Bird Watching Without a Camera

So, I have been enjoying a lot of bird sightings this weekend. First, about 3 years ago my wonderful husband and the Blessings made a bird nesting house. This house has hung outside for all this time with no birds choosing to make their home there. Well, a chickadee has decided to nest in there!!! Yippee! I think those natural bird feeders have something to do with this. We will have baby chickadees.
Then, yesterday while I was hanging my first load of laundry on the clothes line for the season, we saw seven eagles soaring overhead...so lovely.
This morning when I lifted the shade before making my bed I noticed two birds flying over, ducks, they made a couple of passes over our house before landing in the empty lot next to ours. 
Now I am waiting for those robins to return so I can see them dining in our yard every morning.....

Canoeing in the Yard

This spring the “ponds” in our yard are barely deep enough for some canoeing. This was the evening activity for the Blessings this week. They started out in this small pond.

Then someone got the idea to move to a deeper pond, so a portage was necessary.

Arriving at their final destination.



Then I hear a four wheeler arrive and I hop in to ride with Benjamin.

Watching

We rode through the deeper pond and caused a little wake for the canoers.

One final posed picture. How fun is canoeing in your yard? Won’t last much longer though as each day the ponds get a little smaller.

Water Fowl Return!

On Tuesday, Elisabeth had adjudication for piano mid morning and we had ice skating in the afternoon, so we packed a lunch for in between and had a van lunch at Creamer’s Field so we could watch the geese and sandhill cranes. Benjamin pretended to shoot them so there you have it folks, waterfowl hunting must be hereditary! There were many geese and only a few cranes.

The old dairy building. I would love to have seen this area when this was a dairy farm.

It is really a lost cause trying to get a picture of all four together but we try.

Resurrection Sunday

We did a horrible job taking pictures on Sunday. I meant to have someone take our picture at church on Sunday morning but I forgot. The group picture was taken before church on Sunday evening so the freshness and the morning hairdos were lost but since we are real people….here we are.

Here are the boys heading back to church

Benjamin admiring his marshmallow treat.

I did some sewing  and here is Elisabeth’s outfit.

Judith in her dress

I don’t sew for the boys, their clothes are fine from the store, not so much for those girls though.

Rain

We had a sprinkling of rain today, it was neat to see rain again.

The Green Will Come Again

Soon, very soon we will have leaves on the trees! I also noticed some green near the ground while Benjamin and I were being pulled around on the four wheeler. I will go investigate that at a later time….
Willow trees

With Spring Comes...

Mosquitoes.....I killed my first one today.

What Is He Doing?

I’m not really sure but it has something to do with spring bear hunting since that what he was preparing for.

What is up with this dog?

It Must Be So Fun to Have Older Siblings

Benjamin is so fortunate to have all these older siblings. He gets garden cart rides by big brother.

Then, when you think it can’t get any more fun, the sisters join in and things get even more exciting!


I am just excited that the snow is almost gone and there isn’t tons of standing water!

Saturday Morning

Just a little of this and that on this Saturday morning.
Yesterday was a town day, Judith has been complaining about her ear hurting so our first stop was at the local clinic to check those ears out. Ear infection, oh my. We were picked up by the crew and made a couple of quick stops then we went to lunch. After lunch we made one more stop to see if the other Fred's had the skirt I wanted for Sunday. Thankfully they did and it was on sale and I had a coupon.
After Fred's we went to pick up Judith's meds and head home. Once home, we donned our water boots and headed outside for the afternoon. It was nice to be outside but challenging as well since there is alot to be done inside, oh well. That is what today is for!
O and Levi are gone to start preparing their spring bear hunting area. The girls and I are cooking and cleaning today and keeping Benjamin occupied. First words out of his mouth at 6:20am were "Where Day (Daddy)? and Where Bubba?" It was down hill from there for a few minutes. Thankful that he went back to sleep for a bit!
Right now there is a riveting game of hide and seek taking place while we wait for the grain mill to finish. Better go check on that laundry....

A Little Spring Time

On the weekends our little fella gets lots of outdoor time since Dad is home to take him out. Poor little guy had to wait until after dinner today. But hey, at least we could go out after dinner. The big kids rode their bikes to check the mail (yes, there is still too much snow for them to ride but they still ride) so Benjamin hopped on his balance bike and we took off after them. We didn't make it as quickly as they did because we (Benjamin) had to stop at each house and point out all the four wheelers, snow machines, trucks and trailers. All that was new to him!




For this picture, I am standing next to the house, that snow is finally going away!


Benjamin swinging


Judith on the trampoline!

Benjamin going to join the jumping fun!


Pictures through the net here, sorry.

That boy can jump!

Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

 This recipe is my variation of Marilyn Moll of Urban Homemakers recipe.


Whole Wheat Bread  (this is a large batch for a Bosch mixer)
2 TBSP. white vinegar (acts as a dough enhancer)
 about 6 cups warm water
2/3 c. honey or sorghum or 1/2 c. granular sugar (I used evaporated cane juice crystals or sucanat)
2/3 c. oil (could use olive oil, coconut oil, or even butter, etc.)
3 TBSP instant yeast
2/3 cup each gluten, potato flakes, dry milk
2 TBSP salt
12-20 cups whole wheat flour (I add about 10-12 cups and begin mixing and then add until I know it is enough but not stiff, when the sides of the mixing bowl are clean) 




I also add a few Tablespoons of ground flax seed when I remember.




Place the 2 TBSP vinegar into the measuring cup and add water to the cup to fill to 6 cups. 
Add all ingredients into the mixer with dough hook and mix for about six minutes.  I dump this out onto my large cutting board that has been oiled and then cover with a towel to rise about 30-45 minutes. Shape into loaves and place in oiled or sprayed pans and cover again to rise. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. I get about 5-6 loaves out of this recipe.

There is some learning curve when working with whole wheat flour. I have had my grain mill now for a few years and then I threw myself a curve ball by purchasing the Bosch mixer and having to find a new recipe that worked for the larger capacity mixer. 

When I had my KitchenAid mixer I used this recipe for bread. Scroll down for the recipe. I doubled this recipe, which made two loaves.

Vitamin C Experiment

Judith is dropping lemon juice into the Vitamin C indicator, yep, there is vitamin C in lemons and oranges and kiwi, but not as much in those tomatoes.

Eleven Thirty a.m.

Once our little fella got to a once a day nap schedule we have had our 11:30 chore pack time. School stops and everyone works on their daily chores. This is what the kitchen looked like at the end of the morning school session. Levi and Benjamin set all this up while the girls and I finished up some of our daily lessons. Good thing it was clean up time!

Lemon Scones and a Taste Tester

When I saw this recipe for Mini Lemon Cream Scones I knew I had to try them. If you want a great picture look there because she can take good pictures. Someday I will have a different camera and take good pictures.


Benjamin liked them, he asks for one every day!

I also made bread and thought I would add a picture here. I think I have finally found the right recipe since I have had to adjust to the larger mixer. Saturday was a full kitchen afternoon; scones, bread, dinner and chocolate pudding (homemade of course).

Colonial America--Weaving

An actual school post? Wow, how amazing!
The kids have a weaving project going on with their history studies. So, out came the cardboad, scissors, and yarn.
Judith Rae weaving

Levi getting started.



Elisabeth weaving