Water the Poultry

To my husband, whom I love,

I think you know that I don't mind tending to the chickens and turkeys.  I even enjoy knowing that I am doing something to help you out.  Since we no longer have a rooster, which I need to fend off with a rake, I don't mind opening or closing the coop, feeding the birds or collecting eggs.  You have probably noticed, however, that I usually avoid giving them water.  This is partly because it is too hard for me to lift a full watering can up to its hook, and partly because I am lazy.

Tonight, I closed the coop and collected the eggs.  I noticed that the lower feeder for the young hens was empty, so I fed them a bit.  I noticed that the watering can for the older hens was dry.

"What?  That can't be right," I thought.  "Steve and his dad are so diligent about taking care of the chickens."  I double checked.  Dry.

I took down the watering can.  As I left the coop, the four or five hens inside started chasing me, pecking at the watering can, and trying to get out the door.  I had to push them back inside with my foot.

I brought back a couple of gallons of water, so that the watering can had plenty of water but was not too heavy for me to lift one handed.  As I entered the coop, all 8 of the older hens rushed the door like a pack of defensive linemen.  I paused for a moment in the coop and had the rather odd experience of having eight hens gathered all around my feet drinking water.  I wished I hadn't worn my sandals.

After I hung up the watering can, a couple of them continued to drink, while the others pecked at whatever drops fell down the roost.  I think they were thirsty.

I turned around and realized that I had let the coop door swing shut and lock me in.  Steve, darling, thank you for leaving the chicken wire at the corner of the window loose so that I could reach around and unlatch myself.

Please water the poultry.

Julia is 6

Julia is six years old.

In the last year she has
become a good little reader,
learned to swim across the pool with flippers,
grown and grown and grown (somebody put a book on this child's head)
started making up her own jokes,
become much less shy at school,
made pink into a way of life,
started (mostly) bathing herself,
and developed an affinity for crafts.

We had her birthday party on Saturday when both sets of grandparents could attend. I asked her what she wanted for her cake this year.  Her request was specific.  "I want a brownie instead of a cake.  With Nutella and whipped cream on top. And sprinkles."  I like the way my girl thinks.  Instead of ice cream, she picked out Popsicles.

We also asked her what she would like for her birthday dinner.  She asked for mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, and corn muffins.  We added some steaks and hot dogs for the meat to give the meal a little staying power.

She spent some of her afternoon helping her daddy clear beds around a few trees.

She made a point of changing into her little purple dress before having cake (brownie) and ice cream (popsicles).

She got some neat gifts including a Spa Lab, a remote control bird, and a scooter.

I love that Julia is a fancy girl who is not afraid of insects.  I love that she is daring to do cannon balls off the diving board and try roller coasters.  I love that she has a good head for math and reading.  I love that she will sit and listen to "The Horse and His Boy" to give daddy and I a little break from "The Pink Princess Rules the School."  I love her in all her sparkly wonderfulness.

COSI & Graduation Party

A couple of weekends ago Paul, Julia and I took a trip through central Ohio to attend my cousin's high school graduation party.  Steve and I had agreed that the trip would be a little too long and too late in the evening for Petra to enjoy, so he stayed home with her.

Here are some highlights and adventures from the trip:

In the morning we went to the Center of Science and Industry, a neat children's museum.  Paul and Julia got to sit in a big excavator. 

They learned that they could lift their own weight with a 4 pulley system, but not with a 2 pulley system. 

They saw that sound waves can make Styrofoam balls line up in stacks.

They really enjoyed the whispering disks.  Two large elliptical disks placed about 50 feet apart allow a person whispering at one focal point to be heard at the other focal point.  It's pretty wild.

Paul did a great job of stacking blocks to illustrate a food chain pyramid.  Julia demonstrated her expertise on the life cycles of butterflies and frogs.

Paul and Julia bought their own souvenirs.  Julia got a small toy, and Paul bought a venus fly trap.  He named it Yum-yum.  Steve and Paul have been loving on it since.

I got a little lost in city traffic once or twice.  I'm glad I have a good head for getting back to known locations.  I think my family is about to force a GPS on me.  I will never know where I am, but I will always know when to turn.

They way to the party - I love rural roads through rolling farmland.

Julia and Paul entertained themselves by reading a Rapunzel book backwards.  

When we got to the party, Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Carrie, and cousin Emma were already there.  Julia spent most of the evening attending to (playing with?) Emma.  She loved it when Emma gave her a hug.

Paul and Julia found some other children to run around with, and spent some time on an outdoor playground. 

I had a chance to chat with some extended family that I don't get to see very often.  They are warm and welcoming people, and I don't make it out their direction nearly enough.

It was nice to see my grandmother's eyes in my great uncle's face. 

Evening set in, and it was time to go home.

We listened to a recorded book and Julia fell asleep.

