Not today – it is May 5th. However if you hop over to Creating Keepsakes they have challenges and sweepstakes each day between now and then. Today’s challenge? Scrap a page about a relationship you treasure.
Monthly Archives: April 2007
We’ll call this…
…"The One in Which the Power Lines Snap, the Goat Has Triplets in the Dark and I Turn 40."
It has been an eventful week in these parts. I think it was my fault. I did say our "last storm of the season" not too long ago didn’t I? Jinx. This one really kicked us in the shorts as my friend Barb would say. After a long rain the sky turned to snow piling up on top of the mud. Wind sheers toppled and snapped power line poles and left them strewn along roadsides like a giant game of pick up sticks. The power went out Tuesday afternoon and Allen was sent home. Too late as it turned out. It was like working his way through a demo derby trying to navigate the highway home. He arrived just as it was getting nippy in here and we fired up the generator and hunkered down in the RV.
I started dinner in there and Allen and the girls went to do barn chores. I was summoned right away. Sapphire (the goat ; )) was already delivering her first kid. We caught that one and started to stimulate and warm it up while Allen rigged up a spotlight plugged into the generator. It was a smallish buck and looked good. We got his cord dipped and blew him dry. Before too long the second kid was presenting. She seemed to be working harder with that one. After waiting and watching Allen gloved up to assist. Fortunately just a wee bit of a pull and the kid birthed. Another buckling, this time breech, but with both feet in position.
The doe was a trooper and the kids had the neonatal care routine down pat though we would have given alot for warm water. The buck was pretty ‘gunky’ and needed more help getting his lungs cleared and up and moving. We tried the swinging thing on him – hold him by the feet and gently swing in a rocking fashion per the 4H ladies’ advice. At least I am pretty sure that was the advice. If not he was no worse for wear. <g> He came around just as we looked at Sapphire and said hmmmmm, you don’t think…….? Sure enough, she was laboring again.
The next kid was a doe! Woo hoo! My farmer was pleased we got a keeper out of the bunch. She was vigorous and breathing well so we repeated the neonatal care steps and started to clean up the mess. That last part was a challenge. We looked like we had been to the butcher shop by then and nothing but cold bottled water to clean up with . Suffice it to say – ewww. We waddled back to the camper and went through what sounded like Armageddon from the inside of that oversized tin box. We woke up to a foot of new snow.
Our neighbors called on the cell and told us not to go down our road since a line had gone down across it but it was buried in the snow and not readily visible. Allen walked down the other way to assess. He found a truck passing that gave him the best way out. It was warming and melting so we decided to try to get to town to get more gas and water and a generator for our friends who were told to expect a week without power. We literally passed 37 ditched cars between us and the next town ten miles away. 37 cars and two broken down snow plows! The poles lay mangled beside the roads. Ironically when we went over the hill into the city there was nothing! No snow at all. Like night and day.
About that time I remembered – Oh yeah. It’s the big day. I am officially OLD lol! My 40th was Wednesday. I have to admit this was the birthday I had been fully planning to ignore altogether. I have never been a ninny about birthdays and generally really looked forward to them. This one just seemed so significant. Whatever the coming years bring it is not likely to be the beautiful sweet babies on a regular basis that the last couple decades have blessed me with. Us ‘self-indulgent overbreeders’ find that a little depressing. (thank you Katie,whoever you are, it was a lovely birthday wish ; p )
Fortunately for me I have the best friends and family I girl could hope for. My mom had sent me a hand embroidered apron and little teapot cookie cutters from Victorian Trading Co, a must have catalog ladies!
Rebecca must be psychic because her tea, tea towel, and tiny sugars had arrived almost right after that. Jen’s card had me rolling. She and I rang in 30 together . This years card has one chick pushing the other up the big hill saying "You First!" (I am telling ya girlfriend you’re right behind me!) And just as the snow began to fall the UPS man slid in the drive with the most stunning stone beaded rosary I think I have ever seen. Elizabeth had commissioned it from beadsofmercy.com. It is a one of kind, as are all of Kimberlee’s incredible pieces. Allen surprised me with a copy of Maryjane Farmgirl. The man knows me. ; ) I think Moira may possibly have won the prize however – her card says "Happy 40th Mom! and in parentheses she wrote (but you look like 20!) Bless the child. <g> SO, the birthday that wasn’t supposed to happen happened and happened big enough to be etched in my memory for good. God does have a sense of humor. I am taking this as a sign that He has wonderfully exciting things planned for my middle years. (middle, did I say that??)
