Egg Hunt Party

The rain didn't stop our fun! No one even had to ask, they just came, rain or shine the egg hunt party is on!!

More then 300 eggs were hidden on the trails in the woods.

Some were easy to spot and some were hidden well.

Everyone hunts...

big and little...

young and old.

Most worked in teams.

Not slowed a bit by the weather.

Smiles all around as the baskets filled...

...and the rain came down harder.

Slowly they all retreated to the barn.

To dry off

count eggs

and eat. Everyone made something to share, a fabulous feast!

Whats next?

A scavenger hunt of course!

 Feather

 Smooth stone

"Y” stick

 Circle

 3 things from 1 tree

 Something soft

 Sprouting acorn

 Triangle

 Bark with lichen

Something man-made

 

I think the BIG kids had the most fun!

Some kids learned some new things. Whats "sprouting"? A pine cone and a oak leaf are not from the SAME tree. "What's lichen?"

They all eventually completed their list and headed out for

Our Amazing Race Game.

 Go to a sandy place and dig for 5 shells.

 Find the spools and make a stack of 10 blocks.

 Gather 10 acorns and shoot hoops. Get all 10 in.

 Fill a wheelbarrow with sand. Dump it in the sandbox.

 Find 20 pine cones and put them in the tractor sandbox.

 Give Murph a back rub. He will tell you when it is complete!

 Take a treasure from the chest!

 

They all worked in teams and showed great creativity!

Finally making it to the treasure chest!

Smiles all around!

You thought that was it! Oh no. After some cocoa to warm up we were back at it.

There can't ever be too much fun!

The rain finally started to let up.

Big kids get blindfolds.

I don't think there is any candy in there!!

The rope broke off. Murph taking one for the team!

I will let you guess what happens next!

We had an awesome day. If you came, thank you. If you missed it, we hope to see you next year. Scout received this beautiful basket, hand made by our friend Ritche Leone, and an adorable bunny. Life is Good!

Eggs

In the warmer weather the hens like to hide their eggs. We will always let the girls free range and that means egg hunts. One of the horse kids recently found a nest of over 20 eggs. The weather was cool at night and they were shaded under an overturned wheelbarrow during the day...perfectly preserved.

Typically when we find a nest and collect the eggs the hens don't leave their eggs any longer. We left 2 behind in hopes that they would keep using this spot. At least one of them does, we find an egg there everyday. Interestingly all the Americana's used this spot, all blue eggs!

Baby chicks

The black hen surprised us with two babies!

New blog

We have just returned from the Life Rocks Radical Unschoolers conference. We had a great time, made some new friends and had a great time together as a family for an entire week. It was not surprising that we learned there are many unschooling styles that families will develop for themselves. Our style is to do it in nature, leaving as small a footprint on the earth as we can. We met others like us and they thought they were alone. I have decided to try to connect all of us together with a new blog...unschooling in nature.


I will continue this blog about our homestead but please visit me at the new one about our unschooling journey! Hopefully we will find new friends there.

I have also reformatted the freethinking adventure kids blog. Now it is about family adventures we will be leading, paddling, hiking, riding and camping. Spread the word!

Horsekids with reins

The horsekids made a new progressive step. Learning to use reins. Interestingly, the one who asked, a boy, last year had no interest in EVER riding with reins.

There is no rush in learning to "ride" before you learn how to "be". Riding is a fairly small part of keeping a horse. There is the manure cleaning, fence and barn upkeep, feeding, hay stacking, health, brushing, hoof care, tack upkeep, if your horse doesn't live at home there is the travel to them and back. It is a labor of love. We love it, caring for them, watching the herd dynamics, listening to them talk to us as we move around the yard ( I am talking about the mental stuff), just being with them. Yes , we love the riding too. I want the kids to know all of it, to be sensitive, understanding, quiet, intuitive, to sit atop, to relax, to breath, to trust their instincts, to trust their voice from the horse. Only then will they be ready to communicate and ride "with" their horse.

