Rachael Eliker's Blog, page 82

All the Fun

What a workout pushing them all the way back to the horses! Of course, they giggled the whole way...Kids get to have all the fun!

Winter Surprise

A fresh start of beautiful blue eggs!A few days ago, I was out in the morning, checking and feeding the animals and was delighted to find an egg (even if it was already frozen and cracked). One of the hens has already begun casually laying an egg every other day without any prompting.

What a nice winter surprise.

Little Farm

Jack, Kate and Raven gathering the sap.Maple syrup season has been in full swing lately so after work, Jack asks the girls if they want to go with him to collect the sap. Last time, Kate was the only one to volunteer.
I loved watching Kate narrate what was happening, Raven wagging her tail everywhere she went and the rooster crowing boisterously, trying his best to be more impressive than the neighbor's Leghorn rooster.
Getting the very last drop of syrup.Life on this little farm is so fun.

Snow Eater

I warn the girls that eating snow can be kind of yucky if they aren't careful. Raven doesn't really listen.

Pick Up Chicks

After finding someone nearby who was selling chicks at a reasonable price, I set up a time to swing by and pick them up. Then I texted Jack, "Do you want to go with me Saturday morning to pick up some chicks? We'd have to leave about 7am." Apparently he was snickering with his coworkers (Hey--my wife just asked if I wanted to go pick up chicks with her) and after some jovial teasing where I completely forgot the slang use of chicks, he agreed to go with me to pick up poultry. Hey, when I...

Little Angel Gowns

A beautiful example of one of their dresses for an infant girl.Recently, I attended an area meeting for women in church leadership positions. After a bit of training, we broke into groups for brief presentations, one of which was for Little Angel Gowns. The premise of the group makes me teary-eyed every time I think of it: they take donated wedding dresses and turn them into burial gowns for babies who have passed away.
Taking my wedding dress for one last ride.So, naturally, I packed up my we...

The Master and The Apprentices

Evelyn brought home a flier about her school's talent show and as I read off all the things she could participate in--singing, dancing, magic tricks--she cut me off with a very stern, curt, "I'm not doing that." However, when I mentioned she could submit artwork, her eyes lit up and she immediately agreed to paint something.
After a few days of preparation, deciding what she was going to create, sketching the rough outline and gathering materials, she spent a rigorous Saturday painting her mas...

Always an Adventure

Jack and I recently celebrated our eighth wedding anniversary. If I had to sum up what it's like being married to him, I'd say it's like being married to a grown-up Peter Pan (think of Robin Williams in Hook after he returns from Neverland). There is never a dull moment with Jack.
Racing each other to the Children's museum entrance.With Jack, there is always an adventure. Sometimes those adventures are fun and exciting, other times they're difficult, heartbreaking and troublesome. Still,...

One Down

Dancer's plain but pretty.I set a goal for myself to work the horses fifty-two times this year. I admit I have a bad habit of keeping horses in the backyard, thinking I'll just get everything done on my to do list done before I go out and enjoy the my big, beautiful equines. We all know how that goes though: by eight thirty at night when the girls are in bed, I've done all the chores I can muster for the day, it's dark and I'm tired and I still didn't go out and work the horses.
After sev...

Sap

Let maple syrup season begin! Kate and Claire helping.With the weather cooperating earlier in the year for the maple sap to flow (below freezing at night, above freezing during the day), Jack took the girls out to tap the trees a little earlier than last year.
All of this...We didn't start saving milk jugs quite soon enough but we're making due. He tapped the most productive trees first and will go down the line until they're all tapped.
...boils down to this!Pancakes, anyone?