Who Loves Farm Animals?

Sarah and Daniel do! Asking can we go and live on a farm is almost a daily request, honestly. I took these photos in October at a petting farm which had set up at a car show we visited. Of course my children found the animals far more interesting than the cars!

New Baby Chicks

When she was only about 6months old, my Frizzle cross Barnvelder bantam went seriously broody. I thought she might be too young to see the task through to the end, but she proved me wrong. After I had watched her carefully for over a week and tested her with a couple of golf balls, she remained committed and was not coming off her nest, so I rewarded her - by buying 8 fertilised eggs and setting them underneath her. For those who may not know, we aren't allowed to keep a rooster in our suburb, so none of our eggs are fertilised ones. At times I worried Pippin would weaken too much because she left her nest for barely half an hour per day to stretch, eat and drink. However early on day 22 we discovered her chickies had started hatching, which was so exciting!





24hours later when she finally left the nest, 5 of the 8 eggs had hatched. We removed the other 3 and changed her nesting box, gave them fresh water and chick starter then left them to bond. Being curious about the three unhatched eggs, we performed an autopsy of sorts.

Unsettlingly, the one most formed was breathing when I cracked the shell, even the little feet moved and the beak opened and closed. Sarah and Daniel wanted me to euthanise it ("be kinder Mum, whack it's head" they pleaded) ... but I just couldn't do it. We all called Tony (who hadn't wanted to be involved in this operation) he came halfway over, took a quick glimpse and quickly scurried back inside. Fortunately for us all, it was only a minute or so that it lived. I was later relieved to learn that helping this one break out of the shell would not have helped it survive, unless we took the unnatural approach and incubated it. If they are too weak to hatch themselves, they are too weak to survive, and will die anyway. Sad, but true.

But now for some happier news and photos! Here they are having one of their first meals



and their first journey outside their nesting home to their mini coop. Come on, this is the way ... you can do it






and out in the big run while my older hens were locked inside their henhouse for about 20 mins. The have lost the little chickie cuteness, and look a bit straggly now that their baby down is making way for their real feathers



this is not a great photo, but it clearly shows the gold laced Wyandotte feathers coming in



and here are most of my older hens. My Rhode Island Reds, Australorps and the Silkie bantam


So, tomorrow the chickens are either 5 or 6 weeks old. I can't remember and my diary is not with me at the moment. I have 2 gold laced wyandottes, 2 sussex and the other black one is a mystery..cause I can't quite remember what the fertilised egg man said! I don't mind, because I'm overjoyed about the Wyandottes and Sussex making it - they were top of my list breeds when I bought the eggs. Pippin has proved to be a fantastic first time mama hen! She sat on those eggs till they hatched and ever since she has not relaxed in teaching and protecting her chickies. One of them escaped out the door into the big run last week while Sarah was cleaning and watering their home. She panicked and I heard her call out to Daniel, but by the time he got there, the situation was over. Sarah said mamma hen Pippin immediately spread out her wings, made some noises ... and that little escapee chickie came running straight back into the fold! Wow! Now, all we have to hope is that they are all hens! Oh, please please be hens!!

Hen Haven

I've been quite remiss in not posting some photos of my chicken coop and my lovely hens. I have three Australorps, and three Rhode Island Reds.

The coop Tony built:-





how it looks now


my hens from left to right - Marigold, Henrietta, Rosey and Sweet Pea


Molly & Daisy are usually hanging out together...

The little Bantams - a Frizzle cross Barnevelder named Pippin, and a Silkie named Clucks.
then
and now



I'm now getting 4 eggs a day - still waiting on the last 2 hens to start laying. The Australorps are now 33 weeks old, and the Rhode Island Reds are now 29 weeks old. I know it's a natural thing for hens to lay, but I'm so proud of them! Eggs are a real miracle, and so healthy for us. Here are 5 hens enjoying a broccollini plant I pulled from my vegie garden for them. Henrietta was in the nesting box laying, when I took this photo today.




I hope to always have chooks. They are delightful, and useful animals.