I try not to focus on too many things at once. It will all come together in the end. It is not necessary to overwhelm them with too many things to think about at once. They can sit quietly and confidently now, they can communicate softly, they are ready to learn the reins. I use a rope halter with reins. The kids hold the reins while I lead the horse. They are still using a bareback pad, no saddle yet. I can instruct them and let them practice without worrying about being on their own. I let them do all the work and am only there if needed. They can feel their progress...I can see the smiles. They know the sounds the horses make when they are happy...all the horses made them.

How long will we do this? I don't know, until they are ready for the next step. That's what I do, no agenda really. We do what feels right in the moment. The horse and rider must be able to be ready together...a partnership.

Have I told you about the mounting? The kids climb onto the big wooden spools. They hold the lead line and ask (mentally) for their horse to allow them onto their back. When the horse is ready he/she walks over and sides up to the spool. They can all do it, beautiful to watch.

Finally, there is the itty bitty boy, he just turned two. He has been coming with his sister since he was 6 months old. He never liked the animals much. He rides now! Requesting his helmet as soon as he arrives. A big grin plastered on his face when on board his mount.

That other boy, I have never seen his grin so big as I did this day. Riding with reins.

We love our chickens. There is the obvious, eggs and bug control. But they are so much more, they have such personality and ability to communicate...with each other and with us. If you pay attention you learn they have an extensive language.

These are our two Sussex light sisters. We had five, these two watched their three sisters get eaten one morning, by what we are not sure. We heard the commotion in the yard , when we got out there the sisters were gone. These two barely walked away from the coop and NEVER left each others side for months. One of them recently became broody (sitting on eggs). We let her have the eggs to hatch. After about a week her sister joined her. They sit in that box, together, all day and night. Such commitment to their eggs and to each other.

This is one of our Americana's, they lay blue eggs. I returned home during a heavy wind storm. Normally the chickens will pay no attention to my coming and going. This day, one of the Americana's, came racing toward me, at full speed and squawking madly. It was obvious she was asking for my help. I found that the gate to the coop yard had blown shut in the wind. Some of the chickens were inside, not able to free range. She wanted me to open the door for them. I not only find it amazing that she knew to ask me for help, but she was concerned for her sisters/friends. Her name is now Lassie.

The chickens and the roosters are so gentle. They are wonderful pets for children (not all roosters are good pets, some can be very dangerous....RUDY).

While filling the horse's water one of the roosters came over. He clucked softly at me then looked into the lid that was lying on the ground near us. He wanted me to put water in there. I did and he drank. They are very smart. Like all the rescued animals I also believe that these chickens, many who I rescued from deplorable conditions, appreciate their new home and know I am here to help them. I hope the chicks hatch soon!

The Garden April 2011

The weather is finally turning to spring and we spent it preparing the garden!

This is one of our compost piles, the one we are currently dumping in. We dump the manure and kitchen scraps into the pile, which is built on the side of a hill. The chickens scratch through it, but we don't turn it, it just sits, usually for 12-18 months.

This is the pile we are using for dirt. It has finished sitting. We are using it to make the new garden beds. After we dig out all the usable dirt it will become the new dumping spot. The other one will be covered with mulched leaves to cook until next year.

Beautiful and full of earth worms.

Murph spreading the black gold into the new beds. He moved more then 100 sq feet of dirt this weekend!

Some fresh dirt in the new beds. Potatoes and onion sets went in, peas, beans, lettuce, spinach already in place.

I love art in the garden. This was salvaged from the dump. The back says it was collected on the beach in 1967, I presume it was painted back then too. It was just tossed away, thankfully it now has a new life.

Soon the fruit trees will go here. They lay in the basement, dormant. The nights are still below freezing so they will wait a little longer to find their way here.

I decided to plant the asparagus. I have never planted it before. I have researched it and we prepared the beds correctly. Still, when the time came to put it in I wasn't exactly sure which way was up!

The asparagus on the right was my first attempt. Were the tubers the asparagus? I thought so. As I looked at them, after I planted them, I could see they were roots. Then I read the directions more closely, "spread the crowns". Spread, okay, take them out and start over. The bed was exactly the right size for the asparagus we ordered...how did that happen!

It was warm and sunny all weekend..the piggies came out!

Life is good!