AWANA Grand Prix 2014

It is time for the annual WBF AWANA Grand Prix.  The kids have a good time working on their cars.  We have several categories that they are judged on.  The first is design and the second is speed.  There are also several different design categories.  The kids race in their groups, or they can enter the...

Open race, which has way fewer rules.  That is the group the adults enter (no age restrictions), the cars can weigh up to 15oz instead of 5 oz.  and they don't have to use the official wheels or block.

This T-Bob's race car.  Can anyone tell me what he used to make the insect on top of his car?  He did paint it and glue on the antennae.  But the body and antennae  all came from the same thing.  I will give a prize to the first person that guesses it.  No fair guessing if you were told what it is!  I will give you a book if you guess.

The clubbers had a great time.

Here is how our track is set up.  There were a few technical glitches in the timing and computing end, but they eventually got them worked out.

Elizabeth had her little buddy with her a lot of the time.

Phil was really proud of his winning hot wheel.  The Cubbies get their race cars provided for them.

Michelle enjoyed holding baby Lee.

On your mark, Get set, GO!

Lots of kids come to our AWANA program!  We have 80-100 kids come every week.  That means that most of them don't come to our church.  It is a real ministry opportunity.  It is exciting to see the kids learning their Bible verses and doing their lessons and listening attentively, in between playing games and snacks.

T-Bob did win second place in the design category.  The clubbers are looking to next year already.  Trying to plan how they will design their next car and how to make it go even faster!

Second Batch of Chicks at the Farm

Spring is supposed to be close by.  It is chick season.  The high today was about 60 degrees and sunny.  So nice!  There is only snow left in the ditches, shadows and plow piles.  We are enjoying that warm sunny feeling.  T-Bob even washed the vans today to get the half inch layer of salt off.  Gotta love Ohio.  Did I mention that the low temp on Wednesday is to be 7 degrees and the wind will be blowing 30+ MPH out of the north?!!! Yep and bringing along  6-10 " of snow.  Whoohoo!  If you don't like Ohio weather stick around a day or two and it will change.

Last week, we picked up 16 Black Jersey Giant roosters.  15 survived and are thriving!  I wondered what would happen when we introduced the big batch of  little hen chicks.  On Saturday my DH built us a BIG coop for the chicks.  Something that we could use with 60+ chicks in cold weather (See above)  It may be awhile before they can be on grass.  I moved the roosters to the big box yesterday afternoon.  It was so funny.  They all ran wildly and flapped their little wings and jumped.  Then they started the chest bumping and play fighting.  Trying to be tough.  Finally they settled down and rested.

We put the little hens into the coop and they started running wildly.  They started running as pairs at the bigger roosters and pretty soon almost all my big guys were hiding their heads in the far corner.  The little day or two old hens had bossed the week old roosters into submission.  Maybe there is some farm sense in the old saying about somebody being a 'hen pecked husband'.

I am a total newbie when it comes to chickens.  I have done a lot of reading in the last couple months, so all my choices were based on other's opinions and what I like.  First off, I am looking for egg production and so I listened to my brother and bought some white leghorns to lay lots of white eggs.  Then I bought some of his other suggestion, Golden Buffs, to get lots of brown eggs.  (See I do listen to you, bro!  At least some of the time!)

 One thing I have learned is that I like to watch our chickens.  It is relaxing and fun.  I like variety as well.  Our first batch we bought 2+ years ago was mixed.  I really enjoy seeing them range around the backyard.  I like to see different kinds of birds foraging in the back.  I picked some Barred Rocks, and Black Austrolarps.  Both are hardy and good layers.  Most afternoons I take a quart of corn and toss it into the bottom of their deep bedding layer of their coop.  I watch them dance and till up the bedding.  The barred rocks are excellent tillers, the white leghorns, not so much.  The other characteristic I was looking at was amount of meat on the bird and cold tolerance.  I don't want to go through the work of butchering, only to end up with barely enough meat for a sandwich.  I  did order 10 'brown layer assortment'.  That will give me some variety to watch.  It is a bit of a mishmosh, but I am OK with that.

How big is this new coop that my DH built for us?  It is HUGE!  That is Elizabeth, who is about 5 ft tall sitting in the coop with the chicks!  He used doors as the long sides and some plywood on the ends.  I think it is about 4 ft wide.  We have the far end tarped to minimize drafts.  We have 3 heat lamps on the open end.

