05

       Our weather is finally warm, hot actually, but very wet. We've had at least a little bit of rain nearly every day. Most days it's been more like a lot of rain in the form of some pretty nasty storms. The grass needs mowed something awful, but the rain usually hits just as we are getting home at the end of the day. I am hoping to get a break before the weekend.
       The chickens are doing very well. We are so pleased with this bunch. They are a mix of Arucanas, Silver-laced Wyandots, Black Australorps and Buff Orpingtons and they are much calmer than the Rhode Island Reds. Tim says we will never have more of those.   The buff's are his favorite. I picked those, but the Arucanas are turning out to be my favorites. They have such nice personalities. I've made a real pet of one......she likes to be held and carried around. The problem is, "she" is not a she. Esmeralda began crowing a couple of weeks ago. Oops! Tim likes him, too, so the jury is still out on whether he stays or goes at butchering time. My fingers are crossed that he stays docile.
       On Monday I was taking the high school kids home when I went around a bend on a rather isolated stretch of road and saw a car weaving all over the road as something sailed out the window (actually, it was more than one something). Imagine my horror as I realized it was kittens!   When he realized he'd been spotted, the man took off too quickly for me or any of the kids to get his license number. I pulled up beside the kitties and three little white faces with big blue eyes looked up at me. Oh man. I broke the rules and allowed one of the girls to get off the bus and set them back off the road. I kept thinking about them the rest of the afternoon and rushed back as soon as I got off work. Sure enough, they were sitting right where they'd been placed.....hissing, spitting and snarling for all they were worth (wouldn't you if you'd just been flung out the window of a moving car?). I managed to get them in my car with minimal loss of flesh and blood (mine) and brought them home. It's taken them a little bit, but they are beginning to warm up to us and not be so fearful. We are going to keep one of them. Megan has already named it Blizzard. A friend from work is taking one (and giving me a black one in return) and someone else from work may know someone that will take the third one. In the meantime, they have taken over the deck and a nearby stack of concrete blocks which they pop up out of looking for all the world like a game of Whack-a-mole!
       Tim was lucky enough to get a call to do some repelling work at a mine near Jennerstown last week. He repels down the high walls to scale lose rock that they can't reach with machines. If necessary (and it was this time) he also drills and sets dynamite shots (he has his blasting license). It was money out of the blue so we decided to enjoy some of it. Matt got the paintball gun he has been wanting. Megan got an electric scooter. We got the table and chairs we've been wanting for the deck and Tim and I went out to dinner at Red Lobster....ALONE! That was nice enough, but Tim also treated me to a trip to Barnes & Noble where he bought me Storey's Basic Country Skills and Sink Reflections , the Fly Lady's guide to getting your home in order. I can't wait till summer vacation starts. I will definitely be spending some time on the porch swing reading through those! I also got the kids books to start on their summer reading with. For Matt I got Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin. I had to read it in high school and it made a big impression on me. I think he will find it very interesting. For Megan I got the first book in the Trixie Beldon series. I read those books when I was her age and was tickled to find that they are republishing them for a new generation.
       We don't have a garden this year because Mom and John decided they wanted to garden here rather than at John's place up on the ridge. They said they are tired of raising salad for the deer. So, all I have this year is a couple of tomato plants in pots on the deck, but boy are they doing great. They are over 3 feet tall and loaded with blossoms. One even has 6 green tomatoes already!
       Well, hate to catch you up and run, but it's back to work for me. I'm filling in on a kindergarten route today for a woman who's getting a new grandbaby! Have a wonderful Memorial Day celebration with family and friends.
       Carpe diem!