Eggs

We have such a great assortment of eggs each day! Different colors, shapes, some with spots and all delicious.

One step closer!

Great news...Zach has received a date for his flight physical!!!! He is getting closer to his dream...a dream he has had since he was 6 years old. He never gave up on his dream ... We are so fortunate to have him here, with us, for this time while he is waiting to fly away.

LIFE IS GOOD!

Horse Camping

We went camping with the horses in Myles Standish State Forest last weekend. It was one of the most fun things we have done! The park has 15,000 acres of riding, hiking, biking, paddling and camping. We stayed in an equestrian only camping loop complete with bathrooms, showers, water, big sites to accommodate trailers and horses with picnic table and fire pit. We were joined by some of our "horsekids" friends...they ranged in age from about 1 year to 8 years old. They did great and had a ball.

The weather was perfect all weekend.

The equestrian camp has a host family that is there every weekend. They were walking around constantly, offering help and advice. They also took us on a 2 hour ride to show us the park Sunday morning. This is the first time Murph and I have been able to ride together since before I was pregnant!

The horses seemed to have just as much fun as we did.

They stayed on a high line for the first time. I attached two prussic knots to each highline. That enabled us to adjust the position of each horse and then it was anchored into place.

They had enough room to move around and eat off the ground. They never got tangled or hung up in any way. We positioned the high line about 8 feet off the ground.

The kids and horses enjoyed each others company.

Everyone got plenty of riding in.

The horses learned to settle into the camping life with a little help. We walked 2 of them around the camp sites while 2 remained in their highline. There was lots of whinnying at first but they settled down after about an hour of it.

We cooked over the campfire.

I mad these saddle racks the day before we left. It worked great to keep the saddles off the ground.

Little whinnied throughout the night. He was raised in Montana...mountain lion country...so being worried about what was in the woods in the dark is understandable.

Satinka didn't like being separated from her pony Tonto. We left Tonto behind on Sunday for the kids. Satinka eventually got into her groove and we had a great ride.

This is my favorite picture from the weekend. The three of them are perfectly in step....just like the weekend.

Our little cowgirl.

Can you believe camping here only costs $12 per night!! And only 20 minutes from home.

Tink and Tonto relaxed in their spot right away...and slept through the night like babies.

NH hike

We went to NH last weekend and were lucky to have beautiful weather. Saturday morning we went for a hike along the Kancamangus highway before heading to Black Mt. We were helping out for the mountains second annual rhythm, roots and foliage festival. Scout got her first concert tee!

Plimoth Plantation

Plimoth Plantation held a homeschoolers day and we checked out the museum for the first time. We had a great time, some of our horse kids friends met us there! What I liked the best was that it told the story not just from the Pilgrims point of view but also the Native People's view as well. I expect that we will return frequently as Scout gets older.

 The View from the Pilgrim's village looking out into the bay from atop a hill.

A wood pile to envy!!

The day was a bit stormy so we ducked into one of the Pilgrim homes to have lunch..Scout took off her boots and made herself at home on the bed.

Canoe being made in the Wampanog village.

We headed to downtown Plymouth to visit the Mayflower II and then have dinner. Walking along the waterfront we watched this seagull gather its dinner.

chicken rescue

Back during the hurricane prep we did a chicken rescue. As usual, when we are scurrying madly something else gets thrown into the mix. There were 15 chickens and a rooster that needed a home. We went to loom and the poor things were living in a 4x8 dog kennel.Many were missing feathers, one tipped over when it tries to walk, one had a runny eye, many looked good and one was a baby. We were worried they may be sick but were even more worried about their future if we didn't take them. So it began. We loaded them into a crate in the truck, took down the dog kennel, left the coop behind...yuck! They wanted us to take it...have you ever smelled rotting eggs 40 days old! We came home and everyone pitched in and helped erect the kennel, far from the other chickens, in the dark. We had to cover it for the hurricane and then moved them in. They stayed there for 2 weeks while we watched to be sure they were no sick. They were improving everyday...they just needed fresh air and a healthy environment. We let them into the new larger coop and fenced area we had made for our chickens for the winter. Then we let everyone out together, the first time the new girls have been pastured in their lives!! The new ones and original ones got along fine. We were worried we would have to re home the rooster but he is harmless. We think he is old and only crows in the morning 4 or 5 times before tiring! They all continue to improve and all have survived. The feathers are improving but we think some are geriatric. At least they will live out their lives happily here. They are getting very friendly, happy to have a good home i guess, even the rooster will follow us around. One chicken loves to be picked up and cuddled. We are getting lots of eggs each day including some blue ones since we now have some Americana's!

Some of the new flock.

The rooster

Aunties

Auntie Barbs and Leesea stopped by for a visit while they were on the Cape. Scout had great fun showing off her skis and getting noses!