The chicks seem comfortable and spaced evenly, not just under the hot spot of the lamp, so I assume they are warm enough.

Elizabeth had a friend over today to enjoy our new chicks.  They had a good time.  Elizabeth is on her way to becoming a real farm gal!

Random Thoughts

Bill and Joann

I know, It has been awhile since a posted an entry on my blog.  Things have been rather busy here lately.  I have had the flu for the last week, and I am finally starting to feel a bit better.  The other sad news here is that my father-in-law was just put on hospice.  My in-laws live in Las Cruces, NM.  He is 87 and has lived a full life.  He played touch football with the young men until he was 70 and could keep up with them.

My DH and his Dad

After retiring as a public school teacher, he went on to a second career doing maintenance  and organization for the New Tribe's Mission flight Training Base in Arizona.  While they were living there he had a huge prison ministry.  He was going into the prisons and doing Bible Studies with the guys.  He would go as many as 5 times a week.  He loved it and the guys loved him.  It was a really good fit for him.  When his Parkinson Disease got to bad he and Mom moved in with one of my husband's sisters in New Mexico.  They have done an amazing job taking care of them.  If you think of it, be in prayer for my DH's dad and his family.

Marbles

NOTE: Transitionless subject change.  When we bought the farm, it came with four cats.  We did not realize that our boss cat, Marbles, is a community icon.  We have people stop in just to check on him.  They have other people that want to know.  What a responsibility!  What will happen when he dies?  He is like 11 years old already!  Seriously!  I was outside this morning taking care of the chickens, when some lady drove in just to check on Marbles.  She was pleased to see him looking well.  She was going to report back to the guys who do maintenance at the prison! No pressure.

The chicks are growing and thriving.  One did die, but it just never grew.  It made it until yesterday.  It was the same size and weight as when we got it.  The others are getting feathers and are about 3 times as big.  My DH made a BIG chick pen for us. I have to move them  later today. They are outgrowing their book shelf coop.  THe space they are in is really a bookshelf laying on it's back.  We have to have a cover on it or they could jump/fly out.  I will take pictures.  We are getting a big batch of chicks tomorrow, so we have to have room for them all under the lights.  I actually like having them in the basement.  I check on them frequently, like every time I go down to do a load of laundry and when I get food out of the pantry.  With a family like ours, that is a frequent happening.

This made me laugh!  Long and hard.  When you are sick, scripture says that  a merry heart is a good medicine!  I took this picture on Friday at one of my stops. (Yes, I went and saw patients despite being sick.  I didn't cough in their houses, and they all gave it to me the week before!)  Can you tell what it is?

It is  made from a metal tractor seat with a hole cut out of the middle of it set on a metal tank.   Can't imagine what that must feel like to sit on when it is cold! It is really a milking stool.  Although it does look like it could double as a chamber pot. They keep it in their garage rather than the barn. I am so glad that I wasn't born into a Swartzentruber family!

Have a wonderful weekend!

The First Chicks Arrive at the Farm

Today was "Pick up the chicks" Day.  Or so I thought.  We drove all the way to the Hatchery and spent about $12 in gas.  Only to be told when we arrived that our order wouldn't be ready until NEXT monday.  Boy did I feel dumb.  I guess somehow the three in the month travelled over to the date side and  I thought I was to pick them up today.  Did I mention that I have dyslexic tendencies?!!  Anyways, I didn't want to waste the trip.

They had two big tubs of mixed birds.  Do you know that there are one day old chicks that sell for $50?  That's crazy!! What if it died?  The birds in the tub can be a number of different breeds.  You take pot luck on what kind you are getting if you buy them out of there.  We decided to skip those.

Our new chicks in their box

Instead, we opted for these guys.  Not necessarily a bargain, but at least a good deal.  I have been wanting some large roasting birds.  I get tired of having to roast three birds if I want to feed our family and a friend or two.  These are Black Jersey Giants.  They grow up to 12#.  Their downside is that they mature slowly.  I wanted to know what I was getting in to and so I asked the sales lady how long they take to reach maturity.  She told me, "24 months".  I asked her if it really took 2 years for these birds to mature, cause if that was true, I wasn't interested!!!!  She rethought it and decided that she should have said 24 weeks instead.  Shouldn't be a problem.  They will live in the pasture all summer.  They will be ready to put in the freezer by August.  A more typical timeframe for chickens to reach maturity is 16-20 wks.

