The Varsity Team

We’re on our second week of school and have begun to settle into a routine. Josh went out for soccer and made the varsity team. He is pretty pumped about it. He is a talented soccer player and is looking forward to the season. His cross country coach is bummed that he chose soccer over XC, but he will run track in the spring. His school doesn’t actually have a soccer team; so he is playing for another larger school in the district. It took him a week and a couple of visits to various schools to decide which one he wanted to play for. I think he made a wise choice. He was steered toward a particular school by a couple of people. I took him over there, but I didn’t have a good feeling about it, thankfully he ended up choosing a different school. I’m glad he made the choice he did. If I would have forced it or told him he couldn’t play for a particular school, he would have been upset with me, but since he made the choice himself, all is good :o)

Yesterday I moved the last batch of chicks from the garage to the big pen. I checked on them several times and they seemed to be doing well so I left them together overnight. This morning I noticed they were pretty mean and had pecked the tar out of one chick’s head in particular, so I spent the morning constructing a pen within the pen for the chicks. I put the chicken wire just high enough that the chicks have full reign, but can run into the smaller pen for safety if needed. I put a waterer and feeder in there and also made them a small chicken house, so they have cover at night or in the event of rain. The big guys were chasing them out of the hen house, so now they have their own place. Hopefully they will get to know each other through the fence.

I also covered the top of the big pen with some deer netting that I picked up on clearance at the farm store. There was a pair of hawks in the trees next to the pen, so I needed to get that done today before I lost any chicks. I saw the eagles soaring around today as well; I’m beginning to think they have a nest on the peak near the west end of the property. I’ll have to hike up there soon and see. We found a previous years’ nest in the trees near the coop. The kids thought it was pretty cool. It’s really huge and had big sticks, amazing how strong they must be to build something like that.

Becca had an interesting day at work, 5 of her coworkers were arrested for theft. Made for an exciting day. I'm sure she will pick up more hours now that they are so short staffed.

I bought a DVD off eBay on the great depression. I love studying that era in history. It amazes me how people made do and weren't afraid to share what little they had with those in need. They pulled together and their faith was strong. Such incredible poverty on the heels of great wealth. I would like to think I would do okay if faced with similar challenges. It sure was a unique period in this country’s history. I’m looking forward to watching it when it arrives.