Aunt T finds that getting photos is complicated when one is also actually doing childcare. I don't know how moms and dads do it.
We had a good time. File it under exhausting-but-worth-it. Ben is a very sweet boy, very considerate and concerned about others, and smart, too. Laika seemed to like to watch over him, and would spend some time in his bed every night.
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Photos from Baja, at last. But stay tuned; we're also writing about the trip in detail!
]]>And then let's see some of Ben goofing around at the holiday dinner table:
Finally, a couple of Ben and Maddie in front of their Christmas tree, holding objects they chose on impulse...Ben, a gift he received, and Maddie a toy chicken that they gave to Laika. They're funny kids and I love having the chance to be around them. I can only imagine what goofy things Lilly and Erica might do!
Happy New Year!
Uncle Steve's also got photos from that day. I'm going to hire Maddie as my stylist to make all of my fashion choices for me; she made me into a bride and made me carry a plaid pocketbook, she's obviously Project Runway contestant material!
Uncle Steve always posts his photos without fanfare, but you might also like the ones he took of our Thanksgiving Day excursion on the waters of the Laguna de Santa Rosa. That head you see popping out of the water is a river otter -- we saw a family of them, at least three! And they barked at us! I think the angry one may have been the mama to the others. It was so nice to get our kayaks out onto the Laguna, right near our home.
You've likely heard the story of the dreadful oil spill that fouled San Francisco Bay. I had the privilege of getting to help with some of the oil bird rescue, and you can read that over here on Critter geek.
We had a great time yesterday getting to visit with Uncle Andy...I didn't take many photos of that, and haven't even taken them off my camera yet, but if there were good ones, I'll post them later. I should have taken photos of the cute puppets that Ben and Maddie made, and of the fun puppet show!
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Steve has lots of great photos here also. Some of my favorites are:
And a little video of Laika being happy to get to stay in a hotel, where she's allowed to sleep with us. She's very funny about it, too...she has to get under the sheets and burrow down in. No sleeping on top at the foot of the bed for this puppy.
And here's Steve's video of Laika running in the snow:
Newer chicken photos to come, soon!
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We were happy to finally meet the rabbit, Shady Day. Laika really wanted to "play" with Shady Day. When we left, she stood in the back seat at attention, watching out the rear window for a couple of blocks..."Let's go back there, I really want to get closer to that bunny...."
]]>I found a whole little room full of racks of chicks and posters of what the various breeds would look like when they were full grown. More importantly, I found a man working in the room who was happy to tell me all about the different breeds and what I would need to take care of them. He also told me that the chick season was ending and they wouldn't have them much longer, which I conveniently decided was reason enough to get them now.
He agreed that the Barred Plymouth Rocks were good laying hens, but he recommended the Light Brahmas as extremely good "pet" chickens that would also produce eggs nicely. Since mortality is so high among baby chicks, he suggested getting five now...if all five live, he'll buy the extras back from me and pay a premium price for them (that includes any that turn out to be roosters...they're all supposed to be hens, and they're usually about 90% sure of that).
So we've got two Plymouth Rock and three Light Brahmas. Already I've decided that the Plymouth Rocks are smarter (they spend less time pecking the sides and floors of the box to see if that tastes good) and the Light Brahmas are sturdier. All of them survived lots of handling over the weekend and we hope they're on their way (three of them, anyhow) to a long happy life in our yard!
We also had lots of fun with Ben and Maddie over the weekend, including setting off Uncle Steve's rocket ship!
I couldn't believe that homemade bread would be that easy! Just mix flour, yeast, and water, let the yeast grow for several hours, fold it over once and let rise a second time for two hours, then bake. Too easy, right?
So I didn't have high hopes at the start...but as soon as I took the finished whole wheat loaf out of the oven, I was estatic. It was beautiful!
I immediately formed big plans to make a loaf of bread for us once a week...it was easy, and, unlike most recipes, it didn't make three or four loafs (which would be much too much for us, and I dislike making fresh bread only to store it!). I finished up the rest of dinner and we sat down to eat.
What a disappointment! The bread had no taste! In retrospect, it makes sense...it has nothing but flour, yeast, salt, and water...and it pretty much tastes like flour.
Terrible!
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Hedren is the founder of ROAR Foundation and Shambala Preserve, a sanctuary for big cats and other exotic animals who are rescued from situations of mistreatment and neglect. We were happy to donate to the cause in exchange for a photo with her and an autograph. We had her autograph our birding scope! Click here for all the photos.
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