Fiddler on the Roof

Why is it called "Fiddler on the Roof?" It should be called "That Sad Movie!"

(Lee, age 7, at intermission after the pogrom scene)

Clara's Ideas

Clara is full of ideas. She's so full that sometimes she can't sleep at night. The other night we suggested we write down her ideas so that she could go to sleep. We started the list that night, but continued it the next morning as well. Here it is:

- make two books: school things and animal things
- make a fairy house that is very big to fairies but small to us
- every two weeks send a letter to Xan
- have the power to pull animals out of quicksand
- have the ability to turn into any animal
- have all powers of herbs
- talk all animal languages
- make awesome forts
- have a beautiful cape that swings behind me
- wear matching clothes every day
- run faster than a cheetah
- have tiger babies instead of human babies
- eat well
- have cat babies instead of human babies
- be an awesome climber
- be an awesome swinger
- be good at sneaking
- always be smiling
- have hair powers
- have eye powers

Where does she come up with this stuff? Whew!

Stripes, Polka Dots, and More Strips!

Halloween

I think this is the first time I've ever seen snow on the ground for Halloween!

This year we had planned on having a haunted house in the screen house the day before Halloween. Due to the snow, we moved our haunted house into the basement of the CH. It was a lot of fun.

A beekeeper, a tiger, Harry Potter, and a very mean dragon

First Monadnock Hike

Clara and Lee hiked up Mt. Monadnock for the first time this week. Bridges took the morning off, and we went with another homeschool family that we have become friendly with. The kids did great, and they had a good time, Lee getting along well with Sigmund and Henry (lots of Harry Potter talk), and Clara and Margaret babbling to each other.

We took the toll road, which starts at a bit higher elevation, and is a dirt road for the first time (boring on the way up, but much appreciated on the way down when they were really tired). 5 1/2 hours round trip, which wasn't all that bad considering. It's not something I'd do again this year, but I'm glad we did it.

The Stone Throne

Margaret and Clara kept each other going

Lee, Henry, and Sigmund

Post-Lollipop

80th Birthday Celebration

We had 28 of us at the Red Jacket Beach Resort in South Yarmouth for a weekend to celebrate Mom and Dad's 80th birthdays this summer. The weather was so-so, yet we all had a wonderful time. We had a private clambake on Friday night, and the rest of the meals were in the common dining room. The resort had lots of activities, like a campfire with S'Mores on the beach. There was an indoor and outdoor pool, both heated, and a hot tub as well. And, of course, there were cousins!

The kids spent most of the time on the beach constructing enormous sand castles. Here is Lee with her creation.

First Swim Cunningham Pond

Trampoline + Sprinkler = Pure Giddiness

Chick Death

We lost our first chick yesterday, most likely due to handling from Clara. She came out to get me, and the chick was just flopping around. I picked it up and it died in my arms. It's scary to think she could actually break its neck, but I guess it's not that unusual. I kept thinking Of Mice and Men.

Clara was very insistent that she was just petting it, and suddenly it opened its mouth and couldn't peep. Lee was just as insistent that Clara was holding it around the neck.

So, Lee went to get Laura Morgan, who came by and confirmed that yes, it really was dead (I have so little experience with anything dying that I wanted to be sure!), and we wrapped it in an old T-shirt, and buried it under our enkianthus. Denise, who was here planting our new shrubs, was a good sport about it all.

The kids named her "Clee" posthumously, and then made a little gravestone, with "Clee" on one side, and "CHCK" on the other.

Clara, of course, was over it pretty quickly, and Lee was upset for hours. But in the end, I think it's good that they experienced this.

Chick Drama

The weather has been really nice the last few days (overall it's been a pretty cold, dreary spring), and so we've been putting the chicks outside during the day. Yesterday was actually pretty warm, and I don't know if that's what pushed the chicks over the edge, but suddenly we had a serious issue with pecking. I knew chicks sometimes pecked each other (even to death), but didn't realize how quickly it could come about.

The girls had been playing with the chicks most of the day, taking them out of the coop one at a time and playing with her for a while, and then trading for another chick. So they would have noticed if anything was seriously amiss. Late in the afternoon I was walking toward the coop and saw this flurry of activity. The chicks were all flying up in the air and making all sorts of noise. When I got close I realized they were all pecking each other. When I got really close, I realized that one of them was completely lacking tail feathers and was raw and bloody. Then I realized there were three of them like that, and they were even pecking each other. It was gross.

