Paradox

I'm just blogging on Sunday to remind you that I don't blog on Sundays. Got that?

Saturday Farm Report

It is mid-January, and, at this time of year, a girl's heart turns to thoughts of...

Yep. Gardening.

Last year was one of the worst gardens we're ever had, in terms of what got used in proportion to what got planted. Part of that was due to the drought that came through last summer, and part of that was due to that job-thing I found for myself.

I usually peruse the catalogs in January, buy some seed that looks promising and exciting, and also some that I've used before and enjoyed. This year I can't really start seeds inside, as my usual spot, our breezeway, has become a cathouse. Now, before you call the police on me, we have no red lights in our breezeway. We do, however, have 5 cats who spend the night in there, toasty warm. And they eat plants. So my starts would be doomed.

This year I'll be hitting the garden centers and even WalMart for my starts. It will limit the varieties I can use, that's true. But, on the other hand, some of my favorite veggies have come from starts I bought on a whim. For example, Paladin peppers. I found those in Farm and Fleet 2 summers ago, and they produced the biggest, blockiest, yummiest green peppers I've ever grown. Juliet tomatoes; not quite cherry tomatoes, not quite grape tomatoes, but delicious! Stay tuned to see what I find this year!

This weekend we have a houseful. Jay, Kris and the kids will be here for a post-Christmas party. We didn't get to see them for Christmas, so this will be fun. Ethan and Brandy are here for the weekend, although Ethan is spending the day at a CAP class. Ryan is here for the day, and Rundi is off with his family. (He has an aunt and uncle about an hour away from us.) We're still hunting for a host family for him. Matthew and Keri return from California tomorrow.

The weather is decidedly spring-like, which is just wrong. We have geese flying overhead, and I think I even heard sandhill cranes this morning, which usually means spring to me. I hope we're not in for more bad weather this year. that does not make for happy hobby farming!

The more things change, the more they stay the same

I got teased yesterday for running a boarding house. Kinda like Ma Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life.

Yes, Minah went home Dec. 29. She's back in Korea now, and our life is richer for having hosted her. Here she is, saying, "Goodbye!" at O'Hare.

This was just before she said, "Don't worry. I don't think I'll puke!" Yes, she ended her otherwise healthy stay with a horrible flu. I was so worried that her parents would think I'd been a horrible host mom, letting her get sick! We got to the point where we thought we might have to go to the doctor, and then the hospital, it was that bad. But she rallied on Thursday, and flew home on Saturday with no ill (pardon the pun) effects. We will miss her, but can still talk on Facebook.

We had a couple of days with just John, Mary and I in our house. Then I got an e-mail. One of my jobs at work is to find housing for Chinese foreign students who come to our high school. These students come here, many of them, planning to spend 4 years getting an American high school education. We've been expecting Rundi since mid-December, and were told he'd be here for the start of school. Last Friday, a difficulty with housing for another student necessitated that I move him to the host family I had prepared for Rundi. But that was OK; Rundi wasn't due until the 14th or so.

Sunday evening, another e-mail arrived. Rundi was in the US, staying with family, and would be at school the next morning. This image isn't on my refrigerator for nothing.

So now Rundi is staying with us, until we can find a host family for him.

He loves the dogs, is very friendly, and isn't too keen yet on American food. But he's doing well, settling in happily, and his host family (whoever they are) will be lucky to have him!

Update: I have had two families considering this opportunity since Sunday. They both called today to decline. They had good reasons, but I'm back to the drawing board.

Demon Seed

Something like this

got into our chicken coop last night. I found out about it when Jaeger, Matthew and Keri's dog, went out for his morning constitutional, and came running across the yard carrying one of our chickens in his mouth. He was so proud and happy! I let him have it! All of the dogs got a good tongue-lashing, and avoided me for a good 15 minutes or so. Happily, the bird he carried lived through her ordeal, and is recuperating in the breezeway right now.

When we went to survey the damage, which we thought was dog-induced, we realized the raccoons ripped a screen off of a window to get in. They killed 4 of our 9 birds, meaning that our supply of eggs is going to be drastically reduced for the foreseeable future. The chicken that lived is a lightweight bird. We think she was able to fly up and avoid the masked marauders, but was too slow for the dogs this morning. She was probably pecking unsuspecting on the ground when they came around the corner of the garden/chicken yard.

So, as sweet and cute as those little racconies look, keep this fact in mind; They are of the Devil.

Saturday Farm Report

Kinda strange to be doing one of these....it's been a while!

We're having a mild winter so far. I really wish we'd get some freezing temps and a good snow. We need the water, and I'd like the fleas, worms, ticks and germs to freeze to death! But we get what we get.

Today we're getting some snow. Big, fluffy flakes that aren't going to last long.

We've turned the corner, and the days are getting longer. I love this time of year, when things are dark and slow, but I love that there's more and more light daily. I've even begun thinking of planting things. The first seed catalogs arrived the day after Christmas, but I was too busy to tuck into them. Soon enough.

For now, though, soft, fluffy snow. Twilighty days. A rest before spring.

Resolutions

Do you make resolutions? I always do, and always forget about them by the end of January. I don't intend to, but Life gets in the way. Like when I decide to work out regularly, and I get sick around January 10th, that sort of thing.

By the way, that's typical. The average person gives up their resolutions by January 9th. This year, however, I want to be above average. Not an A student, just a B. Above average. So I'm shooting for January 15th.

And so I made my resolution simple. It comes from a Facebook meme I saw; "If the Mayans taught us anything, it's that, if you don't finish something, it's not the end of the world." This year, I'm going to do my best to not focus so much on the end result, but on the process of getting there. I'm going to try and take rabbit trails, if necessary,in order to really live my life.

And, yes, because I'm one of those personality types, I am working on a healthier diet, too, and prayer. Lots of prayer.

This is just what I want to say. I wish I had said it. But he did, so please go and read it.