Chicken Tractor is Getting Full

I got a few more chickens last week. Reddick's Hardware down the road was selling some full grown chickens, but the banties only came as a hen/rooster pair. So, we have added new housemates for Henrietta.

Introducing "The Colonel"
The Colonel crows every morning at 6:45 on the dot for about 15 minutes. He continues to crow throughout the day. He's an Old English Bantam breed and is very handsome - and very protective of his girls.


Introducing Penelope
Penelope is not as attractive as Henrietta, but she currently has better standing in the flock. Penelope actually lays! So far, we've gotten almost an egg a day from her. Will has really taken on the duty of looking for eggs, so I like Penelope just for that.




The pictures aren't the best, but The Colonel is insistent that they don't stand still for pictures.

Kaity loves the little banty eggs - we just have to watch her to make sure she doesn't smash them accidentally.


The eggs are about 1/3-1/2 the size of a regular egg. They're pretty cute.

Wipe Out!

Last night, Kaity was running around "naykid" after her bath. She still had jello on her face, so I told her to go back to the tub and wash her face again. She takes off, runs into the bathroom, flies up into the air and lands on the back of her head. Apparently, she had dumped a bunch of water out of the tub onto the floor and it was very wet. I'm really suprised she didn't bust her head open, but she did end up with the biggest goose egg that either of my kids have ever had. She complained of her head hurting all night, but more from it being sore than her head actually hurting. We did keep an eye on her all night and her goose egg is still there this morning, but it doesn't seem to bother her unless she presses the back of her head up against something. On the way to school this morning, we did have this conversation:

Kaity "I want my hair short like yours."

Me "Why? Your hair is pretty."

Repeat five times. And, finally a response.

Kaity "So that you can see the boo boo on my head."

On a side note, my hair isn't that short - it's a bob. But, I guess It's shorter than hers.

Made it to Portland!

I made it to Portland. We left at 2:30 am from Gainesville and arrived at 10:50 am (1:50 pm ET). Of course, we couldn't check into our rooms because it was too early. After buggging the front desk for a couple hours, we finally got in, but then immediately headed to the trade show. I was able to come back and take a nap for a little bit, before heading down at 7:30 pm (10:30 ET) for a reception. By the end of the day, I was pooped. And, of course I got up at 3:15 am this morning. I made my self stay in bed until 5:40 (8:40 ET) and finally got up. Right now, I'm down in a very empty lobby waiting for breakfast to start. We're in for a very busy day today. Our presentation is this morning and then garden tours this afternoon.

Back on the home front, we thought Will was coming down with something. He's been running a fever on and off for a couple of days. But, seemed to be better yesterday morning, so he headed to school. When John went to pick him up, all Will could talk about was a party at school that night. I knew there was a building dedication, but had no idea that it was a party - pizza, hot dogs, slide, bounce house, etc. Of course, John had to take them back for it and the kids seemed to have a blast. Today, we had been invited to a friends house for party to watch the UF-UT game. I'm not there, so obviously I can't go. John will probably take the kids at least for a little bit.

The weather is beautiful here, but cold for me (everyone else says its "brisk"). Hopefully, I'll have some pictures to post today. Signing off from Portland - Em

Busy Week Ahead

This is going to be a busy week ahead for all of us. I leave for West Palm Beach on Wednesday to give a presentation Thursday morning to the Florida Turfgrass Assocation. I'll drive back Thursday, have dinner with the fam, go to bed for 3-4 hours and then get up at 1 am to drive to Jax and catch a flight to Portland, Oregon. I'll be in Portland until the following Wednesday at the Garden Writers Association conference. I'm really looking forward to going since I've never been to the Pacific Northwest. And, this is a really unusual conference. Usually you don't get to see much at conferences, but since this is garden writers, there is a garden tour every day. So, I should see some great scenery. The time difference is really going to get to me (GWA apparently goes way into the night with their events). Even though I'm so excited to go, I wish it was done and I was home already. I miss these guys while I'm gone and there's so much I'm wanting to do at home right now. But, everyone will get to see some of the photos that we take out there. I'm a fairly decent photographer, but compared to the others in my office that are going, I'm not very good. So, most of the pictures won't be taken by me, but it will be stuff I've seen with my very own eyes. One of the places I'm really excited about going to is the Portland Classical Chinese Garden. It looks amazing.


While I'm gone, John will be on Mr. Mom duty and will have to get Will to school by 8 every morning in Micanopy, drop Kaity off in Gville, pick Kaity up in Gville, pick Will up in Micanopy by 5:30, read Will a book for his homework, feed them (and himself), bathe them and do it all over again! He's also planning to go to a friend's house for the UF-UT game with the kids on Saturday. It's a pool party so that should be fun. Kaity won't get in past her knees, but Will is brave enough to jump in and swim now (pictures of that coming soon).

Luckily, we're very fortunate to live near family. Since we're 300 yards from John's parents, Nana is going to help out a little. Larry is headed to the great state of TX, so he won't be around. Aunt Alli is also (hopefully) planning to stay a couple days and help. She works on campus, so it's very close to Kaity's school. And, the kids will love that Ruby will get to stay for a little bit. I should say that Will will love it - Kaity is NOT a dog person no matter what the size or cuteness of the dog is.

So, all in all, it's a really, really busy week for the Eubanks! Hopefully, when I get back we'll have some time for some projects - making aprons, cleaning out the flower beds, building fence, working with the goats, etc.