A Hentennial Summer

Today was another great day out at Hentennial. Rog and the kids met Roger's best friend Steve and his son out early this morning to go dirtbiking. So while the boys rode all morning, I shopped for some furnishings. I went to a store in Lake Orion called Elements and found a great old decoupaged table for the boys room to use as a desk/art table, a little painted school chair with the side table attached and a fabric covered seat for Kelsey's room, and a whimsical bird cage hanging pendant with tiny birds in it for our room. I was so excited, and could have spent a lot more money in there with all of their wonderful vintage furnishings and treasures. I will definately be going back there soon. Then I drove out to meet up with the family and they were all still riding around when I got there. They even managed to make a track through the taller grasses in the pasture. And Rog and Steve hung our chairlift that was given to us as a wedding present 11 years ago. Roger's close friends from Telluride, Co. drove it to Michigan in a pick up truck and presented it to us at our reception, followed by a drunken rendition of "Happy Trails!" We have had it just sitting behind our shed at home all these years just waiting for the perfect spot to hang it. So, now it's finally home, hung in my favorite noble tree, under the huge shady canopy, overlooking the house, barn and pasture. It's perfect. It even swings!
Steve's son Kaia was enamored with the chickens, and had a great time riding with the boys. And Kelsey was just enjoying all the activity and having visitors. We also met our neighbors who live behind us, and they seem very nice and friendly. We chatted with them for a long time and got lots of good tips on where to eat, where to go for tractors and farm implements, and where to go canoeing. It's nice to meet neighborly neighbors who know more about the area than you do. So after a long afternoon of playing and visiting, we packed up to head home. No work today, just play. Playing on a hot summer day out in the country. And that's a wonderful thing.

We have Pear trees!

Well, the mini orchard that we originally thought was an apple orchard, is really apple and pear. Turns out that two of our 5 fruit trees are pear trees. It's so cool to discover that you have something that you didn't know. That little farm seems to be full of surprizes every time we are there! So now we have 2 apple, 2 pear, one cherry tree, and one large raspberry bush. We feed the chickens the raspberries and they love them! Next Spring I can plant a nice vegetable garden and a flower cutting garden too. Hopefully we will get the pond dug out next Spring too and stock it with some fish. There is so much we want to do, but of course the house takes priority. But we made progress on the kitchen last time. Got all of the walls, dark wood trim, cabinets and brick primed. It's so nice to see the ugly pink and blue and brown disappear. It was a big accomplishment and the kids all helped. We are so proud that our kids are so willing to pick up a paint brush and work in a dirty, musty old kitchen. It's hard work and they are just as eager and happy to do it as we are. And I know one day they will be proud when they look back on all the work they did to restore our old house. It's a great experience and will hopefully make them better little people because of it.
On another note, we also decided that we need to build a bigger coop. The one we bought as a kit was fine when they were smaller, but we want them to have more space. The more room they have, the happier they will be. And the happier chicken, lays better eggs! So, my wonderful husband offered to build me a delux walk-in coop like the one he built me a few years ago but had to take apart because our neighbors complained. We have 8 hens and one rooster, so a larger walk-in coop with windows for ventilation, and more next boxes, and a windw box on the outside would be really fantastic. Plus we can paint it to match the barn and it will look like it was always there. So, that may be our next project after some more interior work.
If only we had a team of helpers to get all of the work done that is on the list! But it's o.k. Making the time to do it is all part of the journey. And we always say, it's the journey, not the destination. So our journey continues...

Lazy afternoon

Last weekend we brought our 1968 Airstream down from Oscoda and parked it at the farm. Now we have a little hang out spot when we need a break from the renovations in the house. And she looks perfectly at home there next to the barn. Spent the day yesterday cutting the grass and cleaning the coop and watching the ladies free range around the yard. I took more pictures and the kids all played. I personally didn't get much work done, aside from mucking out the coop, but it was nice to just lay on a blanket and let the chickens walk up to me hoping that I had some treats. I wore my flip flops with silky flowers on the toes and the ladies thought they were real flowers or maybe butterflies, and they kept trying to sneak a peck in! I also realized that one of our gorgeous Arucana's is actually a Roo, not a hen, and he is quite stunning. Long neck feathers, irredescent teal tail feathers, and black and white body. In just one week, he went from looking like an average hen to a tall, dark and handsome proud leader of the flock. But it is a nice surprize, he will look after his harem. And he's gentle enough with a sweet disposition for a Roo, and quite nice to watch strutting around! No eggs from the ladies yet, but I think it will be any day now. They are eating almost twice what they have been and are getting nice and voluptuous!
Then I went upstairs to get some pictures of the beds and the new painted walls and floors and I found a tiny bat clinging to the window screen in the boys bedroom. So, I asked Roger to bring a bag up so we could let it go outside. The poor little guy looked very weak and was happy to be released into the barn where it was cool and dark. When we finished our chores, we called it a day, and decided to take the kids for icecream. It was a nice Saturday, more relaxing than productive, but that's perfectly fine with me.