So I separated them, and spent the next 24 hours in crisis mode, trying to figure out how to stop the pecking, keep the injured chicks separate, and get bigger quarters for them (since it was most likely caused by overcrowding).

In the end, we ended up with this bigger coop in the back yard, and I take them inside each evening (because we've had a coyote nearby) and outside each morning. It's a pain, but they are much much happier, and I've even been able to put the three birds back in with the rest.


So all is well now.

Four-Week-Old Chicks

I haven't posted much on our chicks. The first two weeks, the kids (especially Lee) played with them constantly. I couldn't get her out of the basement. She would sit down there and make potholders or read Calvin and Hobbes for hours with a chick on her lap. She had her favorite ones (I'm not sure she can really tell them apart, but then again she's spent a lot more time with them than I have).

Then, they got bigger and started to molt, and she suddenly lost interest.

It wasn't until the weather got nice this week that suddenly the chicks were interesting, because now they could play outside with them!

Here is what they look like now. They've got most of their feathers, and they really look like chickens (as opposed to little sparrows).

Mad Libs

Today we were leaving to drive to Riverwoods for Mother's Day, and the kids were all out doing Mad Libs with Elsbeth. It was the kind of impromptu thing that is so nice about living here.

Sometimes it is hard to drag the kids away, though!

Tulips From My Garden

Pigs!

There are five of them there (they kind of sleep on top of one another). We'll put them out in the field in a few weeks, and then raise them until they reach 200 pounds in the fall, and then have them slaughtered.

One reason to have pigs is that they help dig up the soil in areas where it is very compacted.

They're pretty wild right now but we hope they'll get a bit more friendly.

Trip to NYC

We had fabulous four-day visit to NYC, the highlight of which was seeing The Lion King (thank you, Aunt Lee!).

I've created a separate photo book for this trip.

Goth Girl

When did she turn into Goth Girl? Actually, she told me that she's been wearing all black because it attracts the sun and makes her warmer.

Tiger Waving to Clara

Bye, I'll see you after my bath!

Buttons!

Easily a Morning of Entertainment

Free Range Chicks

Our chicks hatched two weeks ago today at a big hatchery in the midwest. They made it through the sexing process (as featured on Dirty Jobs) and were determined to be female (males are culled), promptly put in a package, and shipped overnight to Keene, NH, where we picked them up the following day. We put them in a box that looked remarkably like a Dunkin Donuts' Munchkins box and brought them home, where they have since been underneath a heat lamp in our basement.

So today was, quite literally, their first moment out in the fresh air. They didn't know what to do at first, but they quickly settled down and started tearing up the grass, something at which chickens excel. Oh, and the girls enjoyed the fresh air too.

Easter at Nubi

We hosted Easter at Nubi this year. Deb's family came as well as both sets of grandparents. On Saturday it was pretty rainy, but the kids had a great time anyway, scootering around the neighborhood when it wasn't raining, and playing in the basement or reading together when it was.

On Easter morning we went to a 7 a.m. service at the Dublin Community Church. Afterward we had an Easter Egg hunt in the sunken garden. There were about ten kids total.

Afterward we had a nice Easter dinner. Everyone contributed something, and it was one of my easier holiday meals.

Snow?!? Really?!?

It has been one long cold spring.

One-Day-Old Chick Flick

Trampoline

Last year our neighbors put up their trampoline. It was pretty late in the fall as I recall, and because it was new, it was such a thrill that we spent every single recess and afternoon out there for a while. I do remember being out there with hats and gloves on.

This spring as soon as the trampoline went back up we were back. Here's Lila and Lee running around.

Weekend Free

The girls went to New Castle for the weekend, and Bridges and I had some time alone. We chose not to go away, but instead stay home and just relax and rest. We were both just over this crazy month-long virus that we had, and we slept a lot.

Friday was the best day weather-wise, and we took a glass of wine up to the horse pasture in the evening. I love the view from up there.

