A Week of Kids

Your blogger has been retired for three years this past week. 

I have gotten used to sleeping a little later than I did during 

my working life.  

This week has been a revelation, Jax and Paiton have to 

come at 6:15 to 6:30, as their mom has to be at work 

shortly after 7.  

They do this every morning of every school day of the year, 

and of day camp during the summer. 

In fact, that's why they are coming to me this week, 

day camp ended last Friday and school starts

next Monday. 

I am WORN OUT.  

I do not know where they get all their energy! 

They are going out to do chores with me every morning, since I 

have to open up the henhouse every morning, as when I lived there. 

We continue to look out for the raccoons: 

As you see... the visitations continue.  We have finally determined it is a mother and three half-grown babies. 

Notice that the popholes are barricaded.  However... they could get in through the front door, I think, if they were really determined.  I am hoping they are not. 

I am dumping the water bowls in the evening, and 

taking the food bowls in... what you see is spilled feed. 

Good gravy Gert. 

This is hard to see... but there is a raccoon at the bottom of the pole holding the 

suet that I hang for the birds... and there is another one up the pole actually eating the suet. 

No wonder there is suet missing every night.  The thing that kills me is the 

raccoons are so lazy... they have gotten used to eating in the chicken yard. 

When we lived there full time, we did not have these problems, because Lilly and Ranger ran them out. 

Here is a happier picture... one I posted on Facebook today. 

That's Jacob closest to the camera, Jax, Paiton, and Grandma (me) at the front, driving the train at the Ag Hall this afternoon.  We had another family behind us... and we had a blast going around the lake.  I'm hoping to get a picture from the front this weekend.  

I need an engineer's hat, and I found out today where to get one! 

The kids have been helping pick tomatoes and peppers daily. 

I am going out later to lock the birds up... and for once, I got to see The Beacon of the Farm last night. 

I am trying to teach the kids to look around them.  We stopped to look at this vulture this morning. 

And while they played on the patio as they waited for me this morning, 
this beautiful cicada drifted down from the tree right next to Jax.  I thought for a minute he 
was dead, as we examined him... but tonight I looked as I went by doing chores, and he was gone. 

Neither child is scared of bugs. 

The light is changing, my friends.  Fall grows closer. 

Fall of our lives growing closer, too.