We huddled in the camper for a second night on Wed and then got the great good news that our power was restored Thurs afternoon. By the weekend the snow was gone and the kids were in shorts. Unbelievable. Many of our neighbors are still without power however so please say a prayer for them. We welcomed the change of both weather and fortune because our yearling doe went into labor yesterday morning. This turned out to be our initiation into assisted kidding. : o She is a small doe and was working darned hard. We waited and waited and just nothin’ was presenting.
She was getting visibly tired and uncomfortable and we had that talk with the kids – the one about God giving and God taking away. Finally Allen did the authentic farmer thing and took action. Someone had to go in after it and I had tagged him <g>. After the initial grossing out passed the fear kinda sank in. He found the hooves and nose presenting correctly but it was a giant buckling and he could not get it budged. We worked and worked with her and the doe just howled. It made us sick at heart but being that far from a vet it was one of those do or die situations with nowhere to go but ahead. Allen about gave up hope when finally we got the head and shoulders out and could deliver the kid. Man oh man. What an ordeal. And let me say the kid looks like he was on steroids! Huge!
We went with a cheese theme this year so the caprine roll call now includes Colby, Jack, Brie and Parmesan. I snapped pics throughout the birth of the triplets so if you homeschoolers want to see an actual kidding drop me a line and I will send them. I just don’t want to offend any urban sensibilities by blogging them. They are very, um, natural loL!
The other excitement from last week was that we had a meeting at the capital with our representative about the power line project. We are encouraged by our visit there and praying that everything is coming along just as God wills it to.
Well, by now I have no doubt taxed your attention spans. I imagine farm tales are a good deal less enthralling when it isn’t your farm. Still, it’s been a full week and I couldn’t be happier both to be living it and to have dear friends to share it with here. Life is good. : )
Oh Happy Day!
For Your Listening Pleasure
Y’all are in trouble now. ; ) We have found our way to You Tube. It would be more appropriate to say Asher deciphered the You Tube directions. If the Pioneer Woman can upload her rendition of Ethel Merman I figured I could regal you with my favorite teenage pianist’s rendition of William Joseph. Enjoy! Let me rephrase that: please enjoy despite the fact that I do have the worlds WORST digital camera…It was not tinny sounding in person, nor do we live in darkness lol! Maybe I should say we are LEARNING to YouTube <g>
(And I am tellin’ you right up front, do not bring a beverage with you to the screen when you visit the Pioneer Woman. There. Consider yourself informed. It is admittedly a bit racy, but the most rip-roarin’ good fun I have had in a while. : ))
Earth Day irony
Save the Earth – have a baby : ) Sound contradictory? Check out Maureen Wittman’s article to find out why that may not be so crazy after all. The last Earth Day celebration our family attended was in the mid ’90s. I had several young homeschoolers and was expecting another baby. It was free and educational so hey, we were there! Before attending this event I was not familiar with the term "zero population". I wandered past the Sierra Club table and saw literature with that phrase displayed. I stopped and read, bewildered. Did it really suggest that the solution to our environmental problems was the elimination of babies? Indeed.
The man behind the table was pacing and silently counting heads. He looked at my children like they were sucking his air. As the message his organization was presenting sank in I said, "My goodness! We must be your worst nightmare then, huh?" He didn’t say no. In fact what he did say, looking at my belly, was, "It’s not to late to stop!" I try not to think of what he was implying.
His solution to our environmental problems reminds me of those who are ‘eliminating’ birth defects by eliminating handicapped babies in utero. That doesnt solve a problem. We can do better than that. Maureen’s article has lots of food for thought. I am guessing our clan of 11 is easily more planet friendly than most families of four. We eat out maybe once a year. We make most of our food or buy it as ingredients rather than as packaged products. I drive an ancient van – twice a week. I buy all our clothing second hand and have furnished our home with about 75% thrifted treasures and refurbished hand me downs. We are raising animals suited to foraging in undesirable conditions. We tread lightly on the Earth. Tiptoes even. ; )
I admittedly have little tolerance for Hollywood figures jetting around the world dispensing environmental directives while they sip designer coffee in styrofoam cups, replacing their wardrobes every season, building oversized heated and cooled homes. My feeling is that environmentalism, like charity, begins at home. It begins small. It begins with selfdenial and thriftiness. It begins with phrases like:
Use it up, Wear it out, Make it do, Do without.