The Bedtime Routine

Our bedtime routine has gotten very predictable. Bridges usually reads to the girls and tucks them in, then I go in and give them a kiss good night. Then they ask for water (actually they seem to have stopped doing that lately). Then we go downstairs, and eventually one of them comes downstairs and says "I can't sleep" and we say "go into our bed" and later when we go upstairs that girl is sound asleep in our bed and we move her back into her own bed.

Sometimes they make this process more efficient and they skip the coming downstairs, in which case it's always a bit of a surprise to discover which girl is in our bed.

But tonight, they both migrated in there, and we found this adorable scene.

Love That Outfit

It's so cool it's even reflected in the pond.

But she's wearing the hat, neck warmer, and mittens I made her!

More on Letters to Xan

I mentioned that Clara has been exchanging letters with Xan, and actually, her writing has improved tremendously. Here is one of her first notes to Xan. Translation: "Xan: I love you. Tigers are my favorite kind of animal." The words are placed wherever there is room on the paper, and you have to struggle to figure out what the words actually are.

Now here is her most recent one, which barely needs translation. One big difference is that she began to ask for help with spelling instead of making up her own spelling. It's interesting that she realized she needs to spell things so that others can read them. But it's still pretty impressive how much progress she made in terms of spacing and just general legibility in less than two weeks. It's amazing what they learn on their own when they are motivated!

Xan

Clara has a new best friend. Xan, who is just a few months older than Clara, has taken more than six months to warm up to her. He is very attached to his mom, but recently he has come out of his shell a bit and has started playing with Clara. They are best best friends. It is really adorable. His dad snapped this picture of them "reading" to each other.

Clara is thrilled to have a friend her age, instead of always being the youngest of the bigger kids. She definitely has a bit of the stalker in her, though, as she had previously demonstrated after Christmas when she missed Molly and spent several days making piles upon piles of pictures for her. Anyway, recently I had given her the Griffin and Sabine books to look through, and she decided she wanted to make a book full of envelopes with letters to Xan, and so she sat down and wrote him about twenty letters, most of which had some variation of:

TO:XAN
FROM:CLARA
I LOVE YOU SO MUCH.

(I have translated these from her phonetic spellings and random word placement. Even she has trouble reading her own letters).

Bridges moderated her impulses and created a notebook with pages of envelopes, and they have been exchanging the notebook and filling it with a new letter each time. It's very cute.

Smoothies!

Maple Sugaring

We boiled twice (or "did two boils" in maple sugaring parlance) the last few weeks. We boiled down about 80 gallons of sap over an open fire. We ended up with about two gallons of just-past-the-syrup-stage stuff. The first boil produced a kind of maple sauce, the second a maple candy. Oh, but for a hydrometer. And an evaporator might be nice too.

Last year I guess they didn't go far enough and ended up with watery syrup. It's a learning process, I guess.

Which is, of course, great for the kids.

Is this Sap Stuff Really Sweet?

Checking a Bucket for Sap


Collecting the Sap

And, I should mention that marshmallows (and roast potatoes) were involved.

The Fire

Oh, and Clara got her picture in the local paper, which was fun.

Just Kidding, Says Mother Nature

Yes, it's snow again. But forget all that dry fluffy stuff, this is real March snow. Perfect for snowmen. Or just really big snowballs.

First Day of Spring

The past few days were so warm and sunny. It was a nice change, and the girls were outside for hours on end, just playing, riding bikes, and making "nests," or rather piles of clothes left around the neighborhood that are full of "treasures," or rather rocks and marbles. Do I need to translate everything?

Clara has been having a ball on her Like-A-Bike, which has no pedals. ("Get it? Like...A...Bike!" says Lee). I think one of Clara's favorite things to do with it is to use it as a kind of accessory rack. She's thrilled when she can get her mittens, hat, fleece, scarf and socks all hanging on it.

Our new patio faces south, so it was really warm there yesterday. Lee actually had to set up a shelter for herself.

Oscar Sleeps Outside

This cat does not suffer for lack of attention.

Quiet Time

I instituted quiet time after lunch as of the New Year, and it's really worked out quite well. The girls are thrilled with it because they go to separate rooms and one of them gets Oscar all to themselves for an hour or so.

And as a side benefit, a few days a week Clara will actually nap with Oscar.

Artichokes!

Tarpon Bay Kayaking

It's always magical to escape the wind on the beach and enter the still world of the mangroves.