Sally vs. the Mouse

I forgot to post pictures of the hen killing and eating a mouse.  I've seen a hen kill and eat a shrew before, but it's not something you see often.  This hen, who Lydia named Sally, caught one and was diligently trying to rip it into smaller pieces to swallow it yesterday afternoon.  

To be honest, I was surprised there was a mouse around for her to catch.  Our cats are pretty amazing killers.  However, they don't hunt around the chicken coop, so the hens apparently have to keep that area mouse-free.

 

Poultry

 Release the Quacken!

The ducks and the turkey are buddies.  They enjoy spending time together every day.  They also hang with the chickens.  I let them into the swing set yard when I'm around to supervise.  Otherwise, the chickens eat my seedlings in the gardens.

I don't know what was so exciting under these weeds, but the ducks loved this spot.  I'm guessing slugs, since we have a lot of those, and ducks are supposed to love them, but I'm not sure.

My friendly turkey is getting bigger.  She's very inquisitive.

And lastly, Lydia loved drama camp last week.  Here is one of her groups after performing two songs from Pirates of Penzance:

Lydia had a small speaking part in addition to the singing and dancing.  She did great.  In the second session, Lydia did improv in front of a live audience.  My girl's got skills!

 

Book Review - Among the Innocent by Mary Alford

 

I usually don't read books set among the Amish because I find most to be sentimental and not very dynamic, but this one, set between a formerly Amish police officer and the Amish community suffering from a string of murders, was very well done.  Among the Innocent by Mary Alford is suspenseful and intriguing.  It kept me interested throughout.  It is labeled as "romantic suspense", but I wouldn't call it a romance, despite the growing interest between the male and female leads.  I enjoyed the main character, Leah, very much.  The author also did a good job of weaving bits of Amish culture and language throughout the book without going heavy on explanation or leaving the reader wondering what she is talking about.  This book does chronicle the brutal murders of a serial killer, so it is not for everyone, but for those who like to read crime-solving mysteries, it is very good.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, Revell, for the purpose of writing a review, but all opinions are my own.  

Ren Faire!

We went to the Kentucky Renaissance Faire on Sunday.  The weather was great, and 5 of the kids plus Pilot's girlfriend came along to enjoy the festivities.

Bubble blowing was a hit with all ages.

Pilot and Malachi took a try at throwing knives.  Lydia, Gyunay, and Emry tried throwing stars.  None of us were particularly successful.  

After that point, Pilot and his girlfriend headed off to explore the shops, and Nathaniel and I stumbled onto the human hamster wheel sno-cone machine:

The kids ran on the wheel to grind the ice.  Then there were a series of handles to crank to move the cup down to the flavorings.

We saw a joust, a mud show, and some Vikings sing.  We explored shops and listened to a nice old man play a penny whistle for us.  We wandered through the fairy woods, and then we learned the game of rat pucking.  We didn't play, but the premise was amusing.  A stuffed rat is hit with sticks down the road, ultimately trying to get it into a bucket.  The player who gets his rat in the bucket with the least amount of tries wins.  (So, basically, a more interesting golf game.)

It's pretty amazing how much this Ren Faire has grown over the years.  The first time we went was 14 years ago, and it had only a few booths, one place for food, and sparse crowds.  Now it is really bustling with people, and they have added so many shops and food places, but the crowds mean lines at all of them.  Nathaniel and I kinda missed the old days of it, but it is a really nice festival.

 

Lincoln Hats

 

The kids enjoyed the History Center on Saturday.  It was Abe Lincoln day.

And then we spent Sunday at the Renaissance Festival.   The kids had a ball, and the weather was right.

I'll try to post more pictures of the fair tomorrow!

Growing Kids, Vegetables, and Turkeys

So, this guy turned 17 recently:

We celebrated that and have been settling into summer.  My King Tut peas are beautiful:

I shelled them and they were delicious in a Creole dish I cooked.  Also, the turkeys are growing like crazy:

They make lots of interesting noises that are different from the chicken noises or the duck noises.  The turkeys are especially friendly and inquisitive.

And here are some radish blooms:

I really enjoy growing radishes, at all stages.  Some of them grow typically, and we harvest and eat them.  Some of them bolt, like these.  I enjoy the beautiful flowers, and then we also sometimes get radish pods.  I like eating them fresh off the plant; they don't store well.  The pods I don't eat are left to fully mature seeds for next planting.

And do you see the tiny tomatoes growing?

This is one of my biggest plants.  Most of the tomato plants are no where near producing fruit, but I do have a few plants with blooms beside this one with the tiny tomatoes.

And next week?  Bible School!

 

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a good Memorial Day weekend, even if there were less visitors than there used to be.  Everyone seemed to have a great time.  Elijah went fishing with his buddies:

Our mama hen and her 3 chicks enjoy scratching and pecking:

The turkeys and chicks have grown:

We are down to 7 living meat birds.  The rest have been eaten or frozen.  (We had 23 originally.)

The ducks don't like to be handled, but the kids like petting them!

And we had our annual stair picture.  Elijah was at work, so he's not present.

 

Book Review - Fatal Code by Natalie Walters

 

Fatal Code, by Natalie Walters, is the second in the SNAP Agency series, but it does read as a stand-alone book.  Actually, I really liked the character Kekoa in the first book, and I was excited to read his story this time.  He and Elinor are both well-rounded characters that I enjoyed.  I liked discovering both of their backstories throughout the book.  This book has plenty of action and suspense, and the plot was engaging.  The end went just a bit too fast for me, but I won't spoil anything.  The themes of forgiveness and letting go of guilt were both very well done.  I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the next one!

I received this book from the publisher, Revell, for the purpose of writing a review, but all opinions are my own.

May Harvest Totals

Chickens - 9, for a total of 36.1 lbs of meat

Eggs - 163

Garlic Scapes - 13

Green Choy - 4 c

Kale - 2 c

Lettuce, heads of Little Gem - 4

Radishes - 29