Gratitude

Well, we finally got the last of the beds for the farm. Drove up to Oscoda Saturday morning and loaded the U-haul with everything we wanted to take down to the farm. Now we have a queen for the master bedroom, a vintage white painted brass twin for our daughter, a full size vintage brass for guests, a folding cot for sleep-over's, and the painted white wood bunks for the boys. We can finally set up the beds for Memorial weekend and actually get work done on the interior. I can't wait to paint the walls, and sand the floors. It's amazing what a couple coats of paint can do for a house! Now the majority of the hauling is done. The only other item that we haven't moved yet is the fridge from my mom's garage, but we can load it on our small trailer and take it out. It's good to be done with all the heavy moving. We can focus on fixing up the house now, and doing all the other repairs that need attention. The barn roof, the pasture fence, the tree trimming...
We got to the farm yesterday at about 4:30 and stayed until 7. We brought the kids dirtbikes and dunebuggy down from Oscoda. The boys were so thrilled to get on them and rip around the property. It's wide open and perfect for riding. I threw a blanket down in the shade and I just sat and watched them in all their dirtbiking bliss! My daughter, who is 5, was standing out in the field of dandelions, arms outstretched, trying to will a dragongfly to land on her. It almost looked like she was meditating. That moment with the sun slowly setting behind the pasture, and the work it took to get there, suddenly made it all worthwhile. I could have stayed there for hours, under the cool shade of those noble trees, just taking it all in. Children are such soulful, spiritual people, much more so than adults. It was one of those moments that you freeze in your mind, seeing your life before your eyes, and being flooded with gratitude.

Pre-Mother's Day at the farm

Yesterday we went to the farm with the kids. I hadn't been there in 2 weeks and I was anxious to see the "ladies" and to see the progress that my husband had made on the interior work. The chickens all seemed happy to see us. They were all chatting and showing us that they figured out how to go in and out of the coop. The kids and I all took turns holding them and talking to them and taking new photos of their growth. It was very cold so we weren't able to do any work inside, (no heat yet) so we decided to go get some new chickens from a woman who lives about 10 miles down the road. I found her on Craigslist. She has all sorts of fancy designer chickens. Millie Fleurs, Seabrights, D'Uccles, Frizzles and Arucuana's. I had been searching for some Millie Fleurs since we built our first suburban coop 2 years ago, but never could find any. Now, I had my pick. She had so many gorgeous ones to choose from. I ended up with 2 Arucuana's, (to replace my 2 that died.)and 2 Millie Fleurs, one which is a Porcelain D'Uccle (meaning white with blue lace feathers). We hung out at her wonderful place for about a half hour. The kids played with her little boy, and chased all the chickens around the yard. She only raises chickens and her place is a little chicken utopia. Just lovely. I hope to become friends with Amanda, she seems very down to earth. And now I have the best fancy breed chicken connection.
So, we took the new girls back to the farm and introduced them to our ladies. They seemed ok. They all just sort of looked at each other and segregated themselves form the other group. It will probably take a couple of days for our ladies to warm up to the newcomers. Now I feel like my flock is almost complete. I just may need to go back to see Amanda and get a Frizzle. I was so distracted that I left without one. But I just love their cute wind-blown look.
After the girls were settled in, we took the kids out to dinner at Lenny Millers in Dryden. They had a Frank Sinatra singer and it was packed. Had a great dinner and hit the road back to Franklin. The sun was setting over the hilly pastures and the sky was a deep swirl of red, and pink and orange and blue. It was a perfect Pre-Mother's Day evening in the country. Couldn't have asked for more!