I was grateful for the late sunset that gave me more daylight driving hours.

When we got home, we gently woke Julia because Steve had set up her telescope to see Saturn.  The rings were quite visible.  Amazing.

Paul helping

Yesterday morning Paul, Julia and Petra were at grandma's house.  Paul was wandering into or out of the bathroom when Petra showed up and told him that she wanted to sit on the potty.  Mind you, Petra has not made a lot of potty-training progress, but she does like having books read to her while she sits.

Paul obliged her.  He took her shorts and diaper off for her and sat down to read to her.  By the time Grandma came to investigate where they had gone, Paul was halfway through the third book.

What a nice big brother!

Close to bees

Walking in from the garage, Petra dawdles.  She studies an ant.  She picks juniper berries from the bushes.
"Petra, it's time to come in.  Do you want to see cartoon?  Or would you like to look at the honeybee?"  Our yard is full of white clover, and our clover is rich with honeybees.  It is a sight that makes me glad.
She answers, "Honeybee?"  She comes close to me and we squat down to see the bee.
We've talked about bees before.  "You remember not to touch them, right? Because they can sting."
She remembers.
It flies from flower to flower.  It sticks its head in and pauses.  Moves, sticks its head in, and pauses.  Oops, that was a dry flower.  No pause.
First one and then two honeybees fly quite close to us, working, and we are still.
Petra says, "It's drinking nectar."
"That's right.  And what does it make with the nectar?"  I wonder if she will answer, "Yogurt," like Paul did at that age.
She pauses and pulls up the word, "Honey."
They are so close we can hear their wings buzz.  We can see their graceful, black, jointed legs, the fuzz on the thorax and their faceted eyes.  I am in wonder that Petra can be so still and attentive.  She is not afraid, nor is she trying to harass them.

Then the moment passes.  Petra makes a quick move.  The bees move off, and so do we.

First Family Trip to King's Island

For the last two years (at least) Paul and Julia have been asking to go to King's Island.  They have heard stories about King's Island from their classmates and thought it sounded wonderful.

We tried to find a time to go last summer, but we got busy and it didn't work out.

Last week, Steve said on Tuesday, "Let's go to King's Island on Thursday."  Thursday was Paul and Julia's first day off from school.  The weather was supposed to be mild and fair.  Many local schools were still in session.  Okay, let's do it!

We didn't tell the kids until Thursday morning.  We arrived as the park was opening and left just a little before it closed at 8.  We managed the whole day without any sunburns, blisters, scrapes or major meltdowns.  Petra even napped in the stroller for an hour or so.

First things first, Julia, Petra and I went up in the Eiffel Tower.  Julia was soon zipping around the observation deck and pressing her face up to the grating to see everything.  Petra stayed in my arms and asked to go back to daddy.

Paul is just tall enough to start riding roller coasters.  He and Steve rode the Adventure Express and the Racer while Julia, Petra, and I scoped out some other rides and took a turn on the carousel.  The Racer maxed out Paul's thrill level.  He did well on it, and didn't freak out, but Steve said that he sunk way down in his seat and looked pretty scared by the time they got to the second hill.  Even so, Paul was exuberant when he got off.

Paul and Julia enjoyed the Monster and the Scrambler.  I went on the Scrambler and Paul and Julia thought it was really funny that they were squishing me.

After lunch (Skyline!) we took the train ride.  The biggest disappointment of the day was that Julia was too short for the White Water Canyon.  Steve thought for sure she was tall enough, and she was even on the raft, when the operator came to double check her height.  I was waiting with Petra at the exit when a very nearly teary Julia rejoined us by herself.  But she recovered from her disappointment very quickly and we moved on to the kiddie area of the park.

I thought it was really sweet that Julia was too timid for one ride (Linus Launcher), but having Paul come with her was enough for her to try it.  Later she went on the same ride by herself.

Petra loved the carousels (at least 5 rides) and the toddler cars (3 rides).  She did not care so much for the little helicopters. The went very slowly on an elevated track.  She was very quiet and serious for the whole ride and asked "Can we go to the ground now?" when we got to the end.  She really didn't care for the haunted house.  We rode it all together as a family, and she spent the whole time with her nose buried in Steve's shoulder and a little toddler death grip on him until we came back into the sunlight.  We hurried right over to the toddler cars afterward to make it up to her.

One thing that Julia was really looking forward to was the "Beastie."  It has been renamed "Woodstock Express" and it is a small roller coaster.  Steve rode it with them, and Paul and Julia loved it.  They rode it twice in a row, and the second time, Paul even put his hands up in the air.

Steve's one big roller coaster this trip was the Diamond Back.  He really enjoyed it. (Paul says, "It scared the pants off of him.")  He's looking forward to when the kids are a little bigger and interested in going on the big coasters with him.

And there was no way we could escape without some ice cream.