Much Ado

It's been a while since my last post and it's been a busy time for us. These last few weeks have been about trying to keep our head above water. We have had vehicle challenges and are at present down to one working vehicle. The truck broke down two weeks ago and as yet we have been unsuccessful in getting it back up and running. We are considering our options but it looks like we will have to have it towed to a garage for repair. The GEO that we purchased for Jeremy is beset with it's own set of issues. We are still in the process of trying to determine if we can fix the problems or if we will need expert help for this particular repair.

Randy had a hard time during February. He required a round of antibiotics for pneumonia, but once past that he has been feeling better. Recovery of strength and stamina is his goal now, and he tries to do a little something constructive every day. He has to be very careful not to overdue it however. In his case much of how he feels is dependent upon attitude. I'm sure this is true for most of us, but for someone with a history of depression, attitude alone can have a huge impact on health. Of course it is all related and is a cycle. If you feel good you do things and once you put forth the effort and accomplish something then you feel even better. The exact opposite is also true.

We have been making plans for vacation this summer. We are planning a trip to Connecticut for July. I still have to work out the details with my employer. At this point we are hopeful that we will be able to visit friends and family the second week of July. There is much to do before we can be ready. There is work to do on the house as we really must get the next phase completed, and we will need new tires for the van, and of course there is the budget to consider. Gas is $3.25/gallon in this area at this time. We have heard projections that it will be around $4.00/gallon by the time we take make this trip. I have wondered if we might fly cheaper, but don't like the thought of the limitations that traveling by airplane would place on us.

Had an interesting event (at least for us) happen recently. I have had chickens since we moved here, but this is the first time that I have ever had a hen go broody and sit on a clutch of eggs. This particular hen is young, only having been hatched herself this summer. None the less, she went broody and began sitting on a days worth of eggs, which in this case was 3. I decided to leave her alone and see if she would stay on the eggs as sometimes the broodiness is only temporary. After 3 days of setting she had a total of 10 eggs under her. I marked these 10 so that I could remove new eggs from the nest on a daily basis. I was a little worried when we hit the 21 day mark and none of the eggs had hatched. However, by day 22 we had 2 chicks and by day 23, 7 of the 10 eggs had hatched. I am unsure whether or not an eighth egg hatched, because she left 2 eggs in the nest and instead settled herself on the floor with the new chicks. I have only been able to count 7 chicks but it is possible that number 8 is hiding under momma.