Proverbs 14:1

A WISE WOMAN BUILDS HER HOME, BUT THE FOOLISH WOMAN TEARS IT DOWN WITH HER OWN HANDS.

Our Far North Coast Holiday

Well the children are still talking about our recent trip, and everyday there is some mention of going back. It's taken a couple of weeks, but I'm now back into the Sydney swing of things. I was actually depressed when I came home, because I missed the country. I sensed a real dreariness to Sydney which I can't remember feeling before. The best thing about coming home was seeing Tony again - I did miss him. It's the longest we have been apart in 17 years!

This is the road in to my cousin's property



This is my cousin's beautiful homestead where we stayed.



I loved the solitude and the quietness of the country - broken only by the neighing horses, bleating sheep, squealing pigs, lowing cows and chook chook sounds. I could happily live my dream there... it's such a shame there are no work openings for Tony. Oh, and the evening bird noises and croaking frogs - I so much enjoyed sitting on the verandah around dusk, though the bugs were rather pesky! At dawn and early morning kangaroos would be grazing not far away.

My cousin's have just under 80 acres, and their own dam, which provided a lot of fun for Sarah and Daniel. We didn't take our dogs there, but my cousins dogs were well behaved and lapped up all the stick throwing attention they were given! The dam was also used to swim in. That was the first thing Sarah & Daniel did once we arrived. I think they were swimming within 20 minutes of us getting out of the car!




So what else did we do? Sarah's favourite thing was riding the horses




and Daniel's favourite thing was riding the quad bike



I think my favourite thing was all the relaxed reading I got to do whilst sitting on the verandah. I very much enjoyed Jane Eyre, New Moon, some gardening books, and a library novel of which I forget the name - though it was a great story of a young woman's marriage and journey through the Australian bush during the early settler days. And I looked forward very much to talking on the phone with Tony every night!

We also went to the beach, which we had to ourselves most of the time!



Such bliss, I wish we were there now!

Holiday Fun

Two delightful children, Nivea & Benjamin, spent a couple of days with us during the recent school holidays - and a lot of fun was had by all.

Some of the time the four of them (that's including Sarah & Daniel) jumped and played games on the trampoline; some of the time they played Nintendo Wii Sports; some of the time the boys played their dirt-games; some of the time they all took turns on the tyre swing





Some scones were made by the girls, and devoured by all!






Lovely children, lovely days. Hmmm, now I'm thinking it's time to make some more scones!

Botanical Gardens Excursion

Enjoyed a lovely day in the Sydney Botanical Gardens on the last day of term with the homeschool group. Such a restful, beautiful, interesting place! I think there were about 25 children in our group, and they learnt about composting and worm farms by one of the employees there. Then they got to harvest some mustard plants, do a bit of weeding, and plant some beans. Just before the 2 and 1/2 hour tour finished, they planted a watermelon seed in a cup to bring home.

I think we might start a worm farm once I get our vegie patch up and growing.

After the educational tour we all had a picnic lunch and play together, then went our separate ways. Sarah, Daniel and I continued on a wonderful walk through the gardens, and alongside the harbour right around to Mrs Macquarie's chair...then back again.

Got a little lost, lol - but it was all good!






And this spider thought to try hitching a ride in our backpack. Freaked me out a bit when I went to get our lunch out, but it jumped away with a bit of prodding. Yes - it JUMPED. Some sort of jumping spider apparently!

Shield and weapon

Daniel has quite a collection of sticks and spears in his 'base camp' and I guess the next step was to fashion a shield to protect himself - should he be so fortunate as to have somebody to play friendly war games with.

Recently he made a shield; impressing me with the way he so confidently unlocked Tony's tool cupboard, readied the drill, and actually drilled holes for the leather arm bands, which were later screwed on! I was hovering around to make sure he didn't drill a hole in his foot or hand, but he is clearly quite capable with this tool. Must have had lessons from his Dad when I wasn't looking, lol!

Then it was time for some painting of the actual shield, as well as on his chosen image. A dragon, of course. I should have known.