My best advice for saving the planet? Stay home. : ) You will use less, spend less, and want less.
As a followup to the toddler post here are some previous preschool resource entries:
http://starryskyranch.typepad.com/starry_sky_ranch/2007/02/woo_hoo_montess.html
http://starryskyranch.typepad.com/starry_sky_ranch/2006/09/lapbooks_life_s.html
http://starryskyranch.typepad.com/starry_sky_ranch/2006/12/montessori_todd.html
http://starryskyranch.typepad.com/starry_sky_ranch/2006/11/calling_all.html
http://starryskyranch.typepad.com/starry_sky_ranch/2006/11/how_to_raise_an.html
http://starryskyranch.typepad.com/starry_sky_ranch/2006/11/more_montessori.html
http://starryskyranch.typepad.com/starry_sky_ranch/2006/08/montessori_link.html
http://starryskyranch.typepad.com/starry_sky_ranch/2006/07/file_folder_gam.html
http://starryskyranch.typepad.com/starry_sky_ranch/2006/07/two_more_games.html
http://starryskyranch.typepad.com/starry_sky_ranch/2006/04/baby_games.html
Homeschooling with Little Ones
Meredith is having a Carnival of Toddlerhood Friday and I hoped to make a thoughtful contribution with all sorts of cutting edge advice. Yeah, well. Life, it happens. (see previous cow entry for this week’s excuse ; )) That tends to be considered a con when homeschooling with little ones. Current thinking on parenthood is that we ought to plan each moment of the day with factory precision. We should devise and implement thematic lesson plans for our little people. We should be sure to provide optimum musical, nutritional, social, philosophical, physical, emotional, financial, and educational experiences. Or else.
I have long suspected such obsessive parenting was not likely critical to successful child rearing but dog-gone it you sound downright second rate in the parenting dept if you say so. Dorcas Smucker helped me think about this differently. She shares how she tried heroically to stage memories that would rival those of her own childhood. From thanksgiving turkeys to Christmas candy making she felt perpetually let down by the realities of her life and longed to recreate picture-perfect experiences like those she remembered. Her sister even bought her a ‘Lets Make a Memory’ book to help her ‘send children into adulthood with a stockpile of good childhood memories.’ The irony of all this is that her own mother had hazy recall of how those deep seated family traditions came to be. Apparently she had not been a victim of what Smucker calls ‘nebulous parenting." Her mom knew that ‘memories creep in when you’re busy doing something else.’
This is so true.
Sometimes life trumps your best intentions. I believe, like Dorcas’ mother, that if you work hard, fear God, and have fun, memories will take care of themselves. Children remember love above all else. I hope to remember this:
My current toddler is on the cusp between baby and big boy. When he sleeps the baby side is most prominent though. Thank God for small favors <g> This will pass all too quickly. Anymore, while I still see the value of early childhood enrichment I appreciate that life itself is education. Bringing up our little people alongside of us in our busy days provides a rich and varied upbringing. Slowing ourselves to come alongside of our little people in these quiet moments keeps us sane.
It’s ok not to have every moment planned out. It’s ok to let your babies play. It’s not copping out to end up doing the dishes, washing the clothes, and making the meals instead of presenting a cross curricular wonder lesson. That is love too. Those things are chock full of opportunities for making memories and teaching our little guys. What is most important is the slowing down part. Don’t miss this time. I have said it before, if you blink twice, it’s passed.
Cow, Boy
Another day, another adventure for the Starry Sky folks. Outside my window this week I have seen this scene more than once:
That would be ours! The cow I mean. (Actually the boy is ours too ; )) This one falls under the general category of "Kim’s great ideas". We have been toying around with the idea of starting some beef cattle for quite some time but Allen has this maddening habit of waiting til we are prepared before jumping into a new project. Practical as that may be, we rarely ever feel truly prepared so things get put off til the inevitable happens. It usually shakes down like this: phone rings, friend says "Hey, we have a (fill in the blank). Do you want it?" I usually say "Ooooh Yes!!" then figure out a reeeeeally nice dinner to break it to Allen. I owe him a reeeeeeally nice dinner this week. <g>
Some friends of ours are moving unexpectedly and offered us a heifer they had just picked up at the sale barn. We brought her home Tuesday despite our current cow-smarts deficit. Her homecoming was followed promptly by a flurry of phone calls to rancher friends and a trip to the library. She seems no worse for wear in spite of our ignorance. I like to think what we lack in experience we make up for in enthusiasm. (hey, it worked for parenthood!)
