Mud Brothers

I'll never understand the attraction between boys and mud.

I sure did appreciate it today, though, when I needed them to crawl up under the pool liner and help push the last scoops of dirty water to the drain hole. Not only that, but they rescued me from a monster spider that was in there, too. [[shudder]] Thank the Lord for boys! (Even muddy ones.)

Doomsday

Remember those cute little turken chickens whose pictures are at the top of this blog?

They aren't so cute anymore. And they eat a lot. And most of them are big, ugly, mean, smelly roosters. But that's okay. They were meant for the freezer anyway.

Daddy Duck and some of the ducklings butchered two of them today. It wasn't nearly as complicated (or as messy) as I had anticipated.

First, we consulted Storey's Guide to Country Living.Then we (I'm using the word "we" verrry loosely) hung them upside down for a few minutes to put them to sleep. Mr. C said they never went to sleep, but became drowsy. (I'm not sure how he knew this.)Next, Daddy Duck... er, uh... cut off their heads & let them bleed.

Then, they dunked the turkens in near-boiling water (which I provided, thankyouverymuch) and plucked out all the feathers. There really weren't that many feathers. That is one of the benefits of raising turkens instead of other breeds of chickens.

Next, they gutted the turkens & now they are in the fridge about to be marinated for tomorrow's dinner.

Chores

Chores, or getting kids to do them, will be the death of me. I struggle with staying on top of things and maintaining some type of order around here. The ducklings are capable of getting a lot done, but making sure they actually do sometimes seems more than I can manage.




Recently, I came across a system for keeping track of chores on a homeschooling message board that I frequent. The mom who shared it has 12 children - twice as many as me! Surely, she must know about managing ducklings & chores.






The system involves jars and popsicle sticks. I've written a chore on each stick. Each morning, I place the chore-sticks in the ducklings' jars. (Each duckling has his or her own jar.) Once a duckling completes a chore, he or she puts that chore-stick into my big jar. By the end of the day, the ducklings' jars should be empty, and mine should be full.

I like this idea because it is simple, there are no chore charts/sheets to print out or tape to the wall. The best part is that at a glance, I can tell who still has work to do.


:)

Critter Pics

I am amazed by the quality of the pictures my camera can take! I need to start resizing the pics, though because they are huge and take forever to load.

This kitten is at a friend's house & is in need of a new home. I wish it could be ours - isn't he so sweet?!

Happy Anniversary to us!

Today is my & Daddy Duck's 16th anniversary!

He totally surprised me with an awesome new camera. I took these two pictures with it. Bootsie and Sugar Baby are in the kitchen cooking up a delicious meal for our dinner tonight. I think steak & baked potatoes are on the menu. There is also a yummy chocolatey smell wafting through the house.
I will most definitely be taking pictures of their creations...

A Teepee

I've always wanted to grow one of these. In the past, I have tried peas, but they always fizzled out. Too hot, I guess.This time I tried gourds. Gourds grow really fast and effortlessly on my part. Every year, several of them spring up voluntarily around the yard from seeds that were left from the year before.

A nice little hideaway.

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