Sun, Chickens and Family Visits

It was a fairly "warm" day today (in the 20's). The sun was shining bright and we all wanted to get outside. Michael and Alex  continued to re-work the chicken coop.  

As I headed out, Arielle told Benny to get his winter cloths on and he could go outside too. Hilarious. 

Daddy's big shoes to fill

Yesterday, Rosie, our favorite hen, was killed. That makes 4 hens we've lost this week. Michael put out live traps - no results as of yet. He and Alex took advantage of the nice weather to install two new vents.

Our poor, bedraggled flock. We have 12 now. We started with 18 in the spring. 

They made it outside! They even took a walk around the neighborhood. 

Jared is town this weekend. He will go back to the zoo in Juneau tomorrow.  He and Larissa came by this evening. Benny came up the stairs and was fine with Auntie Riss - but then he saw Jared. He reached for Uncle Alex.

It didn't take Benny long to warm up to Jared. 

Gentle Hands

 

It was fun to catch up with Jared. An enjoyable day all the way around.....about that Gherkin scowl?

It's terribly out of focus so I won't enlarge it - but THIS is the look I get when I don't let him through the gate at the bottom of the stairs. LOL

The Joy of February in Alaska

Winter is not without appeal! One simply has to bundle up. 

These kids actually missed winter cold and snow when we moved to California. They are happy to live in a place with a real winter.

As for me?  Alaska IS beautiful in the winter. I do find myself dreaming of summer more often these days.

The Perfect Writing Program

I have searched for the perfect language arts, grammar, writing program.  Sometimes I am SURE I've found it - like when our 14 yo "completed" a novel and attended a writer's conference in CO. Other times, I'm sure I've not found it. I'm sure part of this has to do with a person's individual bent.....

One of Michael's pastimes in retirement is a continuation of his years as a chaplain. He edits: research papers, book reviews, class assignments from under-grad and graduate students, blog posts and ministry publicity.....

I have observed this. I see how those he edits, over time, gain a mastery of grammar and writing. I've finally found the perfect grammar writing program for our two at home. It's brutal - but if one's emotions can handle the red ink - it works.

Just write......and let Dad edit it....you'll learn about all sorts of things I didn't even know existed...and I've used a lot of grammar curriculum through thirty-one years of homeschooling.... I'm done looking for the perfect program.

Ode to Jamin or Jamin is 28

Jamin - the son that caused us to question the parenting philosophies of our time; and made us better parents in the process.  Much of the spiritual transformation in my life came about as being the mother of Jamin as a toddler and pre-schooler. LOL

Jamin never learned to walk - he learned to run....and he hasn't stopped. He's raced through school, college (setting track/cross country records there), 2 master's programs, and now he lives in Alaska, where he is a budding realtor.

Jamin has a well-honed sense of adventure. Some in our family refuse to accompany him on his death marches - mountain hikes.

Nolan, Jamin, Jared, Josiah

He's gone places I dream of going....and gone there in style. 

The obnoxious American abroad

Ted Dekker and Jamin at the 2016 ACFW writers conference 

Today - Jamin is 28. My how time flies. He had an appointment at a house here in the valley this afternoon. We were able to catch dinner with him tonight - and tomorrow he closes on a house and then flies to Texas for a visit.  We look forward to watching God lead Jamin to new adventures and always closer to His side. 

For those wondering - Fancy Feathers is still in prison. The others have shown no new injuries and we haven't lost any more hens.....we will keep watching. 

Alaska's Perks

The best perk of living in Alaska is not the wonderful weather, spectacular scenery, the annual PFDs, or the wildlife. The best perk Alaska offers is being close to family. I am still amazed  how God worked this out for our Air Force family, which was dropping children, one by one,  around the lower 48.

Monday, Stacia and I went to BreZaak's to watch Gideon and Bella. Bre had a dental appointment and then they went out for lunch. Josiah was visiting at the house - he, Michael and Alex dropped by as well. Josiah helped Stacia and Gideon make an awesome fort. The kids spent the rest of our time together playing in the fort!

Arielle has a great job working for a post-partum specialist. She works 3 days a week and can take Benny. They have discovered he does well for 2 days, but 3 days in a row is a bit much. Cory has been promoted to management at Freddies and is no longer able to keep Benny on Tuesdays. I get to watch him. We come upstairs in the afternoon and find other people to play with too.

Benny does his best to help Auntie with Hiragana.

He is Grandpa's shadow....

Monday, Michael and Alex had completely cleaned out the coop. They checked for holes, rats nests - anything to explain what happened to Trusty on Saturday. No answers. 

Tuesday morning I noted several of our chickens now have missing feathers - not just Rosie. Tuesday afternoon, Michael found two hens DEAD in the coop. Various parts of them had been eaten. It was gross and they didn't tell me until AFTER Bible Study that evening.  They did another complete sweep and search of the coop.  There are no prints in the snow (there have been in the past), no hair in the coop, no signs of a predator. They noted an aggressive Easter Egger hen had no missing feathers or wounds.....they isolated her. She is now living in a cage on top of my freezer in the garage.  We have lost 3 hens in 3 days. 

Our research shows this sort of injury (sparing you the graphic details and photos) is caused by weasels, mink, ermine or CANNIBALISM.  We suspect this hen has turned on her flock mates. We are watching to see what happens in the next couple of days. 

Yuuki is happy one of the humans have finally discovered the joys of resting in the sun. LOL 

For those who have asked....Yuuki is nearing 14 years old according to the vet. There have been several times we've thought the end was imminent - but she continues to rally. I do make all her food for her now - she can't handle the processed food from the vet or pet stores.

Sad Saturday - Sedate Sunday

Saturday evening was sad around here. We lost our first hen. I'll spare you the photo. We took a photo of her insides hanging out to see if one of my chicken loving friends had an idea of how to save her. She didn't. We cried; Michael and Cory butchered Trusty. Trusty followed us around. She was gentle and sweet.

We set about trying to find the problem. No firm conclusions yet.

Sunday is filled with work for Nolan, church and family for the rest of us. In the evening, we gathered around for a few games of Farkle. 

 We "hear" Nolan's work schedule will be changing soon and he will "probably" have weekends off.

Grandpa Teaches Benny a New Trick

Benny loves to come upstairs to visit "his people."  There is a gate at the bottom of the stairs, but he takes advantage of any opportunity to come up.

Unfortunately, his technique for climbing down this flight and a second longer flight leaves much to be desired.

Grandpa decided to teach Benny a safer way to get down the stairs. 

He was happy to go down with Michael, but he's determined, when left on his own, to walk down like all the other humans. 

We are blessed to have the grandblessings close by.