Peaches and Fun

 Naturally, it is the end of peach season, so my kitchen looks like:

Cue "Millions of Peaches".

I bought 2 bushels of seconds yesterday morning, so I've been busy canning.  So far, I've canned 2 batches of peach cinnamon jam and 3 batches of honey peaches.

  We also enjoyed a peach glace pie last night, and I have plans for more peach desserts.

Friday, the kids were off school, so we took a field trip.  The younger three and Lydia's friend headed out with me.  First, we picked up Malachi so he could spend Labor Day weekend at home.  Then we headed to Big Bone Lick State Park.

There's a newborn baby bison under that pavillion. 

We had a very nice walk in the woods, especially down by the creek.  We also enjoyed the little museum and gift shop.  We've passed the signs to the park for years, but we've never stopped, so I decided we should.

Outside

 The chicks love the first yard!

They've been going out to explore for most of each day this week.  I haven't let them out first thing in the morning, because it's been in the low 50s!  But it warms up to the 70s, and they haven't had any issues.

Note this one's neck.  It's the turken.

These three meat chicks mostly stay in the coop:

The rest of them, however, have a ball out in the yard.  They run and flap and scratch.  

Mexican Sunflowers, the Zoo, and Chicks

The chicks are doing great.  They are very active and lively.  I still haven't let them outside into the first yard, but I'm thinking maybe Tuesday.

My Mexican Sunflowers have done fantastic this year.  They are by far my most productive plants.  This is just 2 plants:

I have four more out front, and they are now blooming and attracting their fair share of hummingbirds, butterflies, and bumble bees.

It has been so nice to have cooler weather.  (And who would think that I'd call low 80s "cooler" weather?!)  So today, we went to the zoo.  This orangutan came over to see us, and he spent quite a while studying Gyunay out of the corners of his eyes.  (Orangutans, like most apes, don't look head-on at you, because it's seen as aggression.)  He also waved at the baby next to Gyunay!

We had a really nice time!  Lydia was with us, but no pictures of her because she was walking with her friend instead of staying with us the whole time.  They also enjoyed the day.

 

 

Milan

 I never posted about our quick visit to a cathedral in Milan.  When we took the train from Turin to Zurich, we had a brief stopover in Milan.  I do mean brief - it was only about an hour between trains, so we had to pick something near the train station.  This cathedral was built in the 1950s, and it is not Milan's main cathedral, but it was beautiful.

We only had to walk a few blocks to get to it, and it was nearly empty, so I was able to wander around everywhere and light candles and pray.

There were stained glass windows of saints throughout.

This mosaic was really beautiful.  It's another one of St John Bosco.  There were several large mosaics in the church.

Moving Day

 The chicks are getting bigger, and the shed brooder was getting too crowded.

the turken, two meat birds, and one mystic rock

So, today, Lydia and I moved the chicks to the coop.

They were loving it!  There are little crickets and spiders in there, and the chicks were having a great time finding and eating them.

They also liked exploring the clump of grass I put in for them, and dust bathing in the ashes Lydia prepared.

So now there are 37 chicks in the chicken coop.  I will end up letting them in the first yard during the day, but not yet.  It will probably be in a couple of days, after they get well acclimated to the space and could use some outdoor time.

Update on the Chicks

 The chicks have grown a ton.  We have 37 total, 20 of which are meat birds.  They are the little yellow ones, and are about a week younger than the others.

They are obviously still in the shop, and will be for probably another week or two.  Nathaniel caught the raccoon last night, and we have been readying the coop for the new flock.  I want to make sure it is secure and ready before risking my baby chickens!

They all run to one side of the pen when I come in, but they do have plenty of room.

The Circus!

Yesterday, we got to go to a circus in a circus tent.  I had a blast, of course.  It was Emry's first circus, and Gyunay hadn't been to one in many years.  The boys were fascinated.

Emry said, "You have to do a circus pose for the circus!"

They had a very good juggling act, and I got to see something I've never seen in person before.  Lady Beast preformed Houdini's straightjacket escape while suspended from her feet.  It was pretty cool.

 

Yard Update

 So the septic system is installed.  It tore up more of the yard than I expected, but they smoothed it out nicely.  They will come back to finish grading after it rains a couple of times.

As you can see, my Mexican sunflower and tomato bed survived, but just barely.  They scraped right up against the blocks to that garden.

The green there is the remains of the herb circle that has been there since we moved in.  We had Malachi and Elijah remove the bricks, so when they do the final grading, it will just be part of the yard.

Now this area is going to be my new garden next spring.  I have to remove the rest of the vegetation around the edges, and I'm going to seed it with clover and buckwheat for a cover crop.  

Out front, the tanks are barely visible.  The pipe carrying the treated water runs underground until emptying into the small pond.

In other news, the chicks are doing great:

And Emry wanted his picture taken with Acorn: