Fun with Pigs

Cadiz, Kentucky has a traditional ham festival every fall, and the town is decorated in lots of pigs.  The kids naturally love this, so we had some fun taking pictures with pigs.

We also headed to Paducah one day.  I'd never been to Paducah before, and it was a nice day trip for us.  The highlight was definitely the tour we had at the Hotel Metropolitan:

It's a Green Book hotel, and it's being restored and turned into an African American Museum.  The curator gave us an incredible tour that was entirely in persona of the original owner of the hotel, Ms. Maggie.  Nathaniel and I frequent historic tours, and this one was by far one of the best!

 

1850s Homeplace in Land Between the Lakes

While we were at the cabin, we enjoyed visiting many sites around there.  One favorite of mine is the 1850s homeplace.  It has a farm set up as it would have looked in Land Between the Lakes in the 1850s.  

Lydia naturally gravitated towards all the animals.  They had pigs (guinea hogs), ducks (cayuga), chickens (dominiques), sheep (Leichester I think), and mules.  

The pig was begging for a treat.

We miss our sheep.  These sheep were pretty agreeable.  We petted all 6 of them.

 

Cabin Vacation

 We had a great week at my parents' cabin on Lake Barkley!  

Emry and Gyunay enjoyed fishing several times over the week.  They didn't catch much, but they weren't skunked.  

All 5 of the kids who came enjoyed tubing.  

Fun with Cousins

Two weeks ago, my sister and two of her kids came to visit.  We enjoyed a zoo trip together.

Pilot had a birthday!

He's 20 now, so I have 3 sons in their twenties.

And Lydia lettered in track for pole vault!

 

May Harvest Totals and Yogurt

 

May harvests were small.  The weather has been really nice, but cool and rainy quite a bit lately.  The radishes bolted due to early heat, before this cooler snap.  I hope to see the garden grow a lot in June.

Eggs - 186

Garlic scapes - 37

Pea pods - 2 1/2 cups

Radishes - 4

Strawberries - 4 cups

Tatsoi (a leafy green) - 1 cup

Also, the kids got me a simple yogurt making jar system for Christmas, and I finally used it.

I made yogurt!  Wonderful, creamy, delicious yogurt!

Gyunay and I have already eaten half the quart jar.  I will be making more soon, possibly today.

Obligatory Stair Picture and Peonies

 

I planted two peony bushes years ago, but I never got a single bud.  Until...now!  This year, I grew two glorious peonies.  I picked one, and put it in Lydia's vase:

She had to make a ceramic vase that didn't look like a typical vase for art class.  I think it turned out very well.  Rabbits in top hats fit well into our house.

And more from last weekend:

The boys enjoyed a busy game of basketball with cousins and neighbors.

The chickens are doing well.

And, of course, we took the obligatory stairwell picture:

Cavies and Pole Vaults

 

We had Nathaniel's customary Memorial Day kayak/canoe trip this weekend, so Eric and his family stayed with us.  Nathaniel's sisters and family stayed at his parents' house, so our house was not crowded at night.  Saturday morning, our family and Eric's headed to the farmer's market and downtown, where we got to enjoy an unusual petting zoo:

Pigs, goats, a chicken, and a cavy (see top picture!)

Last week, before all the company arrived, Nathaniel and I got to see Lydia compete in Regionals.

These are pictures from a few of her jumps.  She did great!  

She even ended up getting a third place medal.  She also had her last violin concert of the year.  I didn't get any pictures of that, because from my seat, you couldn't see her head at all.  The stand was directly in the way.  But they played beautifully.

Cicadas

We have so many cicadas this year.  There's a constant buzz in the air, and the bugs are coming up and leaving their shells all over the place.  This is the gooseberry bush, covered in cicada shells.  It is also covered in little gooseberries!

Acorn looks funny here.  She has been having a ball hunting cicadas.  By this, I mean she actually hunts them.  She sniffs around in the grass until she finds one, and then she eats it.  It doesn't seem to have hurt her.

 

May Happenings

Emry is still enjoying basketball.  Several siblings and Nana and Pa made it to last weekend's game.

Lydia had her violin recital, and she's been busy with track.  Gyunay continues to swim once a week.

And now, Emry and Gyunay are enjoying a little camping trip with Grandma and Grandpa:

I've been busy in the garden, mulching and planting and weeding.  My sage is blooming very prettily: