Where did my summer go? This year is a mixture of things that went well (at least for a time) and those same things when they didn’t. But, isn’t that really how life goes?
Garden
Let’s start with the garden. We managed to plant most of it when we should. We actually kept up on weeding for about half the summer. Then the chickens wouldn’t stay in their pen and kept eating the tops of the lettuce and carrots as they emerged. Clipping wings didn’t work to hold them in. So, we were left with chasing them whenever we saw them in the garden and shooting them with a BB gun from the dining room window. It worked, at least the plants had a chance to grow. It didn’t keep the chickens out entirely.
Then there were the potatoes. Again, not a bad start, but between two boys who are learning and a dog who evidently likes them, one of my usual can’t mess up crops didn’t turn out so well. One boy couldn’t get the hang of watering the garden correctly and one refused to work at the weeding assigned to him and the dog kept digging up the potatoes. We assumed he was digging gophers and moles, but evidence now shows he’s been eating them. Oh, and one of our other dogs has been digging up carrots and eating them.
Back to the chickens, after the first round of beans, the chickens discovered them and began eating the blossoms. So much for a nice bean harvest. The next project is…redo the chicken pen so next year we can keep them in.
Other activities
We survived Swim Team. The kids continued to improve and I felt more comfortable running the software for the meets. As swim team ended (Champs were on a Saturday) VBS began (that Monday). It was a bit crazy, but at least they weren’t going at the same time. VBS went well, I think. At least we had no major catastrophes. It is all cleaned up and various items repacked.
The house somewhere in the middle of the summer went from neat and organized to just mostly clean. We are correcting this as quickly as I can manage it. The process of catching up on all the details that have been neglected always feels like it takes much longer than it should.
We had several new and visiting critters this summer. Our visitors, included a Douglas squirrel and a Tiger Salamander. New members of the farm are Buck and Snickers, our new horses.
The garden is now harvested and mostly prepped for winter. Can you believe we had snow already (right near the end of September)? We have been going on schoolwork long enough the kids are mostly into the swing of it. The seeming inevitable daydreaming sessions continue to drag the schoolwork out longer than necessary. The process of managing to 4 different levels of schooling is interesting. At least with the twins, it isn’t every day. The dyslexia struggles are getting better, too.
Highlight for the year
Our highlight for the year is our 4 youngest all asking Jesus into their hearts. Timothy back in February. Jubilee at the end of August. And Joseph and Elizabeth the first of September. Addie made a cake for them Sep. 1st to celebrate. Jubilee was the sweetest. She came to Addie and said “Jesus is drilling at my tummy.” After Addie was able to figure out what she meant, she was then able to help her pray to ask Jesus to come in.
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