the fire pit warming ourselves and looking up at the stars, Carie said, "I think I prefer chicken from something bigger than a worm." She won't be trying worm sandwiches anytime soon. She'd rather have pork chicken or beef chicken or even chicken chicken.
That night Carie also kept us updated on the approach of a dark bank of clouds in the twilight of the western sky. "The snow clouds are coming. They are higher now," she'd say every few minutes.
Sure enough, a little after 10:00 PM the winds started blowing and when Bob and I peaked out, it was snowing. We awoke Saturday morning to a dusting of snow and a few inches of leaves in our back yard. Our ash tree was stripped nearly bare of its pale green leaves. So much for the nicely swept patio.
First thing in the morning the kids suited up for serious snow play -- snow pants, boots, extremity coverings. They poked around in the snow for a while. Later in the afternoon they used rakes to make a pile of leaves to jump into, but by the time I was ready to go out and join them, one flip flop clad youngster was done with the cold (I didn't check attire before they went out). Carie supervised and occasionally helped as Maggie and I built up the pile. Carie jumped with Maggie once into the pile of wet leaves and decided she had had enough. Maggie was sad that no one wanted to jump with her, so I offered my companionship. We flopped and twirled and jumped and fell into the great pile of leaves. I have green stains on my pants to prove it.
2-4 inches of snow is in the forecast for tonight, so Bob and I (mostly Bob) collected the leaves and disposed of them at the city compost pile. Maggie and I pulled up all the plants from the garden. Fall is here. Summer is gone. We enjoyed the last of it as we finished our homegrown watermelon today.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Farm Day
It's been two weeks now since Maggie, David and I went on our farm day field trip, but I just now got around to putting the photos on the computer. I'm trying something different this time. I made an album in Picasa and I am putting a link to it in my blog. We'll see if this works.
I learned many things that day, like what the word "farrowing" means (givng birth). Farrowing farms are farms dedicated to caring for productive sows and the birthing of baby pigs, from conception to weaning. I learned the gestation time for pigs s 30 weeks, 30 days, 30 hours. I found out that at birth pigs have their tails cut off and are given a shot of iron. We got information on the diet of sows and pigs at various stages of life and the importance of keeping the animals at a comfortable temperature. I also figured out why there aren't docks and boats on farm ponds : ) and how often they get drained.
All in all, it was an enlightening and enjoyable day. And no, I didn't have any trouble eating the pork sandwiches they fed us at "dinner"/lunch time.
Here's the link to the Farm Day photos:
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| Farm Day |
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