Spring and Other Stuff II

Signs of spring at our house...

Boogie pointing at this bumble bee for 45 minutes before learning his lesson.

Peeps Casserole a la Keith

Front porch masterpiece painting on Daddy's face.  (I think he actually took a nap.)

Confidently wearing sunglasses Ruby picked out for me at Reny's.  Oh, and publicly showing off the new paint job.

Ruby doing all the labor involved with making dandelion jelly.

Pre-holiday 2010

Charlie finishing up a painted pine cone wreath.

Ruby working on one of TWELVE painted hollow egg ornaments.

Toothpick meatballs were among the things I made after 12 eggs were hollowed out.  If you have a favorite metball recipe, use it, grab a bunch of toothpicks, and set out a bunch of "dipping sauces."   The girls love these.   

NOT for kids.  Cranberry cordial in the making.  It should be ready for Christmas Eve.

Addie, Bubba, and Boogie.  Priceless.

Woodpile's usual hang out.  Yes, that's where he got his name.

The friendliest dog in the "whole wide city," Charlie tells me.

...and the weekend's not even over!

We called around to make sure everyone's chickens were still living before we realized that Boogie had gotten into some red stain.  Oh, puppy.  

The girls' tunnel will never get old.  They've loved it since they were a year old!

Here's the set-up at my first-ever try at selling jam at a local fair.  I had a great time!

Good friends taking a break from tree-hunting at Boiling Springs tree farm in Dayton.

Ruby really takes after her father...

Bird dogs, Bird Eggs, and Bird Guts (you've been warned)

Bubba truly believes he can climb this tree to follow the nut hatch.  With his whole being  he believes it. 

Joe worked so hard making sure there was enough room for all the chickens to lay eggs.  Still, each day we find all the eggs in one box.  Maybe we need more chickens...

And turkey season begins.  I love the unintentional Deliverance thing going on here.  I have to admit, and sorry to all you veggies out there, our family ate this bird the very day Joe took its life. 

Coupe de Poulet, Ou sont Vous?

The weekend began with a little freedom outside for the chickens while Joe continued to build their extra-extravagant coop-- he calls it a coupe. And by "freedom," I mean pecking around in a small enclosed space while a drooling bird dog points at you for hours and hours.








Poor Bubba. He was exhausted by the end of the day from guarding, pointing, and generally fretting over his inability to get at the birds.







In the meantime, I planned what was to be a relatively successful birthday party for two 3-year old girls. The kids had a great time running around, blowing bubbles, getting their faces painted, and waiting patiently (ok, not super-patiently) for cotton candy and cake. By the way, the flower cake came out pretty darn good. I decided to remove (and eat) the flower pot all together, then create a new big flower out of all the little flowers, and finally add mini-marshmallows and chocolate chips to the empty spots to make the flower look like a brown-eyed Susan. The kids tore into it, leaving the butterfly for the adults.




We're huge fans of keeping things simple, so when the kids needed a break from the yard and house, we took a walk to Uncle Brian's hammock for a quick swing with the girls.







And the day ended with good friends and a little toe-nail painting for Daddy. He is such a good sport!