Here tis



Notice the weapon he is holding? (click on the picture to enlarge and see it better) Such a nasty thorned plant of some description, which he found in a park. Picture now my eyes popping out of my head as he extolled the sharpness and greatness of this particular weapon. Bulging. Especially when he asked could I grow this plant so he can have a steady supply. Uh, that would be NO!


I was a little relieved that dirtballs were the weapons of choice when Daniel and Benjamin had a wargame recently. Much softer and less dangerous! The pile of dirt we dug out for the water-tank installation a month or two ago (and which was going to keep my chooks happy in dirt heaven) has become a favourite play area. I did have to confine this game to the dirt pile, and stop them from throwing dirt rock balls all over the backyard: Yes, they did have to pick up the dirt globs from all over the lawn! I suppose the dirt is still going to be in the same general area once they finish the game, so the chooks when I finally get them, should be happy. In the meantime, 1 giant dirtpile plus assorted bits of timber and bricks = 2 boys happy as can be!

Karate Fun Day

Each school holidays, the gym where the kids train in Karate organises a fun training day. It's a combined event where the Karate kids and the Thai Boxing kids join together - to train in each discipline, have some games, and enter a sparring competition.

I never got around to blogging about the one held during the winter school holidays; should have ... because excitingly, Sarah and Daniel BOTH came home as winners. Sarah won the Sparring competition, and Daniel won the ...(oops, I'll have to ask him the name of the comp where 2 players are on their knees facing eachother and have to be the first one to grab a white cotton glove tucked into the back waistband) They won fantastic prizes which included a kick shield, gloves, focus mits, handwraps and a skipping rope! So useful for our practice at home. I was so proud of them! Naturally I took photos





AND.... on Wednesday, Sarah and Daniel both enjoyed the latest Fun Training day for these current school holidays....and AGAIN came home as winners! WOW, am I proud of my children! This time Daniel won the Sparring competition (and he is pleased as punch!) while Sarah won the Dodgeball competition. Trophy's this time - how exciting!

Material World

This is the name of a 255 page, full colour, quarto sized book I recently bought. It's an extraordinary 'portrait of humanity' which vividly portrays how various families live all over the world. The differences are astounding.

The question is asked: Can all 6 billion of us have all the things we want?

To make this book, during 1994, 16 photographers travelled to 30 nations around the world and lived with a 'statistically average' family for a week:

QUOTE: ... in an attempt to capture, through photos and statistics, the common humanity of the peoples of the earth, and the great differences in material goods and circumstances that make rich and poor societies."

The book contains full colour photographs of each family surrounded by all their possessions in the front of their home. For some families, this amounted to a few jars and jugs, while for other families, there was an "explosion of electrical gadgetry".

I was actually stuck in the introduction for quite a time, pondering the questions asked, and not able to turn the page. In some ways it is a rather heavy book to digest. The inequality between nations is unjust. For some people to starve from malnutrition whilst others throw away food with barely a thought, is heartbreaking. The rich western world can afford to spoil even their animals (think doggy cafe's, doggy beauty parlours, toys and heated beds for our animals etc etc) yet in poorer places, any animal is not simply a material possession, but absolutely vital for the family's food survival. The goat or cow is for milk, the chickens are for eggs...and if the animal cannot continue in its role, it must be eaten so food is not wasted on keeping it alive.

One double paged spread in the book is called 'Toilets of the World' and has photographs of various, um, toilets! At a glance you are shown the vast difference between say, the marble and gold model in Kuwait - to the concreted hole in the ground in Mali - to the snow covered outhouse in Uzbekistan. Very telling.


Micah 6:8
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly,
to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.

My Pianist

Sarah has been learning piano for a little over 6 years, and I do so enjoy listening to her play! I'm especially pleased that not only does she play & practice what is required by her piano teacher... but she also teaches herself new music. Lately it has been Bella's Lullaby from the movie soundtrack Twilight.





It's a real pleasure to hear you play, Sarah. May you always

make melody in your heart towards the Lord
(Ephesians 5:19b)