Dialing it Back a Notch
Well, things around here have been both hectic and non-eventful, but such is the life of a mothers, farmers, and those who own their own business!
Roy was gone all last week for energy audit training for his business, Chinook Energy. That left me in charge of the chickens, guineas, cats, dog, keets in the brooder, and the garden. Mostly, I just had more feeding, watering, and cleaning up to do, but it took a hunk out of my day - let me tell you! Plus, I had Melise helping every step of the way, which sometimes was more of a hindrance than help.
I teased Roy when he left that we would have terrible weather while he was gone and it turned out to be true! This left me alone to watch the sky and radar for tornadoes and thunder storms. I seem to lack skill in this area. I don't have the proper instincts for when to be scared and when to relax. That meant that I stayed up till midnight many nights to make sure the "tornado watch" for our county would be cleared by the National Weather Service before I could sleep.
The very first night Roy was gone, a storm moved in around 6pm. It wasn't a bad storm, but I stood around tapping my toes because I couldn't go out to do my evening chores until it passed. I mean I could have gone out during the storm, but I had to take Melise with me and it's not fun to monitor a toddler in pouring rain while trying to accomplish something. Plus, there was the lightning danger that I didn't want to expose her to, although it is slight. So, I waited impatiently, hoping the storm would clear before the sun set. And suddenly it did! The sun hovered just above the horizon, so I quickly through shoes and jackets on Melise and myself and ran outside. First, I had to close the chicken house and count the birds. Then I checked on our keets that are still in their brooder. Finally, I had one special chore to do: collect guinea eggs.
You see, the guineas built a new nest out in some tall grass. When one of the hens went broody on it, we tried to transfer her and the nest into a special box that would protect her from predators. She didn't like that idea and got away from us. After that she wouldn't sit on the nest anymore. So in those twilight hours after the storm, I waded through the wet grass to collect the eggs for our incubator. Melise and I made it back in the house right as the sun set.
The whole week went in a haze with many nights of dodging storms to do our chores. We are glad to have Roy back home!
Overall, I didn't accomplish much last week, other than holding down the fort. That got me thinking that half the year is gone now and I have a pile of projects that are getting ignored while this blog gets most of my attention. I hate to ever consider quitting this little project, but I need to give those other projects a chance - especially since some of them might help keep this family afloat! SOooo, I'm going to dial my blogging back a notch for a while, like to just one post a week. I know that will be a turn-off to many people who like to check in almost daily for news, but you can make it easier on yourself by subscribing to the blogs so you get it by email (see the link in the side panel) or see updates on Facebook by hitting the "Like" button in the side panel. I'm really sorry to have to do this, but I will still be here and maybe if I can get a few other projects going then I can come back full strength!
A few announcements before I go! We will have young adult guineas for sale in a few weeks. Also, the kittens will be old enough to go to new homes starting next week. Email susan@ourhaxtunlife.com if you are interested in either.
Oh yeah, and call Roy at 888-520-1258 if you are interested in an energy audit for your home!
See you all next week . . .
Roy was gone all last week for energy audit training for his business, Chinook Energy. That left me in charge of the chickens, guineas, cats, dog, keets in the brooder, and the garden. Mostly, I just had more feeding, watering, and cleaning up to do, but it took a hunk out of my day - let me tell you! Plus, I had Melise helping every step of the way, which sometimes was more of a hindrance than help.
I teased Roy when he left that we would have terrible weather while he was gone and it turned out to be true! This left me alone to watch the sky and radar for tornadoes and thunder storms. I seem to lack skill in this area. I don't have the proper instincts for when to be scared and when to relax. That meant that I stayed up till midnight many nights to make sure the "tornado watch" for our county would be cleared by the National Weather Service before I could sleep.
The very first night Roy was gone, a storm moved in around 6pm. It wasn't a bad storm, but I stood around tapping my toes because I couldn't go out to do my evening chores until it passed. I mean I could have gone out during the storm, but I had to take Melise with me and it's not fun to monitor a toddler in pouring rain while trying to accomplish something. Plus, there was the lightning danger that I didn't want to expose her to, although it is slight. So, I waited impatiently, hoping the storm would clear before the sun set. And suddenly it did! The sun hovered just above the horizon, so I quickly through shoes and jackets on Melise and myself and ran outside. First, I had to close the chicken house and count the birds. Then I checked on our keets that are still in their brooder. Finally, I had one special chore to do: collect guinea eggs.
You see, the guineas built a new nest out in some tall grass. When one of the hens went broody on it, we tried to transfer her and the nest into a special box that would protect her from predators. She didn't like that idea and got away from us. After that she wouldn't sit on the nest anymore. So in those twilight hours after the storm, I waded through the wet grass to collect the eggs for our incubator. Melise and I made it back in the house right as the sun set.
The whole week went in a haze with many nights of dodging storms to do our chores. We are glad to have Roy back home!
Overall, I didn't accomplish much last week, other than holding down the fort. That got me thinking that half the year is gone now and I have a pile of projects that are getting ignored while this blog gets most of my attention. I hate to ever consider quitting this little project, but I need to give those other projects a chance - especially since some of them might help keep this family afloat! SOooo, I'm going to dial my blogging back a notch for a while, like to just one post a week. I know that will be a turn-off to many people who like to check in almost daily for news, but you can make it easier on yourself by subscribing to the blogs so you get it by email (see the link in the side panel) or see updates on Facebook by hitting the "Like" button in the side panel. I'm really sorry to have to do this, but I will still be here and maybe if I can get a few other projects going then I can come back full strength!
A few announcements before I go! We will have young adult guineas for sale in a few weeks. Also, the kittens will be old enough to go to new homes starting next week. Email susan@ourhaxtunlife.com if you are interested in either.
Oh yeah, and call Roy at 888-520-1258 if you are interested in an energy audit for your home!
See you all next week . . .
Posted by Susan at June 14, 2010 
Categories: Rural Living
Tags: energy audit haxtun kitten northeast phillips county keets colorado sale north east guinea
Categories: Rural Living
Tags: energy audit haxtun kitten northeast phillips county keets colorado sale north east guinea
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