Aidan seems to be a natural born cow-boy. He is trying his darndest to make friends with the wary calf. His dad is equally pleased. Apparently a cow ranks somewhat higher than dairy goat on the macho ranch animal charts. Hmmmph. I say you never saw any self respecting goat stick her tongue in her nose. To each his own. The men folk are happy as can be and I am willing to put money on them getting her a friend before long. After all it sounds way better to be a cattle rancher than a ‘cow’ rancher lol!
Her name? Merry Moo Cow. I didn’t make that news I just report it. <g>
Winter’s Last Hurrah
This was it no doubt. Our last snowstorm of the season. At least we hope so. <g> This was Saturday morning. Today the sun is shining down on grass and mud puddles. not a snowflake left in sight!
Connections
from Marva Collins’ Way on drawing analogies:
"What drug takes its name from Morpheus, the god of dreams?"
"Morphine," the children called out in unison.
"From where do we get the words geography and geology?""The goddess Ge," they answered.
"Who was Ge?"
"Greek goddess of the earth."
"What does museum mean?"
"Temple of the muses."
"What else does muse mean, Laura?"
"To think about something," she answered.
"Which of King Priam’s sons has a name which means to bully?
"Hector," the class responded.
"And who killed Hector?"
"Achilles."
"How did Achilles die?"
"Paris shot him with an arrow in the heel," Gary shouted, before anyone else could put together a complete sentence.
"And when we use the phrase Achilles heel what do we mean, Tracy?"
"A weak spot."
…and so it went. This is the key to quality classical education in my opinion. Many published unit studies attempt to help make those connections for the students/teachers but like Marva Collins, I believe the best way to make connections is to read widely. Many homeschool mothers worry that their lack of teacher training is a potential handicap. Marva said that the best training a teacher can have is a solid liberal arts education. If you did not come to home education with such a background you can still do exactly what she did: "read constantly in order to tie together fragments of information and interweave subjects."
That does not need to consist of reading intense literary texts either as we discovered reading aloud the other day. We had a picture book of Rip Van Winkle. When we began the story we learned Rip lived in the Catskills Mts near the Hudson River, which one daughter remembered was named after Henry Hudson who was looking for the Northwest Passage. This had just come up in her history book. That reminded them of the D’Aulaire Columbus book and the other explorers read about lately and a lively discussion ensued about why those men were trying so hard to get to Asia(silks, spices, etc)and how America was accidentally discovered in the process. They wondered why Hudson was called Hendrick in the book and what the significance of the Dutchmen was, so we discussed New York’s original name – New Netherlands, recalling the artist we studied this year, Rembrandt, who was also born there about the same time.
As we read about Dame Van Winkle’s nagging and scolding we discussed the bible’s definition of a valiant woman who brings her husband ‘good and not evil all the days of his life’. We discussed the significance of the sign over the tavern where Rip hung out – first bearing a picture of King George and later George Washington, hence alluding to the American Revolution. We noticed the illustrator was Will Moses which sounded an awful lot like Grandma Moses about whom we read earlier this year. Reading the book jacket revealed that he was indeed linked to her both by relation and artistically, painting in a similar primitive style. Later in the week a copy of Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion magazine had an ad for a Will Moses poster which another child immediately noticed and correctly connected back to the book and ‘Grandma’. And so it goes here. : )
We are reading a bit more slowly these days but exchanges like these are free lessons as far as I am concerned. They require no prep time, just a willingness to enter into the story with the children. I don’t believe any prepared lesson plan can effectively replace being well read, unless you are willing to be tied to a cumbersome lesson manual that will make artificial connections for you. Those will never work as well as the spontaneous connections made with our children as we call to mind similar people, places, and events read about before. We have benefited most in our homeschool journey not from complicated, and costly, lesson manuals but from hours on the couch or around the kitchen table hashing out ideas born from books.
Starry Sky Journal 
