Animal and Garden Update

Midnight still loves to sit on the roof of the carport.  I climb up there with her most days.  She and Panther are still great at killing all the rodents and most small birds in the vicinity.  They are now 6 years old!

All together, here is the list of animals we have:
2 cats

2 dogs

1 bunny

1 turkey

1 rooster

15 hens

26 meat bird chicks

I spend a fair amount of time taking care of animals right now, and I've been plenty busy with gardening.  The potatoes are growing great.  The peas and radishes are growing outside.  The carrots sprouted, and I transplanted cabbages outside.  Most of the seedlings are still in the sunroom, where they will remain until May, as it's too soon to plant tomatoes, etc.  I have also been transforming garden areas.  We are moving the huglekultur bed.  Since we have 3 sons who drive (and their friends visiting), the sun couldn't get to it well because of all the cars around here.  So, we are relocating the dirt.  A lot of it went into the new potato garden.  The old huglekultur spot will be another parking space.  I have been expanding the gardens outside the fence, since Nathaniel took down those trees for me.  The peas and strawberries are thriving over there, and I am still working on making it a large garden.

 

Book Review - The Elusive Truth of Lily Temple by Joanna Davidson Politano

 

I love Joanna Davidson Politano's writing.  I have read all of her books, and each has been very enjoyable.  This story uses no less beautiful imagery and lyrical writing!  I was hooked from the start, and the storytelling is incredible.  The Christian faith of the author shines through in a lovely way, not beating the reader over the head.  This many-layered story will enchant readers.  The main characters, Lily and Peter, are both interesting, and their interactions are so well-written.  I will be rereading this one in the future.  I highly recommend this book.

I did receive a copy of this book from the publisher, but all opinions are my own.  And I'm purchasing a copy to give as a gift because it's that good, and I don't want to give up my copy.  

Field Trips

 We've had some busy days lately.  Nathaniel's sister came and watched the kids so we could get away for a bit.  We explored Frankfort a bit and then headed to Georgetown, where we stumbled onto Ward Hall.  Check out the doors!  

Doors this big and thick were on every room and closet (and there were lots of closets).

There is also a double elliptical staircase:

They told us that it is the only one in the U.S.

We also stumbled onto a group doing dances in costume on the second floor ballroom, but I didn't get any pictures of that.  I was taking pictures for a participant. :)

The craftsmanship in the upstairs is incredible, but the real gem of the house for me was the basement, where 7 slaves lived to keep up the house.

The family was only there in the summers, so these 7 people were in charge of keeping up the enormous house all year, ready for any visitors that could drop in.

Surprisingly, the fixtures in the basement are really nice, including wall paper and spacious rooms.

It was certainly not the norm, but it was very interesting.  Again, the craftsmanship!  

Yesterday, the younger boys and I headed to St. Meinrad with some of our homeschool group.  Our retired priest friend graciously offered to give our group an all-day tour.

The boys loved it!  We had a great, albeit exhausting, day!

Gyunay specifically asked for a picture of this painting of a turkey:

It was on the ceiling of an interesting room in the former monks' quarters.  (The monks have a newer building to live in now.  We didn't see any of that, of course.)

And I don't think I mentioned them, but the meat birds arrived last Thursday:

They look very healthy and are so cute and fluffy.  We do love the chick stage.

Fairy Penguins!

 For as long as anyone can remember, Lydia has wanted to be a zoologist.  I don't remember her ever wanting to be anything else.  So this year, for her 15th birthday, we got her a behind-the-scenes zoo tour.  Since she is a minor, she had to have a parent with her, and I was lucky enough to get to go.  

Yes, that is a fairy penguin peeking out from between Lydia's shoes.  Her name is Mannin.

She came to visit me, too.

We also got to see the black-footed ferret breeding program.  That was really fascinating.  The keeper explained all about the program, and we got to see the ferrets. 

The highlight, though, was that we got to pet a fairy penguin.  

Lydia and I were both very, very happy!

Book Review - The Lady with the Dark Hair by Erin Bartels

 

I've read several books by Erin Bartels, but she has raised the bar with The Lady with the Dark Hair.  I really enjoyed this book.  It goes between a modern-day woman in her 40s who feels trapped caring for her schizophrenic mother and a young woman in the 1880s with a mysterious past.  Tying the two stories together is the painting of the lady with the dark hair.  I loved both stories, and it is often the case that one is more compelling than the other, but in this case, both threads were weighted equally. The stories were very different, but both resonated with me.  It is a balancing act to have two disparate stories in two time periods, but Bartels pulls it off well in this novel.  The writing is engaging.  People who know a bit about art will recognize some famous artists with cameos in the story.  

I highly recommend this beautifully written book.  I didn't want to put it down!

I received a copy of the book from the publisher, but all opinions are my own.

Cabin, Eclipse, and More

 We had a great end to spring break.  We headed to the cabin for the weekend and met up with my family for an egg hunt extravagnza.

Fishing was a favorite activity as well.

We also celebrated some birthdays.  It's hard to believe that Elijah is 21 and Lydia is 15!

Next up, we went to my parents' house to see the total eclipse of the sun!

My sister gave some eclipse lessons, too.

It was a very busy but fun weekend!

Happy Easter! And March Harvest Totals

 

I didn't get any pictures when we were all dressed up for Easter Vigil.  But I did get some candid shots from our egg hunts in the yard yesterday.

Malachi and Pilot hid eggs for Lydia, Emry, and Gyunay, then Lydia hid eggs for Elijah and Malachi, with a bit of help from Gyunay and Emry.  

The weather was gorgeous and the rain held off, so we enjoyed a lot of time outside.

Our puppies were spayed on Thursday.  Acorn is still being cautious and quieter than usual.  Maple is pretty much unstoppable at this point.

And I planted the rest of the potatoes!  Nathaniel and Elijah finished the concrete block for me, and the kids worked on bringing dirt for me.  Now I have the potatoes planted, and I'm looking forward to a good harvest.  I planted 9 red potatoes and 3 yellow potatoes.

And in March, the chickens have laid eggs like crazy!  We had 225, plus I found a clutch of about 30 that we couldn't eat.  I've been getting 12-15 eggs a day!