Another day has come and gone. Although the weather didn't appear to be very favorable at first, it turned out to be a pretty amazing day. One of the crew was home sick today with weeping poison ivy. Poor kiddo was pretty miserable. Thankfully the benadryl kicked in and some topical ointment helped bring a little relief too. Just after lunch we donned our outside clothes and went to work.
Make no mistake, we are country bumpkins. The entire crew would spend all day long outdoors playing hard, getting dirty and creating some kind of masterpiece for all to view. They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree and in this case, the saying is true. Both Mom and Dad are outdoors lovers. It's certainly a trait that was passed down to them.
Today our day consisted of finishing up the chicken run and chicken coop. We wanted to move the "girls" (aka, chicks) from the house outside to their coop. As of this evening, I'm happy to report they are doing well and thriving in their new digs. They even had a few table scraps of green beans. I'm not sure that they will enjoy them much but we will see in the morning.
The coop ended up being a cobbled mess. It's difficult to convince a teenager that a chicken coop does NOT have to withstand the force of an elephant. Nor does it have to be 100% square, level and perfect. I love the boy but to work with him can be extremely frustrating sometimes. I tried to explain to him that our goal with the coop is to keep predators out and chicks in. He also has the concept that anything can be "approximate" and therefore some of the cutting he did resulted in pieces that were "too short". Measure twice, cut once!! Even so, Lord knows I love the boy. He's certainly stubborn and thick headed.
I was able to get the garden staked out. Last night I plotted on paper what I wanted and today it became a start to another season of gardening. The children all picked out certain veggies that they wanted to plant nearly a month ago. We went to our local dollar store and found seed packets for $.25. We started some of them two weeks ago and have watched the starter plants grow over the last 14 days. It has been so awesome to watch Jonathon check them every day to see which ones have gotten bigger.
I also took on the task of cleaning out the fire pit. Whomever had lived here previously made a burn pile (aka, fire pit to them) within steps of the back porch. After cleaning it up, it was obvious that they had no discretion on what went into that pit either. Literally, anything they could light on fire went into that pit. I was lucky enough to have the displeasure of cleaning that mess up and removing it from my yard. It was an awful eye sore. Hopefully as the weeks progress, I will be able to get it transformed into a more desireable and functioning bon-fire pit. The kids are looking forward to many evenings out by the fire. Momma is waiting to lay on the blanket under the stars and watch the shooting stars fall. I can picture many summer nights of late bedtimes in our near future. (At least they will be home with Mom and not out running the streets with some punk kids causing trouble).
Along with the chicken and garden tasks, I tackled another section of the lawn. As a part of teaching the kiddos responsibility and hard work, we have been sectioning off our 2 acre lawn and mowing daily...with a push mower! It's great exercise and I don't mind doing it. The kiddos; however, have been pretty unhappy when it comes time for them to mow their section. They are learning that there is always work to be done and there are certain responsibilities that you must take on in order to get what you want in life.
The kiddos love living in the country. They love having space to run, ride bikes, build contraptions only they can identify, raise animals and just be carefree. I love it too! For the last three years, we have moved five different times. I can finally say that where we are now feels like home. It fulfills so many desires that each of us had in our hearts. It helps us build back up so many of the things that were lost and broken along these years. Each of us are happier and I can't wait to watch the kids enjoy all that this home/location has to offer them.
Along with the outdoor chores came the indoor responsibilities. Sweeping, mopping, vacuuming and laundry all made the list tonight. Dinner was cooked by the amazing Miss Kate (Stuffed chicken with broccoli & cheese, green beans and chicken noodles). Dishes were washed after dinner. Showers were taken. Homework was completed. School clothes and backpacks were prepped for the morning and the kiddos were all snuggled into bed for a peaceful nights sleep.
I'd say it was a pretty successful day here. I hope you all had a great day as well. I'm headed off to bed shortly. Sweet dreams my friends.
~Mother Hen
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