Memorial Day Projects

I found myself strangely emotional this morning, thinking of all those who have given their life for the freedoms we enjoy.  My heart was full, as well, remembering all our friends still serving in dangerous places around the world. Freedom truly comes with responsibility. May we be worthy of the price paid for our freedom - in both the spiritual and national realms.

Michael's back is still not better. We need a new med on Friday and he is feeling some relief. We have joked about the side effects...dizziness, blurry vision, imbalance....um giving these to a parky....well let's just say the Parkinson's meds are supposed to help with these very issues. 😏 He's a good sport. For the most part, he's stayed in bed. It's safer that way.  We will go into Anchorage to the VA clinic for x-rays tomorrow.

The kids and I got started on a few projects. Lucille, our free range hen, was determined to get into the chicken yard today. We put her in - AGAIN. Our girls are MEAN and have been pecking at her again. We watched her throughout the day. It will be nice for her if she can be re-integrated with the flock.

Lucille is our new favorite. We nursed her back to health
when the weasel chomped on her...and then again when
the mean girls pecked her side open wide. 

The de-thatching attachment arrived for the lawn mower. The boys put it together earlier in the week. Alex had started thatching the yard - and then it POURED. He finished today. 

We have eight week old chicks. They are NOT big enough to be in the chicken yard with our mean girls. We are hoping to wait until Phoenix, the new little roo, is full grown and can put the girls in their place, before we bring them together. The brooder is too small for them. We don't want to build another Chicken Taj Mahal.....but something has to be done.

Alex (and Benny) brought out the fencing I salvaged from the ditch last year. 

If one can't carry fencing, rolling on it is the next most helpful thing to do. 

Cory had to work today. We were very happy for Arielle and Benny's help. We strung the fencing on the t-posts which are up for the garden spot. 

We carried the brooder out. Phoenix seemed determined to keep the girls inside.  

They eventually got the idea there is a big world outside the brooder. 

We moved them back inside for the night. We have lots of predators out here. We had an Eagle and hawk circling today.  I have an idea of how to build a temporary coop for them. This evening, all the mean girls went inside the  coop to roost. Lucille stood outside and waited to be taken to her kennel in the garage. LOL 

We had a panel blow out of the greenhouse during our big windstorm last night. It seems good as new now. It was 110* inside. I opened a window. Ah, I love sitting inside the greenhouse. 

Josiah called to see if we would be up for them coming out to grill. What FUN! We hadn't had everyone together since Easter.

Alex says the highlight of the day was driving my van for the first time. He needed to move it so he could drive the tractor to the side yard. I thought Michael had been giving him pointers. He hasn't.  Which is how I ended up in front a mini-van bearing down on me, while I shouted, "Find the brake! FIND THE BRAKE." He did. We laughed. Not the most helpful directions - but all's well. I showed him a few things and he backed it up like a pro.