The chicks are so cute.  They are little fuzz balls.  They just bring delight.  Their little peeps are so pleasant.  

The girls took them out of the box in the van to hold them.  They were irresistible. 

The chicks were happy to find a warm spot and checked it out.  We had the heat lamp on, and they really enjoyed it.  I can hear them cheeping as I write this!

It didn't take long and they were eating and drinking.

We did put marbles in the bottom of the water container where they drink from.  You don't want a chick to fall in and drown.

Next week I will once more be driving down to the hatchery to get more (46) chicks.  I love farming!!!

Random Things

The junior high basketball season is officially over.  At the end of the season, we had a parent vs the team game and a potluck.

There was a lot of switching in and out.  The parents had the height advantage and there were some guys who played college ball who were still in good shape.  There were also a lot of parents who kept the game within range for the kids.

The  kids did a great job rotating players in with a good attitude.  They coached themselves and did very well.

Thomas had practiced with the team all season and he finally got to play with them.  I think he really enjoyed that.  His plan is to grow 3 or 4 inches before next year so that he will be tall enough to get to play with the JV or varsity team.  He needs to add a few pounds too.

 Some of the parents were very sore the next day after a few hard falls.  Everybody had a great time and a good time was had by all.  The potluck was very nice too! It was a successful season!

This friday  was the annual Celtic Ball with the Speech and Debate team.  The guys love it!  Usually most of us get to go.  This year I had the bookends with me in Amish country and Michelle wasn't feeling well.  Paul decided he would rather go to his own activity.

 Thomas and T-Bob love to go and do the country dances.  T-Bob danced every dance!  They look good when they get all cleaned up.  One of the rules at the dance is that the guys aren't allowed to ask the same girl to dance more than once an evening unless they are a sibling or in an established relationship.  It is a really fun time.

 Every once in awhile this is what we see out our window.   If you have read my Amish articles, you should be able to identify the type of Amish in this buggy.  Can you do it?

We had visitors yesterday.  It was so nice to see them again.  The Hyltons were in town.  Will wanted to be on the blog!  The visit was duly noted and recorded.  The guys had a good time walking to the back of the property and exploring.  They took Dallas with them and he came back with mud up to his shoulders.

Poor Michelle had to bathe him before he could come in the house for the night.  She scrubbed him down and he smelled purty when she was done.

 She had to wrap a towel around her to protect her clothes.  It was pretty cold out for an outdoor bath.  The temperature was below freezing.  Incidentally, by this morning all the ground was once again covered with a nice bright covering of snow.

The boys have once again been enjoying the heat from the fireplace.  They find it cozy to read or play games there.  So nice!

Tomorrow, we go and pick up our chicks and work on our seed starting and other farm projects as well as the daily chores of getting laundry done, cooking, etc.

Busy Days

 Life has been quiet and busy lately.  We have been enjoying beautiful sunsets almost every night.  I have been spending my time reading and planning my garden and how we will utilize the property.  We did get our CUAV application in so that we continue getting taxed as an agricultural property. That is all good.

Basketball season is over and debate is in full swing.  We are getting ready, our debate club, to host the next tournament.  The Boss is heading up the IE (speech) events.  This has a very steep learning curb.  Most all the stuff is done on the computer and my DH is not highly tech savvy.  He is learning though and working hard!  I am the ballot check-in chairman.  I train the people who are doing ballot check-in.  This is not too hard of a job, as most of the people doing it are experienced and know more about it than I do.  We spend a lot of time listening to Thomas go on and on with different arguments on different cases.  He spends hours and hours working on it!  We have to spend hours listening to him process out loud what he has been learning!  Sometimes our ears get tired, but we learn a lot too.

The weather has been frigid again, or is it still.  The ground is white with snow.  Hard to believe that March starts in two days!  We pick up our new chicks on Monday.  I will show you lots of chick pictures.  That is chicks as in the offspring of hens, don't get too excited guys!  Saturday I am planning on getting my seeds started.  Our basement is going to be a happening place.  With plants and chicks as well as the usual laundry and bow business all going on together.  Hope it works out.

Tomorrow is an Amish country day and in the evening there is a English Country Ball.  The three teenagers are going.  If we get back from Amish Country in time, some of the rest of us will go.  It is always a lot of fun.  The children are working hard on getting their school done.  We are keeping the critters happy in the cold weather and enjoying the peaceful life on the farm.