Look Who Came to Visit

This fellow was spotted in the tree right beside our garage. The dogs barked, the cat tried to befriend him and Josh offered to shoot him with his BB gun. He wisely left when darkness fell.
~photo by my Sarah

It's a Pig Deal...

Josh's tomato-loving pig.

In the show arena.

Big brother Andy was home for the weekend to help.

All cleaned up and exercising.

Cuts of pork demonstration poster.

We are so proud of Josh! Josh did a great job with his 4-H hog project this year.  He carried heavy pails of water and feed to the barn multiple times a day, kept a 4-H record book, did a demonstration on the cuts of pork and worked with his pig. While his pig may not be a champion- his work ethic is surely in the championship category!

It's That Time of Year Again!

It's time for frogs!! My boys are delighted! The weather has been gorgeous and unseasonably warm. Perfect weather for frogs. They have also been working on a snake and fish collection.

Ahhh...taking a little break. Catching frogs is hard work.

This fellow jumped right up on Josh's foot. (That's a Kodak moment at our house.) At last count they had 28 frogs and 1 toad. They let the 6 garter snakes go after much encouragement to do so. But I let them add 6 fish to our goldfish aquarium. I'm not sure what kind they are but they are coexisting peaceably with the goldfish.

Winter Sun

This morning was one of those gorgeous winter mornings when the sun shines and the snow looks glittery. The temperatures are still below normal. This picture is of our backyard and aimed towards the creek that runs beside our property. For some reason, the cats always make a path in the same spot. In the summer, the grass is worn away where they walk. If you look closely, you can see a Blue Jay in the bush.

God thunders marvelously with His voice; He does great things which we cannot comprehend. For He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth’; Likewise to the gentle rain and the heavy rain of His strength. ~Job 37:6

Here is a close-up of the Blue Jay. Isaac and I watched two of them steal Jeb's dog food while we did his math this morning. The outside cats were also watching -but they weren't fast enough.

Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ~Matthew 6:26

Too Cute

Here are our 3 little kittens. They are so cute!

This poor little fellow got his leg shut in the door today. He is receiving special care and attention because of it.

Zooing It

We had a great time at the Ft. Wayne Children's Zoo on Saturday. The tickets were a gift from WBCL. The day started out rainy but turned out to be just perfect. We even got to bring along a cousin! If you love frogs as much as my guys do...then this one is a great size.

This ostrich was very curious. He was attracted to my watch gleaming in the sunlight.

The guys heading out on their expedition into the Austrailian Adventure.

The kangaroos are actually loose. We have even had the opportunity to pet one on a past visit.

The farm area with a very friendly horse.

Some Pig!

This is Chad. (For some reason my kids think it's funny to name animals human names.) I think that you can tell by this picture that Chad has an attitude. He is the first 4-H pig that we have had that has left a scar on a family member. He seems to be rather territorial as in...."Don't get in MY pen."

Here is my 10 year old showing Chad at our county fair. Chad did not want to co-operate. He went to the far end of the show arena and would not go anywhere near the judge. The man in the plaid the shirt was petting him which didn't help matters.

We have an apple tree near Chad's pen. The kids started to feed the pigs the apples that had fallen on the ground. We are wondering if Chad may have associated the people's hands with apples? Anyway, the judge didn't even get much of a look at him. Which may not have mattered much because Chad is just a normal pig and not much of a show pig. But to my son he is "Some Pig" and he is having a few regrets about having to sell him later this week.

A Little Michigan Get-Away

Gorgeous Beach on Lake Michigan

Sleeping Bear Dunes 450' above Lake Michigan

A "newt" found friend. My boys can find critters anywhere!

Enjoying a campfire and s'mores with dear friends.

A goofy tourist attraction.

A little local Flavor-Yumm!!

Time for Turtles

Last year it was the Summer of the Frogs. But this Summer it is definitely the Summer of the Turtles! The boys had to bring turtles home from their Aunt's pond. They have been fun to watch. Even the cat thinks so!

This handsome fellow was just begging to be photographed.

Some birthday money was used to purchase this Webkinz turtle. Not sure who thought up Webkinz-but they are a marketing genius.

Garden of Weed'n

The first bounty from our garden: lettuce and radishes. Everything is late this year. We had an unusualy cold spring. It even frosted after the normal frost date.
Zinnias, lettuce, onions, peas. In the back of the garden are peppers, cukes, corn, beans and carrots.
This is what it looked like this morning after 2 hours of weeding.
This kitty was sleeping on my Mother's Day Gerbera Daisy so I set a lantern in the container to deter her. She didn't seem to mind.

All Creatures Great and Small-The Lord God Made Them All

The kids dressed our dog up in an old shirt from the garage sale. The baby kitten was born just this week.